Hand Tools, Home Depot Sucks!

atblis

New Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2006
Location
SW VA
Well, kinda pissed off. I bought a set of torq sockets from Home Depot, and the T45 broke. Well, I figured with the lifetime waranty thing, take it in, get a new one. Wrong!!! I now have to wait two weeks for my new one to be shipped to me.

Who else does this? Because I won't be buying from them.

Wish I knew that before I bought it. Gave the manager hell about that one, and pointed out that I've never had this problem with Sears, or Lowes. BTW, their stuff is made by Stanley. Last set of Stanley tools I bought were so bad they weren't even functional out of the box (the ratchets).
 
Stop buying mickey mouse tools and you wont have that problem. At least sears or lowes you can exchange right there. Call the strap-on truck and get a real set of tools.
 
Yeah Ive kinda got 2 extremes these days.

For heavy use stuff I am going Snap-On,Mac, Craftsman (the quality stuff)

Otherwise I am going straight to HF. Yeah yo would have still broke the HF piece, but it would have cost 1/3 the original price and they would have smiled and tried to give you a a shitty yard windmill to take with your replacement
 
Cperry said:
buying mechanic tools at a home improvement store....well need i say more
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Imagine buying lumber off the Snap-On truck ? OUCH !
 
How did you break it?

Torx bits are very easy to break because of the thin teeth. IMO they shouldn't be used where a lot of torque is needed. You have topress down hard to ensure the teeth are locked in snug before/while turning. If the head of the bolt is worn down, you might be better off removing the bolt in another fashion, because I just about promise you will break or round off your torx bit.

I've rarely had/seen a problem with a tool that wasn't the users fault. It does happen but not often( I have seen a lot of Proto ratchets break though..). I agree that the warranty still sucks though... Last I remember their warranty was like Sears.... That sucks.

The Mac/Snap On/Matco stuff is nice, but it's insanely overpriced. There are a few Snap On things I own though. I've seen their ratchets break just like Craftsman ratchets break. If the Snap On truck guy thinks you've abused it they may not give you credit for it.... Up to their discretion.

J.H. Williams makes Industrial tools that are stout as hell. They're not cheap, but less than Snap On. The only place I know of that sells them is http://www.protradetools.com/
 
i broke several torx on a particularly stubborn bolt and ended up buying an ampro one from autozone or advanced (can't remember which) and it worked great. it has a lifetime warranty which i thought i'd be using but it held up perfectly and got the bolt out. i was impressed as i was putting some serious hurting on it.
 
Torx Bits

If you wanna buy em' cheap, then get 2 sets...so you got a spare, just like 4x4 parts...hello..!!

Goes back to Customer Service...You may have to pay a little more initially, but then if you got a problem with tools & parts...Bingo you got some more options...ie total replacement,
warranty, advice, etc.

My local carquest replace my torx bits several times...no questions. Also some Penetrating Oil & Overnite time helps tremendously.

Just my $.02, not trying to bust any chops...Do want you want

Later :driver:
 
My Snap-on dealer never questions a broken tool... He just smiles, and hands me a new one... I have broken at least 20 #3 Screwdriver bits on a 3/8 Drive in the last year... Always using an impact, and he knows it... He just hands me another one... Sears kinda sucks, because if you bought a socket set, and just brake a single socket that they don't keep in stock, you have to return the whole set, or send of the broken socket and wait 2 weeks... Home Depot is worse, but they do exchange my broken ratchet wrenches in-store...
 
Re: the warranty from HD - keep in mind that the store and the brand of Torx you bought are 2 different entities. This is why HD cannot just replace any broken part; it dosn't belong to them.
Searss replaces Craftsman tools b/c they own the product line; same w/ Lowe's (can't recall name....). If it had been a Ridgid part, then they probably would have taken it.
 
I am a manager at the lowes in apex and the Kobalt tools we sell have a limited life time warranty. I see tools come back all the time. Only catch is that we would "rather" have a receipt. We know that you might lose them and if you do you will get a merchandise credit card. I havent had any problem with them and most times they are abused.

Matt
 
I tend to stick to mac, i have a truck account, no interest. I am not a mechanic, so i don't "need" the tools so i don't buy alot at one time. Try to keep my purchases around $300-500 at a time and pay him $40 -60 a week. When the balance reaches zero, i buy again. This has let me acquire quite a few quality tools and i don't really miss the 40 or so a week. And when they break, he doesn't argue, just swaps it out.
 
Cperry said:
i am pretty sure kobalt is manaufactured with by snap on, i do have a kobalt 3/8 ratchet been holding strong for 3 years now.
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IIRC they were made by williams-who was purchased by snap on. I don't know who makes it now, their quality is much lower now than it used to be. Same with the husky stuff from HD, it is made by stanly-mostly in china.
 
my harbor freight tools rock...... cheap, don't break often, and did i mention they're cheap?

-Erik <--- ex-lowe's employee and still would rather have kobalt than husky
 
Good to know

I see tools come back all the time. Only catch is that we would "rather" have a receipt. We know that you might lose them and if you do you will get a merchandise credit card. I havent had any problem with them and most times they are abused.
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That's good to know, I was considering buying some Kobalt tools. Looks like I'll stick with Craftsman. I don't understand though, you give me a merchandise card for the equivalent of the tool? Why don't I just go buy the same tool again?
 
Anyone annoyed by the fact that craftsman ratchets have a "catch" so they release under a certain amount of torque so that they last longer? I know Newman does after he smashed his face into the side of my jeep last time. :popcorn:

-- Reed
 
Craftsman has become really crappy. I have a broken 1/2x9/16 combo box end that I went to replace, and kept because the older one had concentric holes and thinner walls. The new one had spots in the wall that were thinner because the hole was off center. I haven't bought a crapsman since.

OTOH, I have been rather pleased with the Kobalt stuff from Lowes. The Husky from HD is too similar to Craftsman.
 
So

The Husky Torqs actually acquitted itself rather well. It didn't strip, it actually broke on the shank. It lasted much longer than the Craftsman one.
 
I make my living fixing imports. The gremans love allens and torx. Snap-on is the best for these. the tools are stronger and made to fit, never loose. The snap-on dealer that comes to our shop has never refused to replace a broken tool. Some tools do not matter, a hammer, prybar. But if it can stipout, go with the good stuff. I will never use a Craftsman Line wrench again, but most of my ratches are craftsman. some still working after 20 years.
 
We have a full set of Kobalt tools in our shop, and we have had great luck with them. We rarely break them, but when we have, they've exchanged them - no questions asked. I've got a few Husky tools as well but they're in my truck toolbox and don't see nearly the use and abuse of the shop tools.

- Mac
 
I have better tools for the house but use a lot of the HD stuff for the truck and blazer tool bags, if they get gone ,broke, lost, or need to use as welding steel I can but the few times I did have a problem I went in and they gave me a new on one on the spot. Maybe its all in the way you treat them and they treat you back or you just got some one that was hard to work with. Its not like they really cost much anyway, just pick up a new one and you will have an extra if that is the way the do it. That is the good thing about keeping 3-4 full sets of tools.
Jon
 
Cperry said:
i am pretty sure kobalt is manaufactured with by snap on, i do have a kobalt 3/8 ratchet been holding strong for 3 years now.
Click to expand...

Owned by the same company...Completely different manufacturing. Kinda like Mercedes and Jeep are owned by the same company...:rolleyes:
 
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