Is the hype/price over tool-truck brands justified?

[Mick Annick]

Really ? Why ?

I've used a couple of places round here, take a month or so but no quibbling.

€1 that's a litre of milk in Super U.

No idea, I’ve not had to try the service yet as I only have a few Facom tools.

 

[premmington]

Most of my work tools are snap on and jolly good they are to, most of my home tools are the cheapest money can buy, spanner on spanner/hammer to ratchets and all still working, though life span in a real workshop would show their flaws pdq.

I really like Snap On, but the last few years their prices are just mad.

I don't buy anything really now when the van comes round. It is just too much money now....

 

[bricol]

I'm still not convinced that people don't buy Snap-On just to say I've got Snap-On.

Very rarely finder fitters, service engineers, in my industry using it. Most of them, including UK only, seem to use Craftsman tools (from when they all proclaimed "made in USA") obtained via our travelling guys.

 

[Bullet2012]

it may be slightly more to buy from the van with all the shiny tools, but when the transit driving caravan dwelling magpies borrow your entire tool collection. Believe me the fact that the person driving the the white tool van with red writing on the side can provide a full account of (almost) every tool you have purchased makes life a lot easier to deal with the insurance sharks.

 

[Brad93]

Koken are very nice ratchets and reasonably priced

 

[Robotstar5]

Koken are very nice ratchets and reasonably priced

I have a set of their sockets, they are nice.

 

[Brad93]

I have a set of their sockets, they are nice.

@Arclikeharrypotter showed me some of the bits he picked up and it's all top gear. The allen hex sockets are very nice.

 

[daleyd]

I’ve got a fair bit of facom gear, pretty much all of it the made in France stuff from many years ago, I think it’s up there with the best to be honest. I’ve got a palm control 1/2 ratchet that’s been well abused and still as smooth as the day I got it. Their ogv spanner’s are very nice as well. Haven’t bought much of their stuff recently so can’t really comment on the new stuff.

We used to supply equipment to MAN printing and they used to supply Hazet socket sets and general tools when they sold a printing press - very nice gear but pricey. Gedore, King Dick for spanner’s are good, pliers etc generally knipex and wera or Wiha for screwdrivers. Bahco are generally decent too. It’s also hard to look past Halfords for socket sets etc - I’ve seen quite a few used in industry on a daily basis and they’ve stood up well. I’ve got a Halfords 3/8 and a 1/4 set but I’ve not used them much so can’t comment on its robustness but it seems decent enough. Their flex head ratchet spanner’s have been very good, and they have been used and abused lots.

I’ve never had (or wanted) much snap on stuff, to be honest I haven’t seen much of it in my 30 years of working in various industries, to me it seems very much aimed at motor trade.

 

[m_c]

This makes a lot of sense, with their "industrial" offerings filling a gap for businesses which are too small to have a dedicated technical team/fitting shop/service contract, but big enough that penny pinching on tools to fix an immediate problem would be false economy.

I find Snap-on industrial quite interesting.
They'll guarantee a tool will run x hours/days, then it gets replaced (either with new, or refurbed).
Cost per tool is usually far cheaper than their retail offerings, but warranty ends the moment replacement is due.

 

[hotponyshoes]

The visiting vans normally provide free training and updates as well.

A lot of the money spent on vans now is on digital products.

I'd look at a hand-held diagnostic scanner on the van at £5k and think 'no way'
I know I could buy a Chinese thing for £500 that would work just as well.

But, then all my cars are over 5yrs old. And I'd be happy enough to spend hours sat in the drivers seat figuring out how to use the machine on that car.

If you are paying techs by the hour it probably makes good financial sense to buy the expensive version and get the tech guy provided free of charge to give the guys one-on-one tuition. Plus that guy leaves his mobile number there for support.

If you get a brand new car drive into your workshop and the tool doesn't recognise the fault code you just ring the snap-on guy and they provide some specialist support to sort it out. And they are quick at doing it as well.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Plus,
I know the reputation of mechanics in back-street garages, but there are also plenty of guys I know that are far more than wrench monkeys.
Not to mention the amount of bigger places that have multi-million £ turnovers and provide excellent working conditions.

Surely they can't all be stupid enough to just buy shiny stuff because it's pushed into their faces.

These vans & brands must be doing & providing something that the customers believe offers value for money otherwise they would all be out of business by now..

 

[Kayos]

I have some Snap On gear but after a van in the area I was living refused a warranty claim on a 1/4 ratchet I never spent another penny. I got the ratchet replaced after serious hassle

Can I see the benefit to those that use day in, day out? Yes and it comes down to perceived value as well. If you see the value they are worth it to you.

Most recent tool I bought was a 5mm Allan wrench, needed to be high quality so I bought a quality one

While I wouldnt buy these days, when I was on the tools I didn't even blink at £2.5k on Makita gear, £900 for an analyser, £2k for a thermal camera etc

Now I'm doing more surveys I've ordered a Leica laser distance measurer

 

[daleyd]

Plus,
I know the reputation of mechanics in back-street garages, but there are also plenty of guys I know that are far more than wrench monkeys.
Not to mention the amount of bigger places that have multi-million £ turnovers and provide excellent working conditions.

Surely they can't all be stupid enough to just buy shiny stuff because it's pushed into their faces.

