OK, so strictly speaking, it may not be an essential tool; you could always stick your hand on your brake discs or exhaust manifold and see if it hurts or not.

However, this little gadget from Laser is both frickin’ cool and amazing in equal measure.

The idea is simple: it uses an infrared beam to take temperature readings in a matter of seconds, rather than traditional methods that take forever and are a right bugger in hard-to-reach areas.

But, what would you need an item like this in the garage for? Apart from the obligatory seeing if your nads are sweaty or not – diagnosing sticky calipers and overheating circuit boards or checking heat-shielding and coolant circulation would be at the top of our list.

Best of all though, you’ll feel like James Bond along the way. You just can’t put a price on that. Well you can, it’s 30-nicker.

Price £30

For more info see Laser Tools