Impact choices

[metaleltr]

My questions regard this impact

Snap-On

I am a sophomore in high school and i will be going into autobody after high school.
Through my school i can get snap on at 40% retail. That means this impact would only cost $169. Is there a higher torque output impact that I can get for a similar price? How long can I expect a well maintained impact to last?

 

[wrenchr]

Take advantage of that discount, plus those are good impacts just take care of them.

 

[Seanbev24]

Jump all over that deal. Some people complain about the retail price, but IMO there isn't a better 1/2" gun out there. The Ingersol Rand 2135TiMax is also a great gun, it's more personal preference than anything.

 

[Seanbev24]

BTW, I thought the student discount was 40% OFF retail, so it would be 60% OF retail which is about $250. Either way, I suggest you get it.

 

[BBBC23]

I bought a Snapon 1/2" Impact when I was in high school. That was 35 years ago & I'm still using it today

 

[tbobbo]

I prefer the 2135timax gun, but at that price I would take the snap on.......thats over 100 bucks cheaper than the ir........thats a steal of a price for the second best gun on the market

 

[tbobbo]

At that price nothing can touch that gun, buy 2 of em!

 

[shampoop]

Buy it. Try out someones Titanium IR, and if you like it better, sell the SO for a profit and go with the IR.

Regardless of price, the SO is supposed to have a little more power, and has a nice feature that stops the socket from spinning when you let go of the trigger like a brake.

 

[rayh91]

I've never seen a used MG725 go for that price, jump on it.
I'd check out the MG325 as well.

 

[Appleyard]

It really is a good gun. Some people don't like the weight or the fact that it's composite body, but those techs still ask to borrow it from me.

 

[krzemienr]

I have that one, as well as the IR "Thundergun". I like the snap-on, except the body is longer on it, so I tend to use the IR in tighter spots. Great gun though.

Rafal

 

[MattPersman]

buy it, its awesome that price is very good any of us pros would love to get those prices. yes if you can swing it at some point get the 3/8 version of that too.

 

[WBrowniv]

Definitely buy it! I bought that impact last year and I have to say it was one of the best tool purchases I have made in a long time. I work on Light Rail Vehicles (trains) and some of our torque specs get pretty high. My trusty IR231 just wasn't cutting it even after I rebuilt it. This thing is a monster! I have yet run into a fastener that it could not remove. The guys at work are impressed. You won't be disappointed!
Bill

 

[metaleltr]

I will have to have dad check with our Snap-On Guy and check what our price is. They ordered 40 fully stocked KRA 2007s a few years ago so he may be giving us a larger discount. I think I will get this gun either way though.

 

[Steevo]

Where does a high school sophomore get $169?
You must have the mac-daddy of after school jobs.

 

[metaleltr]

I live in the country. I work for every penny I have. This summer I baled straw and Hay for a week and earned $400.

 

[Seanbev24]

I live in the country. I work for every penny I have. This summer I baled straw and Hay for a week and earned $400.

Good for you Now go buy the damn impact already! If you don't like it, don't use it, or money becomes tight, you will profit in selling it.

 

[wannab20hatch]

At 169 bucks I wouldve bought 3 of them. I love the impact the best part about it is the anvil stop. Keeps you from messing up wheels when you get in a hurry and start slinging lug nuts.

 

[Farmer Joe]

I'd say buy that one for that low price for sure! Then trade it with someone for a new IR 2135TiMax and you won't regret it.

 

[Greatbear]

Where does a high school sophomore get $169?
You must have the mac-daddy of after school jobs.

Or Snap-on daddy in this case?

 

[MD11]

what are your other choices that even come close in quality at twice that price?

 

[c201971]

I bought the same thing but it was blue from a pawn shop for 200 it was like brand new and i would not bye any other impact after i have used this one i liked it so much i bought the mg325 and i use the hell out of that one i hardly ever have to take out the half just for those real big jobs.

 

[metaleltr]

Or Snap-on daddy in this case?

No my dad isn't a snap on dealer. He teaches auto body.

 

[crewchief888]

Where does a high school sophomore get $169?
You must have the mac-daddy of after school jobs.

hell
i'm 53 i dont have $1.69 let alone $169

 

[xurusaibobx]

Snap on student program doesnt offer the mg 725 at a discounted price last time i checked, you can only buy whats listed on their Tech ed website and they only have Blue point guns. or if your not talking about that program then it must be a school discount which is less then what a Tech education student would get.

i have both IR TI max and the Snap on MG725 both are really good guns both worth amazing. the MG is a little bigger in size comapred to the IR...am also very careful with the IR since it is composed housing am scared it would crack one day over the MG725

 

[Jlude90]

I have the mg725 and I love it, and couldn't operate without it, however I rarely use it. We have a compable IR Ti gun in the shop and it isn't near as tough as. The snap on. But what I use the most, which in auto body work you probably would too, is a good 3/8 impact. I have the 2115ptimax, and it does everything from wheels and some suspension to being small and light enough to work up under the dash. I mainly work on motors and only use the mg725 on crank pulleys, head bolts, and it's the ONLY 1/2" gun that I've been able to gt Subaru cam pulley bolts off with. But I pulled apart an entire bottom end of an EVO motor today with my 3/8 gun.

