Problems with mobil tool dealers Snap on etc.

JOCCO

Well-known Member
Kind of sad guys the service was real good. But the economy took them out. Cornwell, Mac and Snappy. If we need something we have to travel to an area that has a dealer. So far they have been real good about it and understand the situation. Just not enough business to support them and to much travel in a rural area. Was wondering if it is the same around you? I know some people claim the mobile tool business was or is a scam. But it goes to show my area is declining as we had the 3 big ones and some that sold everything even an old German that sold S&K (but he died) NOW NONE!! Also I herd that to get into it is quite an investment, with inventory and truck. The old German used to run a station wagon or van and come and go never knew what he would or would not have!! take it away
 
We see the Snap on and Cornwell guys around here. But we are in the heart of Nascar country.
 
If you bought a huge box full of tools and owe them a bunch of money they will always come to collect payment ! lol.
 
Last of it they had a separate credit plan not really just you and the driver. Yes snap on credit will (and have) come after you, bill collector etc.
 
Sounds like you're in one of those areas some of the folks here are from that hates Walmart,Sams,TSC and don't think any business should make a profit.Guess they think Snapon
should sell their top quality tools at Harbor Freight prices. Snapon man here does good I don't buy enough for him to make a stop regularly but if I need something I call and find out when he's coming to the nearby salvage yard a friend owns and I meet him there.
 
Snap On is healthy here. One dealer has 5 trucks on the road. Snap On doesn?t seem to have a problem keeping a trucks in each territory. We had a Matco dealer for a while, but he found a better opportunity, so he shut it down. We now have a Mac dealer. I tend to be a Snap On guy, but having other brands helps keep Snappy in line. You have to support the Mac or Matco dealer a bit to keep them around.
 
we still have a snap on guy. our mac guy quit and our matco guy went ufo. we are supposed to be getting a new mac guy shortly. yeah, they are expensive, but, we need a lot of specialty tools to fix cars, and they are pretty much the only source.
 
No offense to anyone intended but the older I get, The less I believe in name brands. Especially tye "Made in America" brands. There are a few and by that I literally mean a few brands that still have pride in their product. But 99% of the brands have long since been bought out and pride has taken a back seat to profit. Its all about reducing cost a nickle and then charging an extra dime. "Made in Anerica" has long since become a marketing scheme instead of a statement of origin. As far as the tool trucks go. I stay away from brand names for the above mentioned reason. I have found ACE Hardware sells tools just as good as Snap-on, Craftsman or any other name brand and they have the same lifetime warranty. Sod Buster
 
My old Snap-on guy came to my house every Thursday night. Since I moved I have to go meet him but he has been no problem with warranty items.
 
I don't buy tool truck tools so I may be asking a dumb question. Can't you just order the stuff on line like anything else?
 
We have a snap on dealer come to work every week. He is the indusrial salesman and sales a lot of service tools so he has guaranteed income that way plus we get 25% off. Ok I never have heard of cornwell is it a regional thing??
 
Are you from NC? Sounds like you are talking about Shorty that used to come to the tobacco market peddling tools from his station wagon. I have a S&K 1/4" drive set that my father bought from him back in the 60's. Lee
 
Here in northwest Iowa Snappy is alive and well. The Cornwell guy will come here if we call him or we go to his place on Saturday to make our purchases. The shed the Cornwell guy parks his truck in is like the candy store for those who like tools.
 
I got a Snap On ratchet in the stuff from my late father-in-law. It was bad. One day I saw a Snap On truck in a town just a few mile from my home. Asked hin about it. Found out where I was from, no go, could not do anything for me. Said out of his area, needed to see someone from different area. Would not tell me how to contact anybody. A few years later a friend was working where the truck stoped, he got it repaired but the person that repaired it did not think it would hold under a load so never tried to use it. Don't know if there is a tool truck (any make) in region anymore.
 

No you can't. You also are not just paying for the tool you are paying for the service of having your stuff taken care of. When you make your living with the stuff your attitudes change a lot with this. As one person pointed out you can buy just as good (no way I have used both) tools with a life time warranty at ace. But you have to go there and deal with it. If you break half as much as I do that won't work and you learn this quick. Anything else you do for a living you don't need professional grade tools. These are the reasons they cost what they do and you have to buy them from a dealer.
 
