Lowe's kobalt tool warranty.

[saulvg99]

I had never needed to exchange any kobalt tools at Lowe's till today. And I have to say it was a good experience. Fast and quick. Kinda like the Sears Craftsman warranty used to be back in the day, when you used to be able to take in all your broken Craftsman tools and ratchets and they would give you brand new ones. Not like today were Sears rebuilds your old ratchet and make you jump through hoops.
I took two broken kobalt pliers to Lowe's today for a warranty exchanged. Customer service lady told me to go look for the new ones. I found one of them, a needle nose, but the other one, a small locking pliers was only available as a part of a set. Took the set to customer service, lady opened it up and gave me the new locking pliers. No problems at all. Don't have a lot of kobalt stuff, but this experience gives me confidence in buying more kobalt stuff. And I did buy another set of kobalt locking pliers on that same trip to Lowe's.

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[FigureItOut]

I've experienced nearly the same on the 3 occasions I've needed to warranty a Kobalt tool. There won't be a fourth occasion to test the warranty, three was quite enough.

 

[cheechi]

Just be careful, used to be you had to 'register' for the Sockets For Life warranty, never had to for any other product line. Nice thing is they claimed they'd give you one if you lost a size. Anyway you may run into a die hard company man that references this at some point.

A few years ago was the last time I would likely use the Kobalt warranty as the hand tools were much much better then than the replacements you'd get now.

 

[avmaine]

So I'll probably get hung out to dry for this, but: I've found the Kobalt sockets to be rather nice to use. I like their quality. I have some of the vise grip style locking pliers like above, but haven't beat them enough or been unlucky enough to want to try to warranty them. Give me time, I will. To the point, I did warranty a 25 foot tape measure recently. There was no issue at all. Walked out with a new one. Now I've heard some horror stories about higher end items and warranty and extended warranty issues, but to be fair, I've heard these across the board. I've even heard people say warranty through Snap On isn't as good or rosey as it once was. I don't know personally; I don't have any. Just can't afford it. But Lowe's has always done me right so far. So has Home Depot with Husky. I'll admit, Sears has gone down hill on the warranty. I think every place has its up and downs.

 

[555]

So I'll probably get hung out to dry for this, but: I've found the Kobalt sockets to be rather nice to use. I like their quality.

I do too.

 

[WhiskeyRanger]

I picked up one of their "mechanics tool sets" for $100 with the intention of taking it up to the property for occasional use. Instead it became my go to set for 5 years and I even switched from my SO ratchet to my Kobalt on occasion when the SO isn't as good at what I need it for.

 

[WWheeler]

I own only a few Kobalt tools but what has stopped me from buying more on several occasions is knowing that they keep changing and discontinuing their product line and I'm not sure what their warranty is worth if they won't be able to replace it.

For example, if I were to buy a set of Kobalt's new gearless ratcheting wrenches and a couple years from now when they no longer make or sell them what happens when I bring a broken one back? Any guesses?

 

[saulvg99]

I own only a few Kobalt tools but what has stopped me from buying more on several occasions is knowing that they keep changing and discontinuing their product line and I'm not sure what their warranty is worth if they won't be able to replace it.

For example, if I were to buy a set of Kobalt's new gearless ratcheting wrenches and a couple years from now when they no longer make or sell them what happens when I bring a broken one back? Any guesses?

My guess is that they might give you a comparable one that they have in store. Or maybe special order it somehow.

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[Tenex]

Some of the products Lowe's carries are on an IO (in-out) status, which means they will receive a finite amount with no hope or knowledge of replenishments. Sometimes the pricing sticker will say "IO", but the only way to know for sure is to ask an employee.

The majority of these items are brought in as holiday promotions. Most items in the side stacks in the aisles will be IO. The hi-vis screwdriver set, black and white Kobalt toolboxes, and Waterloo 4 drawer boxes are some other examples. Just be wary of what it is you're buying and if you'll likely need the warranty. Unfortunately, you probably will because Kobalt toolboxes and hand tools are junk.

