adamlambs

So for the past couple years now iv been wrenching on my various cars using my fathers tools or friends tools, and iv been thinking that i should pick myself up a little starter set so i don't have to worry about breaking someone else's stuff. Now im just a broke 20 something so matco, snap on, mac, or sk are pretty far out of my range. Im looking more along the lines of craftsman, kobalt, or husky tool sets. Iv always used a lot of craftsman but these were older craftsman my father owns and iv heard the newer stuff is going down hill quick. Anyway, just trying to get some opinions on what you guys use and like.

Thanks

Gary Briggs

Hope depot and Lowes have some pretty sweet deals on mechanics tool sets on Black Friday, I bought both my nephews 200+ mechanics tool sets for Christmas last year. I have had good results with Husky tools at work, Home Depots are more common than sears so it's easy to get things replaced. Not once have they ever hassled me about a warranty replacement.

I would also check Craigslist, I've scored quality tools for pennies on the dollar of off craigslist.

kgm

What he said ^^

I picked this up and it seems to always be on sale:

http://www.sears.com/250-pc-mechanic...p-00938250000P

It's a pretty shoddy plastic case but it works well as far as the actual tooling goes. The only thing it's missing really is 6 point 1/2" sockets, probably due to a higher warranty cost if they included those. I use impact sockets for the big hard stuff like that anyway, so I have most of those already. IE 17/18/19/21/22/36mm sockets.

I snap Craftsman, Matco, Snapon tools at work all the time and I just work on bicycles. Everything breaks. It's the warranty that matters these days.

XJwonders

Indeed. Any brand should work as long as they have life time warranty. It's much easier those days

extrashaky

I personally think the Home Depot Husky tools are crap. The build quality and materials are just not high quality. They are about on par with Harbor Freight.

Craftsman are much better, but they aren't what they used to be. The big problem with Craftsman is that they're priced higher than their quality justifies. With those, you're paying for the name and the return policy.

I have been very pleased with the Lowe's house brand, Kobalt. They were originally made by the same company that makes Snap On. Now they're manufactured by a different company, but the quality doesn't appear to have suffered. I really hate Lowe's as a store because of their poor customer service, but I'll grudgingly shop there for Kobalt tools.

If you shop at Lowe's, make sure you're getting the Kobalt tools and not that Blue Hawk or Task Force garbage. That stuff is made to compete with the cheap Husky junk at Home Depot, and it's a waste of money. If you're willing to accept that lower level of quality, you might as well buy it at Harbor Freight and pay a lot less for it.

So here's how to get a good deal on Kobalt tools:

Move. Or at least pretend you're moving. You can request the Lowe's Moving Coupon for 10% off up to $5000. It takes some time for them to process the request and send your coupon, but if you plan ahead you can get a good deal.

Lowe's always runs pretty good deals on tool kits on Black Friday. They will usually have some Kobalt kits in the mix, and those large kits are a good way to get a lot of tools all at once at a discount.

Lowe's also always runs doorbusters all through the holiday season. They usually include a few of their big mechanic's kits in these sales. I got a 200-piece kit last year for about half its regular price, and those tools have been outstanding. So if you don't score on Black Friday, check back closer to Christmas.

If you're finding yourself priced out of a decent tool kit at new prices, I would also suggest going to estate sales and checking Craigslist. Occasionally you will find an estate sale where some old guy collected tools for years and took fantastic care of them, and they will be priced to move.

This is hit and miss, but depending on the area, you can sometimes get good deals at pawn shops. Usually the pawn shop prices are going to be too high. But about an hour from my house is a mega-pawn shop in an area populated by a lot of oilfield guys who sell off all their tools when they leave town. Their tool inventory is massive. They price them high, but because they have such a huge inventory the tools always seem to be on sale. They'll also negotiate just to get the stuff out of their shop. So check around and see if you have any large non-chain pawn shops that might have some decent prices.

Fred/N0AZZ

Another good place to shop for quality tools with lifetime warranties are at Pawn Shops Snap-On, Mac, and all the biggies can be found there either as singles or sets even Craftsman. Know the going price before hand so you can shop smart.

