Snap On vs. Craftsman!!!

[RobJ]

Those guys on the trucks, whether Snap-On, MAC, or Matco, are actually independent businessmen, sort of like a franchise. So you'll find a variety of personalities, knowledge, experience, etc., just as you will with tractor dealers.

Now I don't know for sure about Snap-On, but I suspect they're much like Matco when it comes to warranty on hand tools, such as screwdrivers. The company actually does not warranty them if they decide the problem was abuse rather than a defect. So the guy on the truck gives you a new one, then he sends the broken one in to the company and hopes they replace it. Some they do; some they don't. Many of the Snap-On distributors will give you a new tool regardless of why yours broke, just as my brother did with Matco tools. He warrantied them to his customer whether he lost money on the deal or not.

I know what you say to be true. That's why he wasn't happy. On the other hand I had a set stolen from my truck after I got into computers. Insurance paid off and I wanted true replacement set. Driving around I spotted a Snap-On truck and make the guys day, bought $1000+ cash that day.

 

[dullpain]

But the Snap-On guys aren't very nice if you don't deal with them regularly.

Made my living as an industrial mechanic for 25 years. Have owned all brands, and still do. Snap-On, S-K , Mac, Matco, Craftsman preferred brands. Now retired and will see a Snap-On truck in my travels , and if I need something will stop and get it. Have not been in the same truck/dealer twice since retiring. Recently broke a Snap-On 1/2" ratchet handle that I had bought prior to retiring and had never used it. Handle (18" long) snapped just below the ratchet head with about 20lbs. (very light) pressure. Obvious defect in manufacture. It can happen with anything , no bad reflection on Snap-On.

So I throw it in the car so the next time I see a dealer , I will stop and exchange for a new one. About 2 weeks later see a dealer stopped at a shop so I stop , grab my ratchet and go into truck. Only customer he has is leaving as I step on to truck, I simply hold up the broken ratchet for him to see, a piece in each hand, and he starts a RANT. "You guys don't buy tools from me, and then you bring me broken stuff to replace from my inventory" and on, and on, etc. I let him finish and get it out of his system, and then calmly asked if he had a business card I might have. He looked a little confused but gave me a card, and I stepped off the truck to leave. He asked "what's the deal" I told him that I intended to write Snap-On corporate offices , customer service dept. and inform them of the trouble I had in exchanging a faulty product and I wanted to make sure I got his name correct. He exchanged my ratchet on the spot with apology.

As Bird says "So you'll find a variety of personalities, knowledge, experience, etc" which I understand. I just expect better service than that.

 

[barticus73]

I have never taken anything Craftsman back in for switch out. Last week I had a 3/8" drive Craftsman ratchet fall apart on me. Do I simply take the broken ratchet back to the store for a swap out? No questions asked?

 

[MadReferee]

does anybody have an opinion of the John Deere tools?
I have started buying some sets of those, full warranty,
and close to!
but so far, no complaints.. the ratchets seemed good,
maybe not "snap on" good.. but much nice than
the craftsman that i have., (all of which the ratchets are junk)

Find out who makes them for John Deere. It's probably someone like Danaher who makes branded tools for many companies.

 

[jwstewar]

I have never taken anything Craftsman back in for switch out. Last week I had a 3/8" drive Craftsman ratchet fall apart on me. Do I simply take the broken ratchet back to the store for a swap out? No questions asked?

I had to exchange my 1/2" ratchet that kept slipping out of "gear" and that is what I did. Dad had trouble exchanging the first type of rachet wrenches Sears had. They had a plastic cover that kept breaking. We would take them back and they eventually redesigned the wrenches to do away with the plastic cover. The didn't sell the new ones separately for awhile. They gave him a little grief about opening a new package, but they eventually did it.

 

[Bird]

Ratchets, whether manual or air, are probably the most abused tool there is. They are made for speed, not for hard pulling to break loose tight nuts and bolts. Some people don't know that, and others just don't care and use them for more than they're designed for. As a result, part of Matco's week long training for new distributors included lessons in repairing their manual ones quickly on the truck. And of course a big part of my business of repairing air tools was ratchets. And no brand is immune; I replaced the final drive in one half inch Snap-On (their best, most expensive one) three times because body shop employees would use it for a breaker bar and actually break the anvil off the final drive.

 

[Egon]

A snipe on the ratchet works so well and is so easy for those first few hard turns. Almost irresistable to do it.

 

[Bird]

A snipe on the ratchet works so well and is so easy for those first few hard turns. Almost irresistable to do it.

A what?

 

[Mith]

Bird, I believe a snipe is a piece of pipe you put over the handle of a ratchet to get more leverage.

I have a 18" long chrome plated pipe for my 1/2" drive ratchet, and a 6' long scaffold pole for my 3/4". Works nice for breaking blade bolts. And I can do them up real tight too
Yet to break a ratchet I seem to eat screwdrivers, going to buy snap-on so I can get the warrenty so I get a new one every time one wears out. Its the stainless steel screws that do it.

 

[Bird]

I think you're probably right, Mith, although I never heard a "cheater" called a "snipe" before. And of course, knowing how ratchets are made, there's no way I'd ever do that to a ratchet of any kind. I'd use my break over handle instead.