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hello all
id like to start by saying i run my own garage and that i feel the need to buy snap on tools.
yes they are good sorry not good there are the tool making leaders. but the only thing that makes me wanna buy snap on tools is the lifetime warranty. but for this i pay a high price so i had a look else where and come across other tool makers offering lifetime warranty but the tools are less then half the price of snap on. if you know any post them.ps im not dising snap on tools but some people/garages can not afford to pay snap on over priced tools
eg i lost a snap on t45 and it cost me $27 i could of got a set of am pro torx for $6.42 thats got lifetime warranty
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All we use at school is snap on but I’m not the biggest fan of snap on tools for a couple of reasons:
1) I don’t like the feel of their wrenches. I much prefer the feel of the thick handled craftsman or mastercraft wrenches (both with lifetime warranty and a set of 14 cost about the price of 2 snap on wrenches)
2) I’ve used their sockets and really haven’t noticed a huge difference between theirs and craftsman’s sockets… at least not a 300% price increase difference. I find they still slip, although they are more shallow which can get me in tighter spots.
3) The snap on guy came to my school and said that shops will hire us if we buy snap on because it shows that we’re serious about our work….. I know he doesn’t fully represent snap on but come the #$%@ on.
4) Craftsman ratchets may not be as fine toothed as snap on, but I love that they have the spinning top where you can move it with your thumb or hold it in place while ratcheting. Snap on doesn’t have those kind of ratchets.I do love their flare nut wrenches though. Those wrenches will not bend at all. Hopefully this doesn’t start a flame war.
I dont think all there stuff is overpriced. I love SO ratchets. Mac ratchets are ok to, craftsman are hobbyist ratchets, IMO. They wont survive a week of hard daily use, atleast not in my hands. I dont have a set of SO wrenches, but I would like some. I found an extra long 3/4 flank drive plus in an old trailer. The open end on this wrench grabs hold and wont let go, much better hold than any other wrench I have tried. But they are expensive, I will likely pic up a used set on ebay one day. SO is the only choice for a balljoint press.
That being said, I will buy and use any brand tool if it works and holds up decent for daily use. Mac Cornwell, Matco, SnapOn, astro, grey pnuematic, etc.
We have 3 tool trucks that stop by the shop. Mac, Cornwell, and SO. The SO man is the only one that gets money from me for 1 simple reason, customer service. The other 2 have piss poor service, while the SO dealer has good service.
i guess it’s really debatable…it’s depends on how tight of qurter you are working at…
i had done european and asian imports…you have to have best of best to work without fighting with your own tools..
everything is life time warranty…it’s whatever feels best for you and how much it save you from getting tired from working with them day in day out…
anything diagnostic stuff..i had compared otc scope vs vantage pro…used old school vantage…
do you rather guess or really use quality equipment to help you figure things out properly?
i am guessing you guys don’t do much diagnostic…i don’t know.
I always thought the reason most professional used Snap On tools was the truck payment program.
As a shade tree wrench twister, 98% of my box is Craftsman. Decent quality (although not what it used to be 45 years ago when I got my first socket set) and reasonable prices.
The other thing Snap On has going for them is humans like for shiny, pretty items. I call it “crow syndrome” !
Only thing Snap On I use are there closed in wratcheting wrenches. Why? Every set of craftsmen I have bought broke the first time I used it…Granted I only go for wratcheting wrenches when im in a very tight space and need to bust something loose yet at the same time dont want to have to switch to another tool. Dang normal ratchets are too bulky, could use a breaker bar then switch..but then im defeating the entire point of having wratcheting wrenches in the first place. So yeah I go with Snap On for those only, everything else is Cornwall, or Craftsmen, or Stanley. No one seems to show Stanley any love these days but there Sockets are the best on the market by leaps and bounds.
I have rounded out Craftsmen sockets(Got em replaced use them for very light work…as in stuff that I could probably get off with my fingers.lol), Snap On Sockets (Got em replaced but never use them.), and other brands…Stanley? Heck I have bent all thred using a stanley socket and a bolt on the end.lol Not on purpose of course.
Most of my tools are mastercraft maximum. The so guy comes to work every other Wednesday and the tools I buy from him are only what I can’t buy at Canadian tire. I get my air tools from him (IR) and a few specialty tools like my sweet oil filter claw. I want the so flat torque wrench that one of the other guys has but at $500 it seems pretty ridiculous.