 

[cheechi]

So I'll probably get hung out to dry for this, but: I've found the Kobalt sockets to be rather nice to use. I like their quality.

I think the taiwan made Kobalt sockets are awesome, not as good as the Williams era Kobalt but definitely better than anything 2000 or newer from any similar price point. I have several sets as they were clearanced out so I don't have to rely on the warranty anyway.

 

[avmaine]

I think the taiwan made Kobalt sockets are awesome, not as good as the Williams era Kobalt but definitely better than anything 2000 or newer from any similar price point. I have several sets as they were clearanced out so I don't have to rely on the warranty anyway.

Yeah I heard the Williams era sockets were great. I don't think mine are from that era. Also , in your signature line....as a former public safety guy...thanks for the recognition. was the best job I ever hated.

 

[WildwoodChuck]

I exchanged a set of 7" diagonal pliers #0464600 today. Customer service counter said go get the new ones and come back to the counter. Asked to see my drivers license and had me sign an exchange receipt sent me on my way.

 

[saulvg99]

I exchanged a set of 7" diagonal pliers #0464600 today. Customer service counter said go get the new ones and come back to the counter. Asked to see my drivers license and had me sign an exchange receipt sent me on my way.

Yeah. Exact same thing that happened to me. This is how the Sears warranty used to be. Last time I tried to exchange some broken Craftsman stuff, you would think I was stealing from them, or that the money for the new tools was coming out of the customer rep's pocket. Was very annoyed and disappointed with Sears.

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[Coach James]

I keep a 40 piece Kobalt socket/ratchet set at the gym and they have held up well. A couple months ago, I was trying to remove a cross threaded 0.5" bolt from a piece of equipment. I had a 3 foot pipe on a Husky 3/8 ratchet trying to get it out. The ratchet seized up and the bolt snapped off, but the Kobalt socket (3/4"?) was fine.

Also, the ratchet belonged to one of my employees. He has a couple other 3/8 ratchets but no flex head, so I gave him a Tekton 3/8 flex head and a 3/8 breaker bar.

Coach

 

[cheechi]

Yeah I heard the Williams era sockets were great. I don't think mine are from that era. Also , in your signature line....as a former public safety guy...thanks for the recognition. was the best job I ever hated.

That's great. I'm glad as it's a line of work I'm not well suited for.

As I remember it went Wiliams as the OEM to another USA oem to Danaher oem before going to the Taiwan OEM and now china. Far as I know there were 3 total USA and one was not considered very good at the time, though that may just be in comparison to Williams so may not be especially valid now. There was only one Taiwan OEM but so far has been two China ones from what I can tell.

No matter the era the Kobalt screwdrivers, ratchets, pliers, and most consumables have not been top tier products no matter the oem and those seem to be the ones that have the simplest warranty exchanges. Other things like breaker bars, extensions etc I have heard of people fighting the desk to get them to honor the warranty.

 

[avmaine]

Well I'll keep plugging at it and see how it goes. With breaker bars at 13 bucks at HF, i dont waste much money on them. That being said, I haven't busted up any yet either.

 

[stage20]

the kobalt williams sockets are awesome. i dont have any sets put sockets here and there. nice flank drive

the new taiwan sockets are great fit and finish....BUT the laser etching is horrible. once its gone, you are **** out of luck on guessing the size. at least the red and blue you know whats sae and metric but thats about it. for home use they are ok. if you work on stuff all the time the etching will go away.

 

[paradoxical3]

I am not a pro who is using my Kobalt sockets every day, but I have abused them a decent amount. I know it's blasphemy but I regularly use their chrome 3/8 sockets on a 1/2 impact wrench with an adapter (yes, I am stupid) and have yet to have one crack or shatter, even with the impact mechanism hammering on them for multiple seconds.