hey gang.
I'm looking for some advice/experience on tool set brands. Parents asked me what I want for Christmas and I would like to get a nice, complete set of mechanic tools. What I have at the house now is mostly borrowed and hardly complete. So what's a good brand, kind of on the nice side? I'm looking for a complete socket and wrench set plus drive tools. Not sure how many pieces that usually is...but I'm guessing my range is $500-1000. Thanks

 

i juss recently got a set of snap-on tools. i believe everyone thinks that snap-on is the best. i love my tools. i used to use craftsman tools but it kept breaking. its up to you actually. i got mine at a discounted price. $2200 for a 229 piece set. craftsman is way way way way cheaper. they both have lifetime warranty also. if your serious about tools then get snap-on but it will cost you a pretty penny!

 

What are you going to do is the bottom line.

A. Use your tools for work?
B. Use your tools for fun?

A. Want excellent quality?
B. Want decent quality?

A. Warrenty
B. LIFETIME Warrenty

A. = Snap On
B. = Craftsman

I have craftsman but cause they are innexpensive, get the job done, and if they break you go to sears and get a new one no hassle. If i was gonig to use tools to make my money then snap on all the way.

All the mechanics at UPS (at least in my building) use snap-on tools in craftsman tool boxs...

 

snap on is def the best, the service dept at all the toyota dealerships my co. owns uses snap on. but for myself, the no hassle craftsman warranty works just as well. I would imagine home depot warranties their tools in a similar manner, but I can't say for sure. I do know that the warranty on their plants is excellent as I tend to exchange the plants I kill "accidentally" every 6 mo with no questions asked. all the chicks I bring home think I must be really good with plants

 

try harbour freight tools if your on a budget

 

thx for replies
Well I'm not really on a budget since I'm not paying for it so I'd prefer to pick up better quality. But my tools definitely aren't my livelihood, so this would be for 'fun' more than work. I'm just tired of digging around in my cabinet every time I'm looking for a 10mm socket and the 1/2 to 1/4 converter (since I don't have a 1/4 ratchet even). I checked out Craftsmans; I could get a hell of a lot of tools for 1k lol. Snap On...not so much Though their stuff looks VERY nice.
I might go the Snap On route and start with a small, bare-bone ratchet and drive set. That way I could start an ongoing collection like women do with China and stuff hehe. Either way I need a storage cabinet for them also.

I was thinking something like this set maybe:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....8&group_ID=103

Then add some drive bits. Oh, btw..is there a better place to shop for the gear? Hopefully a reputable seller with lower prices

 

I've never had trouble with Sears-Craftsman tools. They are cast and polished. Easy to find as your local Sears store. You can get both 3/8" and 1/2" drive socket sets because of the lower cost.
Snap-on are forged and polished They are beautiful but probably overkill for the average mechanic. [imho]

 

Snap-on makes great tools, prices are really high, that's because they extend credit to just about anybody. Craftsman makes a better looking line of tools than their regular stuff, they call them "full polish" and they look pretty good. I have always used craftsman, the only time I have broken anything is because I was abusing it, they still replaced it , no questions asked. If you still want snap-on find a reseller driving around in his truck and ask to see the tools. Nothing like holding it in your hand to see if you like. Btw if you are going to use these on your Z make sure you get metric sizes. (The link you gave to the snap-on set was for inch sizes). Good Luck and have fun!

 

I'd go with the Craftsman. I've used Snap-On and Craftsman at several different points in my career. IMHO, some of the Snap-On tools have a slightly better feel to them, but the Craftsman can take just as much abuse.

Also, each Snap-on route is owned by a franchisee, some of them are better than others. For a residential account, you better hope that one of the better ones is in your area. My current company actually switched from Snap-On to Craftsman because we spent about $30k on tools, and the driver couldn't be bothered to service the our account every once in a while.

 

i have a Husky 160pc set. got it for like $80, and i think its a very nice set and is rather good for casual use. if you need all sorts of crazy things, this isnt for you.

 

Matco tools are great, snapon quality/warranty at about 2/3 the price. I have about 10k in matco tools and they are awesome. I think I have 2 snapon ratchets and I prefer to use my matco ones. I used to work as a mechanic and used my tools everyday, all day, and now they just sit in my basement until the occasional once a month use, that is until I get a project car. But if your planning on just weekend use and just want a decent tool set, for a grand you can definitly get a nice craftsman box and quite a tool set. Some of the guys I worked with spent over 15k on an empty tool box alone, thats a little rich for my blood.