There is little doubt that the so tools are usually better in some way, but you have to figure the cost/benefit out first. I usually make the decision on whether that tool will pay for itself in hours gained at my pay rate within 6 months.
I use a Modis for my scanner/ scope unit. The Troubleshooter data that comes built into it is awesome. I can do an injector balance test without jumping a relay or keying it up every time, that function is built in. So I don’t need to fool with wires and I don’t need the extra tool to pulse the injectors. I could write an entire thread on that tool alone.
My TechAngle torque wrench was nowhere near cheap, but you can knock a half hour minimum off a head job not needing to move that torque angle meter and lock it back down every time.
Even HF crap has a lifetime warranty. That means very little to me. I work on vehicles that have lived their lives in WI, where we have a lot of cheese, a lot of beer, and roads covered in salt. Try getting rusty fasteners out all day and you see the difference between SO and everyone else. The FlankDrive system is so good I got rid of my Matco wrenches and those weren’t exactly cheap ones either.
I saw guys in my shop who got IR guns or other brands. I also saw them needing a new one in less than a year. I’ve had my SO 3/8 and 1/2 inch guns for 9 years, I bought them used and I use the hell out of them on rust-belt semi-trucks daily. I simply oil them before use and have no problems with them. How much would buying 8 cheaper guns have cost? Far more than what my guns are worth. My PH3050 air hammer I’l put up against any .401 shank any one of you can come up with and I’ve got confidence that it will win. I don’t have time to run to a store for a warranty of a tool that I need to get the job done right now. I am willing to pay for quality. Good tools aren’t expensive, they’re priceless. SO invests a fortune into R&D to make the best tools that will make our lives as easy as possible. They come up with the true problem solver tools that make impossible jobs possible. How much money are you making in your shop if you take twice as long to get the same job done with lesser tools? Those tools pay for themselves.
Go ahead and get your Craftsmen wrench on a tight bolt with the box end. When you round it off, my SO wrench will turn it. Thats the difference in the quality, and I would buy nothing less. Its not a “badge of honor” type thing that some think it is, I need my tools to put food on the table and gas in the tank. When my great-grandkids are fixing their cars with them long after I’ve turned to dust they’ll be holding the best in their hands. When you make your living with a truck, do you buy a $700 clunker thats about to die because its cheap or do you invest in a quality new truck that keeps you on the road making money? Does a cop carry a quality gun with reliable ammo, or does he buy some cutdown flea market pistol and cheap imported ammo? There is a reason on the tv shows that we all see where they build such awesome street machines there is a Snap-On toolset they are using.
FB like ha ha thats what got me payment plan and lifetime warranty but now i see iv been done over
lifetime warranty is hard as the snap on van seems to stop coming round when you tell him you have a broken tool or he says he needs to order it in. and say snap on T40 cost like 25 pounds a cheaper one is like 2.50 or 5 pounds so iv got to brake 10 or 5 snap on t40 to make snap on value for money[quote=”theoldwizard1″ post=56411]I always thought the reason most professional used Snap On tools was the truck payment program.
As a shade tree wrench twister, 98% of my box is Craftsman. Decent quality (although not what it used to be 45 years ago when I got my first socket set) and reasonable prices.
The other thing Snap On has going for them is humans like for shiny, pretty items. I call it “crow syndrome” ![/quote]
Different strokes for different folks. It depends on what you get paid, what sort of work you do, and what feels good. Most of my tools are Snap-On. I buy them because the tool guy shows up every week, on time, and is as professional about the tools and his job as i am about about mine. I toss him at least $50 every week and he gets me what i need and takes care of anything i break. I don’t have to worry about the nonsense of driving out to a Sears and trying to warranty a tool that in some high school student’s opinion is ‘abused’.
Once i retire, i may pass on my tools to someone else or sell them. The brand is universally recognized by pros and the tools have resell value. There will be a Snap-On truck 40 years from now and the tools will be worth the same as they are now. If a Snap-On tool needs to be calibrated, it can be done pretty much anywhere. A couple weeks ago i asked him to send my refrigerant sniffer out for calibration since the AC season is coming up – he had it done at no charge to me.
Some of my tools are Hazet, Stahlwille, and specialty tools. Once i break those, i basically have to buy new ones. Having someone come out every week to take care of your tool issues is very nice.
Buy what you need and what you feel works for you. Tools are a very individual thing.
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