Obsolete/NLA Snap-On Tools

[jwheeler]

Hi Guys,
I'm a hands-on BMW shop owner/machinist/ex Top Fuel Guy/retired maritime lawyer/tool importer & exporter/BMW fanatic with an extremely serious collection of Snap-On tools dating back to the early sixties when I first started turning wrenches at a Gulf Oil service station. My gripe with SO is that I paid top dollar for some tools that are now NLA...
For example, I just broke a SFSUM22 chrome deep 22mm swivel...SO dealer says NLA.
Likewise, when I gave my trusty old CJM800-4 8mm chrome stud installer to my dealer with a stud broken off in it, his answer a month later was NLA...I could have drilled it out but got lazy and now it's gone forever...
I could spend another hour or so listing NLA tools which I bought because I needed them only to find that once broken, SO didn't live up to its end of the bargain...after all my lifetime is still going on so where is their lifetime guarantee????
Now, after venting a little:
is there a secret SO source for NLA stuff?
is anyone at SO listening?

Jim Wheeler
BimmerWerks, Inc.
New Orleans

 

[curtrnev]

I have 3 FAR72's in my tool box they don't make parts for anymore
I don't buy Snap On air tools anymore.

 

[billymade]

I don't think you are alone with this problem; I think it may require a little research and see if there is a equivalent item that Snap-On still makes. The other option I have been wondering about is if they will give you credit towards that third party products they sell in their "other" catalog they offer; these are other brands other then Snap-On! I sent some wrenches in that they do not make anymore and they gave me something totally different and not useful to me. I guess it depends on who you talk to and how much time, research and willingness they are to try find equivalent tools or give credit. I would call Snap-On customer service and research in the current tool cat to see what might work for you..

 

[vssjim]

Why couldn't the dealer tell you the stud puller was NLA with out sending it back, he should have just told you and given it back if you wanted to fix it or offered you credit without getting rid of it first.

 

[KrisKustomPaint]

I had my snap on speeder ratchet stolen, I really miss that tool, it was great. NLA.

 

[JayL]

What does NLA means?

Thanks

 

[Toolhorder]

What does NLA means?

Thanks

No longer avail.

 

[Toolhorder]

I had my snap on speeder ratchet stolen, I really miss that tool, it was great. NLA.

What size? I think I may have an extra

 

[Toolhorder]

Hi Guys,
I'm a hands-on BMW shop owner/machinist/ex Top Fuel Guy/retired maritime lawyer/tool importer & exporter/BMW fanatic with an extremely serious collection of Snap-On tools dating back to the early sixties when I first started turning wrenches at a Gulf Oil service station. My gripe with SO is that I paid top dollar for some tools that are now NLA...
For example, I just broke a SFSUM22 chrome deep 22mm swivel...SO dealer says NLA.
Likewise, when I gave my trusty old CJM800-4 8mm chrome stud installer to my dealer with a stud broken off in it, his answer a month later was NLA...I could have drilled it out but got lazy and now it's gone forever...
I could spend another hour or so listing NLA tools which I bought because I needed them only to find that once broken, SO didn't live up to its end of the bargain...after all my lifetime is still going on so where is their lifetime guarantee????
Now, after venting a little:
is there a secret SO source for NLA stuff?
is anyone at SO listening?

Jim Wheeler
BimmerWerks, Inc.
New Orleans

I feel your pain. Send it a hard handle radiator hose pick and got an instink handled version back. I almost cried.

 

[MattT]

Yeah I mailed in a NLA tool a few weeks back. Got it back, with a note telling me I'm SOL, a few days after I got all the good replacement tools back from MAC. Both shipments were mailed on the same day and received on the same day by MAC and SO. Rest of my SO warranty claim I got some replacements back a few days later and only 2 of 'em were defective. Emailed them about the missing and defective tools and thus far they've sent me a replacement for one of the defective tools and put the other on backorder. Still no sign of the other backordered tools.

 

[Busted Bolts]

All SO wants to do is sell sockets and wrenches to new techs getting started. I have double box socket wrenches, and they are NLA, only the ones with the open end available, also short metric deep box off set wrenches NLA, how can that be, metric is widely used. Only the SAE are avail.

 

[KrisKustomPaint]

What size? I think I may have an extra

3/8" .....still bummed out.

 

[ngk22r]

All SO wants to do is sell sockets and wrenches to new techs getting started. I have double box socket wrenches, and they are NLA, only the ones with the open end available, also short metric deep box off set wrenches NLA, how can that be, metric is widely used. Only the SAE are avail.

If that were true why do they warranty my stuff no problem? Part numbers please on these double box end that they no longer make?


You guys do know that stuff over time will become obsolete? And that something new a better will be made making it pointless and in no way cost effective to make something that can no longer compete with the market???

 

[Toolhorder]

3/8" .....still bummed out.

I'm confused, is it like a speed handle with a ratchet handle on the top?

 

[tonydanzah]

I'm confused, is it like a speed handle with a ratchet handle on the top?