(quoted from post at 19:13:27 01/12/18)
No you can't. You also are not just paying for the tool you are paying for the service of having your stuff taken care of. When you make your living with the stuff your attitudes change a lot with this. As one person pointed out you can buy just as good (no way I have used both) tools with a life time warranty at ace. But you have to go there and deal with it. If you break half as much as I do that won't work and you learn this quick. Anything else you do for a living you don't need professional grade tools. These are the reasons they cost what they do and you have to buy them from a dealer.
When I was in tech school I had Gear Wrench tools becuase they were the lowest bid. Its funny becuase the guys who had snap-off everyone of them had to send their flaring sets back for warranty work. The bell was machined out of true on every one of them. My Lyle flaring set worked just fine out of the box though. I also learned it tech school that all of these companies have one or maybe two tools made in house. The rest are contracted out to subs, marked up and sold for big profit for the share holders.
 
And where do you get this stuff warrantied? Ace stuff is as good as Snap-on.... I don't deal with stuff smaller than a class 5 truck. Construction stuff farm stuff you name it. I hand in at least half a dozen broken tools a week. I don't have time to deal with taking that volume of stuff to a store somewhere. Plus I don't know how it works where you are at but they don't give you one off the shelf at ace they send in the claim and you get it mailed to you. If you have time for that fine but the tools are not of the same quality and they are a pain to get replaced. Snap-on comes to me. Also as far as what you learned in Tec school everything metal or metal with soft grip handle is made in Kenosha WI. The plastic crap comes from elsewhere.
 
(quoted from post at 20:18:35 01/12/18) And where do you get this stuff warrantied? Ace stuff is as good as Snap-on.... I don't deal with stuff smaller than a class 5 truck. Construction stuff farm stuff you name it. I hand in at least half a dozen broken tools a week. I don't have time to deal with taking that volume of stuff to a store somewhere. Plus I don't know how it works where you are at but they don't give you one off the shelf at ace they send in the claim and you get it mailed to you. If you have time for that fine but the tools are not of the same quality and they are a pain to get replaced. Snap-on comes to me. Also as far as what you learned in Tec school everything metal or metal with soft grip handle is made in Kenosha WI. The plastic crap comes from elsewhere.
I ve never had ACE hardware tools break. If they ever did I'd take to ACE when my project was done. I guess I've always more then one tool in a given size so if one should break, I grab another. As for the "cheap" tools. Throw them in the iron pile when they break. I can throw away whole sets of tools for what one Snap-on wrench costs and still be money ahead. Sod Buster.
 
My Dad was a Master Mechanic for most of his life. He always said that tools don't make a mechanic, the mechanic makes the tools. If you need overpriced, name brand tools to be a mechanic, then you're doing something wrong.
 
Quality and overpriced are two different things. You're also completely missing the point about the service that goes with the tools having value. as far as anyone who says they've never broken a tool of this brand or that brand means one of two things. Either I possess a whole lot more upper body strength than you or you haven't owned a tool of that brand yet.
 
(quoted from post at 21:09:12 01/12/18) Quality and overpriced are two different things. You're also completely missing the point about the service that goes with the tools having value. as far as anyone who says they've never broken a tool of this brand or that brand means one of two things. Either I possess a whole lot more upper body strength than you or you haven't owned a tool of that brand yet.
orry but I hope I read your post wrong. If your breaking half a dozen tools a week your doing something wrong. The service behind a tool means something when you can find it. But its becoming increasingly the case that if you didn't buy a tool from joe blow he don't care if its his brand or not. Me personaly I don't have a tool truck stopping in front of my garage every week so if I have to stop at the store or chase down a tool truck is realy about the same. For reasons stated by me many times not just here in this thread. I have lost almost all faith in brand names . Don't care if its hand tools, power equipment or pickups.
 