XJlimitedx99

Another vote for kobalt. I picked up a socket set and torque wrench from lowes and have nothing but good things to say about them. I also bought a craftsman tool chest full of random old tools on Craigslist. That definitely got my tool count up.

Edit: also for good tool related info check out the garagejournal.com forums

extrashaky

It's hard to know a lot of tool prices if you haven't already bought those tools. I usually take my smartphone in with me whenever I'm shopping (for anything, not just tools) and look up prices when I want to see if it's a good deal. Usually just the model number of the item is enough to get me started.

Another thing I'll mention in favor of Kobalt: They have gone to great effort to package the tools in smart ways. I have a couple of Craftsman kits with really great tools, but the damned things won't stay put in their individual slots in the cases. The Kobalt cases are just as high quality as the tools, and that helps keep tools from getting lost. My Craftsman kits are such a horrible mess that when I'm done with a job I have to completely reassemble everything before I can be sure I haven't lost a socket.

XJ-92

I buy all my craftsman sets online through sears, craftsman, ace hardware. Because it's always half the price online. I usually buy it and then go pick it up the same day at the store. To return craftsman you don't need a sears. You can go to any place that sells craftsman and they will swap it out.

I'd said go with whatever set you feel is priced right for your needs.

Snap on, Matco and all those big companies. They make all their sockets, wrenches and stuff like that to fail to help prevent over tightening or snapping bolts.

Gary Briggs

I disagree with extrashaky with regards to huskies quality, it may not be as good as craftsman but it's leaps and bounds better than harbor freight. I have a Home Depot card through my work to purchase tools for the job, the nature of our work leads us to abuse tools for the sake of getting the job done. The only tool that has failed so far was a 1/2" ratchet with a 4' cheater bar on it.

Husky and every other tool listed hear will hold up just fine to the abuse of an average shade tree mechanic.

motorcharge

Anything Craftsman anymore is absolute garbage. Even their made in the US stuff is terrible and the warranty isn't even worth it anymore. I wouldn't count on it anyway as Sears isn't going to exist before long anyway, they just shut down a ton of more stores.

Husky stuff is ok, but it feels cheap and I'm not a big fan.

I've got all Kobalt wrenches and sockets at home and it's just as good as my Snap On stuff at work and carries a better warranty (on the socket sets anyway). I've yet to break any of their sockets, wrenches, or air tools. Can't speak for their other stuff like screwdrivers, tool boxes, ect. I know the sockets and wrenches are made by the same company making Matco's tools right now. Used to be the same as Snap On's Blue Point but that's been a couple years since they changed manufacturers. Blue Point is worth looking at as well, pretty near the same quality but much cheaper than the actual Snap On branded stuff.

As for stuff like jacks, jackstands, ect, stuff without a lot of moving parts Harbor Freight is fine. Even their wrenches and sockets and stuff are better than what Craftsman carries anymore.

Fred/N0AZZ

Total BS about Snap-On and Mac tools easy to see you have never owned them. I have for over 40 yrs. tools and their tool box's as well with todays prices I would guess in all 4 box's about 40-50k in hand tools alone.

Don't try to tell these kids crap like that and hope no one who knows will see your post. Why do you think all the Pro's use these tools because the break so easy?

Gary Briggs

I agree with Fred, snap on tools are great. However, considering the cost I fail to see how anyone other than a professional mechanic can justify the 5-10 fold investment versus other lines of tools.

I do work with tools everyday and I can't justify it.

Pretty much anything better than Harbor Freight will last a very long time if cared for and used correctly.

dmill89

^This, up until a couple years ago Craftsman was good stuff at a decent price now it is pretty much garbage. Last time I went to Sears for tools (about a year ago, and it was the LAST TIME I will ever go to Sears for tools), I needed some sockets and found that they are all stamped "Made in China" now (and they cost the same as the US Made stuff did), if I want cheap crap from China I'll go to Harbor-Freight where at least it is priced accordingly (not to mention that Harbor-Freight will likely still be around to honor the "Lifetime-Warranty", most analysts give Sears 5 more years at most).

adamlambs

The more i read the more im leaning towards kobalt, the 227-piece set to be specific. i never really thought about the slow demise of sears, but that is a good point. Im also on the look out for used tools, maybe i can pick up some snap on or matco tools for cheap on craigslist or at least find some blue points.