What to upgrade first?

[okgunnut]

Hey what is everyone upgrading first? I've already upgraded the faster bolting and the obd scanner but not sure what i should do next. Been doing a ton of jobs and really not gaining xp that quick. Which upgrade helps out the most?

[Red Dot Games]

Fast mount / unmount is guite nice cause you dont need to hold right mouse key that long. This way you making your orders faster.

Also multimeter will give some information about some parts. But since you have about 3000 XP - most or almost all jobs have parts listes so it better to unlock multimeter later.

I would go with fast mount/unmount :) As a game creator :D

But it depends on strategy - some unlock repairs faster.

[okgunnut]

Ok I'll try that out next. Thank you

[MinionJoe]

I put my first three upgrades into repair tools. I managed to get a water pump up to 88%. There's been no other benefit.

[DaRkLoRe [discord.gg/pxf]]

I am a huge fan of the Tablet how ever I wish they would move the damn oil pan next to the lifters its a pain running all the way over to the other side to get I didnt even know it was their until the 40th job.... After spending so much on oil clean up

[okgunnut]

Holy crap wow I didnt even know there was a pan. Wasted so much money on oil clean ups hahaha

[DaRkLoRe [discord.gg/pxf]]

Yeah exactly I just thought that was the mecanic of the game lol until I was like wth you can use this thing haha...

[Oceansize]

There is a TL:DR at the end ;-)

Well I came here to offer advice on the OP's question, but dang I just learned about the oil pan too! I guess I just assumed the cleanup fee was normal and assessed to the customer the same way the parts I buy are. So thanks for that DaRkLoRe!

As far as the OP is concerned, I originally ramped up repair skills because I assumed that installing repaired parts would offer me some sort of cost advantage over instaling new parts. But since the customer reimburses 100% of the cost of the parts you buy (as far as I can tell), there's no cost advantage to me to repair parts. In RL there would be a cost advantage to the customer, but this is a customer made out of software so who cares. I am therefore assuming that repairing parts only becomes useful once I've got 9000 xp and get access to auctioned vehicles.

Then my save file got corrupted as the result of an in-game crash and I had to start over. After getting up to 7000 or so xp on my previous save, I discovered that the biggest pain of all is to not know whether you have a faulty crankshaft or not, since you must diassemble practically EVERYTHING in the engine bay to get a visual on it: wheels, axles, driveshaft, timing gear, exhaust AND intake manifolds, coils & plugs, heads, gearbox, and the entire clutch.

OR you can just open the hood and hit it with the Compression Tool.

The other tools: OBD Scanner and Electronic Meter, are definitely useful but not nearly as much as the Compression Tool, because the things that they examine are generally very easy to simply disassemble and thus automatically examine: ABS Module, Battery, Radiator Fan, Ignition Coils, Alternator, etc. Therefore I cannot recommend highly enough getting the Compression Tool first (of the three Tools), by the time you're getting jobs without lists provided, which I think is generally after 3000 xp, to save you the pain of disassembling an engine all the way down to the block just to find out the last undiscovered engine problem wasn't your crankshaft, but actually your fuel pump way in the back. You just took apart your engine for nothing.

Edit: It occurred to me, I suppose the value of repairing parts before you have access to the Auctioned Vehicles is you can get more money selling a part that's been repaired. However, since you don't really need money in the early stages for anything other than adding the Test Path, combined with the fact that you should have enough money to buy the Test Path at 5000 xp even if you're only selling damaged parts up to that point that have not been repaired at all.

TL:DR: I would recommend getting the Compression Tool at 4000 xp, and getting Faster Bolting, Faster Assembly, and Tablet prior to that point. Then round out your tools at 5000 & 6000 xp: the OBD Scanner and Electronic Meter. Finally, start ramping up your Repair skills as you near 9000 xp to hopefully get some practical use out of repairing parts now that you have access to the Auction. In the early stages it seems best to hoard your money (sell damaged parts instead of repairing them) so you can add the Test Path as soon as your xp allows it. The Test Path is critical because it detects faults in Rubber Bushings, which are a pain to examine visually.

[MinionJoe]

Originally posted by Oceansize:

Edit: It occurred to me, I suppose the value of repairing parts before you have access to the Auctioned Vehicles is you can get more money selling a part that's been repaired.

