Mac tools pawn shop -deal?

[rossddvm]

I am a pretty new member and getting lots of info on this site. I have done searching/research. I know there will be various opinions on this and some strong both ways. A couple days ago I stopped in my local pawn shop. They didn't have what I was looking for, but a bunch of Mac tools caught my eye. Many looked pristine, some more used. Prices were a bit of a sticker shock-for a pawn shop. I talked to the employee working-she said she priced them by checking out e-bay sales. They had just come off pawn. Searching the ones I could find SKUs this seemed true- they were priced a little less than what they were selling for on e-bay.

I am a veterinarian, not a mechanic. I like motorcycles and try to wrench on my own. Mostly older european bikes. I am not anywhere near "skilled". I no longer work on my own cars or trucks, as they became more complicated and my time more valuable I decided to turf that to local mechanics. Living in a small town I can find mechanics that I trust and I think treat me very fairly. I have been generally happy with my 20+ year old made in the USA craftsman tools. I wasn't really looking to upgrade- but the possibility of a deal got my attention. They are still, at used pawn shop price, much more expensive than the brand new Dewalt tools down the road at a farm store. I have reached a point where after lots of hard work to get here, I am financially secure. The house is paid for and I am nearly debt free. I can go in and bundle some and make a cash deal. For me tools are to get a job done. I appreciate and pay for quality if it is to that end, working better or lasting longer. Snob appeal of name brand tools means nothing to me. For a mediocre mechanic [at best], will I appreciate the better quality of Mac wrenches, sockets screwdrivers, and locking pliers? And the likely unanswerable question is it "worth" paying triple the price or more of the Dewalt tools? Would the Dewalt be an upgrade over my Craftsman USA tools? Or do I go back to looking for a replacement tablesaw and stick with the old Craftsman.

 

[smuro04]

For your skill set and the amount of wrenching you do (based off what you said), I think you would be better served with other tools. Think of warranty issues if you buy the Mac tools; you don't have a truck coming to you for replacements. Granted, you should probably never have an issue, but what if?

I would opt to stick with Craftsman, or if wanting to upgrade, look at the Harbor Freight Pittsburgh Pro 301 pc master set or the Gearwrench 200 something piece set. Quality tools, affordable prices, easy warranty.

 

[jd_1138]

They're nice to have and use, but if you don't wrench for a living I'd say you don't need them. But if you can afford them and want them, why not? You only live once.

 

[sberry]

You didn't know you needed them till you walk in the store. Why fart with it? But something you need or when you need it. This won't be a night and day difference, I been at this for 4 decades, still use cman tools.

 

[NitroSun]

Always lots of opinions on tool brands here. I would much rather have USA Craftsman tools than Dewalt. As for going to MAC, are you adding to the Craftsman or replacing the Craftsman? If they haven't failed you yet, what makes you feel they ever will. I have a lot of truck brand tools and love them but when you don't have a driver's support, you're not getting all the value that's built into the price.

 

[rossddvm]

Thanks for the quick replies. I think I will just stick with what I have. They are not such a great deal that if I pass on it I missed my only opportunity. I am a few years from retirement. If I retire and can spend more time fixing up old bikes and want different tools, I can always look around then. I have a 1974 BMW R90/6 that is awaiting a complete going through- when I get some time.

 

[jwsia]

If you stay looking on this site you will find plenty of things you didnt know that you needed and soon your toolbox will need to be 3X as big...then adding side lockers...

 

[ssdave]

If you don't notice a deficiency in the tools you have for the work you're doing, then you have no need to upgrade.

I'm in a similar situation to you personally, a well paid professional, financially secure, and don't have to work on vehicles if I don't want to. But, I really like doing hands on type work, of a wide variety from machine repair to fabrication to automotive. I use my tools A LOT. Some weeks I work more hours at home in the shop than I do at work. I have all the tools of a general building contractor, a well equipped automotive shop, and a general hobbyist fabricator as well as specialized gunsmithing, jewelry and machinist tools. In automotive and general mechanical tools, I was running into limitations on my Craftsman tools constantly, where they were ill suited, failed to work well, or broke. So, I upgraded. It was worth it to me for the increased capability, and for the enjoyment of just plain having nicer tools. Some of the things that I felt had to be upgraded were torx and hex bit sockets, ratchets, screwdrivers, needlenose and specialty pliers, wire cutters, 1/4" drive sockets, and small size wrenches. Those are the things where quality was critical.

