What tools??

[Triple W]

Hey guys. I'm starting my Auto Collision Program and I have to buy my tools. The school suggests Snap-ON but I kind like Mac or Matco. Any one have a Preferance? Thanks.

[Brandon83]

I work at sears and a snap-on, mac, and matco are all very good tools. But i think they are way over priced so i go with craftsman tools very good tool with a life time warranty and are way cheaper. Yes i do have some snap-on tools and they are great but you can get just as good quality craftsman tools as any other. you will save sooooo much more money. ;)

[95Batmobile]

Sorry, but Craftsman is NOT the same quality is MAC or Snap-on LOL

snap-on and Mac are both very good... you can't go wrong with either of those if you don't mind paying for them..

[OneQuickV6]

If you're doing this kind of work for your profession, Snap-or Matco are great! But, if you plan for it to be more of a full-time hobby or just something to mess with, then Craftsmen all the way. They are much cheaper, and have great warranty!

[crazyralph]

a vote here for Craftsman great warranty and have never had a problem and some of them i have abused alot.

[ABH]

I wore out some Craftsman drill bits, walked down the hall to Sears, and got new ones. No questions asked. And did it twice in the same day.

[BLLDOGG]

all of those brands are good. but you need to think about each tool, not the brand. Craftsmen is good but they use allitle softer metal. so stuff like sockets, drill bits and stuff, you want the hardest metal. see what im saying. you need to think about what it will be used for and then go find the best tool for you. cause you dont need a Mac screw driver when you can pay less at sears for a craftsmen with the same warranty

[ August 24, 2004, 11:36 PM: Message edited by: BLLDOGG ]

[BobsSilverSix]

What about GreatNeck (AutoZone brand)??? Ok j/k.

[nda0602v6]

Originally posted by BobsSilverSix:
What about GreatNeck (AutoZone brand)??? Ok j/k.

lol I used to work in the autocenter at Walmart and we were forced to work with GreatNeck tools cause Walmart sells em. That stuff is complete garbage.

That Autozone brand stuff isn't half bad, Duralast I think its called.

[cobylax]

Im with BLLDOGG, depends on the tool. But i prefer either craftsman, or snap-on... no problems thus far. What school are you going to?

[Turbo V6 Camaro]

my dad can break any tool that is made, but craftman gives him a new one free. he even got a letter asking how he broke on tool it becuase it could be a safty thing. they said the never seen anything break like that even in testing...

[camarofan]

BLLDOGG summed up my intial thought, it depends on the tool. Pricing will vary for the exact same tool between all the manufactures. Most expensive being Snap-On then Matco, Mac and Craftsman.

Who to buy what from is a choice you'll have to make depending on the use of the tool. I wouldn't spend $200 on a Snap-On tool I'm going to use very little when I can get the same thing from Craftsman at a fraction of the price. Exactly opposite on a tool I'm going to use multiple times a day 5 days a week.

Basic hand tools and such I would prefer the lesser priced Craftsman. But when you get into specialty tools and pneumatics is when you'll have to price shop and compare. That's when you really get what you pay for. Pay close attention to warranties. Most of your pneumatics are going to have different warranties with each vendor. Most will only have a 1 year warranty on certain parts and lifetime on the casing.

Another thing to consider before buying is replacement. Is it an exchange tool or one they have to send off to have repaired. Nothing worse than waiting a week for a tool truck to show up hoping for a replacement tool, then they tell you it has to be sent in for repair and it will be about 3 weeks on the return. Especially if that tool is important.

As for quality, Mac is the low end one of the bunch, not all of their tools are up to par. They do have good tools, just be leary if it seems too good of a price, won't find made in America on many of them. Snap-On and Matco are about even, both have high quality tools with subtle differences in design, it's about preference and pricing there. I'm sure you already know about Craftsman so I won't elaborate.

Use their competition to your advantage, they want your business and will work the pricing to get you to buy from them.

[hawgs]

I thought you were going to make a list of members from this site...

[Triple W]

Originally posted by hawgs:
I thought you were going to make a list of members from this site...

LOL!! You would be the first on the list ;) . This is not going to be my hobby it's going to be my profession of choice so I want good tools. I have a chest full of Craftsman in my garage and I do like them I just have an excuse to my wife to buy better tools I'm going to use it.

My school Gives a premade list of tools to each vendor that i need for my program, so mixing and matching would kind of be a Pain in the a$$. All the tools in the kit are at 50% discount so it seems like a good deal. Matco was the cheapest for the set I need. The Snap-On set that they sell the school have alot of Blue Point stuff in it and I don't want to pay Snap-On prices for Bluepoint tools. The Mac are only $200 more for the set I need than the Matco. My Father in Law is a mechanic says that Matco are good but he hasn't seen a Matco truck in our neck of the woods for 20 years so he thinks if I did break somthing I would have to pay shipping to get it fixed.

He thinks for $200 more I should go with Mac. Oh and I go to Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

[Mogobs30th]

Craftsman is pretty good quality tool. I have some Craftsman tools that are about 30 years old, and still work great. I have both the Snap-on and Mac tool catalogs right here in front of me. They are great tools too, but not worth the price. For example, I was looking at a 21 piece combination metric wrench set, and Snap-on wants about $870 for it. SCREW THAT!!! It is about similar price for Mac as well. But I think the Craftsman set similar to that is about $170 (???) somewhere in that neighborhood.