Craftsman Hand Tool Guarantee

[cp1969]

I have given craftsman tools to my oldest nephew that were given to me by my great grand father. Thats 5 generations of users, how can you beat that?

Those old tools are the ones they could afford to give lifetime warranty because they did not fail. The new ones are a different story altogether.

 

[MikePA]

The customer admit he was using a breaker bar and a 6' pipe. So he got socket #4 and promised not to come back... I figure that was a reasonable limit.

'Reasonable limit'? I'd call that above and beyond customer service.

 

[digger2]

About 10 years ago i bought aprox. 6 small "craftsman" "C" clamps.2" clamps
that did not say "craftsman" on them anywhere,but on the cardboard card in
big letters it did say "craftsman" plainly.On the back was the lifetime guarantee.I use these small clamps quite a bit and they do eventually wear
out.
About 5 years ago i took them back,and they did exchange them.But
about a year ago,i took them back again and the Sears salesman said-
"they are not guaranteed,and they never were".
The "craftsman" warranty says:"if any craftsman handtool ever fails to
provide complete satisfaction,return it to any sears store or craftsman outlet
in the U.S. for free repair or replacement"
If these "C" clamps arent hand tools,what is???Its been mentioned that these sales people have "training" as of late to try to turn you away in these tool returns.......I BELEIVE IT.
As far as their power tools...i dont even look at them anymore.
I'll buy Millwaukee power tools everytime if i can.No,Millwaukee tools arent
indestrutable,but compared to the "CRAFTSMAN" power tools ive had,the difference is like day and night. digger2

 

[QRTRHRS]

I have a lot of Craftsman tools and use them often , breaking some once in a while. only had one problem returning anything and that was a 1/4 drive 1/4 inch deep well socket, some new kid said it didn't bad, I stuck to my guns and finally a older sale clerk came over and asked what the problem was and I told him I wanted to return this socket because it wouldn't hold a screw (I had been using it to take down a barn with screwed on metal,) he said no problem and handed me a new one and said have a nice day, on my way out he was chewing out the new guy as not to argue with the customer , and I have been told a few years back that Home Depot will exchange any Craftsman Hand tools with Husky haven't done that yet but if I have any problem with Sears returns. Home Depot here I come, also I think they said they would take snap-on,and mac, I haven't got to many of the snap on of macs but I did have a snap on ratchet that the snap on man wanted to charge me 20.00 to rebuilt, what kinda warranty is that ?

The reality is that this kind of use is pretty tough on a standard chromed socket especially if you were using a drill to unscrew those screws.

There are unchromed nut driver sockets with a shank to easily tighten in a drill chuck readily available. The barn builder I worked for got them in boxes of huge quantities because they are a consumable.

My point is not to dismiss Sears because I too am disappointed with them. What with my time and fuel costs these days, a broken screwdriver may just get turned into an awl.

By the way, I started buying those Husky heavy duty screwdrivers at Home Depot. I like the feel and they seem to be holding up okay.

 

[JRobyn]

So far, every "cheap, imported" HARBOR FREIGHT tool that I've managed to break has been promptly replaced, no questions asked. I'm sure not saying that Craftsman and HF tools are comparable, but it appears that HF's customer service is beginning to exceed Sears!

- Jay

 

[Keith_B]

My brother-in-law had a 12 inch adjustable wrench inside his home when it burned in 1984. He gave me the wrench, which I soaked in some diesel fuel and cleaned up. The thumb adjustment didn't work real smooth on it after being through the fire, so I took it to Sears. They replaced it without question, and I had a nice new shiny wrench.

Some of the Craftsman ratchets aren't a high quality ratchet, and are going to fail if used a lot. I bought my dad and my father-in-law each a set of those $24.99 3/8 drive sets on sale at Chrismas time for $12.49. I've exchanged the ratchets in each set at least once. I figure for $12.49 I'm not going to get a ratchet that is going to last forever.

I've got other Craftsman ratchets that have held up very well to my use and often abuse.

One thing I have learned is that any hand tool can be broken, the handy thing is being able to exchange a broken tool for a good one.

I busted the fiberglass handle on my Craftsman shovel. I took it back and this young kid didn't know what to do with it, he asked an older clerk, and was told "Get him a new one."

 

[Keith_B]

So far, every "cheap, imported" HARBOR FREIGHT tool that I've managed to break has been promptly replaced, no questions asked. I'm sure not saying that Craftsman and HF tools are comparable, but it appears that HF's customer service is beginning to exceed Sears!

- Jay

Some of the Harbor Freight hand tools are pretty good, others are not. The Pittsburgh stuff isn't bad, is warranted forever, and it sells for a cheap price (especially when on sale).

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Thanks for all the posts. Now I feel justified for my stubborn rebellion against the Craftsman bandwagon.

Honestly, my favorite ratchet is a craftsman, but it was a gift. I think they're good tools, but I don't think they're as good as Sears thinks they are. They seem to be a high end homeowner/hobbyist quality, not really professional grade. A brand that I've really been impressed with is the Powerbuilt brand that Checker Auto Parts sells. Also a homeowner/hobbyist grade, but less expensive and still with a lifetime warranty.

I had a buddy in college with a whole tool set that he'd acquired by finding craftsman tools off the side of the road or discarded elsewhere. He'd take them in to the store and they'd exchage them, no questions. He had hundreds of dollars worth of craftsman tools and he never paid a penny for them.

 

[BobRip]

Craftsman did warranty power tools for a while and then changed the warranty when it cost them too much. I consider these changes to be marketing bull. They want to keep the Craftsman name and yet change the warranty. If they change the warranty then these tools need to be called Sears, not Craftsman. I had a Craftsman rake that broke every year. Each one I got was lower grade than the previous. I finally gave up and bought a plastic rake, it was much better.

 

[kenmac]

While I am sure you could find a lawyer to take the case, gaining class action status isn't as easy as many people think.

You should move down South. I think every law suit here is on class action status