So yeah, I recommend that and the IR2115

 

[Marlin]

Snap on student program doesnt offer the mg 725 at a discounted price last time i checked, you can only buy whats listed on their Tech ed website and they only have Blue point guns. or if your not talking about that program then it must be a school discount which is less then what a Tech education student would get.

i have both IR TI max and the Snap on MG725 both are really good guns both worth amazing. the MG is a little bigger in size comapred to the IR...am also very careful with the IR since it is composed housing am scared it would crack one day over the MG725

Don't be scared, I've seen a lot of drop testing done on the 2135 and other IR composite tools and they hold up better than most aluminum tools.

 

[GoBlue]

I think the big Aircats are rated a little stronger. Even at full retail that Snapy is imho the best gun on the market.

 

[diesel research]

Where does a high school sophomore get $169?
You must have the mac-daddy of after school jobs.

Is that really all that hard to believe? I think it was easier in highschool than it is now in 2012. $100/wk easily during highschool @ ~$5/hr and $300/wk in summer @ ~$7/hr slaving in the fields. That was over 15 years ago. Then another $100/wk end to go be flagman at the motocross track.

Not too shabby for "no bills". Always had hundreds in my pockets and/or 3 or 4 uncashed paychecks.

Now I am lucky to have $20 in my pocket, the rest hidden in some mysterious plastic card.


_______________________________

No one has mentioned that a bodyman needs his cordless, his 1/4, and his 3/8 a LOT more than a heavy *** 1/2".....

(shop around, sometimes "discounts" are not what they seem....)

 

[GoBlue]

i have an excuse...i know nothing about body work!

 

[blacK20]

^ I agree. You're not going to use a 1/2" impact much in autobody. Invest in a good 3/8" and 1/4" impact. Air or cordless is up to you to decide.

 

[metaleltr]

Snap on student program doesnt offer the mg 725 at a discounted price last time i checked, you can only buy whats listed on their Tech ed website and they only have Blue point guns. or if your not talking about that program then it must be a school discount which is less then what a Tech education student would get.

i have both IR TI max and the Snap on MG725 both are really good guns both worth amazing. the MG is a little bigger in size comapred to the IR...am also very careful with the IR since it is composed housing am scared it would crack one day over the MG725

I'm not completely sure. I need to have dad e-mail our rep to see what our price is.

 

[Black89LX]

SEP725K is what is listed on the Snap-on Student Excellence Program website. it is listed at $455.22. Im sure you can just order the impact though, talk to your representative. The Set includes the MG725, a shallow set of metric impact sockets and a shallow set of standard impact sockets.

the standard set of impact sockets 3/8-1" (311IMYA) is listed at $96.72
the metric set of impact sockets 10-24mm (315IMMYA) is listed at $122.20
so that leaves $236.30 for the MG725 impact gun

This is a great deal. The reason I did not purchase this impact is because I do not like the power selector, which is located on the forward/reverse valve on the handle. It is very hard to turn with your fingers. The valve is easy to use though. Get this gun in your hand and try it out. Dont be afraid to use other brands also. Get a feel for a tool before you buy it, see what you like.

I found an Ingersoll Rand 2135QTiMax on craigslist for $165. This is a great impact. In comparison with the MG725, the power is identical. It is a smaller and lighter gun than the Snap-on. The power selector is a large dial on the back of the gun which is very easy to use. The forward/reverse are two buttons on the back of the gun which are easy to operate with one hand.

Ingersoll Rand air tools are known for lasting a long time. Snap-on air tools are known for lasting under five years. As long as you take care of your air tools, oil them daily, they will last longer. There is a thread on this site about an MG725's magnesium housing cracking just out of warranty, 2 years... The school I go to has them in every box and they are starting to leak air when they are plugged in to the air line.

If you decide to get the MG725, take care of it and you will be very happy. It is a great deal. As long as you are in school, take advantage of the student discount, once you graduate, you will kick yourself for paying full price. Snap-on makes great tools and have a great warranty. I would suggest purchasing the hex and torx socket driver sets. 212EFTAY $112.09, 210EFTAMY $97.19, 212EFTXY $151.68. Snap-on makes the best socket drivers in my opinion. They wont twist or break like Craftsman or Gearwrench. I used the Gearwrench socket drivers for a while and they will twist under a heavy load. Some other tools I would suggest are the Dual80 ratchets and their dead blow ball peen hammers. Their ratchets are as smooth as butter and their hammers are comfortable and very efficient. No bounce like regular hammers and they hit hard. 1/4" ratchet T72 $34.58, 3/8" Ratchet F80 $44.17, 1/2" ratchet S80A $72.77. 16oz dead blow ball peen hammer HBBD16 $35.10, 32oz dead blow ball peen hammer HBBD32 $49.68. There are a few things you should definitely purchase while you have the discount, so do some research and make some money to buy the tools you will need.

