Josh the IH guy
Well-known member
Hey everyone, just a curious question. What's the deal with MAC tools? We talk a lot about tekton, sk, SO, but not much about MAC. Why is that?
Mac tools
- Thread starter Josh the IH guy
- Start date
2ndGearRubber
Well-known member
Same deal as cornwell - few dealers, but built around a dealer distribution network so you have fewer users. Some of their basic stuff can be acquired via proto/facom.
I was treated poorly at one point by one of their dealers who fought about warranty on items I purchased from him. I guess as a lowly lube tech my broken pliers were not worth his time. Thus I generally consider myself uninterested in doing business with them. Although I once said the same about cornwell, and while their hardline tools do nothing for me, some of their rebrands can be good value. It's about the relationship first and foremost on these "higher end" and "pro mechanic" tool brands. So without reliable service the value of the tools starts to fall away. My current cornwell driver is nice to do business with, so I do so. Most Mac dealers have not wanted to give me the time of day. Matco stopped coming since I was the only one buying and I pay in full. So I might not buy anything for two months, then spend $600 one day, then nothing for a month, then $200, etc. Some dealers don't like that.
I was treated poorly at one point by one of their dealers who fought about warranty on items I purchased from him. I guess as a lowly lube tech my broken pliers were not worth his time. Thus I generally consider myself uninterested in doing business with them. Although I once said the same about cornwell, and while their hardline tools do nothing for me, some of their rebrands can be good value. It's about the relationship first and foremost on these "higher end" and "pro mechanic" tool brands. So without reliable service the value of the tools starts to fall away. My current cornwell driver is nice to do business with, so I do so. Most Mac dealers have not wanted to give me the time of day. Matco stopped coming since I was the only one buying and I pay in full. So I might not buy anything for two months, then spend $600 one day, then nothing for a month, then $200, etc. Some dealers don't like that.
Kscardsfan
Well-known member
I think a lot of the truck brands are finance companies more than tool companies now.
2ndGearRubber
Well-known member
What business model can't that be said for these days? It's always been pay as you go, for "no interest" truck accounts. Obviously they have a finance arm for larger stuff and shop purchases. I love their financing, because they'll do 60 or 90 days same as cash. Interest rate blows, but I don't pay interest. I think the platinum rate for my dealer is 9.9? Not paying that ever, although each dealer can have different rates based on volume, on time account payment percentage, etc. When I bought my last box/scanner earlier this year I just paid a few grand down, then $1000/week. Easy as that, and they "discounted" the total price by $600 or so since I "financed" the purchase.
Didn't GM state they made more from financing than selling cars at some point in the 2000s?
toddmorr
Well-known member
indeed they did. GE too, for that matter. And then 2008 hit and their finance arm almost sucked GE under.
BlakeTheCarGuy
ALLIANCE MEMBER
In my area we have two Mac trucks, in the area I work in 0. Same with Matco. We only get Snap-on and the dealership sells Matco to us. Every Mac dealer I’ve dealt with the two in my area are not ones to deal with. Won’t take a penny off anything and then get angry if you want to buy something individually instead of as a whole set. I wanted to purchase a individual long screwdriver for a certain job and he said look I don’t make money off individual stuff I make money off sets so here is a long screwdriver set you will have to buy to get that screwdriver or I can order it and have it next week. That’s why I have very few Mac things I have a test light and test leads which were purchased for me by a senior tech as a gift. Then I have some screwdrivers and a impact universal joint and some sockets from the pawn shop. Then my dad was out working on his truck and the lot is right next to a shop and he needed an oil pressure sending unit socket that was shorter so he goes to that Mac truck and asks and the guy says this remark “we don’t need some weekend warrior or some construction worker buying tools from us these are for professionals only” my dad is like I have money right here just wanted to see if you have it and then the guy just walked away into the shop he was at. So I’ve made it a point not to buy anything from that particular guy. The other one has a better chance of me buying something but it’s not likely I would from them. So that’s why.
Lassen Forge
Well-known member
I was a nut for Matco stuff years ago, ever since their dealer made me an offer I couldn't refuse... Copy a line wrench I had fabbed and I got a percentage off each one they sold. Never got rich by any means, but it did pay my tool bill! 