I break a lot of tools. Started with craftsman. Have moved up to mainly Snap-on. I own a little of everything. I charge 60 an hour. One of my common breakages is a 12 pt chrome 1\2 socket. Has to be chrome to get it on the strap bolts of a common type of older heavy truck ujoint. You basicly beat the thing in with a hammer so its good and seated then put an impact and hammer it for everything its worth. Its a 12 pt bolt bye the way. I have four of these sockets in my box and during a hard week I have stripped all of them. I stay busy on heavy work so I break a lot of stuff. The tool truck comes in and its taken care of. Otherwise I gotta go to town. $60 out of my day plus fuel and cost of vehicle operation. Math don't come out any way you work it. I'll break this down again. If you are in a fast paced professional shop tool truck only to go. If you're not you can't justify it. Its as simple as that. If you do what I do you would break 6ish things a week too.
 
I used and broken a lot of tools in my life. When I first joined the army the issue tools were junk. They finally started getting better quality tools around 80/81. Even then they were not the best. After I retired and worked as a mechanic I found out that my Craftsman tools did NOT stand up as well as Mac, Snap On, the older NAPA pro line, Proto or SK. Sorry but when you are working you don't have time to drop everything and drive 20 miles or more to the nearest ACE or Sears.

Rick
 
You ran in to the wrong guy. Snap On man was in shortly before I retired, screw driver drawer was open and he spotted some screwdrivers that had recalled handles, gave me about a dozen new ones handles and all, replaced an old dead blow hammer I found about 30 years ago with a new 50 some dollar hammer, replaced some sockets with peeling chrome, a wheel on 30 plus year old creeper seat and I wasn't even complaining about anything.
 
"I herd that to get into it is quite an investment, with inventory and truck. "

Good LORD, after reading this thread about all the stuff guys are proud to tear up and then expect a FREE replacement would YOU want to be the tool truck guy in their area?
 
The company pays him for his work and replaces the warranty stuff at no cost. Its corporates warranty not his.
 
No you can't. You also are not just paying for the tool you are paying for the service of having your stuff taken care of. When you make your living with the stuff your attitudes change a lot with this. As one person pointed out you can buy just as good (no way I have used both) tools with a life time warranty at ace. But you have to go there and deal with it. If you break half as much as I do that won't work and you learn this quick. Anything else you do for a living you don't need professional grade tools. These are the reasons they cost what they do and you have to buy them from a dealer.

What are you talking about? You can buy Snap-on tools online right off of their website!
 
(quoted from post at 12:22:23 01/13/18)
No you can't. You also are not just paying for the tool you are paying for the service of having your stuff taken care of. When you make your living with the stuff your attitudes change a lot with this. As one person pointed out you can buy just as good (no way I have used both) tools with a life time warranty at ace. But you have to go there and deal with it. If you break half as much as I do that won't work and you learn this quick. Anything else you do for a living you don't need professional grade tools. These are the reasons they cost what they do and you have to buy them from a dealer.

What are you talking about? You can buy Snap-on tools online right off of their website!


I honesty did not know that. You didn't used to be able to. If the truck doesn't come and take care of stuff I don't feel like its worth the money so I never looked Into it. I've gotten a lot out of a pawn shop and eBay over the years but never tried that.
 
Well guys buy your name brand tools if that brings you happiness in life. Who am I to judge. Personaly I'll buy the best deal for the money, then take the money I save and buy other toys. Of course you could say the tools themselves are the toys and then I don't know what to say. Sod Buster.
 
If you want the best buy for the money you're going to be buying a new Snap-on set this week lol sodbuster I gotta ask you how long you been doing this? One minute you are talking about Tec school like it was yesterday the next you would like you've been around forever. It gets confusing.
 
(quoted from post at 06:06:24 01/13/18) If you want the best buy for the money you're going to be buying a new Snap-on set this week lol sodbuster I gotta ask you how long you been doing this? One minute you are talking about Tec school like it was yesterday the next you would like you've been around forever. It gets confusing.
I got to ask do you buy the Snap-on just because its Snap-on? No judgment if you do. I know a guy who is obsessed with Stihl. Goes out and buys everything he can find that says Stihl on it. It makes him happy. Just like you buying Snap-on makes you happy. Like I said that no judgement on you. (Or him) Buy what makes you happy. But just don't try to convince me how it is so much better. Life has taught me alot about brand names and I'm still learning. Sod Buster
 
Sorry missed your question... I've been tinkering on stuff my whole life. Out of tech school I got offered a non-mechanic job that paid double what I would have made as a mechanic for half as much work. Would have been stupid for me to turn it down. I guess if I charged $60/hour I could write off expensive tools too. I've been there, bought the most expensive there was not because I needed it but because it made a good write off.
 
