i make a living off my tools so quailty is a must mac, snapon, matco, cornwell are all great. i have craftsman sockets and such. some tools are compariable but tools like ratchets and trox bits are not. electric tools like grinders and drills are worth spending good money one.
tools are the poster child in you get what you pay for.
hf tools are cheaper yes but craftsman tools are cheap aswell and are a much higher quality
check ebay for name brand tools. most are guaranteed for life

 

when i first started wrenching on things, i bought things from harbor freight just to have the basic necessities to fill the toolbox. as time went on, i bought some craftsman and snap-on tools. i still buy from HF, but mainly it is stuff that i don't need to use too often. i have a 4" angle grinder that i bought from there about 6 years ago...it has been ABUSED like no other...still works like a champ. for $9, it was well worth the money. i bought my mig welder there, and definately put it through its paces. never a glitch.
i love that my craftsman and snap-on wrenches and sockets don't slip off bolts causing me to bust my knuckles, but i also love that if i lose something from harbor freight, it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg to replace it.

 

I don't own anything from HF yet, most of my tools are Craftsman, then my power tools are Makita and Milwaukee. My little bro has some HF stuff, and it actually surprised me how well they're made for being SOOO cheap, and he has yet to break something from there, but I'm SURE he will,lol.
Now, I'm thinking about picking up one of their 1/2" electric impacts, they've got 'em on sale right now for $50, and they're supposed to put out 240 ft/lbs of torque, the same as the overpriced black and yellow painted black and decker, oops I mean Dewalt, haha. I'd love to get one of the cordless Milwaukee's, but those things are $400!

 

Milwaukee has a storefront here in...well...Milwaukee!

 

yea harborfreights hand tools are lifetime guaranteed, i hav a few,since i dont use them that often.

 

When I started as a mechanic I had mostly HF. The wrenches are great, the sockets are decent, the impact sockets are great, ratchets are fair, etc. For the price, you really can't beat them. Since then I've phased them out and replaced them with all Matco and some Snap-On, and this past summer got myself into a Matco 4s box = <333.

Still have my HF stuff, most of it moved to either the back of the Jeep or my tool chest at home, and most of my recent lift install was done using them. Most of the HF stuff is still going strong.

I still shop there regularly, for off-beat stuff. Got a micrometer there for $11, cause Snap-On wanted $140. Nah, I'm good thanks, I still like buying other things in life outside of tools.

<- Diehard Matco.

 

I have been using harbor freights pittsburg line of ratchets and sockets and have only busted one cheap little ratchet, the heavy duty ones, that somehow remind me of s-k has outlasted any of the other ratchets I previously spent 30-40 dollars for, and I have used it on my jeep and on my old 86 Z-28 to break rusted wheel lugs.

For the money it is well worth the investment to buy harbor freight, and since you got them for free don't discard them, use them for what they are meant for and they will keep you wrenching.

 

Just picked up one of the 1/2" electric impacts from HF, haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but I will in a day or two, looks pretty nice for $50!