craftsman tools lifetime warranty

[tjkubota93]

I bought on Matco and snap on trucks. Owed $250 or so paid $25/week, no interest (except markup and the fact you got on the truck to pay and looked at all the shinys). All my sockets, screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers were craftsman from growing up. Snap and Matco was for transmission snap rings, special pullers and alignment tools. But this was before smart phones and commonplace online shopping. I need it to do my job, you got here and it would be hard for me to figure out you ripped me off. Now there's amazon and harbor freight. I had ebay, but it was new.

 

[sixdogs]

I bought an SK set when I was maybe 16 and have owned them forever. Never broke, only lost a few and bent the 1/2" one to fit somewhere it wouldn't. They coud write a book on the projects and situations they've seen. Not sure how Snap On would do any more except make me feel better. I do envy those who own Snap On however.

Note that in the Harbor Freight thread there are many comparisons of the HF US General red toolboxes and the Snap On toolboxes and there's a lot of support for HF by some pretty savvy tool guys.

 

[tjkubota93]

I bought an SK set when I was maybe 16 and have owned them forever. Never broke, only lost a few and bent the 1/2" one to fit somewhere it wouldn't. They coud write a book on the projects and situations they've seen. Not sure how Snap On would do any more except make me feel better. I do envy those who own Snap On however.

Note that in the Harbor Freight thread there are many comparisons of the HF US General red toolboxes and the Snap On toolboxes and there's a lot of support for HF by some pretty savvy tool guys.

I have alot of sk tools. The guy that sold those delivered and took cash. I actually like my sk ratchets and combination wrenches the best. Simple and effective. I also have old craftsman pro combo wrenches, made by sk. VERY nice had for 20 years, never broke or bent. Lost 1. Lost another in a Chevy truck. Customer came back for oil change, wrench fell out and hit Co worker in head.

 

[mopardude318]

I buy, own, and use both craftsman and snap on. I'm not a professional, just a backyard DIY wrench head. I like quality tools, and I really like snap on wrenches and ratchets. when shopping for snap on anything, I buy new on Ebay. I will never buy off the truck. All of my craftsman are older Made in USA. I try not to use harbor freight anything. but, of course there is a time...

 

[crazyal]

Curious if you took the HF tools back to HF for replacement. If not, why not?

The stores are too far away and it's not worth trying to deal with or spending the money to ship them back. If there was a local store I probably would if I knew I was going to the store.

 

[crazyal]

I've bought some Snap-On tools off of ebay. I buy used because they seam to not wear out. If they do I can just get my neighbor (mechanic) to just it into work and get it replaced for free. I can say that if you do serious wrenching on bolts you can tell the difference in build quality. They just seam to be a higher level of accuracy. But rarely does it matter for what I'm doing.

 

[tjkubota93]

I've bought some Snap-On tools off of ebay. I buy used because they seam to not wear out. If they do I can just get my neighbor (mechanic) to just it into work and get it replaced for free. I can say that if you do serious wrenching on bolts you can tell the difference in build quality. They just seam to be a higher level of accuracy. But rarely does it matter for what I'm doing.

That's why their slogan is "there is a difference".

Haha.

 

[goeduck]

If the bolt is at all tight I always break it free with a breaker/socket or open/hex wrench then switch to a ratchet. So I haven稚 had to exchange any ratchets. Takes a little longer but that is how I do it.

 

[tmcj]

I started out using SK tools many years ago because that is what my Dad got for me. SK was a sister company to my Dad's workplace and they got them through his work at a discount. But when I started buying my own I tried to stick with Craftsman for everything and pretty much everything I have is Craftsman now. Back then (25 years ago) they were awesome, but I agree with everyone else that their quality has gone down hill. I have not been at all impressed with their air tools. My compressor has been fine though. Even their phillips screw drivers don't hold up like they used to. I hate that they try to give you a 'rebuilt' ratchet that is in worse shape than the one I turned in rather than exchange for new one. I take care of my tools, and obviously some people don't. I would like to see them return to the US and their quality come back with them also. Snap-On and Matco are awesome but they are just way to pricey for the average home mechanic like me. I really try to stay away from Harbor Freight stuff. I've had nothing but bad experience with their tools. I would gladly stick with Craftsman if they would be once again "Made in the USA" and regain their quality.

 

[Travelover]

.......... I would gladly stick with Craftsman if they would be once again "Made in the USA" and regain their quality.

I think that a more likely scenario is that Sears goes bankrupt and "Craftsman" becomes just a name that gets sold because some people remember it from its glory days.