I'm not a huge fan of Matco for a number of reasons, but for this conversation, I'll leave out my thoughts on COO and the poor dealers I've had in the past and focus on the question about their tools in general.
My father told me long ago to skip Matco because they were junk. While I don't have a very big collection of Matco, I wish I would have listened to him. Nearly every single piece of their hardline that my father bought or that I've bought has had chrome peel. That's no joke. I was also a little pissed when I bought a set of the metric "R" series wrenches brand new and found several flaws. Crooked stampings, holes and pits in the finish. No kiddin' about them being cheaper. I don't care for the feel of the newer Matco's, but for the money, SK would have been a better way to go. They feel about the same to me. I took a loss and dump 'em off on Ebay, and replaced them with my favorite brand.
I certainly have a bias against Matco, and I am very pro Snap-on, but if you compare apples to apples, truely, Snap-on generally is a better tool. They also generally cost more but it's a trade off, they also hold more value although you will see an item from Matco that does cost more every once in a while. The Matco stuff I've picked up on Ebay was stupid cheap, which is why I bought it.
Every chance I get, I sell or trade off the Matco. For me, it's kind of like when you go to a restaurant and get food that's not to your standards and make a complaint and then get nothing in the way of satisfaction (oops! I said I wasn't gonna get into that
). It leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I don't forget it.
As Joe69 said, the Matco bit drivers are a little weak. A guy I work with bought a SAE set and a metric set after myself and another guy warned him. He hates them due to the breakage issues. He's looking to upgrade when money allows. For now, the dealer has been good about replacing them for him.
The Matco toolboxes are OK. I don't care for some of their designs and features. The box I have has performed as promised, I just don't like the drawer detents, the drawer layout, or the half assed way they hem the edges of the drawers. I suppose this is about personal taste, just like the hand tools. No toolbox has very good resale value and I don't really see any other brand holding more value except for the KRL Snap-on's, and that ain't by much.
I don't believe you will ever have anyone seeing eye to eye. I usually tell the new kids what to look for in a quality tool, but in the end, they are paying the bill so they should buy what they like. I treat this forum the same way. I am only offering my opinions and experiences. Please take my comments as that and not a condemnation of those who buy Matco or sell Matco. By the way, The Matco dealers on here have been stand up guys.
