Why does anyone purchase a tool box brand new off the truck?

[skyking]

LOL ..............just being a ***** because you were being a *****.
I have to go now and pull my simulator out of the hangar,fuel,file and go.Danged avgas is $ 6 per gallon. Hope you all have a wonderful day. Nick

 

[Kracin]

LOL ..............just being a ***** because you were being a *****.
I have to go now and pull my simulator out of the hangar,fuel,file and go.Danged avgas is $ 6 per gallon. Hope you all have a wonderful day. Nick

honestly, the only one being the ***** was the guy who was looking down on all the people who aren't like you. keep your plane if it makes you happy, i know i wouldn't be too thrilled about having an airplane and having so many restrictions on where you can and can't go without paperwork. then again im not a pilot. and the gas in my turbine powered machine costs more than yours, so oh well. and i know you were talkin about hiball

 

[Zrexxer]

Cluck Cluck Cluck Cluck

Gee, living proof of John Gabriel's "Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory." Oh well, add another one to the list. *click*

 

[cvcman]

Thanks used car buyers who take my junk hand me downs when I'm done with them.

My last three cars have cost me about 6k or less...98 Bonneville...bought with 60k sold with 250k for 2k, 99 Park Ave, bought off ebay for 6k with 66k,drove to 248k also sold for 2k...this one is a 2000 Lesabre ...paid 6200.00 with 25k on it 2 yrs ago...has 100k on it now and runs like a top...ill take all the hand me downs like this ya got !

 

[shockwave]

I find better deals on new high end boxes than I have used even after I factor in interest and yes u can find deals all day and they will mostly be double bank or smaller for good deals anything bigger is hit or miss but look at what u want and then make a ddecision from there

 

[scott917]

Several reasons i can think of OP. First and foremost is to get the box you want in the color, size and drawer configuration that you want.

Also financing. If i were to buy off craigslist i would have to have the money up front even if it was a good deal.

Lastly, great deals are there to be had on craigslist, but not at the time when you need them. If you are looking for a specific box, never mind color, you may still have to wait a while for one to show up.

I am planning on getting a bigger box and while i would consider craigslist, i think when i am spending that kind of money, I will buy a new one. I can get good trade in on my current box and then i can also get the exact box that i want. I will most likely finance it, but will pay it off well in advance.

Bargains are out there, but I also know that the box that I want doesn't come up very often. And often when they do the seller wants more for it used than i think a second hand box is worth.

Other thing you have to consider is that the seller got that box for a cheap discount, but wants a used price based on full retail.

I guess lastly I like my local tool truck guys and whatever I pick i want to support them.

S

 

[jeffk14]

Gee, living proof of John Gabriel's "Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory." Oh well, add another one to the list. *click*

Wow, I had to Google that one. I think you've hit the nail on the head.

I do take an odd comfort though, every time I run across somebody who far surpasses me in the fine art of dickheadery.

 

[crewchief888]

it's been quite a few years since i bought a new truck branded box..

but at that time

CL didnt exist
amazon didnt exist

the internet was in it's infancy,
internet access was via a dial up connection, paid by the hour
computers were still using DOS

you had a choice of new truck brands, or an occasional used trade in box off the tool truck, craftsman,
or if you were lucky and had access to an industrial supplier for kennedy or proto.

forunately i have enough boxes for all my tools, and dont need to buy another box.

it'll be a sad day when all my tools and boxes will be in the same place.

 

[hefty lefty]

I guess I'm lucky to be in California because there are what seems like hundreds of different boxes for sale within driving distance available at all times. KR1000's can be had for ~1k, KRL722 or similar for 1500-2k, Master and Epic series boxes anywhere from 2500-4000. Those are prices I feel I could buy a box this weekend at, better prices pop up occasionally but they don't last long.

That's it. In the Midwest every used box is trashed, rusted or some idiot "customized" it. Same probably in the South. I bought my Snap-On set from an old guy that rebuilt and refurbed them, but he's dead and it's not a popular business model.

If you are in business it's a tax write off and you can get precisely the box you want in the color you want, etc.


The BEST way to get one is from a hobbyist who had money and died and his wife wants gone with all that junk. Second best is from a bankruptcy auction of a business that had them (especially aircraft or tool and die shops) especially if they went bust early on or just after a spending binge. WORST is trying to negotiate with the widow of a deceased pro mechanic.