 

1. snap-on!!!
2. craftsman

probably top 2 choices. since i'm not bank rollin, my craftsman tools are much higher in quanity than my snap on's. lol.

 

All you really need is a good hammer and a screwdriver or two and you should be straight...

 

I've owned both Craftsman and Snap On tools over the years. As others have said, it's a price/quality decision.

One other option, which occupies the middle ground (more expensive than Craftsman, lower quality than Snap On): S-K tools at http://www.skhandtool.com/

You won't go wrong with any of the above.

 

Snapon Craftsman and MAC are by far quality, Harbor frieght is decent for some cheapies

 

The craftsman hand tools are all forged, and test very well, most cases better, than higher priced competitiors. I have performed several tests with Western Forge on their contract line for Craftsman screwdrivers, pliers, and adjustable wrenches. The Danaher group makes their wrenches, and they are all forged along with their sockets. the same company makes Matco and some other brands. The Snap-on line is expensive and I don't think worth the extra money for their more common tools. SK Facom are the craftsman of Europe and very good tools for similiar prices. They are factory tools used in a lot of German manufacturing plants, and some of their product is also made here in the U.S. Husky, AutoZone,PepBoys brands are all made in Taiwan by the same company. I have tested their products as well, and they meet all ANSI standards, but I think they're crap. If I was allowed to bring a camera in to work, I would show you some stuff that would blow your mind at how much more abuse a good forged product like Craftsman, Matco, SK, etc can take compared to cheap Taiwan steel. It's amazing. You get what you pay for, and with Craftsman you get a great value along with the easiest exchange program in the country. If you want something with a better brand image, then go with a Snap-On set- they're great tools but just too expensive IMO. If you really wnat to have the all-around top brand set-up, look at Beta tools. They would be the Snap-On line of Europe, comparatively. They are the standard for F1 and LeMans teams, and will cost you a second mortgage to turn the same ratchet Schuey's crew does.
Will

 

EDIT: thought I'd add, I have a pretty good assortment from my days working at a Nissan Dealership, and use mostly Craftsman for basic tools like wrenches, sockets, pliers, etc., along with SK and Snap-On tools for some odd items better than what Craftsman offers- like flare nut crowfoot from SK vs. regular crowfoot wrenches with Craftsman, etc.. If you go with Snap-On, make friendly with your local dealer and see what prices he'll offer on second-hand refurbished items, especially storage.

 

I went out last night and did a detailed assesment of what I DO have. My wrenches are actually somewhat complete on the inches side, most of them are uniform, 12-point...I'm missing most metric wrenches though, so a set of that will be necessary. All of my sockets are in complete disarray, so I need to scrap what I have and look into full sets also.
I was really looking at the Snap On stuff hard yesterday, but it adds up too fast especially for what I need it for; so I started looking at Craftsman (and Matco per suggestion) again.

There were 2 sets that seemed like a good starting point (though these are Snap On)
This was appealing because it was very bare bone, it had a 1/4 ratchet plus a soft grip drive. I could buy a strip of U.S. and metric and it would all fit in the included box:
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

I also was looking at this drive bit kit. Which seems to be a healthy substitute for a hundred different screwdrivers and hex keys (easy swap magnetic also). Doesn't come with a straight grip...but I could use the one from the first kit.
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

I looked briefly last night, but couldn't find any similar kits for Craftsman or Matco. I don't have any problem with mixing and matching kits, so I could pick up this lesser expensive Snap On gear, and go Craftsman for the 1/2+ ratchets/sockets and wrenches without worry. I'm still checking it all out though; replies are really helpful gang. thx

 

Craftsman sells an all metric kit online only. You don't need any sae tools for the Z. The all metric kit is massive and has all kinds of tools, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, deep sockets, 12 and six points, wrenches, allen wrenches, nut drivers etc. I would spend the rest on some good torque wrenches myself, those come in handy if you want to do some serious mods.

 

Here's a link to the set......

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...0&tab=des#tabs

Here's what's in it......
http://www.sears.com/download/misc/33941DOC.pdf

You will need sockets and wrenches to work on your car the snap on sets you listed don't have much of either. I have this set with some pliers and some extra extensions. I have installed all the mods in my sig with this kit, some torque wrenches, and maybe $100 of additional tools that I needed here and there.