Why are Snap-On tools so expensive?
 

A simple 3/8" drive SnapOn socket set, used on EBay costs $250. I know there's value in the quality of the tools, but not enough to justify 3X the cost of Craftsman tools, IMO.

Lifetime warranty is what you are paying for. No matter where you buy it, if it says SNAP ON (not blue-points) you can mail it in and they give you a new one no questions asked and no reciept needed.

^^ plus they are about the best on the market... just dropped $97 on a new comfort grip ratchet.... no regrets what so ever

I have returned Snap-On tools from a decade ago... They are the real deal.

Now if only I can find a lifetime warranty on a vacuum...

craftsman are lifetime warranty, walk in, hand em the broken one, get a new one.

That's right.

I had a Rick Mears SE SnapOn tool box with about $10K worth of tools in it before I left home for college. When I finished college and settled down I decided to go back home to get my tools, only to find my mother had given the box and tools to my uncle. :facepalm:

So I was going to rebuild a set of SnapOn tools but the prices have doubled since I bought the original ones. SnapOn must be a unionized business, that's the only reason I can think they'd need to charge such a premium.

I have about 22 grand wrapped up in snap-on tools alone. Not including my box which was upwards of 10 grand, now I wrench for a living and can tell you craftsman are ok for garage use and basic stuff but when you do it for a living you only want to smash your hands on stuff so many times when the tool breaks.

I have never ever broken a snap on wrench or socket, when i first started I had a few craftsman tools and everyone of them are broken. Plus the snap-on truck comes right to the shop and takes care of any broken things. I have broken one 3/8 snap on ratchet in my time of wrenching and I put my tools through some abuse.

But for the average guy who does his own oil changes in the garage a minor maintenance at home you cant go wrong with craftsman, but if your whole job s wrenching then you want the best. Hell my 1/2 inch drive electronic torque wrench was 600 alone. BUT its the only torque wrench on the market that meets aviation certification because its so accurate and when rebuilding engines I want the best to do the job right the first time. You dont make any money on comebacks!

^^^ Exactly


Ive broken many craftsman tools, and almost all with my hands. Ive even put a nice bow on a couple of their breaker bars by hand (without a cheater). Ive never had any issue with the snap on tools Ive used at work though, same goes for mac. That said, 90% of what I own are craftsman. The frequency in which I break craftsman tools doesnt justify spending 2x's the amount on snap on's. Especially when a sears is just minutes from my garage.

If I wrenched for a living, it would be a different story.

You get what you pay for...

Not always......
I returned a broken ratchet from my socket set.
They wanted to replace it with a refurbished one. It had someones initials etched in it and was in worse condition than my broken one. :facepalm:
After a heated discussion with the manager, they gave me a brand new one.

I always liked the Craftsman tools, but now most say "Made in China" so I stay away from Sears.

If I were a professional mechanic I'd likely have Snap-On tools. Although, I've done a fair bit of "wrenching" on race cars and Jeeps with Craftman tools and never broke one by hand. In fact I recently installed a set of gears in my Camaro and used a Craftsman breaker bar with a cheater pipe to set the pinion load (crush sleeves, hate em!). It was bending but didn't break!

I have broken Craftman sockets usiong them with an impact wrench, but that doesn't count.

I don't think Craftsman hand tools are made in China, but their power tools are. Thank unions and ever increasing government regulations (e.g., EPA) for the mass exodus of manufacturing to China.

I wont buy a crapsman ratchets ever again.. I do buy their sockets , well I buy any socket with a lifetime warranty.. even NAPA.. but when it comes to ratchets there is no comparison. I have broken a craftsman ratchet while using it and I don't like smashing my fingers. They used to be better, Sears used to carry quality but like anything people wanted cheaper and cheaper and so that what you get there now... back in the 70's maybe early 80's it was a much much better

The best !
 

Using snap on tools for 46 years. Tried others and none really compare for strength,hand comfort and durability! Luckily for me I purchased my set with box from a mechanic who had to retire due to medical issues.He liked me and my interest in mechanics to give me a deal of a life time on his entire set with box.Only way I could afford to own them as a 18 year old whom was recently married with a new baby.Lucky me and I still have all the tools minus the box which I gave to my son.Old craftsman are really strong and durable but do not fit your hand that well & too bulky but get the job done just the same.

Been using Snap On for well over 20 years i love my tools and theres nothing worse than coming home to wrench on your projects with crap tools after working all day with prememium tools. No one can beat there 1/4 drive stuff. Now if we can find a dealer on here that will give us a 15 to 20% discount that would be cool.

They are very good tools. You can find deals on used sets on EBay and Craigs List. Yesterday I bought this set for $600 yesterday: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=110703816937

Assuming they send everything pictured, it's a steal.

I have a mixture of craftsman, mac, snap on and matco.
My favorite 3/8 drive ratchet is my matco fine tooth.
My fav 1/4 is strangley enough an old Husky that got years ago. The damn thing wont brek and has the knurled edge at the top so you can rotate it by hand.
I love my snap on air impacts and wobble heads.
Fav wrenches are my craftsman 6 points. The snap ons are nice but the polished finish and thin body 'burns' my hands up under heavy use.
Like I said, I have a diverse mix. Overall the snap on stuff is far better in longevity and quality.

Ive seen the same with every single tool brand at one point or another....
Definately not a snap on or bust wagoneeror especially for the price, you can have em...lol

JASON

Strap-on is like any other high end name brand merchandise, you are paying for the name. I was a mechanic for three years (yes I know not very long) but still I was using my tools everyday. The guys who wanted to be "cool" or show off their money bought strap-on the guys who were serious ran mostly MAC and matco. And the broke or just starting guys ran craftsman. If you wrench for a living buy want you want, if you are a DIYer/modder craftsman will work just fine in most cases and will also save you money for more mods. Sorry for the rant, just my $.02

I started my first Snap On truck account when I was in high school. Today I still use tools that I bought over 20 years ago. When you use tools everyday for a living there is a huge difference in quality and how they feel in your hands.

