Tool Truck Tools

That excuse about the handle needing to get "Oil from your hands" is about the silliest bit of nonsense I have heard in many years!!

I had a Stanley black plastic dead blow hammer that also turned white and crumbled away. I just tossed it. It had been used plenty,too. Probably Chinese junk rebadged Stanley. Not that the name Stanley is worth 2 cents any more,though.
 
Ok I called Snap-on they said they will send a new one will take about 3 days. Just don't get these dealers. When I was a dealer people stopped me ALL the time for warranty that I have never seen before and I would replace it.
 
My Dad was a Snap-on dealer in the 70's. He was a no questions asked kinda warranty guy. He told me a few things, (I was in high school then), the dealer had to cover the cost of the tool until the new tool arrived and cover the freight to snap on and back for the warranty. I know the profit margins are not high on tools, seems like its 27 to 33 percent. But the truck is your highest "nut" of over head. So having said all that.......my current dealer told me to sharpen some worn out wire strippers. I now own a pair of Matco. My current dealer gave me grief over 30 yr old ratchets that needed a comfort handle and a coupla that need kits. I now buy matco ratchets to replace the worn out snap-on. We use a lot of 1/2 impact drivers and #4 bits we wear out the impacts, and sure break a lot of bits, initially he told me that Snap-on didn't warranty tools used in production shops. I asked it the other shops in town were just hobby shops. Now he just replaces them, no questions asked. I know that around town he has a poor reputation for doing warranties, I wonder what his bottom line would be if he adopted the "no questions asked" policy?

He also told a story about a bunch of old mechanics, back in the 30's that got together and designed the original snap on sockets and ratchets. Their real sales appeal was to give a guy a tool that he could use to pay for itself and give him the opportunity to do just that. Thus weekly payments. My interpretation was that these guys were for the mechanic, help the mechanic make a better living and make a good living by helping him. In the 70's the old guys started to retire and turn over their tool empire to their offspring. The skuttle butt was that these folks were not mechanics but business majors. They didn't know **** about tools but they knew how to make $. The unmentioned policy became: "Load the mechanic up with tools and high tool payments. If he couldn't pay then take the tools back and sell 'em to some one else."

I suppose some 40 yrs later this is all just hearsay................

One other thought, Snap-on is a franchise based company, the dealers own their own business. Each is an individual. Each has his own business policy. They can be as different as day and night.

Tim
 
I tryed to get a snap-on ratch thad i had from way back when I was turrning wrenches. I tryed to 3 differnt trucks And was told if I didn't have an acount with them thay couldn't warinty it. Then I went to a warehouse neer me and was told I needed prof of perches. Called corpret and was told to send it to them with "proff of perches and return shipping and thay would fix it. Haven't bought a snapy tool scence.
 
How about Mack? Anything better with them?

David
 
David S said:
How about Mack? Anything better with them?

David
Click to expand...

I have some combo wrenches from MAC... never had any issues with them.
Honestly, would have to call customer service to find a way to warrant them if needed.
 
I'm honestly surprised that "lifetime warranties" even still exist with the current business models most places follow these days.

IE: Build it a cheaply as possible, charge as much as you can, maximize the up front profit and mitigate anything that cuts into that profit afterwards.

"Return sales" seem to mean nothing to these businesses......
 
When I was a couple years out of high school I worked in a fork lift shop for about a year. At that time I bought a number of tools from the Snap-On dealer truck and was happy with them. One of them was a Blue-Point "Compothane" dead blow hammer. Now roll the clock forward about thirty years. The hammer had seen lots of use but was showing its age, getting brittle and starting to crack. Finally a big chunk of it broke off.

Now I believe that fair is fair, and I also believe that the life of a plastic tool of that type is not infinite. I had gotten my money's worth out of it, so I visited the Snap-On truck and inquired about purchasing a new one. In passing I mentioned that it was time to replace my original Blue-Point model and "Snappy John" responded that I should bring the old one it as it may be covered under warranty! I politely declined his offer, but he appreciated that I was fair with him and gave me a discount on the new one.

Sadly, John retired a year or so later, and his replacement is a total jerk. No more Snap-On stuff for me unless I cannot find it anywhere else. If a new, decent dealer takes over, I'll give him a try and see what happens. He's got to earn my respect before he can have much of my money.
 
Very good point Terry. I would say to some point the price you pay for Snappy tools is for the warranty. But at 30 years it may be that that warranty was in the tool lasting.
 
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