These vans & brands must be doing & providing something that the customers believe offers value for money otherwise they would all be out of business by now..

I guess that’s the difference for people in general industry - snap on doesn’t add any value - though I can see it does if your in the motor trade, to me they are simply a provider of tools. They might be high quality, but I can get the same (or better) quality from other places for less money.

 

[arther dailey]

have a few second hand snap on, favorites are what they refer to as air craft spanners , basically very long straight rings , they have got me out of trouble many times with stuck nuts/bolts even though they are 12 point! well worth what I paid for them.(the guy had the reciept as he had bought from the van) .

 

[m_c]

The visiting vans normally provide free training and updates as well.

A lot of the money spent on vans now is on digital products.

I'd look at a hand-held diagnostic scanner on the van at £5k and think 'no way'
I know I could buy a Chinese thing for £500 that would work just as well.

But, then all my cars are over 5yrs old. And I'd be happy enough to spend hours sat in the drivers seat figuring out how to use the machine on that car.

If you are paying techs by the hour it probably makes good financial sense to buy the expensive version and get the tech guy provided free of charge to give the guys one-on-one tuition. Plus that guy leaves his mobile number there for support.

If you get a brand new car drive into your workshop and the tool doesn't recognise the fault code you just ring the snap-on guy and they provide some specialist support to sort it out. And they are quick at doing it as well.

I've never found Snap-On diag kit that great, with it more aimed at service guys.
Snap-On claims lots of things, but I've worked on plenty vehicles which they've not covered, or didn't have full functionality.

For proper diagnostic work, I always found Delphi better with better coverage (which is actually a customised version of Autocom, and available through various suppliers in different colours), and it costs a lot less.

The big benefit of Snap-On, is you can buy or rent their diag kit for X amount per month with very few questions, whereas the other options usually involve paying up front, or taking out a full finance agreement.

 

[MetalMonkey]

Koken are very nice ratchets and reasonably priced

All of their stuff is excellent IME.
The extensions are a joy to use, the sockets impeccably finished, never been disappointed with anything yet - although I wish they had the 72 tooth ratchets out when I bought mine. Backdrag is amazing.
The only thing I don't like the look of is their screwdrivers which seem to use a cheap generic handle which doesn't appeal to me at all.
Not cheap tools, but not excessively expensive for what you get - or at least it wasn't when I purchased it.

 

[Robbie260]

Snapon is probably a connivence thing for me and they are nice tools, I ring the guy and the van meets me where it suits me, when I started out the finance offer I got from them was just as good as a personal loan from the bank 6.5% or such which meant I could fill the gaps I had easily. Then you can also pay your account weekly without having to take out a loan too so that makes it even easier and there is no interest on that.

Honestly waste of money in many ways Halfords advanced is just as good for a lot of things but Halfords is miles away and I like to buy tools in person. Snapon and Mac do do odd ball stuff that makes your life sometimes 1000% easier ie not having to strip half the car apart to get to something. Probably would use more Halfords tools if I didn’t have as secure a vehicle to keep them in. Would have more Halfords stuff if I lived in a city with one for sure.

Many tools are better than Snapon so just the luck of the draw and convenience really. Often if I need something I need it now not 3 weeks plus customs later and the tool can offers that.


Tools in heavy industry are just **** I have found as they are company supplied not individual the cheapest of the cheap and just bloody awful to use always breaking, fit/finish is appalling but they get lost, dropped overboard, cut up bent etc etc so they are fit for purpose. Always use to take a tool bag of nice good stuff with me that covered my daily needs. Though it’s also worth noting how much can be done in heavy industry with just very basic tools and nothing else there aren’t the issues of special fasteners or awkward spaces to get into.

 

[roofman]

I get all the high end tool snobbery that they attract but i will say of all the scars and smashed knuckles on my old mits not one has been caused by a Snap-on or MAC tool letting go, I will not have cheap bendy or shatter tools in my chests for this reason. Tool bags in the vans or on the road then its anything that's going that will get the job done. Talking of cheap tools, has anyone come across the ball pein type hammers that you find at auto jumbles etc..well do not buy one as they shatter tiny shards of metal if used on something hard, now that's scarey

 

[northwest]

I really like Snap On, but the last few years their prices are just mad.

Ain't that the truth, I cannot get off the Snap-on van for less than £200 though my guy lets me know when the deals are coming up.
As for my own personal tools I have only PB Swiss for all my screwdrivers and Allen drivers, lovely tools.
I like NEPros rachets though I have a fair few SnapOn, especially quarter drive. I have very few half inch drive stuff ad most of that is early Britool. I am done now buying tools, I have more than I would ever use and duplicates of most of them so I think it is time for me to start the flow out the door rather than in. I would like a set of Wera Joker ratchet spanners though.

 

[Mick Annick]

I have some decent Elora spanner’s from my early motorcycle fettling in my teens, but got swept up into the Snap-On buying thing as soon as i became and apprentice. I still have all of my tools from those days, which apart from a bit of surface rust from neglect during the forty or so years I wasn’t earning my living with them they’re all fine.

Snap-On don’t appear to sell in France, but the odd hand tolls I’ve needed of late have been Facom, PB Swiss or Hazet.

I’d not hesitate to buy Snap-On again if needed, and finances allowed.