Snap on at the time was also fine - as was the yellow MAC truck - until I moved up here and took a shop class, and our SO dealer decided we shop students weren't worth the time to even say hey howdy... I still took advantage of their SEP, but I found out our local guy didn't have any skin in that game, so he couldn't be bothered with us. (BTW - the Matco guy DID show up, gave his spiel, got a cool US flag hangy banner from that... so yeah, they'e still OK in my book...)
Cornwall - I still remember the **** one of our fellow GJ members went through, saved up a ton of ducats, bought hisself a Cornwall truck, and they pretty much screwed the guy over... IIRC he sold the set up he had built a year or 2 later at a loss... so yeah, just on GP's, if a company treats their dealers like that, well, not the kind of business model I like to support. (I now refer to them as ********...)
We have one guy also sho has an old (IIRC Matco) truck he set up as an independent tool truck guy - all high quality stuff, a lot of MTC and Lisle and "euro" brands, his only issue is getting hammered by Amazon... but he always had a good selection of stuff and was a pretty decent guy.
I still miss the days of Sears Roebuck & Co., when Craftsman made professional quality tools that a guy (or gal) could earn a living with.
Snap on at the time was also fine - as was the yellow MAC truck - until I moved up here and took a shop class, and our SO dealer decided we shop students weren't worth the time to even say hey howdy... I still took advantage of their SEP, but I found out our local guy didn't have any skin in that game, so he couldn't be bothered with us. (BTW - the Matco guy DID show up, gave his spiel, got a cool US flag hangy banner from that... so yeah, they'e still OK in my book...)
Cornwall - I still remember the **** one of our fellow GJ members went through, saved up a ton of ducats, bought hisself a Cornwall truck, and they pretty much screwed the guy over... IIRC he sold the set up he had built a year or 2 later at a loss... so yeah, just on GP's, if a company treats their dealers like that, well, not the kind of business model I like to support. (I now refer to them as ********...)
We have one guy also sho has an old (IIRC Matco) truck he set up as an independent tool truck guy - all high quality stuff, a lot of MTC and Lisle and "euro" brands, his only issue is getting hammered by Amazon... but he always had a good selection of stuff and was a pretty decent guy.
I still miss the days of Sears Roebuck & Co., when Craftsman made professional quality tools that a guy (or gal) could earn a living with.
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I have a lot of MAC impact sockets and I like them
no MAC hand tools to speak of.
My issue with MAC is a lot of their equipment, vac pumps, radiator fill vac system, oil funnels, etc etc etc are re-boxed re packaged something else.
I have pointed this out before in the "where do tool trucks get their tools from" thread that the 155 dollar MAC light is a $40 dollar re-boxed E-Z Red light
www.mactools.com
www.tooldiscounter.com
no MAC hand tools to speak of.
My issue with MAC is a lot of their equipment, vac pumps, radiator fill vac system, oil funnels, etc etc etc are re-boxed re packaged something else.
I have pointed this out before in the "where do tool trucks get their tools from" thread that the 155 dollar MAC light is a $40 dollar re-boxed E-Z Red light
Rechargeable Chip-On-Board (COB) LED Work Light
Molded handle grip and lens edge guard allow for better protection .Durable polycarbonate high-strength hook .Swivel hook keeps light on subject, not in your eyes
www.mactools.com
E-Z Red XL3300 Cob Extreme Rechargeable Work Light, 450/250 Lumens, Red | ToolDiscounter
Cob Extreme Rechargeable Work Light, 450/250 Lumens, Red. Shop E-Z Red Cob Extreme Rechargeable Work Light, 450/250 Lumens, Red at ToolDiscounter
www.tooldiscounter.com
RAS61
Well-known member
Makes you scratch your head when you hear these stories. Would you say Snap On is the most friendly and has the best customer service? Wondering if that's why they're the big dog in the industry
I don't work in a shop so I don't see the tool truck guys that often. I haven't seen a Mac, Matco, or Cornwell in a long time. I went in one Snap-on truck and it was like I was bothering the guy. In the next county I went on a Snap-on truck and bought a single 10mm wrench paid cash, he gave me a deal on it, gave me his card and said to call him whenever I wanted something, and on the way out of the truck he said wait here's a cap. Guess where I'll buy all my Snap-on stuff from now on.
