The great Farrer tool heist

dvaey said :

Sandman said :

Replacement cost of brand new tools I could see as being $35,000. The secondhand value of a bunch of worn out carpenters tools used day in, day out on the other hand…

Being a tradie, he no doubt depreciated his tools for tax purposes quite heavily too. Its kinda like having an old commodore stolen, and claiming you lost $30k worth of car because thats what they cost when they were new.

While that is partly true, no one has a saving account with cash equal to the depreciation of all their assets, just waiting for the unexpected need to replace them. It is not like the tradie can pick up the same set of tools second hand for a fraction the cost and go on with life… Well maybe exactly the same set at cash converters…

Sandman said :

Replacement cost of brand new tools I could see as being $35,000. The secondhand value of a bunch of worn out carpenters tools used day in, day out on the other hand…

Being a tradie, he no doubt depreciated his tools for tax purposes quite heavily too. Its kinda like having an old commodore stolen, and claiming you lost $30k worth of car because thats what they cost when they were new.

Replacement cost of brand new tools I could see as being $35,000. The secondhand value of a bunch of worn out carpenters tools used day in, day out on the other hand……

Most trades I know have their trailers reversed into the driveway and locked to the car if the need to leave them out arises. Seems odd to leave the trailer so easily accessible with so many tools in it.

I had my tools stolen about 12 years ago, some of them I had owned since I was a 1st year apprentice. I don’t doubt for one minute that you can fit $35,000 into the back of a trailer. As has already been said, tradies rarely buy your home handyman quality tools just as your weekend DIY wouldn’t contemplate spending $500 on a battery drill

I hope he / she had insurance, although I ended up being out of pocket for a couple of months before I got my money back.

agree with neanderthalsis. A good quality hammer doesn’t cost $15, it’s more like $100. A cheap tape measure is $5, whereas a Fat Max tape measure can go for over $50 easily. A lot of simple hand tools won’t get you to a grand sum but if you add things like cordless power tools, for which a complete kit can be up to $4000+, it becomes possible. Also, laser levels aren’t cheap, nor are nail guns, bench saws, the list goes on. Hopefully the owner had insurance, because without the tools his livelihood is on the line. That’ll take a long time to save up to replace.

cranky said :

Whilst unimpressed by this theft, I do question the value of the tools stolen.

35G’s buys a very substantial number of woodworking tools.

If the owner was a tradie, I doubt the tools would have been the $19 Bunnings options. trade quality tools are quite pricey and easily run into the thousands for things like portable bench saws and decent gas powered nail guns.

Whilst unimpressed by this theft, I do question the value of the tools stolen.

35G’s buys a very substantial number of woodworking tools.