motorcharge

I don't either, but regardless they're an investment and one that is pretty significant for some of us. From that standpoint resale value is pretty important should I for some reason ever have to sell my box and tools or if whoever I pass them on to needs to. No sense in spending 10s of thousands of dollars on something of no resale value.

rmoore1031

Harbor Freight warranties every hand tool for free. Simple as that. Walk around the store and look at any hand tool it says Lifetime Warranty in black and yellow font.

You don't pay extra for their warranty. On pneumatic and electrical equipment they offer Extended Service Plans aka ESPs. Those are good for 1 or 2 years. Oh pneumatic and electrical equipment are covered for 90 days for free.

DougyFresh

IMO Harbor Freight, as well as most other Chinese tool companys (such as dirtbikes and scooters) has come a long way in recent years. In the last 5-10 years, China has improved it's quality quite a bit.

Did you know that a lot of the big name brand tools are now made in China?

Did you know that some of them are made in the exact same plants, on the exact same molds as the HF tools, they just get a different name etched on them? I didn't believe this at first, but I saw some pictures online comparing the tools and was shocked.

BimmerJeeper

motorcharge, good point about resale value of Snap-On. I hear stories of people buying their SnapOn tools cheap, but any Craigslist/Ebay ad has them priced at huge multiples over new dept. store tools like Craftsman, Kobalt, GearWrench, etc. This is why I never bother to look for used SnapOn tools. Better resale value than a Honda!

Also, thanks for the HF links. I have plenty of stuff from HF, and it's been a killer value. It's also good for buying stuff you would never otherwise justify paying $30 for, but for $5, why not.

Thanks for all the replies, I will probably just stick with the basic ratcheting set.

Lowrange2

See! You got what you were looking for! Congratulations.

motorcharge

You just have to keep your eyes open and check craigslist basically daily because the good deals on them go within a couple hours. Snap On tools are hundreds more than store brand tools in the first place. People can argue all they want about how HF wrenches are just as good but there's a reason why Snap On has been an industry leader for decades and remains the preferred choice for mechanics. There's a reason why people will drop $500 on a Snap On socket set over $5 at HF. HF and store brands might not break easily, but that's not the only thing you want in a wrench.

I've bought pretty much all the store brands for home use over the years and I've gotten rid of most everything that wasn't Kobalt as far as hand and air tools go.

Older Craftsman tools are worth picking up if you can find them, the quality was a hell of a lot better than they are today and I'd use nothing but Craftsman if the quality was still there.

If you pick up a toolbox or cart go with Matco imo. Snap On boxes are better quality, but they're overkill and keep their value better than anything else out there so even 20 year old used Snap On boxes are often times more expensive. The cheaper ones at Lowe's, Sears, ect aren't that much cheaper than Matco but the quality isn't even close. I HATE my Craftsman box I have at home. It's really cheaply made, the drawers don't roll worth **** anymore, and the top doesn't like to stay open anymore. The Kobalt boxes I've looked at aren't that great either. They're not bad but they're just as expensive as Matcos boxes but lower quality and they only come in chrome now. Old Cornwell boxes are great as well, but ever since they got sold they've gone into the toilet and I wouldn't touch any of their newer stuff.

stitch702

I too use harbor freight tools. Never had a huge problem yet, although I did break one of their cheap pry bars...their breaker bar and jack have never failed me yet!!

DougyFresh

24" 1/2" drive? I call mine Bertha cause she aint pretty but she's taken a beating and keeps on holding up. I have broke Snapon, Mac, and Craftsman bars with less pressure than the HF one has taken and keeps on taking