In Burlington MA my SO guy was great, as was my Cornwell guy, granted this was 40 years ago
In Wakefield MA my SO guy would show up, nice guy, terrible on follow thru.... give him an air tool for repair, the loaner you got to use was some other guys tool he was supposed to return, you never got your own stuff back... I told my friends we needed to meet at the local social club after work some day with the tools we had that were not ours and we could exchange them with each other to get our own stuff back
That SO guy still owes me a 10mm socket from 1988
The MAC guy in Wakefield was GREAT, until MAC yanked his franchise then he started selling other brands, and we still got great service from him and his friends that still had MAC trucks were doing our warranty exchanges thru him.
No SO guy ever showed up at the NH shop, the guy I work with is still using tools from 1969, but a new MAC guy stumbled in one day and he figured out I was a buyer, and he stopped by until I started spending 7 months a year in FL
There is a SO guy who lives in my NH town, but we are not in his area..... I drive by his house and when I wanted my SO Solus Legend, I called the number on his truck and he let me come over and buy it from the truck in his driveway... the kicker is the NH shop was on his way home and he could not be seen in our parking lot so I had to go to his house....
In Wakefield MA my SO guy would show up, nice guy, terrible on follow thru.... give him an air tool for repair, the loaner you got to use was some other guys tool he was supposed to return, you never got your own stuff back... I told my friends we needed to meet at the local social club after work some day with the tools we had that were not ours and we could exchange them with each other to get our own stuff back
That SO guy still owes me a 10mm socket from 1988
The MAC guy in Wakefield was GREAT, until MAC yanked his franchise then he started selling other brands, and we still got great service from him and his friends that still had MAC trucks were doing our warranty exchanges thru him.
No SO guy ever showed up at the NH shop, the guy I work with is still using tools from 1969, but a new MAC guy stumbled in one day and he figured out I was a buyer, and he stopped by until I started spending 7 months a year in FL
There is a SO guy who lives in my NH town, but we are not in his area..... I drive by his house and when I wanted my SO Solus Legend, I called the number on his truck and he let me come over and buy it from the truck in his driveway... the kicker is the NH shop was on his way home and he could not be seen in our parking lot so I had to go to his house....
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SILVERPLATE
Well-known member
We have a very active MAC tool truck that visits our shop every Thursday. Young man trying to make it work, says he is doing alright. Claims $175,000 worth of tools on the truck and gets anything he does have by the next week. Much like Snap On in my opinion very expensive tools and you can do much better elsewhere.
2ndGearRubber
Well-known member
That's true for all the brands though. Mac/matco/cornwell will also sign exclusivity agreements meaning the OEM of the tool won't sell it for XYZ amount of time.
Remember when snap-on brought those out before PBT, who I believe was the original producer, ever offered them to the public? They were $120 or something. To be fair, sometimes the rebrands are a great deal. Lately cornwell has been offering my Mueller Kueps, SP/schley, and others for less than I can buy them online from the OEMs. Just watch the flier.
Apexinds.com: SP 15000 13 Piece 3/8" Drive 12 Point Shouldered Crowfoot Socket Set 10MM-22MM
This is a 13 piece shouldering crowfoot socket with sizes 10mm-22mm. They have a blind stop to eliminate sliding past flare nut. They are 3/8" drive 12 point sockets.
www.apexinds.com
Those were like $175 a few months ago, and I couldn't find anyone who stocked them. I knew it was an SP/schley design as soon as I saw the picture.
Jweebothee
Well-known member
Our Mac guy shows up every week and is a decent enough guy, but his truck is not very well stocked, he does make decent deals on what he does have.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
Why Mac when you can Proto?
65ranchero
Well-known member
All my experiences with the tool trucks has been pretty good except one that I remember.
Around the very late '70s or early '80s The gas station I worked in had a SO dealer which came to our shop 1x wk, I needed a
1/2 drill for something and he sold me a BD geared electric drill with side handle.
I found out that same drill cost way less that the cost purchased.