You can sign up for the Student Ecellence Program by going to the Snap-on website and clicking on the link at the bottom of the home page. You will be able to purchase tools online and view what is available with the student price. If you are looking for any tools that are not on the student site, ask your representative and he will be able to price it out if it is available. I have purchased individual impact swivel sockets with the student discount and they are not listed on the site.

 

[road1will]

My questions regard this impact

Snap-On

I am a sophomore in high school and i will be going into autobody after high school.
Through my school i can get snap on at 40% retail. That means this impact would only cost $169. Is there a higher torque output impact that I can get for a similar price? How long can I expect a well maintained impact to last?

Where do you see this for $169 on the SEP site? I just checked and the only way I can order a MG725 is with SO metric and SAE impact sockets for $455.

 

[Pro-Painter]

For autobody work, you don't need such a big, powerful impact. It will set in the bottom of your tool box 99% of the time.

The tool you will use the most is a good 1/4" cordless impact. I have the Matco 10.8v 1/4" impact and I use it 99% of the time for everything. It's strong enough to remove stupid carriage bolts yet small enough to get up in tight body panels. I use it on everything from taillights, interior trim to core supports & bumper bolts.

A cordless impact or even a 3/8" air impact will serve you much better then the most powerful 1/2" impact will.


When I first started autobody I made the huge mistake of buying like a mechanic. I had a free $500 and student discount through MAC and ended up buying a bunch of tools that was not the tools I needed.

 

[pipsters]

Is that really all that hard to believe? I think it was easier in highschool than it is now in 2012. $100/wk easily during highschool @ ~$5/hr and $300/wk in summer @ ~$7/hr slaving in the fields. That was over 15 years ago. Then another $100/wk end to go be flagman at the motocross track.

Not too shabby for "no bills". Always had hundreds in my pockets and/or 3 or 4 uncashed paychecks.

Now I am lucky to have $20 in my pocket, the rest hidden in some mysterious plastic card.

Yeah no kidding, in 2000 I made 40hrs @ $10/hr working the back of a grocery store in receiving and another 20 hrs @ $8.50 loading planes for UPS. That's $2300/month practically no tax due to low bracket, no deductions like medical insurance, etc plus gas was like $15/week. I had more money left over back in high school than I did my first couple years of my post-college career.

While in school for 7-8 months I didn't do the UPS job but did close to 40 @ $10/hr at the grocery store.

After inflation that's probably roughly $35k/yr in todays dollars, with zero bills besides gas money. Everything else was covered by the parents.

 

[Black89LX]

I have a price quote from a few years ago with the MG725 for $233. So you will be able to purchase it, just not at $169...

 

[littletoes]

Where does a high school sophomore get $169?
You must have the mac-daddy of after school jobs.

My Son, who is also a Sophomore, earned a couple of thousand last summer doing construction and helping out the local farmers.

Bucking hay pays over $10.00 an hour around here...and they can't get anyone to do it. Most farmers are going mechanical, larger bales all equipment handled.

He paid over $400.00 for his own Drivers Ed....man that helps us Parents out.

I don't know what the Snappy Impact produces, but the listed comparable IR TiMax puts out 780 foot pounds on Reverse! Man that's a bunch.....

 

[blazsawgras]

a couple years ago i went to harbor freight and bought the earthquake impact gun it is a good high torque gun. i agree not the best gun but for the money it is well worth what it costs.

 

[diesel research]

a couple years ago i went to harbor freight and bought the earthquake impact gun it is a good high torque gun. i agree not the best gun but for the money it is well worth what it costs.

He doesn't need an earthquake.

I'm no bodyman, but do have to remove/replace body panels as part of repairs (on big trucks). A bodyman would also have additional skills like mudding/fiberglassing/welding/painting, but many times it is the same panel R&R I do. Sometimes I need to remove a bumper to access something like radiator or something.

Here's the deal. It usually does not require a high power air 3/8 or 1/2" to remove some 10mm or 8mm fender screws or a "bazillion" panel clips or plastic rivets. We are just talking sheet metal and rivnuts. Imagine the hoor if your mechanic disassembled your dash with a 1/2" monster impact on some T20 and phillps screws? It's almost the same.

I'm sure they use them sometimes, perhaps in stuff like damaged suspension component replacement, but he doesn't need mega torque to replace a tweaked trunk lid and tail light.