I did buy an entire tool estate from such a widow once but she was the SECOND wife and he had retired before she married him. Was a Norwegian VW mechanic. Widow called up a couple of muscle car greasers to see if it was worth anything and they told her if it wasn't Snap-On neither they or anyone else wanted it. I bought everything for a thousand bucks and made $3500 on eBay in three weeks. Still have his Hazet Assistent rollaround and several VW specialty items like the factory transaxle fixtures. I myself had no idea the stuff was quite as valuable as it turned out.

 

[hefty lefty]

it's been quite a few years since i bought a new truck branded box..

but at that time

CL didnt exist
amazon didnt exist

the internet was in it's infancy,
internet access was via a dial up connection, paid by the hour
computers were still using DOS

you had a choice of new truck brands, or an occasional used trade in box off the tool truck, craftsman,
or if you were lucky and had access to an industrial supplier for kennedy or proto.

Kennedy boxes have always been common just like the industrial US brand tools, SK, Proto, Armstrong, Wright, etc. Any city bigger than fifty thousand always had a place that sold them to any and all comers. There was also Graybar, Johnstone and Grainger where you theoretically had to be a business but a little ******** went a long way.

When I was just out of high school I needed to buy something or other and the place didn't sell to "iindividuals". So I started a business. I got a tax ID, rented a post office box and bought an Amway distributorship. I sold one bottle of Amway soap to my neighbor, and showed a profit.

At any rate Kennedy boxes are not built nearly as well as SO boxes. Nor Waterloo, which is what Craftsman sells.

 

[dfreeman616]

I don't know about why some people buy boxes new off the truck, but i'm considering strongly getting a snap on krl1023 new from my dealer. it's an overstock, so it's royal blue, no choice, but it's a 10,800 list box that i'd be getting for 3100 plus my trade (which consists of a mac mb1000 and a snap on 26" stack). i'd also get a techangle 1/2" digital torque wrench, and a waterloo 26" stack for my home garage...

 

[SKAutomotive]

I have a better answer.

Because I can. Because I have the money to. Because I want to. Because when I die I can't take my money with me.

 

[77thor]

I have a better answer.

Because I can. Because I have the money to. Because I want to. Because when I die I can't take my money with me.

Well said.

 

[Nanashi]

Me: I need a box but I am going to go used. New cost is way to high for these things.
My snap on dealer: I have an overstock of boxes ill cut you a deal 50% off which one do you want.
Me: So whats the cost of this one (Epiq 68" red)
My snap on dealer: (does the math) $5088 said and done
Me: Ill take it!

This box is big enough for the work I am doing. Its going to last me the next 20 years and its warranted for life against failure because I am the original purchaser. This was a career investment and I got it at a deal in my opinion. I was looking at great boxes used boxes in the 2-3k rang but nothing this size. Plus by the time I got to them they where sold. Snap on credit is 9.99% if your credit is good. Thats the same financing offered my credit union offered me on a personal loan. Their credit system does **** though interest only gets deducted if the loan is paid off early.

Thats why I bought a box off the truck. I am new to the game and I made an investment in my career. I wanted to go used but I got an offer to good to pass on. My dealer is good to me thankfully because I buy a lot of over priced snap on things. Reason being is hes the only one that comes to our shop and its easy to have two or three electric tools using the same battery charger that way. Ill pay top dollar for convenience to answer your next question.

 

[volvo92906]

Ive skimmed through this thread and saw that X1 Mike hit the answer closest to the mark, but still missed it. This thread could have been answered in one simple response:

''I buy new boxes off the truck so (cheap) people like you can buy used boxes.''

 

[hefty lefty]

Thats why I bought a box off the truck. I am new to the game and I made an investment in my career. I wanted to go used but I got an offer to good to pass on. My dealer is good to me thankfully because I buy a lot of over priced snap on things. Reason being is hes the only one that comes to our shop and its easy to have two or three electric tools using the same battery charger that way. Ill pay top dollar for convenience to answer your next question.

If you are a working mechanic in a garage or especially a dealership time is money and time spent scrounging is time better applied to fixing cars. I started working on cars through necessity, it fascinated me and so I do it for fun now, and the art of scrounging is part of the fun.

That said I like everyone else occasionally fantasize about winning the lottery or similar and walking up to the SO truck guy and telling him...I want one of everything.

