Oh dear the poor apprentices will be even poorer if thats possible?
ST1100 and Snap On
- Thread starter aaron.jarvis74
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That picture sure brings back some painful memories, try paying your rent,gas, food and your Snap-on dealer on 4 dollars an hour wage. Made more money delivering pizzas. Some people wonder why I won't fix their piece of #### car for free.
You know you're in trouble when they start throwing payment plans out there for basic hand tools.
Never understood the hard on for Snap On, at least these days. They stopped trying a while ago, you can get equal quality tools for half the price. Pointless to go into debt just so you can work.
Never understood the hard on for Snap On, at least these days. They stopped trying a while ago, you can get equal quality tools for half the price. Pointless to go into debt just so you can work.
If it's a 70 to 71 hemi Cuda you got a deal.So will you fix my nice car for free?
They had a payment plan, same with Mac tools, and if you needed a tool a good dealer would bring it to you. Do agree, only buy Snap-on now if they are the only company making a tool I need, which these days is very rare.
Unless, of course, you happen to be the Snap-On guy....
He's probably in debt as well, had to buy or lease that truck and all the tools. Only guys making out are higher ups at snap on.
diferg
Dan & Ingrid
The ONLY time I would buy snap on is their "J" tools. Certified on Detroit Diesel. 71 series.
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In high school I worked at 2 different gas / service stations. I pumped gas, did oil changes, seasonal tire swap outs and repairs, fan belts, battery replacement, cleaning off all the asbestos brake pad dust from brake drums.......... all the gofer stuff.
We had a general tool box the gofer guys used. Odds 'n ends stuff that got the job done, but nothing special. Certainly not Snap On tools.
The mechanics used Snap On and the sales guy and his truck full of goodies topped by a few times a month. Like going nto a candy store walking through the truck., nice stuff. At that time I had some sense of what the mechanics got paid and wondered how they could afford the tools they had to buy to do their work.
Mechanics told us flat out, some pretty aggressively, to not touch their tools and to use the shop ones. Tool boxes were always locked up when they weren't there, understandable given their cost.
Been there, done that... except I was making $3.35 IIRC. Still have the tools though...
FWIW, I rarely buy new Snap-On tools these days, but in several cases, I haven't had to. Not sure who is still offering lifetime warranties on their tools, but I've taken 20-year old tools and swapped them out at no cost. My 10mm combination wrench, I've exchanged at least twice without issue. On expensive fasteners like ti or specialty aluminum, I have the best results with Snap-On with almost zero damage. Can't say that with all the other brands I use. I think my Craftsman warranty died when Sears sold the line. Maybe that's changed, but I stopped checking long ago. For the occasional use tool, I often buy other brands.
I hear you, but I can buy equally good tools for half as much, if not less, and keep the warranty. For some of this stuff, I don't even care if there's a warranty, I can go buy 5 of them and have them all on hand if one ever breaks.
I use most of my tools professionally, in the automation industry. I see the use of some of their automotive specialty tools as I have plenty of those for very specific tasks. But $120 for a 1/4 drive ratchet? That's just highway robbery especially when I've been using my $15 harbor freight ratchets as hammers for almost 12 years now and they still work just fine... And still with a lifetime warranty.
Everyone should check out Tekton, they're making more and more tools in the US, and most of the rest are made in Taiwan (who are known for producing good tools). Good quality tools and decent prices, I would put any of their stuff against snap on.
Even Snap On isn't making all of their stuff in the US any longer (but still charging US prices).
OK, rant over.
As a young part time wrench, I had the budget for tools from Western Auto (anyone remember them, lol?). They sucked, rounded fasteners, broke, but I made them work. My mentor fellow mechanics "begrudgingly" loaned me a Snap-On tool or two when I couldn't do the job properly, but they gave me a hard time, because it often cost me more time to do the job properly. As my tiny tool box slowly grew, I found that certain tools that I used every day for a few hours not only fit better, but were less fatiguing and far more efficient.
I no longer use my tools professionally, and I work in the semiconductor industry now. I still turn wrenches more than occasionally. I don't know the scale or precision requirements of the automation industry (vast to say the least), but I don't tend to use my other tools as hammers, even the Harbor Freight ones. Where I don't skimp are the tools that I use for expensive fasteners. I'd rather not take the chance with aluminum or titanium banjo bolts, for example, with a cheap socket. I'm currently working on an old Multistrada that resides at a local marina and has a lot of corroded fasteners. My Snap-On tools are simply better at removing many of the stubborn ones compared to my Harbor Freight equivalent, even with an impact wrench or driver. And a couple of times, a Harbor Freight socket almost caused cosmetic damage when it fell off the ratchet.
In the end, I'm pretty brand agnostic. I endeavor to find the best tool for the job(s), whether that's motorcycles, assembly equipment, photography, videography, and post production.