Common Tool Warranty Exclusions

[oldschoolcraft]

All tools are consumable / disposable over a long enough time frame as @2ndGearRubber has wisely said. But some tools are more consumable than others. For standard hardline tools like chrome sockets, wrenches, and pliers, every reputable tool company with a warranty tends to provide a no-questions-asked warranty for them.

Most manufacturers state they only cover defects and exclude normal wear and tear, but I think it's not possible to know if the damage was due to routine use, or if the tool was defective. Seems easier for the tool companies to warranty anything, and increase the prices of tools to account for these costs.

However, there does seem to be listed exclusions at some places for tools that have a shorter reasonable usage life. I'd like to collect a list of these and discuss strategies around them since some tool companies dont exclude them:

• Deadblow Hammer - Plastic Face
• Thin Wall Impact Sockets
• Universal Sockets
• Universal Socket Adapters
• Socket Drive Adapters
• Remote Hose Clamp Pliers - Cable / Lever

Ignoring obvious consumables like drill bits, abrasive disks, cutting wheels, etc.

What are other common exclusions? Do these exclusions impact your choice of brand for that tool?

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

If failure is due to material, workmanship or the tool doesn't perform as advertised then I'll try and turn it in for warranty.
I know that many people expect companies cover just about anything. I have no idea how successful they are and wouldn't say that a company that doesn't cover obvious abuse to be less than reputable.

 

[Steve_P]

Standard warranty for companies like Wiha, Williams, Knipex.... is materials and workmanship. Normal wear isn't covered; because that's normal wear. Buy a new one. Basically, if you've used it for months or years and it has wear, you buy a new one. There are people here that use a pair of pliers for twenty years and expect Channellock to give them a new one when the teeth wear out. Yet they don't apply this same ridiculous logic to their shoes or socks. Which are also a consumable.

 

[VolvoRyan]

It's the American way. Buy a tool and expect free replacements for life. Then wonder why the company is gone.

Typically, if I expect to be warrantying a certain brand's tools, I don't buy them. Guaranteed to wear out and/or break, but we'll replace it for free. Whatever.

Same with parts. NAPA gave a lifetime warranty on a CV axle. The part lasted all of 6 months. They'll honor the warranty, but do I really want the replacement?

-Ryan

 

[MarkH]

Standard warranty for companies like Wiha, Williams, Knipex.... is materials and workmanship. Normal wear isn't covered; because that's normal wear. Buy a new one. Basically, if you've used it for months or years and it has wear, you buy a new one. There are people here that use a pair of pliers for twenty years and expect Channellock to give them a new one when the teeth wear out. Yet they don't apply this same ridiculous logic to their shoes or socks. Which are also a consumable.

agree totally, we expect to replace for normal wear. Many do not and want to warranty. We also do not include for warranty anything we abuse. So we used an extension or some type of cheater bar on the tool we do not warranty. We pounded on it we do not warranty. We have times that any tool is looked on as expendable to get a machine back in the field. We also include in the we do not warranty when we do something stupid to the tool. ie drive over it with a crawler, leave it laying on a truck frame and lower the box on it or run the hydraulics on the machine and forget a tool in the implement that gets turned from a straight to a bent object. I have seen these in for warranty but it is not our style.

We also do not warranty some very cheap **** someone bought. I have sent a couple impacts both air and battery for the 100 yard fling accompanied by a few very choice words. I may only speak one language but can cuss fluently in about 5. When someone walks to get it back. I go leave it there. We do not replace ****. Our field time is too valuable to take the risk.

 

[f121]

T40 bits

 

[Hal]

T40 bits

Ford mirror or tailgate hardware?..

 

[f121]

Ford mirror or tailgate hardware?..

Hah actually not. Lots of European stuff. T40 just explode.

 

[john.k]

Spark plug sockets were always excluded in the day Ford used taper seat 18mm spark plugs ...........dont seem to be excluded nowdays .

 

[VolvoRyan]

The thing with cheaper import tools like GearWrench or Tekton:

If it breaks because of misuse, I'd rather just buy a replacement than deal with warranty. Buying gets the replacement on its way, right away. Not much of this stuff costs a whole lot to begin with. To warranty is a volley of emails. My time is more valuable.

If the tool breaks because it's ****, I don't care to warranty it. Replace with something better.

Non-**** tools will typically last a very long time if not abused.

