cassidy
Well-known member
A coworker has offered to sell me his Cornwell service cart for $300, it's in good shape. Should I pony up the $300 or just go with the Harbor Freight cart?
Cornwell tool cart
- Thread starter cassidy
- Start date
jjjrmx5
Well-known member
I'd pay $250 to $275 for that if I had cash to blow and really needed a name brand cart..
Cornwell in my city is very ill supported, so local help is a no-go.
When the shocks go out don;t expect help.
$169 HF 5 dwr cart gets you damn near the same but no cool logos or tool buyer street-cred. in teh shop.
If you actually have a Cornwell driver (or even a Matco driver) then mad props.
In the end-----Your call.
Cornwell in my city is very ill supported, so local help is a no-go.
When the shocks go out don;t expect help.
$169 HF 5 dwr cart gets you damn near the same but no cool logos or tool buyer street-cred. in teh shop.
If you actually have a Cornwell driver (or even a Matco driver) then mad props.
In the end-----Your call.
Hpozzuoli
Well-known member
I like the cornwell and matco carts. For what he wants I would grab it. Like Andrew said, it has the bumpers and warranty/service from your cornwell dealer
Hold out for a sliding top cart. A cart is damn near useless without a surface to work/write on. For me anyway. I've got the MB series Mac which I love, but if you can swing it find one of the new Macsimizer carts. Those are the best in the business.
fatfillup
Well-known member
That is a great cart and they never last long in my store. I get about $375 for them in real nice condition. That said, if he is asking $300, he will most likely take $275 without hurting your relationship.
Personally, I would avoid the HF choice, but that is just me.
Personally, I would avoid the HF choice, but that is just me.
I like those to jmm, but at my shop, bays make dealing with sliding tops a somewhat pita. Still want one, and mite get one but i'll have to work around guys.
Unless im at a bumper, then im blocking the tire/lube techs. Can be on the door side without box blocking anybody.
Plus we have 2 work benches, and the top of my big box i can work on.
I'm a heavy truck tech, so I will have it loaded up fairly heavy daily used tools. It will get moved a lot and our floor isn't the smoothest. I just need to park my 72" KRL it's too big to maneuver around the packed shop. I've never used a cart before so I'm not sure how I'll like it.
pburressiii
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2014
- Messages
- 52
You get what you pay for...here we go with the harbor freight junk argument! I have never gotten anything from harbor freight that was worth a damn but a step bit. But then again, I make my living with my tools
SASORacing
Well-known member
The hf had one more drawer than that. I would go hf and save a third.
You could, you know, buy a smaller box... I bought a my 57" solely because the size. I can roll right up next to where I'm working and never have to walk to my box.
That said, buy the Cornwell
Rough floors and HF carts don't get along well...MagnumForce
Well-known member
And I make a living with mine and it is stupid to blow a bunch of money on boxes which don't make you any money when the HF Pro boxes are better than anything but the most expensive snap on stuff.
If you can get that cart for 250 it's a wash to me.
And Here we go.. My tools are better than yours, My tools cost more than yours, My tools are cheaper than yours and work just as good, if you don't agree which how I spend my Money.. your stupid.
Welcome to the world of GJ.
plinker
Well-known member
The up side is you could likely get the 300$ back out of the cornwell cart if you decide to sell it.
bwhahahaha....
look Im all for saving money and completely agree that a box doesnt make you money, but to say that a harbor freight box is better than anything but a craftsman box is down right BS. The HF boxes are a great value especially for non-pros, but they dont hold a flame to any of the tool truck brands.
OP I had that cart in a different color. I think I only paid $350 off the truck for it, but that was before the carts got stupid expensive. Plus we had a great relationship. I still think $300 is a bit steep especially if you know the guy. And even though the HF cart may have more drawers it still will hold less tools.
On a side note if you are looking for a large box I am selling my 'small' Cornwell with hutch and top locker because I left the business. PM if intersted.
MagnumForce
Well-known member
This was only in response to the person I quoted who said it was all unmitigated ****. I stand by may statement that the HF Pro Red stuff is better than or just as good as the low end tool truck stuff which costs 10 time the price.
If you want something because you want something COOL! But if you want to tell me what you have is so much better than my POS thing which is lower than dog **** I am going to get a little po'd.
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They're Tools.. Not your Mothers good Name, And Why the Hell do people let other peoples choices/Opinions get them so Twisted? "Lower than Dog ****" Really? "Pisses you Off" Really? No wonder people are stroking out at record levels.. Why cant we just have a simple discussion without someone getting upset about another members opinion on a Brand choice?
