Snap-on, MAC, Cornwell etc. Are they complete rip-offs?

I know that some of there tools are way higher quality than you can get anywhere else, but some of the prices are outrageous. It seems to me that the fact that they come to the shop and extend credit to customers is a huge selling point, maybe even more than quality.

I have some high end stuff, but the majority of my basic sockets and wrenches are craftsman and I have no problems with breakage. I use this stuff everyday and can't justify the price of the snap-on level stuff.

4/15/2007 6:14:15 PM

yea some of their stuff is priced high as hell, just stick with craftsman, if you break it just return it

4/15/2007 6:16:34 PM

when I was a mechanic, craftsman worked fine. lately I upgraded to snap-on, but that's just because I like having the best of the best. I might compare prices between the truck and the internet just to see what the difference is. truck got expensive for me, cos when I started out, it showed up on payday. need something, buy it type deal.

4/15/2007 6:17:34 PM

Speaking of the interwebs, I have ordered a lot from this site and they have awesome prices, free fast shipping, outstanding customer service.

http://www.tooltopia.com/

4/15/2007 6:20:01 PM

alot of what you pay for with the tool trucks is the services they offer along with the tools.

imo, the difference in price isn't worth the slight increase in quality over craftsman, kolbalt, etc.

about all i've found them to be good for is specialty tools.

4/15/2007 6:33:52 PM

ive used craftsman, my dad did, my grandad did, and the few tools that you can actually break get replaced - for the price i dont think it really gets that much better

i have broken a few pairs of smaller pliers, but if you can squeeze hard enough the metal is only so big and will just snap or deform

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 7:07 PM. Reason : .]

4/15/2007 7:05:55 PM

there is a bigger difference than just "price and break and return" between something like snap on/mac/cornwell and craftsman/kobalt/husky

ive never really been dissatisfied with a tooltruck tool

4/15/2007 7:22:10 PM

i like skin on my knuckles, cant get that back at the bargain stores, i'll stick with snap-on

4/15/2007 8:37:44 PM

i dont like the idea of wait on the truck to replace a busted tool, unless you work/know somewhere the truck stops frequently

i do have a decent amount of snapon stuff that i got for free in a competition a while back and i really like it, mainly the all-metal torque wrench

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 8:39 PM. Reason : .]

4/15/2007 8:38:34 PM

My dad is a Snap-On tool dealer so I may be biased in my answer but I dont think they are rip-offs. If it costs Snap-On $100 to make a tool, they sell it to my dad for $200 which in turn he would sell it for $400. Thats just basic business practice that is done in any industy. So Craftsman is cheaper because 1 theres not the middle step, Sears doesnt buy the tools from Craftsman, they are Craftsman.

2 because most of the time the inital cost is more. If you use a higher grade of metals thats going to be reflected in the price.

And 3 since it is done a lot on credit they do get screwed often by people moving and taking the tools with them. Yes my dad could search them down and take them to court but if you are the only the only employee he would have to take time off his route to go to court as well as pay to do all the sueing, so for debts under a certain amount its not worth it. And sadly this cost get spread to all the other costumers. My dad would guess that probably 5% of his sales he never collects. This also happens at Sears but its such a big company that they have people who do only this so its not a big cost for them and I would bet that most of the time they arnt even using Sears credit to buy them but a personal credit card.

Finally and 4, you pay for the conveince. The guys working in shops dont have to drive to Sears and figure out a way to get the tool box to the shop. Its delivered straight to you for free. And he comes to the same shops everyweek so if something should break youll get another one within a week. You have to figure what you value your time is in to this situation is. Plus factor in the costs of having a hugh truck that gets only 10 miles to the gallon.

All that being said when my boyfriend asked my dad about some tools that he was needing my dad told him to go to Sears because my boyfriend is not a mechanic so he wouldnt be using these things all day/everyday. Theres not a need to pay the price difference when youll only need a torque wrench thatll be used 10 times a year instead of 500 times.

And no I cant get you any tools at a discount he needs that money to buy me pretty things.. hehe

4/16/2007 11:49:26 AM

I'm fine with Craftsman stuff for hand tools, but their electric stuff has turned to utter shit from what I've seen. I hope they aren't compromising the quality of their hand tools as well.

I got an air compressor for Christmas that was purchased at the Sears in Rocky Mount. Spent a half an hour prepping it (putting in oil, putting the air tools together, etc.) only to find out that it was leaking. Exchanged it at the Cary store and the one that I got in Cary had the exact same leak at the exact same gasket. That's some junk.

4/16/2007 12:10:33 PM

Quote :

"as well as pay to do all the sueing, so for debts under a certain amount its not worth it"

he can also sue for the lawyer fees and court costs (but not lost wages due to time off work)

4/16/2007 12:17:02 PM

i use my tools everyday and ive yet to break a kobalt or husky anything (although ive shattered a couple craftsman wrenches)

4/16/2007 12:20:46 PM

I worked in a metal fab shop one summer and bought a lot of tools that I didnt already have (had to furnish all our own hand tools) and extras of some I did, so I went to sears. I got so pissed off that summer at how easy their hex bit sockets, tap wrenches, and ratchets broke. To add on to that I would be in the store about once to twice a week getting tools for my dad or I replaced, 4 weeks in a row I had to get managers called over to replace shit. They didnt want to replace my 11r vise grips although irwin says that the place of purchase will replace them. They also tried to tell me that their tap handles weren't lifetime warranty since the taps arent. Most sears tool departments are full of ignorant assholes, and I am tired of having to cuss out their store managers to get "LIFETIME WARRANTY" tools replaced. Buy snap-on/mac and you dont run into this.

