Snap on vs other..

EASuperhornet

EASuperhornet

New Member
hello all,

its been a little over a year since i have written on the form.
I am currently enrolled as an AMT and I am tool hunting.

I looked at crafstman tools at sears for the ones that are on my to get list, and i had a very difficult time finding duck bill pliers and 12-point sockets.

the tool list i have was distributed by snap on, and they offer us an entire tool set and box for $1,452 where as retail is $2,253..

the savings are amazing! but there are pros and cons to both purchasing snap on or mastercraft etc.

i dont really know tools, so to go and pick up 2 pages worth, piece by piece on a timeline.. is difficult for me. but i would prob pay in the hundreds.

whereas snap on offers entire tool list, which means i dont have to shop around for them. but im still paying for what i get..

im really not sure what i should do... like just say hypothetically this program isnt what i though and i have invested in it already on tools. (snap on tools) if i sold them for the student price, would it be easy to transfer my warranty to them when the purchase is on my credit card, how does that work?

but first things first. any recommendations or advice on what i should do, bout which tools? really any advice would b amazing!
 
I have always seen buying snap-on tools like buying food from the Schwan man. The food is very good but what you are buying in large part is the man driving to your door and delivering it. Can you buy Schwan's food quality elsewhere? Yes, but you have to go get it.

Me personally, I would prefer to buy Craftsman tools on sale or through their Craftsman Club program and get more for my money - but that's just me. Give your list to a Sears Tool Guy and he will have you fixed up in no time. Sears also runs promotions occasionally that if you put your tools on a Sears Card, you can get 12 months of no payments or interest.

Both tools have lifetime warranties and meet the ANSI standards of quality.
 
Im with Calcapt. I used to work a job that required many tools and the reason I went with snap on in simply because he would just show up at my door. I would walk on the truck, get what I need and pay him when I got the money as he self financed at zero percent.

I did get a great deal on a used snap on box that someone traded in since most snap on guys keep a few boxes handy that they accepted as trade ins.

They are great tools with a great feel and a great warranty no questions asked but they are VERY expensive as you know. If you have the time you would be very well served to just go to sears as calcapt said and give them a list and just do that. Id say you would be able to save around 25% or so over snap on and get the same quality and same warranty.

Most mechanics are tool snobs though (me included) and once I started going all snap on it was difficult for me to replace a missing tool with a cheaper craftsmen as it just did not look right.

Go with sears, you wont regret it and neither will your wallet.
 
thank you all guys!
im going to do just that. tomorrow im going to check out my local canadian tire, and sears for either craftsman or mastercraft..
 
Most of my tools are Craftsman. I only use Mac or Snap-on for their specialty tools. My friend's wife used to work for Snap-on and she was able to hook me up with some good discounts.
 
I did the snap on thing while in school. But I shopped around first, and you will not get all those tools for the price and you will never find them all with craftsman.
 
I absolutely love my Snap-On racheting screwdriver and 1/4 " socket set! Other than that its a mixture of Craftsmen, Huskey, SK, Kobalt.

Oh yeah and Gear Wrenches, add those to the list.

If you can afford to take advantage of the school discount go for it. Otherwise just get whatever you can. The other brands have less tendency to walk off. Especially if you're working in a 3rd party 145 repair station!!!
 
There are a hand full of items where the snap-on stuff is worth the extra cost but otherwise craftsman will do just fine. Its not the tools that makes the mechanic, its what is in between the ears.
 
When I bought my Snap-on set, it was good for class but when I went out to work my first mechanic job I had to get other tools that I needed and they may give you a tool list. My box is mostly Snap-on and Craftsman. I also get tools from other places like Harbor freight(only certain things) and matco. There are differences in price but quality matters with me. If I break a socket, ratchet, or something from Craftsman, I can take it to the store and get a replacement with their warranty. It all depends on where you get them, availability, price, quality, and warranty. Craftsman sells 12 point sockets you just need to get the catalog and check online too. I am happy with what I have.
 
Craftsman tools are okay for the most part, but quality has slumped in the past few years.

Keep in mind that the lifetime warranty doesn't apply to some items, like the torque wrench that I tried to get warranty replacement for. They just said it wasn't covered.

One thing you might try to find at Sears is the A&P starter set that has some of the unusual things in it like twelve points, SAE's in 32nds, etc.

My brother has all Snap-on, and kind of sneers at my tool chest, but I can live with that :)
 
My Dad has restored three Corvettes with the massive Snap-On set he bought 26 years ago and they're absolutely splendid tools...

...if you can afford them.

I've done a lot of work with Craftsman over the years and I have no complaints at all. And they're affordable.

Here's an idea, though - go hit some local pawn shops. Every time I've been in one cruising for guitars or whatever, I've seen MASSIVE selections of tools of reasonable-to-high quality. Giant bins full of sockets, extensions, adapters, etc....CHEAP.
 
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