Tool Truck Tools

I lived and was a mechanic in a small town. A tool truck might come through once every year, so I had just every kind of tool you could find, My first year almost all of my pay went to purchasing tools. Many I still had most of my Military career as I still liked working on cars. Sears lost my business when they started breaking and I took three ratchets in at once and they said they would not warranty them, because I could not product the receipt. I wound up talking to supervisors and managers and got them replaced. Snap on, The only way I could get them replaced was to send them to my kinfolk who was a dealer, or to the company. Matco I actually chassed down one of their trucks one day and found where he was going to be in a few hours so I could take some tools to them, I also had SK, Proto, and many others. Lately I have been getting Husky, But then the only place I could find was HD and they did not want to warrenty they either, now I do The ones from lowes but they do not have all I want at times.
 
I don't mind being reminded of limitations but PT forgets one thing, I am the customer, he is the seller. If he came to my shop with that attitude it would be him finding the door not I. I deal with a Tool Truck on a regular basis and the owner is 180 degrees the opposite. This is my opinion.

"Billy G"

With which of my comments are you taking umbrage over?

I tend to think I'm pretty fair with my warranty process.
 
It really doesn't matter which annoyed or offended me. It's just an opinion based on what I read. Let's leave it at that.

"Billy G"
 
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Well I did get a brand new screwdriver from snap-on . They were really nice and gave me no trouble.
 
I don't own any of the black handled Snap-On screwdrivers. I do own about three various sets of orange handled ones, some I purchased off the truck almost thirty years ago. I think it is pretty ****ty that a dealer doesn't want to warranty the black handled models or says they are crumbling because of a lack of hand oil. Everybody knows there is a problem. It used to be that tool sellers didn't quibble about warranty issues and that made me happy to buy from them and created customer loyalty.

There hasn't been a Craftsman tool put in my tool boxes since I bought my first Snap-On ratchet set off the truck. I inherited a bunch of 3/4" and 1" sockets and wrenches as well as three Snap-On roll arounds. I have about $20,000 invested in my own purchases from Snap-On....none of it purchased with credit. I have been buying off the website for several years now since my old dealer retired. Not a lot I agree but I am a little more than a casual purchaser. I am looking for a new KRL box. The set I want looks like about $15,000 on the Snap-On website. Because I do automotive restorations at my home shop and not at a commercial establishment, the local dealer won't stop and talk to me. Oh well. I see if the Mac guy wants to sell me a box....and I do need new impact drivers too. The screws and bolts will usually turn no matter what name is stamped on the tool.

I don't see a reason to be loyal to any tool brand anymore.

Regards.

Bob
 
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I don't own any of the black handled Snap-On screwdrivers. I do own about three various sets of orange handled ones, some I purchased off the truck almost thirty years ago. I think it is pretty ****ty that a dealer doesn't want to warranty the black handled models or says they are crumbling because of a lack of hand oil. Everybody knows there is a problem. It used to be that tool sellers didn't quibble about warranty issues and that made me happy to buy from them and created customer loyalty.

There hasn't been a Craftsman tool put in my tool boxes since I bought my first Snap-On ratchet set off the truck. I inherited a bunch of 3/4" and 1" sockets and wrenches as well as three Snap-On roll arounds. I have about $20,000 invested in my own purchases from Snap-On....none of it purchased with credit. I have been buying off the website for several years now since my old dealer retired. Not a lot I agree but I am a little more than a casual purchaser. I am looking for a new KRL box. The set I want looks like about $15,000 on the Snap-On website. Because I do automotive restorations at my home shop and not at a commercial establishment, the local dealer won't stop and talk to me. Oh well. I see if the Mac guy wants to sell me a box....and I do need new impact drivers too. The screws and bolts will usually turn no matter what name is stamped on the tool.

I don't see a reason to be loyal to any tool brand anymore.

Regards.

Bob

You make a very good point in the last sentence of your post.. If the dealer or manufacturer of the tool will not be loyal to me, why should I be loyal to them? The they start quibbling about the "lifetime warranty" on their tools they have lost me on the spot. I paid a premium for the tool based on the "lifetime warranty" for the dealer or manufacturer to start looking for loopholes in that warranty is crap.

- Not the original purchaser - Really? So the quality of the tool changed when it changed hands?
- Useful lifetime - This is a weasel way out, you simply say that the tool lived up to it's lifetime before it failed, now you are off the hook? Again Really?
- Misused - Prove it... Another weasel way out, the customer misused the tool so we don't have to warranty it... Pure judgement call probably 90% of the time, and they always call in their own favor..

I am done paying a premium for tools for the privilege of having a popular name on them, the company that will get my business will support me as a customer the same as I support them as a client.
 
I love the Snap-On trucks. The tools I have from them are a mix of things bought directly and others scored from a pawn shop. Some of the pawn shop scores have been purchased broken. Like a previous poster I just throw my broken tools in the car and wait till I see a tool truck. That said I usually treat myself to a new tool when I am doing a warranty item.

My favorite warranty repair was the largest flat head screw driver was broken. The driver took it put on his glasses gave it a good look and said wow... we better warranty this or you will never get your watch put back together. As he was fixing it he suggested that I might be interested in a set of pry bars. I told him that I had recently discovered such devices and had a fine set from Sears; but that I was having a hard time removing some head studs. As luck would have it he had just the tool for the job. :)
 
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