At the time a SO area rep lived in the same town where the shop was located and made frequent stops to the shop to have his BMW serviced and BS.
Told him about the purchase I made and what it really costs he got back to me and said that the dealer has some issues and IIRC I got part of my purchase price back ( I don't remember if it was truck credit or cash back)
Around the very late '70s or early '80s The gas station I worked in had a SO dealer which came to our shop 1x wk, I needed a
1/2 drill for something and he sold me a BD geared electric drill with side handle.
I found out that same drill cost way less that the cost purchased.
At the time a SO area rep lived in the same town where the shop was located and made frequent stops to the shop to have his BMW serviced and BS.
Told him about the purchase I made and what it really costs he got back to me and said that the dealer has some issues and IIRC I got part of my purchase price back ( I don't remember if it was truck credit or cash back)
65ranchero
Well-known member
Had a coworker who was buying a house or truck (I don't remember) and found out he had a bad credit flag from SO.
He looked into it and come to find out the SO dealer was spending customer payments on himself and at the bar.
(True story details have been fuzzy)
He looked into it and come to find out the SO dealer was spending customer payments on himself and at the bar.
(True story details have been fuzzy)
I’ve always liked Mac stuff. I’ve got a lot of their chrome USA sockets and their ratchets. Even have a set of the original knuckle saver wrenches. Never had an issue with any of it. Back in the 80s and early 90s Mac was very popular in the area. But I haven’t seen a Mac truck in sometime.
My SO guys have always been consistent and most of my stuff is from them. Matco has started coming around again sine early Covid and I did buy some stuff from him, Mac been a decade or more, I have broken tools but I'll be damned if I'm paying to ship it to them.
Cornwall? Only had one guy come around, creepy AF, tried to peddle **** on the side well into the internet, for the short time he came around the techs would scatter.
Cornwall? Only had one guy come around, creepy AF, tried to peddle **** on the side well into the internet, for the short time he came around the techs would scatter.
SILVERPLATE
Well-known member
My attempts to get more than the website list. Always have to remind him of the price online.
Tool **** ? I thought that was what Garage Journal was for
Kscardsfan
Well-known member
Actually it **** them under. That and going balls out in the energy sector right before oil and gas crashed in 2015. horrible series of acquisitions and purchases.
FuzzyTiger
Well-known member
My local Mac guy actually outsells the Snap On guy by quite a bit. He has 2 or 3 trucks working for him and he just recently bought a pretty big building with warehouse, a yard, offices and they're currently building out the retail store front.
Less of a Mac guy and more of a Mac team I guess? Either way - I love dealing with them. They obviously stand by their Mac products but they're smart enough not to lose a sale over it. If price is an issue or you want something from another brand? They'll get it to you at a fair price and will take care of the warranty side of things for you if it comes to it. And their approach to warranty seems to be no matter what happens, they've got you covered, they'll swap it out for you and deal with the manufacturer's warranty for you. That's including stuff like drill bits apparently and they've replace drill bits I chipped. Price wise they're usually +/- 10% of what I'd get the tool on Amazon for so unless its something they can't get or they're closed, they've got my business.
For a hobbyist, having a store dedicated to professional quality tools I can walk into is amazing. No trucks to chase down.
Less of a Mac guy and more of a Mac team I guess? Either way - I love dealing with them. They obviously stand by their Mac products but they're smart enough not to lose a sale over it. If price is an issue or you want something from another brand? They'll get it to you at a fair price and will take care of the warranty side of things for you if it comes to it. And their approach to warranty seems to be no matter what happens, they've got you covered, they'll swap it out for you and deal with the manufacturer's warranty for you. That's including stuff like drill bits apparently and they've replace drill bits I chipped. Price wise they're usually +/- 10% of what I'd get the tool on Amazon for so unless its something they can't get or they're closed, they've got my business.
For a hobbyist, having a store dedicated to professional quality tools I can walk into is amazing. No trucks to chase down.
sweet victory
Well-known member
I wouldn't say Mac is rebranded Proto tools. Mac and Proto are both owned by Stanley Black & Decker, so there is obvious technology/design/patent sharing going on between the two. Proto is the industrial brand equivalent of the same tool, whereas Mac is the automotive/tool truck brand equivalent.