>Date: Fri, 02 Mar 90 11:03:44 PST
>
>There's no doubt that I'm a beginning mechanic, so I be embarrassing
>myself by asking this: why do people get dissatisfied with Craftsman
>tools? Why are Snap-On better?
>
>Always trying to develop my sense of taste,
In my opinion, the only reason to buy Snap-On is for certain
extra quality in some particular items, I have a Snap-On
torque wrench which is an excellent tool that I have no
regrets at having paid the extra bucks for over a similar
Craftsman tool. But, for most items, I've found the Sears
replacement (lifetime) guarantee of Craftsman sockets, wrenches,
and other non-power tools to be totally adequate for my periodic
mechanical endeavors.
Lest anyone think I rarely do these things, I have rebuilt three
engines and am in the midst of a full frame-off restoration
of a TR-3. Additionally, my tools get plenty of workout
on regular maintenance and repair of several other Triumphs
as well as a Buick and an Isuzu Trooper (No repairs yet in
the Trooper). Additionally, if you are a homeowner like me,
these tools are used for numerous other home repairs, fixing
the kids bikes, etc.
My worst case situation is the Craftsman 3/8 breaker bar
that I originally got as a gift when I was 21 (that's
27 years ago). To date, I have gone through three of them.
Each time I sheared off the 3/8 drive I simply brought it
back to Sears and the salesman took the broken item and
gave me a new one. No questions asked! Now I believe
Snap-On has a similar lifetime warranty, but try finding
your local Snap-on retailer on a Saturday afternoon after
you've just broken one of your wrenches or sockets.
Bottom line here, at least as I see it, is for the vast
majority of us part-time mechanics, Craftsman is fine.
For some special tools, go for the Snap-On.
Bill Sohl
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