In the things I upgraded, I tried to get the best tool available, regardless of brand. I did try to steer towards brands that I prefer, and that I could buy and warranty easily. For me, that started out being SK, and eventually gravitated to Proto and Snap-on. I have to admit that some of the stuff I upgraded I did so because of wanting nice matched things in the preferred brands. So, my mismatched older tools got replaced with matching sets of Proto and Snap-on, with some Mac and SK and a few other things mixed in.

An apt comparison is the difference between a new triple wide modular home and a custom stick built home. Both nice, both work, but there is a difference. The guy in the modular says it works as well as it needs to, and it's nice. Agreed. The guy in the custom says it's exactly what he needed, and so much better than the modular he used to live in that he can't believe he lived in the modular. Does that make the modular dweller wrong? No, it suits his needs, at much lower cost. Could the custom house guy live in a modular? Sure, and it would work out fine. But, if he wants nicer and can afford it, more power to him.

With the circumstances you have stated, it appears that the only compelling reason to upgrade is the prestige of owning nicer stuff, which you say isn't important to you. Some of Mac's stuff is quite nice. But, if it's older stuff, it might be nice but not any better than what you have functionally. I'd only look at the items specifically and compare to the same item you have. If the design and quality construction of the Mac item is a lot better, then it might be worthwhile. If the design is older and nothing special, then the only advantage is the brand name.

My suggestion would be to buy high quality nicer stuff as you need it. For motorcycles, I'd consider high quality hex and torx bits as you see the need for them. I'd personally also buy Snap-on 1/4" drive sockets and ratchets. I think they're one of the top items where the quality really matters.

 

[ptgarcia]

If I were you, I'd use what I have and buy "better" tools as you need them. I work on motorcycles myself (although typically Japanese dirt bikes) and sometimes my cars and trucks and have been using USA Craftsman for more than 20 yrs, and in that time only one time has a tool failed (3/8-drive ratchet). Recently I've been buying tools as my unofficial duties have expanded to general home maintenance and repair, and those tools tend to be the more expensive professional quality tools. I still have and use my Craftsman, but I've supplemented them with German (pliers and cutters), Japanese (screwdrivers) and USA made professional tools.

If you just have to have something expensive to gawk at, maybe splurge on a Snap On box.

 

[rossddvm]

If you stay looking on this site you will find plenty of things you didnt know that you needed and soon your toolbox will need to be 3X as big...then adding side lockers...

That has already been the case. Finding myself wanting things I didn't even know existed a month ago.

 

[Tim37]

They're nice to have and use, but if you don't wrench for a living I'd say you don't need them. But if you can afford them and want them, why not? You only live once.

What he said

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I would probably have made an offer far less than E-bay prices. BTW: If you are willing to pay E-bay prices (which aren't always a bargain) you can always find them on E-bay.

 

[joel63]

If you stay looking on this site you will find plenty of things you didnt know that you needed and soon your toolbox will need to be 3X as big...then adding side lockers...

Count on it.

 

[pescados666]

That has already been the case. Finding myself wanting things I didn't even know existed a month ago.

That means a month after you pick these up you'll find another you'll like lol.
That's how it's been working for me at least

 

[rossddvm]

I would probably have made an offer far less than E-bay prices. BTW: If you are willing to pay E-bay prices (which aren't always a bargain) you can always find them on E-bay.

If I was going to buy them I would go in with cash and bundle several items together to get what I want and make an offer.

 

[pstemari]

If I was going to buy them I would go in with cash and bundle several items together to get what I want and make an offer.

Be certain to search on eBay for *sold* items when looking at prices, ignoring any "best offer accepted" ones. Those are the only prices that reflect actual transactions. Everything else is just wishful thinking.

As a data point, I've had best offer accepted that were 1/2 of the "buy it now" price. The actual price on best offer accepted sales isn't displayed, just the BIN price.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[DougWil]

When I was equipping my home machine shop I did a lot of pawnshop surfing. I was willing to pay 1/2 or less of Enco catalog prices for Starrett and Mitotoyo measuring tools that appeared basically new.

I learned there were pawnshops that were willing to deal, and those that didn't.
The ones that didn't, held out for a sucker but rarely sold much.
Month after month it just sat there.