88whitecomanche

That's weird...the stores down here don't require a receipt...
Just your phone number since its in their system and you sign some paperwork and your out the door...
I think the worst place I've had a replacement tool experience was NAPA
I bought a 1/2" breaker bar about 6-7 years ago I finally broke it trying to take off the nut off the unit bearing on my Comanche...when I walk in to expect great service and new breaker bar. The part has discontinued and they couldn't warrant the part and if I had a receipt they'll refund me the money. Really? Who has a receipt from that long ago?they even told me if I wanted to they can give me a 5% discount on a $145 breaker bar "they" were trying to sell me...
I guess everyone has their own experiences and tools will break regardless...
I've broken plenty trying to get bolts off my jeeps and gotten replacement new ones right away..

Basslicks

They USED to require a receipt... thankfully, they don't anymore. I remember the first time I tried to return something there. I think it was their crappy "dremel" knockoff (don't ever buy it, by the way)... the packaging clearly said "Chicago Electric" on it and "Distributed by Harbor Freight Tools" on the back. Lady gave me all kinds of hell and had to get manager approval to take it back 'cause I didn't have my receipt.

All that being said, I love harbor freight. Usually, unless I have perpetual bad luck with a hand tool, I pretty much get everything I need from there. They're power tools kinda suck. They're really hit or miss... I don't have many of them. I had a heat gun that lasted all of 15 seconds... took it back for a refund and went and bought a Wagner... which works great, BTW. I had a HF Angle grinder... lasted about a year with pretty frequent use... finally broke - can't get mad - only spent 10 bucks... but I "upgraded" to a B&D unit which has more power and I'm kinda glad I did.

I'm no stranger to breaking tools though

This lasted all of ONE turn of the wrench



I've broken TWO of these... but I don't even know what brand they are. Probably like AVON or something lol



Here's the breaker bar I broke... I really miss my breaker. I was pretty bummed out when I broke it.



Aaaaaand two of these...



Although, I've returned NUMEROUS craftsman tools for warranty. Tape measures, hammers, sockets, wrenches, ratchets, screwdrivers, pliers.... most of those were back when they would warrant against rust though. I had a leaky toolbox and it RUINED all of my tools.

Anyway... I'm not a tool snob... I just like tools. Cheap hand tools just means I can have more of them. If someone were to give me a shopping spree to snap-on, matco, or mac - that'd be a different story. But I don't see that happening any time soon.

Mr. Pink

i have a very wide range of tools, Mac, Snap-on, Blue Point, S&K, Craftsman etc... and i absolutely hate hate hate trying to warranty any of my tools except my Snap-on and Blue Points. because my snap-on guy is awesome.

Basslicks

I was actually pretty pleased with my experience the past couple times warrantying my craftsman stuff... walk in with the tool, tell them it's broken, they "verify" it, and walk out with a replacement. No troubles at all.

I just ran through a list of what I "know" I have w/ harbor freight.... almost a thousand dollars. Not surprised really.

I probably have that much combined between Snap-on, S&K, Mac, Matco, Craftsman, Stanley, Kobalt, Husky, Milwaukee, Black n Decker, Porter Cable, Skill... and Brand-X autoparts store stuff.

93XJeeper

when did they start making them in China, my set is only about 2-3 years old and they still have USA stamped into them.

Basslicks

It's been a couple years. It was about the time K-Mart and Sears merged that they shipped the production overseas. Go to Sears and look at the Craftsman stuff now.... you won't find "USA" on them anymore.

93XJeeper

this is the tool kit in my jeep, got it about a year ago, I think it made in Taiwan. But I got to say, it's still a great kit, I've only broken one extension which they replaced under warranty. But I've used the ratchet to remove lug nuts once before and i use this kit the most often of all my tools and it goes through hell. Funny thing is that it ratchets much smoother than my U.S. Ratchet.
lol. It's only 3/8 drive too.

Basslicks

Nice! I like that set.

Mr. Pink

Happy Birthday Sir.

I love my craftsman set my wife got me last christmas, i use it constantly.

cleenrob

k-marts still around?

i haven't seen one since i was a child

unidentifiedbomb

Yup. You don't have a little Caesar's pizzeria near you?

Mr. Pink

very few and far between now, but they are still around. There is one in the town my Parents live in.

93XJeeper

I see them a lot where I live, I know of three that are not too far from me.

cleenrob

sure theres plenty around here, whats that got to do with a k-mart tho?

unidentifiedbomb

I've never seen a little Caesar's stand alone, they're all inside kmarts in the NJ/DE/PA region, at least the ones I've seen