I agree with buying as needed and not buying a tool set. If you buy as needed then you have just the tools you need and not some you'll never use, plus you can get better quality from individual tools.

Good place to get basic hand tools is Sears Craftsman which are good, not the best but good enough for the average joeblow; and you get the luxury of returning them should they fail for a full hassle free replacement regardless if you have the receipt or it's rusted etc. BUT the same is true for Lowes Kobalt series, and theirs are a bit less expensive then Craftsman and equally as good; the Kobalts are actually built by the same company that builds Snap-On so I think Kobalt is better then Craftsman! By the way, those Snap-on and Mac tools are great tools but they cost an arm and a leg (mostly because they do inhouse financing for mechanics), and if your not a mechanic trying to find one of the trucks to return a broken tool could be a huge hassle.

Using a tool on a bike is a lot less stressful on the tool then using it on car by the way, thus buying the best probably doesn't make sense unless your also into car mechanical repair. And Harbor Freight tools are pure crap.

Then do the same thing for bike specific tools (like the crank puller), buy only when you need it so you don't end up with a pile of tools you'll never use. I buy Park because that's what the LBS's sell mostly (and they use mostly), thus returning them should they break are a lot less of a hassle.