unfortunate that you got taken like that, it does happen quite a bit.
i was visiting a mechanic friend of mine while he was at work one time.
he was finishing up a task and i was looking around while waiting.
came upon a 55 gal drum full of nuts, bolts, etc- all of different sizes and material (steel, aluminum, etc).
i asked him what that was.
he said, and i quote-
"when we put something back together and have extra parts, we toss them in that."
needless to say, i almost always do the maintenance on my vehicles myself. this way i make sure that the parts are high-quality (eg. not an oil filter with an element weaker than a paper towel)
and it is done right.
you end up saving lots of money, that is if you have the time and patience to do it.
decent tools are a good investment. you don't have to break the bank by getting snap-on brand, but don't waste your money getting china surplus crap that will break the first time you use it.
you will also need this;
http://www.haynes.com/repairmanuals
or
http://www.chiltondiy.com/default.aspx

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