SO makes some of the best boxes out there and when you buy new you get your choice of color and options. And new is nice.

I have two SO boxes, one refurbed by a pro and one near new I bought at a bankruptcy auction from a place that worked on Vermeer trenchers. It was the owners' and he absconded to the Middle East, it included a lot of brand new SO sockets and wrenches. I am content with these. I paid 40% of new for the first and counting the tools maybe 15 percent of new for the second. But I went to a lot of auctions and bought nothing. figuring in that time it wasn't that great a deal.

 

[olsenmotorsports]

I respect everyone on this forum both the DYI'ers and the pros and here is my two cents on this matter.....

It makes sense to buy new. The tool guy will bend over backwards for you and that savings that he gives you will come back to you tenfold in customer service, deals, getting stuff fast, and warranty issues.

How much you have invested in you box and tools etc is directly proportional to your income. I have the biggest box snap on makes as well as all the tools to do my job, including the dealer specialty tools etc.(i even have my own scan tool) How many techs have had to stand in line waiting for the pressure tester or jump box or scan tool etc? We are all flat rate guys so time is money. Add up all that time over the course of a 25 yr career @ $38 hr and you will see the bottom line. If you are going to make $$ doing this job you need the best and you cant afford to wait around for it.

I probably have (cringe) 60 or 70k invested to do my job as fast as possible, with the least amount of aggravation which to me is priceless. I make well over 150k a year as a flat rate guy and that would have never been possible if i was a miser and still had my original classic 76 with my starter kit i would have been stuck at 30hrs a week!

So i guess the main question is how many of you would drop 50g's into your career to be guaranteed 150k? ( i guarantee everyone on this board who is a professional tech would) Whats the ROI on that?????? way better than buying smaller used stuff.... Could i have bought the same stuff used or off amazon and eBay and craiglist? Probably, but i don't have the time to search, don't want to deal with the aggravation, and would be taking $$ out of my snap-on guys pocket who needs to make a living too.

Try and get the sliders or the paint etc warrantied off of your used box in 5 years and let me know how that works out for you! Everything is serial numbered and registered to the original paying owner. Thats how it works.

Its simple numbers and buying the best once right instead of twice wrong is how we make $$..... The used box's are what fuels the DYI'er at home in his garage.

 

[hefty lefty]

I respect everyone on this forum both the DYI'ers and the pros and here is my two cents on this matter.....

It makes sense to buy new. The tool guy will bend over backwards for you and that savings that he gives you will come back to you tenfold in customer service, deals, getting stuff fast, and warranty issues.

How much you have invested in you box and tools etc is directly proportional to your income. I have the biggest box snap on makes as well as all the tools to do my job, including the dealer specialty tools etc.(i even have my own scan tool) How many techs have had to stand in line waiting for the pressure tester or jump box or scan tool etc? We are all flat rate guys so time is money. Add up all that time over the course of a 25 yr career @ $38 hr and you will see the bottom line. If you are going to make $$ doing this job you need the best and you cant afford to wait around for it.

I probably have (cringe) 60 or 70k invested to do my job as fast as possible, with the least amount of aggravation which to me is priceless. I make well over 150k a year as a flat rate guy and that would have never been possible if i was a miser and still had my original classic 76 with my starter kit i would have been stuck at 30hrs a week!

We sell diesel parts to shops and I interact with the techs quite often. The most seemingly successful guys tend to have the big shiny boxes and a lot of tools but it does not follow it is cause and effect. Ego (WGBD) and tax avoidance have a lot to do with it from what I observe. Most of those guys started out with a Craftsman box and swap meet tools and the smart ones finance their tool truck purchases via the bank vs. the tool truck credit, if they buy a big purchase cash usually there is some discount.

The guy fresh out of school who starts out with the big new box and all new tools has a tendency to leave the business, is another pattern I have observed. We have a big customer who has had five of these guys do that in as many years. Usually they are young and fairly book smart kids that decide this is too much work and they go back to school or do something else and wind up making more money than they would as mechanics. I just sold my Toro golf course tractor to one of these guys who worked for that shop (a forklift place) two years. He went back to school, got some engineering degree and is a railroad terminal manager now.

 

[olsenmotorsports]

^^Agree with every word.......... my response was simply to the original thread "why would ANYONE buy a new box".........