-Ryan

 

[sparky 1971]

I pay absolutely no attention to warranty, if it breaks under normal use, it's ****, I don't want another and will buy something better to replace it with. If it breaks because I was "abusing" it, there shouldn't be a warranty and my dumb *** should have to buy another. There are things that common sense should tell anyone that there shouldn't be a warranty. Plastic face hammers being the prime example, but just about anything on the OP's list would qualify for me, but I don't know that I have ever seen, or heard of before now, a thin wall impact socket.

There are exceptions to that rule though. For awhile I was returning Klein #2 Phillips and #2 square drives at least once a year, that went on for what seems like a couple of years but hasn't happened in awhile so I am assuming Klein got their act together and started making better tips. The two that I am using now won't get returned when they hit the end of the road, they will have lived their useful life. Another was a pair of Klein linesman pliers that had a handle snap off the very first time I used them, those went back that day and were exchanged. It's pretty easy for me since I am at a supply house that carries Klein tools on an almost daily basis. If that weren't the case I probably wouldn't screw around trying to warranty anything.

 

[john.k]

I have a 3/4 dr Sidchrome socket thats welded up..........dont even recall how it broke ,no doubt an impact gun was involved ...............anyway .it hasnt broken again ,so its all good...............Back in the day ,there was always an old timer at the tool counter who would give you the third degree if you returned a broken tool ,and generally a lecture too,then you had to fill out forms in triplicate ,sign here ,here ,and here.........and if the powers that be at Sidchrome HQ okayed it,you would get a letter authorizing you to pick up a new socket at the tool shop.

 

[johninct]

I buy Snap-On and do not misuse my tools. If it breaks, wears out or just falls apart on its own the dealer just gives me a new one, no questions asked.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

The thing with cheaper import tools like GearWrench or Tekton:

If it breaks because of misuse, I'd rather just buy a replacement than deal with warranty. Buying gets the replacement on its way, right away. Not much of this stuff costs a whole lot to begin with. To warranty is a volley of emails. My time is more valuable.

I think Tekton has a page on the website to fill out a form and attach a picture. Not sure if there would be a series of emails, maybe depending on what the tool was or how the pics looked?

They also have $50 minimum shipping so if it was just one socket that broke, I could either wait until I have another $45 in my wish list to buy the only $5 socket or pay the $5 shipping on the $5 socket, or upload a pic.

GW might be more onerous. I think Tekton leads the way in warranty replacement easiness from what I've heard

 

[oldschoolcraft]

Back in the day ,there was always an old timer at the tool counter who would give you the third degree if you returned a broken tool ,and generally a lecture too

Look here, these young kids today using their ratchets like breaker bars. Back in my day, we broke fasteners with T-handles while we had onions tied to our belt, which was the style back in the day. The important thing was that I had an onion on my belt, I didn't have any white onions, because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...

 

[garfunkle24]

Punches and chisels typically
Low torque tappet or cone wrenches
Files
Taps and dies
Electrical tools, multimeters, scan tools
Snap-ring pliers can be iffy

I don't care about warranty besides a few exceptions. I have lots of Euro and Japanese stuff that would be a PITA to get warranty on if even possible under their less USA-customer-centric policies.

 

[VolvoRyan]

I think Tekton has a page on the website to fill out a form and attach a picture. Not sure if there would be a series of emails, maybe depending on what the tool was or how the pics looked?

They also have $50 minimum shipping so if it was just one socket that broke, I could either wait until I have another $45 in my wish list to buy the only $5 socket or pay the $5 shipping on the $5 socket, or upload a pic.

GW might be more onerous. I think Tekton leads the way in warranty replacement easiness from what I've heard

Who cares if it's an email or two? Still another ball I gotta keep in the air.

Even a form on a website still goes through channels at the home office. I think Tekton is $25 for free shipping. Regardless, While I usually buy direct from Tekton, Amazon will ship me a Tekton socket for free and in two days. I dunno. Everything in my "junkyard bag" is Tekton. I abuse it. Nothing's broke.

GW falls into the category of "replace with something that's not ****".

-Ryan

 

[AEAdam]

Back in the day ,there was always an old timer at the tool counter who would give you the third degree if you returned a broken tool ,and generally a lecture too,…

Those old timers were our consciences. They were reminding us to be men and be accountable for our actions and not to ask someone else to pay for our dumb assery.