4/16/2007 12:23:38 PM

craftsman/sears is good bang for the buck as far as hand tools. also have a compressor and some electric tools from them and havent had any issues.

unless you work on cars professionally, no real need to have all your tools from snap-on etc. you may want to invest into a nice ratchet, torque wrench, multimeter, gear wrenches, electric tools, or specialty tools but there's no reason to be buying snap-on sockets, plyers, screwdrivers or breaker bars or anything like that.

my two cents.

4/16/2007 12:35:37 PM

Here's my two cents' worth:

I rarely if ever buy tools from Sears. Craftsman shit ain't what it was 20 years ago. And yeah, I've been buying tools that long. Hell, longer.

I do like a lot of the Kobalt and Husky stuff from Lowe's and Home Depot (where my toolbox came from).

But my favorite tools are made by SK/Facom, Blackhawk/Proto/Stanley, KD, and OTC.

I own specialty tools from OTC, Lisle, Sunex, and I have an assload of specialty stuff from none other than Advance Auto and Autozone. When I only use them a couple of times a year, it doesn't make sense to own Snap-On, Mac, Matco, or Cornhole.

I do own one Matco swivel-head ratchet and a Snap-On palm ratchet. Some of my favorite sockets are my Matco 1/4" drive swivels and my 3/8" Matco impact gun (which is nothing more than Chicago Pneumatic).

4/16/2007 1:57:03 PM

I'm still using a "Popular Mechanics" socket set that I got back in high school. I've used that ratchet handle with a three foot breaker bar and a ton of weight and it didn't snap. I plan to upgrade at some point and just keep this set in the car or something, but it has been a trooper considering that it was probably pretty cheap in the first place.

4/16/2007 3:07:37 PM

as of today i only owe snap on $1645

4/16/2007 5:42:53 PM

yeah, the tools for doing all those oil changes aren't cheap.

4/16/2007 5:46:43 PM

My craftsman torque wrench broke after switching my wheels 6 times. Sears said I was SOL because I didn't have the receipt, even though I bought it 11 months prior.
I have never broken any other craftsman tools. I do notice the difference in quality when the Matco, Snap-on, Mac tool truck comes around.

Also, the truck charges a 25% interest rate. Fuck that.

4/16/2007 9:27:55 PM

Craftsman will probably always suit the weekend wrencher just fine. For those of us who turn wrenches for a living, the quality of a major brand is well worth the money spent. There are alot of tools that are used several times throughout the day......these are the most critical of being better quality. I do have some Craftsman stuff in my toolbox, but it seldom gets used anymore. I have taken most of it home.

Another convienience of a tooltruck is having an account and being able to pay weekly, versus having to purchase something in full up front. This helps when buying a wrench set, or things with some sizable price.......like toolboxes even. I've got $7000 in my toolbox......yes that is how much I paid for it empty.

4/16/2007 9:39:49 PM

ouch!


personally, been turning wrenches professionally for several years, and i use craftsman for everyday sockets, deep and shallow, toolboxes, and regular wrenches (the professional polished ones). SK stubby wrenches, blackhawk ratcheting wrenches, and I have a snap-on man coming around weekly who is the best tool guy I have had in 8 or so years- and I have been giving him some business lately. Maybe $500-600 worth.

4/16/2007 9:50:34 PM

yeah, you can get away with some tools from sears and such.

a lot of my tools are from your major stores like lowes and sears....

but i tend to borrow a lot of the snap on ones at work just because i like the way they work.

4/16/2007 10:35:06 PM

yea i'll admit what snap-on stuff i do have feels nicer than the craftsman stuff
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=55265&group_ID=2878&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog
feels much nicer than my dads craftsman version with a plastic handle/adjuster/lock but im sure he paid alot less (well mine was free but u know)
so u get what u pay for still applies, its just a matter of what u need

[Edited on April 17, 2007 at 12:21 PM. Reason : ~]

4/17/2007 12:20:53 PM

Quote :

"Gorilla-Proof” Positive Stop – prevents accidental disassembly when dialing down to the lowest setting prior to storage, even when attempted by the most brutish user. (Caution: Do not wind below lowest scale mark)"

That's funny as hell.

4/19/2007 3:16:12 PM

my first craftsman tools i got when i turned 16 worked just fine for the little wrenching i did on my own car, but they were nothing in build quality that my dads craftsman stuff is that he has had for longer than ive been alive...

that being said, the snap-on that ive filled my box with by now feels more like that good quality solid built shit that has lasted my pops the last 25yrs.


and no, im not comparing snap-on to craftsman as far as build quality, im simply pointing out the level of durability and quality i perceive in these tools im going to need for quite some time.

4/19/2007 7:02:45 PM

yeah by the way if you dont use your shit every single day none of your reviews of the high end shit matter. at all.

4/20/2007 12:45:25 AM

I do at least some wrenching almost every weekend. I've got walmart Stanley specials for half my shit and some kobalt and harbor freight stuff. Only my super cheap walmart sockets have broken on me... oh and my $80 Craftsman floor jack, which busted after 14 months but had a 12 month warranty

4/20/2007 3:03:37 PM