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Off the truck right now it's $729, so they are expensive. One a little bigger with drawers all the way to the bottom on the snap on truck is like $2300! I'm just getting tired of not being able to move my box around very easily. At this shop they "center bay" trucks meaning that in between each bay where toolboxes normally go there is a truck crammed in between the ones parked in the actual bays. Makes for tight working quarters
Neither here nor there, but is be willing to bet they could be bought off the truck for much less than Full Retail.
RedneckWelder
Well-known member
Same here. Matco and Cornwell are the only dealers that will deal with us. The Snap On guy says we buy too much Cat branded Snap On tools to be worth his while (we get them at cost through work) and the Mac guy was a rude ******* to us but we have great Matco and Cornwell dealers. Go figure.
Personally if I'm going to pay the tool truck prices I'd rather have Snap On or Mac but you get what you can get, I guess.
The Cornwell carts seem decent, my only concern is that as noted elsewhere on this site parts support is difficult because they frequently change suppliers/models and don't support the boxes...I don't know how the Cornwell dealer guys handle that issue. Several of the guys at work have the full drawer carts (two guys have the smaller ones and two guys have the big carts) and the boxes all seem good quality but are quite pricey new off the truck.
and I've tried but can't talk the dealer down much on the new boxes (talking cash up front vs. a payment plan)Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I had one of these Cornwell carts before I opted for the 700 model with all drawers that's become my main box. Anyway, it's a great cart!!! You can go to cornwelltools.com bring up the August flyer and see that the cart is on special this month for $729.95. One thing I like about Cornwell carts is that the top till is deep enough for most pry bar handles and still be able to close the lid. I had a side shelf on mine. The drawers are smooth with ball bearing slides and there's a center lever in the rear top that locks all of the drawers when rolling across the shop.You can definitely carry enough tools to do most common tasks out of the cart. One thing though, the 100 and 700 series carts aren't US made, they're imported. I've had my 700 series cart for about 9 years now and I've been quite happy with it. 
RedneckWelder
Well-known member
I had one of these Cornwell carts before I opted for the 700 model with all drawers that's become my main box. Anyway, it's a great cart!!! You can go to cornwelltools.com bring up the August flyer and see that the cart is on special this month for $729.95. One thing I like about Cornwell carts is that the top till is deep enough for most pry bar handles and still be able to close the lid. I had a side shelf on mine. The drawers are smooth with ball bearing slides and there's a center lever in the rear top that locks all of the drawers when rolling across the shop.You can definitely carry enough tools to do most common tasks out of the cart. One thing though, the 100 and 700 series carts aren't US made, they're imported. I've had my 700 series cart for about 9 years now and I've been quite happy with it.
What about the big 800 series cart? US made? two of the guys in our shop have them but I haven't looked closely at them.
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Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Nope. Cornwell doesn't currently sell a US made Cart or box. The 800 series cart is made at the Waterloo plant in Mexico. It's a great cart but, not US made. Cornwell's larger boxes are made in the same plant.
komobu
Well-known member
I have that cart in gloss black and it matches my macsimizer 1800 series box in gloss black perfectly. The only thing I don't like about the cart is the sliding top. I think it was a poor design. Instead of using double rail slides, they used single. As a result, sliding it open will only give you access to one half the opening. If you want full access to the top you have to raise the lid and open it. As you said, this is a pain if you keep something on top of it like a laptop, monitor and scanner. I wish they would come up with a mod so you could simply slide the top all the way open.
Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
I had the same cart, but from Matco. I bought it used and noticed the hardware (carriage bolts) didn't fit for **** as some were too long and bottomed out before tightening the sheet metal together all the way. This could've been as a result of the original owner being an idiot, but I can't say for sure. Other than the hardware issue, it was built pretty heavy duty and was a good size.
My cart was in pretty bad shape cosmetically, had no drawer liners, ill-fitting hardware and I still sold it for $300. That cart appears to be in good shape, so I wouldn't hesitate to buy it at that price if I was in the market. You should easily be able to get your money back out of it. Also, I wouldn't worry about parts availability as Matco, Cornwell, Napa, and others all sell that same cart.
FWIW, I ended up selling the cart to fund a HF 44", which better suited my needs.
My cart was in pretty bad shape cosmetically, had no drawer liners, ill-fitting hardware and I still sold it for $300. That cart appears to be in good shape, so I wouldn't hesitate to buy it at that price if I was in the market. You should easily be able to get your money back out of it. Also, I wouldn't worry about parts availability as Matco, Cornwell, Napa, and others all sell that same cart.
FWIW, I ended up selling the cart to fund a HF 44", which better suited my needs.
Basskiller
Well-known member
I dont know if this was mentioned yet as I skipped over the back and forth. The HF cart has a shallow top, not all prybars or long screwdrivers will fit with the lid closed. Maybe you'll use an external holder and it would not be an issue.