Good bolts etc...

I've made my own up over the years. Never throw away nuts and bolts or washers; chuck them ALL into an ice cream tub whenever you find them, then move onto two tubs and so on. I do buy them as well but I've always got something to get me out of trouble.

Namrick do packs of stuff. They might be worth a look. The thing is nobody does decent black steel nuts and bolts anymore, they only do crappy soft zinc plated or stainless. Most of the time zinc plated will shear because it's too soft or stainless is too expensive or just isn't suitable.

Unless you drive a car with proper fixings in which case you'll need a selection of UNF and UNC imperial fixings.

I got a big mixed bucket-full from a scrapyard for a fiver. (That was about ten years ago.) They save them because they are worth 1st grade scrap. Only problem is you tend to get a lot more bolts than nuts, but they are common sizes like M4, M6, M8, M10 and the UNF thread that's used for seatbelts.

They are brilliant to have if most of your work is on cars, especially if you want to keep the same look. Most regular engineering bolts don't have the fixed washers or the little rim under the head.

Go to a scrappy that specialises in the same type of cars that you're into. That way you get nice 8, 10, 12, 14, 17mm heads that match your Japanese car or if you want say VW then you also get the 11, 13, 15, 16mm heads. Saves much farting about when spannering.

For anything else, find an engineering supplier in your area. Usually a trade place in an industrial estate. Huge range of sizes, heads, 8.8, stainless, whatever. Always good quality black ones. Screwfix is okay but mail order bolts are heavy!!!

Or it's French, in which case, who knows - helping a guy change a belt on his renault Espace the other week, one side of the power steering pump is attached with 15mm bolts, the other side 16mm, and one of the threads on the alternator tensioner was an M7...

I got a pack from burton it had like 10 or 20 different nuts and bolts sizes and about 20 of each. All chrome vanadium or something (they were shiny and rustproof). Spent about £60 from memory.

Annoyingly in the first week of working on the viva and keeping them in there over night the car got nicked. Must get some more, they were orsumz.

Assuming a car that uses metric, then as has been said, for general stock Screwfix or Tool Station (Screwfix clone but cheaper - as aside did you know SF are now owned by B&Q?!), both have quite a few branches open, so possible to get away without paying p+p.

Both do 'variety' boxes of nuts and washers, and some smaller bolts (<M6 iirc). After that, M8 is pretty popular for those 'smaller' fittings (rad mounts, horns, cover plates, etc. M10 or M12 seems to be used for bigger stuff like alternator mounts, etc. Then you're probably into fairly specific stuff for suspension mounts, etc, best source for these is a breakers.