I use mostly Craftsman only because of the price. I'm not willing to pay $80 for a ratchet, don't care how nice. If my Craftsman breaks, I just take it down to the local Sears. Since I'm overseas as a government contractor for now, I can get a 50% discount on all Snap-On tools. Just need to send in the memo from the Army stating that I do in fact work overseas. 50% discount still isn't motivation enough for me to buy Snap-On, maybe one day...

I recently saw an article about the future of Sears being kind of bleak, and possibly going out of business. I found out something today Kobalt tools and Craftsman tools are made by the same manufacturer. I was told by an employee of one of these stores that if a tool is no longer made for Sears and Lowes has that tool it can be exchanged at Lowes for a new one. This was a manager that told me .

That pretty much sums up what my mechanic buddy says as well. He said that Craftsman is good for your normal DIY'er. He uses snap on because it's a much better feeling and high quality tool. I don't question him since he does it for a living.

Why didnt you buy a Cobalt SS???

I have been a mechanic professionally for 26 years, and several years before that as an amateur. I have probably $50-$60k invested in tools. Yes the Craftsmen ratchets are garbage, but for the most part it's hard to fault their sockets, or wrenches, especially when you can "modify" them to do a very specific job, and then return them, without question, for a free replacement. Or return them because they're ugly, burnt, bent, scratched, or peeling, again without question. I use Gearwrench ratchets, also lifetime warranty, 5 degree ratchet action, and the most comfortable grip ever, I have yet to break one (even the flex head), and at about the same price as a Craftsmen "premium" ratchet. So I hate when people start bagging on "crapsmen" stuff, I do own a few Snap-on wrench sets, pliers, torx drivers, and specialty automotive tools. As a general rule they are ridiculously expensive ($38 for a single, standard length, 15MM combination wrench, really?), I have a full set of Gearwrench ratcheting flex-head wrenches, in both metric and standard from 8mm to 25mm, and 5/16" to 1-1/8", those are my favorites, use them everyday, never had a complaint about em, lifetime warranty, and still half the price of Snap-on. Snap-on tools are great tools, but there are comparable tools out there for less money. Cornwell makes fantastic tools, slightly less money than Snap-on, Mac, and Matco, are also comparable and still cheaper. So if you're hung up on the name, by all means buy them! If you're interested in good tools with a lower price tag, do your research, there are plenty of other options out there.


Pat

I work in an environment where if we break a tool we can't go down to the local store, we can't really mail it in, and there damn sure aint no Snap-on Matco, or any other trucks that will show up... Offshore Oil Drilling

My Primary Tool... Proto Professional Grade... Price is right, quality is second to none... There are some as good but none better in my opinion... and I buy everything I buy in groups of at least three... Not due to breakage, but due to them ending up in the really big blue tool box, or in someone else's tool box... If it isn't locked up at all times, it will sprout legs and walk off... The drill crew has no budget for tools so they are forever begging borrowing or outrigt stealing them... So... Everything in Threes at least...

Snap On is not exclusive to the USA anymore and hasn't been for a while. Many think the Snap On brand is USA and the Blue Point is overseas...not true.

Country of Origin can be found on their website.....here's an example made in Taiwan.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....e=&dir=catalog

you pay for the quality of tool. as a professional tech working on some of this communities cars i use the best. Snap on and matco fill my box.

ive bowed out craftsman wrenches, ive broken multiple craftsman ratchets, and ive cracked open craftsman sockets.

my snap on and matco gear doesnt let me down, and lets me do my job quick and clean on your cars. the only thing in my box that i use regularly that is not snapon/matco is screwdrivers because well, there screwdrivers and they break and get lost constantly

Precision Instruments
 

I use Precision Instruments torque wrenches. They're basically the same tool as snapon minus the label and you can get them for half the price. PI use to make them exclusively for snapon before they started selling to the public, unfortunately they only make torque wrenches (American made since 1938). I have a lot of craftsman hand tools as well but wouldn't recommend their torque wrenches.

http://www.torqwrench.com/

Harbor Frieght FTW!!

I have broken too many finger nails using craftsman. Won't touch that shit anymore. I use blue point now for the last 10 years, just for home wrenching. My company heat treats(hardens) all the snap on tools and torque wrenches. Good quality and you get what you pay for.

Being a former machanic, I use mostly Snap On, I find there is a difference and you do get what you pay for.

Snap-on won't replace my torgue wrench?

Your right if out of warranty - but they will fix and recalibrate it for u for $$$.

My Snapon... box fairly new - as Snapon gives tech school students a 'nice' discount - some grads do not pursue their original dream. Hence, a deal when they sell their stuff.

23 years and counting for me, and @ 80 % is filled with Snap-On, the rest is mac, matco,cornwell, and yes craftsman. all have there respective places. i prefer Snap-On. My opinion they are simply the best!
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...b/IMAG0209.jpg

What, no Snap On boat?!:iono::bellyroll:

I've used Snap-On, Craftsman and Mac tools. For your common tools such as sockets, wrenches, ratchets, screw drivers, there is little difference in the quality IMO. For example, a set of craftsman professional series metric wrenches costs $69. The same set from Snap-On costs $239, and I for the life of me can not tell the difference.

Where SnapOn shines is with specialty tools that few others offer.

If you've got kids, Globemaster's the brand to buy. They won't walk off!

Mac and Cornwell for me. More reasonable for the same quality tools. Also always found it funny that Gear wrench and HUSKY made all MAC,CORNWELL AND SNAPON Gear wrenches.