Nope, its a speed handle with a flex rachet head where the drive square would be.

 

[MattT]

I have double box socket wrenches, and they are NLA, only the ones with the open end available, also short metric deep box off set wrenches NLA, how can that be, metric is widely used.

Part numbers please on these double box end that they no longer make?

Sounds like it's the double end flex (saltus) wrenches. FH**** and FHM****. And the short metric deep boxes are XSOM****

 

[otis66]

I had my snap on speeder ratchet stolen, I really miss that tool, it was great. NLA.

If the tool is no longer available then said tool should be returned or a credit given.

 

[briggsguy17]

I can understand the air tools being NLA as they only have a one or two year warranty anyways. I have always had good luck with this though. Had a 3/8 blue point air ratchet to get rebuilt, NLA but they gave me the flat rate (what it would have cost to fix) as credit towards purchase of a newer style. Basically they gave me $60 off and I got to keep the old ratchet.

 

[Spam16v]

I'm 29, and half the **** i bought starting out is NLA, went to complete a set of mid length wrenches, NLA, then effin' handle change after handle change so us techs are "less tired at the end of the day" spare me... if you can make a transmission lighter, that'll make me less tired at the end of the day.

 

[jwheeler]

Hi Guys,
I started this and I appreciate the discussion, but it looks like no one has any ideas about how to get our favorite tools reproduced or how to find NLA or obsolete stock. Maybe a tool dealer might have some insight into our problem. It's not that I'm mad at Snap-On...I'm just disappointed that I can't get my favorite tools back to use again despite their "lifetime" warranty. Some of these tools were almost irreplaceable and jobs are now harder without them.

Maybe, just maybe, someone at Snap-On is listening to us and will tool up to replace a few things if we complain loudly enough...

Of course, there is always the threat of a class action ...hmmmm?

Wheeler

 

[mrshaun]

If you bring me a tool that is n/a I get you the closest thing I can. If I have to order from RWD ( our other catalog ) then I do that. I also can give you credit for the last selling price the tool sold at or if we cant find it then we geustimate ( guest estimate ) what it would have been. Rarely do "I" piss someone off for not taking care of their tool. the sfsum22 is sometimes seen on edeals. tell your dealer to look. I find the b series impact swivels for guys that want their sets to look alike instead of the new C models......

 

[Displaced Hokie]

You had me up to "class action". Please, please...don't go there.

Eventhough they likely do still have the old tooling, it's got to be expensive to pull that out to only make a few for stock. However, maybe that is what should be done. It's all business case. I know my company will pull out some old tooling and make some old parts for stock if the demand is there (and somewhat constant). If it's super rare to need said part (or tool in this case), it goes NLA.

I do agree that since it's a lifetime warranty, and the tool is NLA, a credit toward a new tool should be given. Not refund - credit.

 

[wrenchr]

They are should give you credit for what they sold for last.

 

[Lump]

JWheeler,
There are a bunch of us here on GJ who love to go to auctions, swap meets, estate sales, etc, and buy up good old US-made tools. Then we often resell some of what we buy, keeping certain tools for our own toolboxes.

I completely understand your disappointment about those lifetime warranties. You didn't pay the going price for tools which were guaranteed for a few years. You paid a PREMIUM price for superior tools which were guaranteed for LIFE. Period.

However, if finding replacements is your primary concern, I would suggest putting a list together by description with part numbers, to see if any of us on Garage Journal have the NLA tools you're looking for. I have personally filled NLA/missing tool gaps in tool sets of many different brands for several members here. Maybe me, or some of the other folks on Garage Journal can help you replace your missing or broken NLA tools. And if none of us have the tools you want YET, you can bet that we would all be delighted to keep our eyes peeled for you.

Just a thought...

 

[mrshaun]

no refunds are issued on anything unless you come back to me the same day and you paid by cash or check. if you use a card I get hammered on fees all the way around the board.

with a good dealer you get credit if no suggested replacement is available. some are too lazy to figure stuff out on their own so they give up, or they have no clue about old tools becuase no one told them about stuff like that........

 

[wrenchr]

Nla=sol..................................

 

[ngk22r]

Hi Guys,
I started this and I appreciate the discussion, but it looks like no one has any ideas about how to get our favorite tools reproduced or how to find NLA or obsolete stock. Maybe a tool dealer might have some insight into our problem. It's not that I'm mad at Snap-On...I'm just disappointed that I can't get my favorite tools back to use again despite their "lifetime" warranty. Some of these tools were almost irreplaceable and jobs are now harder without them.

Maybe, just maybe, someone at Snap-On is listening to us and will tool up to replace a few things if we complain loudly enough...

Of course, there is always the threat of a class action ...hmmmm?

Wheeler

Like I said before, post the part number of said NLA tools or also if you go on the Snap-on website and type in the said NLA part number in the search they website will direct you to the superseded tool.

 

[mrshaun]

I would go check on that socket but my snap on site is dead..... at least it is sunday and not a monday

 

[MattT]

Like I said before, post the part number of said NLA tools or also if you go on the Snap-on website and type in the said NLA part number in the search they website will direct you to the superseded tool.