Did you see the lol? It was a poor attempt at humor. And no I don't have a lot of brand loyalty as it were I have some Mac and some s and k and craftsman. I also have some cheap stuff depending on my needs. No company is perfect. Mac makes a better power steering puller in my opinion. By real big wrenches were made in chine because I can't justify replacing. Oldtanker and me would probably get a long fine. He has a good brand list an we both did a hitch in the army.
 
(quoted from post at 06:36:09 01/13/18) Did you see the lol? It was a poor attempt at humor. And no I don't have a lot of brand loyalty as it were I have some Mac and some s and k and craftsman. I also have some cheap stuff depending on my needs. No company is perfect. Mac makes a better power steering puller in my opinion. By real big wrenches were made in chine because I can't justify replacing. Oldtanker and me would probably get a long fine. He has a good brand list an we both did a hitch in the army.
You could have fooled me on the brand loyalty.
 
No my point wasn't about Snap-on my point was a need for a professional grade tool with a weekly service that goes with it for a professional mechanic was my point. If you just tinker or shade tree or whatever you can't justify the expense for the stuff I buy. When you make a living with it in my opinion you can't afford not to. Snap-on comes up wiith me a lot because its the only vendor of that description in the area. I'm still curious how long its been since Tec school.
 
(quoted from post at 07:51:51 01/13/18) No my point wasn't about Snap-on my point was a need for a professional grade tool with a weekly service that goes with it for a professional mechanic was my point. If you just tinker or shade tree or whatever you can't justify the expense for the stuff I buy. When you make a living with it in my opinion you can't afford not to. Snap-on comes up wiith me a lot because its the only vendor of that description in the area. I'm still curious how long its been since Tec school.
2011.
 
I have not seen a tool truck in this area in years and years. This is a small rural area. We are down to just having a Chevy dealer. All other dealers are closed.

My dad is a retired diesel tech. He has never owned any tools that came off a truck. He used SK tools. The mom and pop hardware store was a dealer. They did the warranty the few times dad broke something. Later when all the SK dealers disappeared. Dad bought mostly Thorsen tools. They held up well.

I know two techs at the Chevy dealer. They buy NAPA and Carquest tools because that is all that's available here.
 

I have not seen a Cornwell truck in Oklahoma in decades!

Mac and Snap-On trucks come to my shop weekly...I use lots of the pricy tools. Matco truck comes to my local town and I've bought lots of Matco tools over the years. If I break something Matco I just send it with my son as he buys Matco tools and gets my broken stuff warrantied. I broke a Snap-On 1/2" breakover last Thursday...next Monday the Snap-On man(Frank) will give me a brand new one

I buy cheap tools on occasion too...and just yesterday turned a cheap Taiwan 15mm combo wrench into a John Deere 6405 starter wrench. Heated and bent...ground thin...and cut-off the open end. I would've hated to do that to a Snap-On or Mac wrench...
 
(quoted from post at 07:51:51 01/13/18) No my point wasn't about Snap-on my point was a need for a professional grade tool with a weekly service that goes with it for a professional mechanic was my point. If you just tinker or shade tree or whatever you can't justify the expense for the stuff I buy. When you make a living with it in my opinion you can't afford not to. Snap-on comes up wiith me a lot because its the only vendor of that description in the area. I'm still curious how long its been since Tec school.
2011.
 
I agree with much of what you say.

I'm a bit bothered by the 1/2 inch socket breakage tho. It seems that you are mis using the tool to be breaking it that much. The driveline
manufacturer should be supplying a special tool that can stand up to the work if they are going to make such a situation. And replace broken
ones on their dime, because of their design.

Not really right that all is tool buyers need to support this type of tool misuse and breakage. Warranty claims are of course passed on to
everyone in higher prices over time, and so it affects everyone when you do this.

Not picking on you, just you provided an example of a bad situation.

Paul
 
Around here, drivers only service places
of business, I wanted to purchase a
new torque wrench, I was told I would
have to purchase online, So I just rented
It from auto parts store, Also same for
warranty, have to get prior and ship it,,
The thing is that I am retired , and don?t
understand why corporate policy keeps
me out of the circle , like getting on the
truck , seeing all the new stuff, trading
in and upgrading tools .
 
