Nothing worse stomping on the dying horses head a few times before finally letting it die off, is there?

Because trying to make warranty exchanges difficult is what will be the finisher.

I actually have a set of Kmarts old tools called Benchtop Pro, Ive had since I was 20.  I bought with a gift card I won at a Christmas party back in the day.  I mainly carried them in my car and too the junkyards.  Ive only ever broken one thing out of that set.   Of course, they couldnt be replaced, but with the Sears/Kmart thing, they replaced it with Craftsman when it broke.    Shame the new Craftsman stuff, isnt even Benchtop Pro's equal, anymore.  

Snapon is china for the most part.  Matco is in china for most part. They'r owned by danaher company. Which makes stanley.  That's why if you look at the wrenches matco  craftsman gearwrench snapon stanley husky are all pretty much the same. I'm pretty sure it's the same deal with kobalt being owned by danaher. Even if it's not they are china also.  The only one I don't think is china is mac.  Then again this is only what I've Hurd.

We got some snap on tools for our aviation shop a couple years ago and they are not the Snap on of old thats for sure! But still cost more than anything else out there.

SteveinNC wrote:

I have had my basic socket and ratchet set since I graduated from high school nearly 30 years ago.  About 15 years ago I returned a broken ratchet and they gave me a brand new one off the shelf.  About a month ago I had to return a 1/4" and a 1/2" drive ratchet that finally gave out. The clerk took my tools and disappeared for about 10 minutes. When he returned he had 2 replacements in hand. The 1/4" looked pretty decent, but the 1/2" drive one looked horible. The rough cast portion appeared as though it was previously rusted and then chemically treated to remove the rust, which left it unevenly discolored, not to mention it had some previous owner's name engraved in the handle. The clerk explained to me that Sears repairs the broken tools, then uses them as waranty replacements, and that's how they are able to offer a lifetime warranty. I didn't think much about it then and just took them, but when I put them with my old set I began to regret it. I have taken good care of the ones I have and they looked 10X better than the replacements. I no longer buy craftsman tools. Still looking for a brand to give my loyalty to.

 
That's nuts I had no idea they did that.  I've started to buy used snap on matco mac craftsman on eBay.  You can sometimes score on some really good deals. I got my 1/2" drive snap on 7/16-1 7/16" deep and shallow socket set for 130.00 they look great and they're vintage 50s sockets.

True74yamaha wrote:

Snapon is china for the most part.  Matco is in china for most part. They'r owned by danaher company. Which makes stanley.  That's why if you look at the wrenches matco  craftsman gearwrench snapon stanley husky are all pretty much the same. I'm pretty sure it's the same deal with kobalt being owned by danaher. Even if it's not they are china also.  The only one I don't think is china is mac.  Then again this is only what I've Hurd.

 
Pretty broad brush you are painting with sir. Also, not very accurate. Snap On is still mostly made in the USA, they list the country of origin for each tool on their web site. Matco and Husky are the same? Tell that to a Matco distributor and tell us what he has to say about that.

I said matco wrenches snap on wrenches husky stanley craftsman are Chinese danaher co owned rights and are mostly made over seas.  Snap on impacts over seas. Some maybe made here sill
In USA or assembled in USA but still are mostly over seas. Look at gear wrench stanley craftsman husky snap on ratcheting wrenches all the same besides the brand name on them. Even package on the stanley craftsman husky are almost the same. I'm going to slcc right now for autocollision repair school. Snap on matco apex all came in. If you look at the majority of the tools there china

Hornman,
Your reply to my post is probably the best news I will get all day. That is definitely worth me at least going back to Sears and asking about. I greatly appreciate your guidance and will look into it. Hopefully, they switch it out.
Thanks,
SteveinNC

I have used MAC tools (not exclusively) since the mid 1960s.  I have never broken one, yet!  They are pricey, but not so high as SnapOn.  A few weeks ago I broke a brand X socket.  Ordered a new one from MAC - http://www.mactools.com/en-us/buy-now      It looks just like MAC tools have always looked.  Stamped right under the MAC logo is USA.
MAC has route trucks, just like SnapOn, so you could buy from the route guy if you see him.
Enjoy

MWM wrote:

With regards to Sears.
I purchased a tap and die set and broke a one of the taps. Read I forced it and I broke it.
Sears said they couldn't sell me just one tap but they would give me a complete set for free. I mentioned again that I forced and broke it, etc etc. They gave me a brand new set and though I felt guilty I took it as I needed a tap!

 
They were working to make a customer happy in that case, because the policy on taps and dies is that they are "consumables", which I cannot disagee with.