The potential super spreader event otherwise known as Black Friday is thankfully past, most of us gave it a pass but a lot of retailers of the past just couldn’t let it go. Face mask optional Bomgaars offered 20% off Friday which is only as much as most folk’s health insurance deductible and no where near enough to make me hook up the trailer and haul home another months worth of wood pellet fuel. Fleet Farm offered a similar deal and sweetened it with a 10% coupon when I failed to respond, given they at least wear masks inside the “Kato store I might take them up on their stupid marketing… It’s only -10% if I let them do the work of picking it for me!

Black Plague Friday better spent wandering in the woods, Small Business Saturday and beyond provides some excellent opportunities to score some swag, parts, tools, or whatever…

Like -10% on Aerostitch suits and even more on their other great gear for riders!

Many of the small parts suppliers like diesel car parts horde ID parts are offering deals, same with Max BMW which being part owned by Penske may not be small but they’re offering -15% on BMW motorcycle parts. Speaking of hordes, need more printed repair manuals? Haynes + Chilton is offering $10 off so four more will be joining my library, I should have waited another day for the -50% offer that came after I’d ordered. Given how hard they’re promoting online manuals, I have a feeling they’ve got a warehouse full of print manuals they’re trying to empty. I’ve got enough out of print manuals for orphan cars that no way will I put my trust in online manuals alone.

It’s tool time… The big box stores and their websites are littered with good deals on hand tools, look for a good selection of wrenches as well as the usual sockets aplenty in the sets. But when you get old like me you need big lifting tools to take the load off your tired bones and back, like this:

That’s formally called an “engine hoist” and less formally a “cherry picker’, I’ve used mine picking up just about everything but engines. Just about every auto supply store and a lot of big box stores carry them and they’ll certainly be on sale for around $200 and up in the next few weeks. But what if you need to lift the whole vehicle?

Time to lift your car like the pros on a DIYers budget- I’ve had this lift a couple years now and it’s a pleasure to safely lift the whole car- Last summer I did the whole 40,000 mile service on the 2015 Golf TDI- transmission and engine fluid and filter changes, inspect brakes and exhaust, etc.- Without having to shuffle jacks and stands around. As you can see, it comes with rubber block adapters to properly lift most unit body cars at the rocker panel seams. They’ve also got a heavier model with adapters for heavier vehicles with frames like trucks and the larger Stupid Utility Vehicles (SUVs). Costco don’t offer a huge variety of gearhead gear, but when they do it’s good quality at an unbeatable price- Through Monday the 30th the pictured 5000 pound capacity model is $1149 and the bigger 7000 pound capacity model is $1499!

If you miss that deal Costco marks these down several times a year. Same with all the other Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers, same stuff will selling again for as good or better a price in a few weeks or months. Just gotta make your list of what you or your giftee needs and wait for the prices to drop!