Now, the new entitled generation has caused no fault warrantees to be baked into the cost of absolutely everything we buy. Thanks guys.

I buy good quality tools. If they are defective from new, I’ll return them. Otherwise, I feel financially responsible for wearing out tools or breaking tools due to my misuse. Buying the tool again is my punishment for screwing up, using the wrong tools etc. I don’t really want to pay for a tool wear insurance policy.

My local homedepot has installed theft proof cages in many of the aisles. I think retailers’ experiment with allowing people to leave the store with items they didn’t pay for is backfiring. There’s a cost society is paying for that policy.

I don’t really want to pay more for items to cover folks returning tools they should be paying for, or to cover stolen goods. At this point I’d prefer to buy tools from a manufacturer with the strictest warranty policy. I’d prefer to shop somewhere where items don’t need to be locked up in cages to stop near constant theft.

 

[reader2580]

It's the American way. Buy a tool and expect free replacements for life. Then wonder why the company is gone.

Typically, if I expect to be warrantying a certain brand's tools, I don't buy them. Guaranteed to wear out and/or break, but we'll replace it for free. Whatever.

I think it all started with Sears Craftsman. Craftsman hand tools, for the most part, have a lifetime satisfaction guarantee. If you aren't satisfied for any reason they will replace the tool. That started the whole thing with worn out or abused tools getting replaced for free.

Plenty of people abuse(d) the Craftsman guarantee to replace garage sale finds and the like with new tools they could resell.

 

[dnschmidt]

I have never warranted anything.

 

[finn]

I think it all started with Sears Craftsman. Craftsman hand tools, for the most part, have a lifetime satisfaction guarantee. If you aren't satisfied for any reason they will replace the tool. That started the whole thing with worn out or abused tools getting replaced for free.

Plenty of people abuse(d) the Craftsman guarantee to replace garage sale finds and the like with new tools they could resell.

Pretty sure Montgomery Ward and JCPenney had the same warranty policy as Sears had. Don’t know who lead that policy and who followed, but it was common to the best of my memory.

 

[bobg03]

Plenty of people abuse(d) the Craftsman guarantee to replace garage sale finds and the like with new tools they could resell.

Guilty as charged, on strike with a baby to feed I started scrapping cars I had a truck and trailer. Most everyday folks purchased Craftsman back then and the amount of broken tools found in those cars was phenomenal as well as good marketable tools. After trading for new ones my buddy sold them all in his second hand store and we split 80% for me, 20% for him. Scrap had no real value, but we would strip good used components to be sold too. Got an average of $100 for the shell.
My family never went hungry. You do what y'all gotta do.

 

[VolvoRyan]

L.L. Bean suffered the same fate. Yard sale warranties. Now it's all made overseas.

I still have a bunch of Craftsman screwdrivers from forever ago. They got used as chisels and pry bars. Kinda funny, but impressive how they held up. Now I use pocket pry bars and have good crisp screwdrivers.

There's definitely the YouTube/Influencer thing going on with warranty. All your tools must have lifetime warranties if you want to be cool and feel like a real mechanic.

I kinda wonder if this is why a lot of nice European tools are priced so competitively. The lifetime warranty is not really expected.

-Ryan

 

[VolvoRyan]

My family never went hungry. You do what y'all gotta do.

Very true!

-Ryan

 

[richfinn]

Warranty is meaningless to me, I now buy high quality non tool truck stuff at knock down prices, so far it's been a better strategy than paying a premium for "service".

If I break a tool it's on me and usually I try to find something a bit better (I have recently switched to Ko-ken Torx bit sockets)

I do have some older Tool Truck stuff from Snap-On and Mac but I've never really needed the warranty very often.

This is kind of the point of GJ for me, I don't need to know Snap-On make good tools in $$$$$ price range and offer great service (I know that already).

I want the quality alternatives at 1/3rd the cost and I promise not to cry if it breaks or wears out in six years time

 

[sparky 1971]

I understand having and utilizing the warranty process for anyone that buys tools off the truck, that warranty is paid for in the purchase price. That's the reason for the "ridiculous" prices and if I were an auto tech and purchased from any of them I would definitely take full advantage of it. The only Snap On tools I have are some flare nut wrenches. I don't see how it could be humanely possible to break one, but if I were to, it's going in the dumpster because I bought it used and didn't pay for the warranty.