Kind of a neat business model: Busy shop with a lot of motivated techs cranking out the work, tool truck rolls up and has exactly the right tool to get someone on to the next job. Like a chorus of angels singing. Never turned wrenches for a living, but have been stuck on a project and burned up a lot of time getting the right tool to complete it. Would like to look outside my workshop window and see a truck like that at times.
 

If you wrench for a living you will ware tools out now do you want to buy them over again that's were Snap-on and MAC shine if you don't misplace it you buy it one time... 99.9% of the time no questions asked.

Noting will hold up used daily as good as Snap-on or Mac, SK is not in the same ballpark. A few SK tools will run with them but not all of them...

I own quite a few SK tools it was a bad dissension on my part they are worn out and hard to get repaired/replaced... The price difference and warranty was inviting at the time... They get replaced with Snap-on what I should have brought the first time.

As for breaking a 12 pt socket in a tight place that's the way it is it is probably the only tool that will get in there and get the fastener out. I have broke more chrome 5/16 12 point sockets than the law allows most of the time its the only tool that will get on the fastener. I try my best to use impacts when all possible sometimes its not possible...
 
If he could not have handled it due to assigned areas I thought he should have at least been able to tell me who had the area I needed to go to. Was just rude. That was my problem. I don't need those certain brand tools. Just thought that since I had it would have been nice to have working.
 
Got lots of Snap on and SK wrenches at a yard sale for a buck each. Most were never used. Guy having the sale worked at an US Army Base. They tossed all them in the trash as they were getting new. Thanks taxpayers.
 
when i worked as farm machinery setup man i started with craftman tools when setting up plows dices ect that took lots of tight nuts on big bolts at the end of day i would have sore hands due to rough finish of wrenches,
snap on man one day said Virgil try a set of snap on wrenches if you don't like them when i come back next week you can pay me or i will take them back no questions asked take was 40+ years ago i still have the snap on wrenchs
 
(quoted from post at 08:01:59 01/14/18) Got lots of Snap on and SK wrenches at a yard sale for a buck each. Most were never used. Guy having the sale worked at an US Army Base. They tossed all them in the trash as they were getting new. Thanks taxpayers.

You probably got a lot of 5/8. 11 /16 and 13/16 open box/open end
 
Back when I was in the USMC, I worked part of the time in the "Tool Room" of a Helicopter Squadron. We had all kinds of "cheap" tools - Blackhawk, Lobster, Echo, and a dozen other brands you've never heard of. At one point, everyone was complaining about them. Everyone wanted Snap-OFF tools. It took us a couple months, but we finally got the OK from higher up. We would be on a "6 month trial basis" with Snap-OFF.
We got our new, high priced tools (same sizes and ranges as the old stuff), and put the mixed bag stuff into storage.
It wasn't long before we RAN OUT of common Snap-OFF tools while we waited on the truck to come back. We went from breaking 3-4 tools a week with the old stuff, to 5-6 a DAY with Snap-OFF.
Needless to say, the Snap-OFF experiment didn't last the full 6 months.....
The only thing good about them is the warranty, because you will need it.
I still have a couple of Snap-OFF tools left from that debacle....Started out with a full set of wrenches (1/4" to 1 1/2"). I think the only ones I have left are the 3/8" and the 1/2". Everything else has either stripped out or broken. I have 2 sets of the "mixed bag" tools from the same era - I've only broken a couple of them over the same time. I haven't used the last two Snap-OFF's for years, for fear they will break. Harbor Frieght tools last longer, and hold up better than Snap-OFF, and at 1/4 the price, or less.
That's just my experience....
 
Around here, if you chase down the truck at their next stop, they are happy to do business with you no matter who you are.
 
He wasn't doing anything wrong, he was working, even department store junk lasts a long time hanging on a nail in your garage wall. When I started that game I had mostly Craftsman tools, good thing Sears was on the way home from work because I always had a bunch of busted tools. Haven't busted anything since I retired but haven't done anything either. And have you even looked in a tool truck catalog? , there's a lot more than vice grips and crescent wrenches. They have specialty tools for just about everything.
 

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