Except if you ever fail a repair, the part breaks completely, cannot be repaired again, and becomes worthless. And what parts you can repair depends on your level of tools. At level one, the only part I was able to repair in nearly an hour of playtime was a crankshaft bearing cap.

[SomeBloke]

If you break it you just don't get the added bonus that the customer pays for the part that you didn't buy. The customer still pays for the part you buy and put on the vehicle.

[MinionJoe]

To be fair, I played a bit more last night. Level 3 repairs do come in handy for a lot of suspension and brake parts. Once I started getting jobs for calipers, drums, u-bolts, knuckles, etc, the upgrade did feel worthwhile.

[wilmer007]

umm this depends on what you plan to do so i will give a few different kinds of build paths depending on the role you wish to play:


1. The Evil Mechanic (stealing parts from all the cars):

the evil mechanic only has one objective and that is finishing as quickly as possible and repairing everything as quickly as possible so he can steal even more parts. Remember the stealing mechanic has to take apart an entire car (to steal all the good parts) and put it back together (giving as many bad parts as he can). this takes 40-45 mins to do so you need to speed up your work so you can steal some more.

1 . Fast Assembly / Disassembly
2. Fast Unbolting
3-7. Repair Tools Level 1-5
8. Tablet
9-11. Examine Tools 1-3
12. Fast Manual Examination

the first 2 points allow you to speed up your work from the start. the next 5 points allow you to repair every part you take off. Don't attempt to repair anything until you have 90% repair at 7000 xp. next the tablet allows you to order parts alot quicker without having to waste precious time walking over to the desktop. and lastly we take the last 4 points into the upgrades that will least benefit us since you are taking apart an entire car so the last 4 points are bascially wasted since you don't need to examine a car if you are going to be taking it apart completely anyway. i recommend this build since it is a great way to make alot of money quickly and you also net alof of fast xp. if your goal is to get to auction as quickly as possible with as much cash as possible then this is definitely the path u want to go with. this build with generate alot of cash and xp from the start but you will tend to take on alot less orders since each car will take up 45-60 mins of your time.



2. The Good Mechanic:

The good mechanic is the guy that is loved by all his customers. he only does the necessary jobs as quickly as possible and moves on to the next customer. he has no intentions of stealing parts like the evil mechanic.

1 . Fast Assembly / Disassembly
2. Fast Unbolting
3-5. Examine Tools 1-3
6. Fast Manual Examination
7-11. Repair Tools Levels 1-3
12. Tablet


here we still take the same first two points so we can work faster. but then we beeline by using the next 4 points into the examination tools and the fast manual examination. this allows us to quickly find the bad parts so that we can quickly replace them and move on to another customer. finally we get the 5 repair upgrades before we finish off with the tablet . the tablet isn't really needed until the end since everything is more beneficial than saving a few extra second from not having to walk to the PC. this build is also good if you intend on working on ONLY the bad parts in the orders that need to be replaced and you are in no rush to get to auction house. this build will help you finish orders in under 6-15 mins so you can do a bunch of orders during your session.


3. The Jack of All Trades Mechanic:

This mechanic does a little bit of everything. he steals but also finishes quickly. so he basically just steals the good parts that need to be removed to get to the bad parts rather than taking apart an entire car. you don't like him but you also don't hate him since he is the guy you just don't trust but you still take your car to him because he charges reasonably and doesn't overcharge you.

1 . Fast Assembly / Disassembly
2. Fast Unbolting
3.Tablet
4. Fast Manual Examination
5. Examine Tool 1
6. Repair Tools Level 1
7.Examine Tool 2
8. Repair Tools Level 2
9.Examine Tool 3
10-12. Repair Tools Level 3-5

as you can see we take all the fast work upgrades in the first 5 points and then we alternate between one examine tool and one repair upgrade before we finish up the repair tree. this build is great if you want to get to start buying cars at auction house quickly and you want to work on cars as quickly as possible aswell. with this build you will not be finishing orders quickly like the good mechanic but you also aren't slow with orders like the evil mechanic. you are basically in between both of them.




4. The Standard Mechanic:


The standard mechanic is your typical mechanic that checks everything before he does any work on the car. once he has diagnosed your entire car he then proceeds to do further testing such as the test track and path test to find the remaining parts that are yet to be revealed.