I'm calling BS on that one.

FHM1214

Sorry, we did not find any products that match your search.

XSOM1619

Sorry, we did not find any products that match your search.

 

[jwheeler]

Hey Guys,

Maybe we're getting somewhere after all...I've also been in the tool business since 1976 (import/export but never Chinese junk), and I have a lot of the usual tool whorehouses as sources. We also have constant searches going on at Ebay and Craigslist. I also have a friendly nearby pawn shop which calls me with premium brand tool deals. We have a long relationship as I have bought back a lot of my stolen tools over the years, but that's another story in itself.

I'll try to put a list together of my most wanted NLA (no longer available) tools tomorrow. Maybe we can solve this issue ourselves, however I still think it's a shame we can't get some help from the Big Boys in the tool business.

Now, if only we had another Mac driver...the last one stopped at the shop in the early nineties to the best of my aging memory.

Wheeler
BimmerWerks
New Orleans

 

[mrshaun]

publish your list and label it DISCONTINUED TOOLS i would like to have ( or replaced ) or something like that. it might get alot of attention.

 

[mrshaun]

indicates stock level on e-deals
SFSUM22 FLEXOCKET

1 $50.25

E deals has one. tell your dealer to go and get it for you. the 21 is there
SFSUM18 18MM 6PT DEEP UNIVERSAL SKT

15 $50.25

Purchase Now
SFSUM21 FLEXOCKET

18 $51.75

Purchase Now
SFSUM22 FLEXOCKET

1 $50.25

Purchase Now
SFSUM7 FLEXOCKET

16 $47.95

Purchase Now
SFSUM8 FLEXOCKET 1

 

[mrshaun]

I'm calling BS on that one.

FHM1214


XSOM1619

well you can get the whole set there, not the wrench by itself

XSOM608 DEEP OFFSET SET

2 $243.00

 

[ngk22r]

I'm calling BS on that one.

FHM1214


XSOM1619

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=&item_ID=4940&group_ID=539&store=&dir=catalog

They no longer make it as a 16mm / 19mm but you can still get the same kind..

 

[ngk22r]

Again I think you guys are forgetting the big picture here, if a tool has been discontinued or superseded it was for a reason.

Also did you contact Snap-on about your issue? If not and you are just bitching about the fact they are no longer available then you really do not have a reason to complain as you did not give them a chance to fix the problem. But again you cant expect every tool ever made to still be made as there are advancements in technology that render the previous tool to no longer be made. And in most cases Snap-on will be more than happy to help you out and upgrade you to the better tool they currently make.

 

[mrshaun]

I guess this is like getting asked for a points file. It has been about 8 years since the last request. I have ZERO use for one of those as do 99 percent of my customers.

 

[jwheeler]

Hi Guys,

With regard to my NLA tools, I think I was fairly thorough in giving SO an opportunity to replace my broken stuff...each time something has been NLA since 1975, I have called and have spoken to a number of different Snap-On people in Kenosha...I was told that the tools I wanted warranted were not going to be produced in the future, but my purchase price could be refunded if I followed their return procedure and sent them the tools. On each occasion, I followed up by letter and told them that I really just wanted my tools replaced in the usual course of business by handing them to my dealer, thereby avoiding the time and expense of sending them myself.

I think I gave them a fair shot to resolve the problem.

Now, another important fact is that most of the NLA tools were metric and are now being sold by importers of BMW special tool on EBay, which is where most of my techs buy them. HMMM, maybe SO should have sold them their brand...

BTW, thanks to MRSHAUN for his info...he's an extremely valuable asset to this group...

Wheeler
BimmerWerks

 

[treasureseeker]

On the NLA tools which I have sent into Snap on I have been very happy with the current replacements. I find it doubtful that Snap On didn’t find a replacement and know if they couldn’t warranty an item they send the tool back to the customer which in your case is your dealer. I have recently sent into Snap-on the tools that the dealer would not replace and they warranty them all. If it was me I would be wondering if my dealer actually sent the tools in.

 

[Rickster]

I have a bunch of old Snap-on I've picked up from estate sales. Feel free to send me a list of what it is you need and a part number and I'd be happy to check if I have it available and sell it to you for a reasonable price.

 

[isr2kba]

Hi Guys,

With regard to my NLA tools, I think I was fairly thorough in giving SO an opportunity to replace my broken stuff...each time something has been NLA since 1975, I have called and have spoken to a number of different Snap-On people in Kenosha...I was told that the tools I wanted warranted were not going to be produced in the future, but my purchase price could be refunded if I followed their return procedure and sent them the tools.

...

I think I gave them a fair shot to resolve the problem.

I think they took a fair shot at resolving your problems, too. Like it or not, things are going to evolve over long periods of time.

Wrenchers have been confronted by the same problem since the first stone was rounded to a wheel so many years ago -- Oops that tool doesn't work/broken/missing, figure out another way before the flat rate catches me.