1. Fast Unbolting
2 . Fast Assembly / Disassembly
3. Fast Manual Examination
4-6: Examine Tools 1-3
7-11: Repair Tools Levels 1-5
12: Tablet


here we take the fast work upgrades and then we get the examination upgrades right after before we finish up with repair and tablet. pretty standard path and is the same path i took in the game. Highly Recommend this path since you need the examination tools in the middle portion of the game since at that point you start getting parts that are hidden and if you don't plan to take apart cars and put them back together then the examination tools in the middle of the path will really come in handy and save alot of time. which is why i highly recommend this path. this build is good because it can be played one or two ways. the lightning fast mechanic that finishes jobs super fast or the jack of all trades mechanic. in other words he fills multiple roles and changes without effecting other areas. What i really like about this build is that you can play all 3 roles above through out the game since you can say to yourself "oh i want to steal parts today" then the next day "ah i'll play the good mechanic today and not steal parts" and on day 3 "today i want to steal for a little bit then be a good mechanic". you can't do that with the other roles because the other roles have you stuck in that certain role for most of the game.



5. The Doctor Mechanic:

Have a problem with your car come see the doctor. this guy will find out what's wrong with your car from the start of the game. do note he is a little slower than the other mechanics early on since he has traded in his lightning hands and gun for more early examination.

1-3: Examine Tools 1-3
4. Fast Manual Examination
5. Fast Unbolting
6 . Fast Assembly / Disassembly
7-11. Repair Tools Levels 1-5
12. Tablet


this guy knows how to find and quickly fix your car problems from the very start of the game since he has all 3 examination tools in the first 3000 xp. mid game is when he becomes a little faster at completing the orders. i highly recommend you AVOID this build at all costs because it is only done to get the 3 examination tools as quickly as possible and nothing else. since you do not have any hidden parts in the first 3000 xp this is probably the worst build you can make in the game and highly recommend you AVOID this build.....




TL:DR IMO no matter how you play you should ALWAYS be spending your first two points on fast assembly / dissassembly and fast unbolting and for the most part you should be leaving tablet for last upgrade. and never take any examination tools until at least 4000 or 5000 xp since before that it is almost a waste of upgrade points since you don't have alot of hidden parts yet. everything else depends on what role you plan to play but in short if you want to find parts quicker and finish jobs faster you take the examination tools before the repair tools. and if you plan to complete less jobs but have more parts and spend less cash on parts then put more points in repair tools than examine tools.

[piedudeaus]

For me it is the Tablet! So nice being able to remove dead parts from a car, buy the replacements with the tablet, then install the new part without having to move at all!

[Geredis]

I personally went with faster assembly -> two ranks of repair, -> OBD -> Compressor -> Voltmeter -> Tablet (because that's when it came out in the patch) -> 2 more ranks of repair.

Going forward, I plan on finishing up repair, then going for bolting and then examination last of all, if only because you have enough diagnostic tests (and can use your eyes once you get a feelf for what parts at different qualities look like) to examine parts. I only realyl use right-click to verify that a part is indeed one I want to replace if the rest of the car is a junker, for instance.

Now that siad, had I to do it all over again, I'd go with:

Tablet -> All repair ranks -> Compressor -> Voltmeter -> Faster Assembly/Bolting/Examination depending on your style -> Whatever's left.

Why? Because the tablet makes the biggest difference in saving time in walking back and forth to the computer and the car, and repair ranks make things much easier since you can repair parts, increasing your profit margins significantly.

And when it unlocks, buy the Test Track to test suspension and brakes.

[kinkajou1015]

I just hit level 10 and this is the order I went in:

Repair 1-5 > OBD > Compression > Multimeter > Faster Unbolting > Faster Assembly/disassembly

If I were to do it over I would still do Repair 1-5 first, main reason is if I am able to repair a part above the minimum threshold I get credit for replacing it, and I get the full cost of the part if I were to buy a new one as extra money. Extra money is delicious, seriously, which would you rather do, repair a gearbox for free and get an extra 300 dollars or buy a new gearbox and not get any extra money? After that I would do the faster Unbolting and Assembly ones, then I would probably grab the tablet, then the tools, then the examination. This playthrough I'm determined to go ahead and get faster examination before the tablet, just because.

[Oceansize]

Why is making money important in the early stages of the game? Even with 0 Repair skills, you'll still have enough money to buy the Test Path when it unlocks. The only other things you can spend money on don't unlock until you've got 9000xp. Earning money is a low priority in the early game, therefore I don't understand why Repair skills would be important early on.