Snap On vs Matco??

[SoGaTech]

I have some Matco but they are really over priced for made in Taiwan. I would just buy SO if the price is the same. Better yet, just buy HF as I heard they are as good as SO and maybe better. BTW: I don't own any HF tools - I could not stand the store smell and got literally sick breathing the store air.

I'm willing to spend the money for great quality tools & service. I only have a few matco ratchets right now that are on par with my snap on ratchets. Lol about hf.

 

[Flinter987]

Don't be afraid to try Napa's Carlyle stuff. They offer student discount with ID card and I've been impressed with the quality this far!

 

[SoGaTech]

Snap-On "The cheapest isn't always the least expensive" I have Snap On tools I bought 45 years ago, see some of them here:

I dont mind spending a little more now rather then later, cause I have a pretty good paying job now while in school instead of spending money later on if i become flat rate and have a bad few weeks and not have tools worth a ****. I will def check out your video. thanks for your reply

what about MAC ?

I can get the discount with mac too. Our mac guy stops by the school every tuesday like clock work because he is buddies with the instructor and the intructor has been buying tools from him for over 15+ years.

Both are great tools and don't rely on one single brand for this

For the most part snap on is better for hand tools but not to overlook a few gems that matco offers that are exclusive to them like the pinless impact 1/4 universal sockets or there offering of knipex pliers aswell as there ratcheting flex/box spline which are a lot better than gearwrench versions

But snap on has bjp1 ball joint 1/4 chrome universal and sockets are better than matco same with extensions the ball retension is stronger

Look at both of possible no brand is best on all fronts with offering get a little of both

Thanks for the advice and i will def take it into consideration.

**** Mac sideways, their tools aren't really bad but the support or huge lack of it for their dealers is reason enough to stay away. My dealer is a great guy but ordering anything takes forever and it took 3 months to replace the hose in my transmission pressure kit.

That ***** to hear that! We have nothing but mac tools to use in school and their great quality too. Our mac dealer has been doing it 15+ years and owns 4 other mac trucks & routes and has been great when we needed something at the school.

I've gone thru 4 or 5 dealers in the 15 years I've been wrenching, they all struggled before throwing the towel in and there is absolutely no support between dealers.

The tools are quite pricey and a lot have been cheapened up to since Stanely took over.

I guess the biggest thing is invest in the brand with the best support in your area, snap on has the most dealers so that's what I went with.

That is crazy that ya'll went through that many dealers, fortunately we have had the same one for a long time and he seems honest & trustworthy. We have snap on/mac/ & matco all in the area with matco being the newest. The instructor says there was no matco dealer for 3-5 years. SO that kinda bothers me if it happens again with warranty.

Many good thoughts and accumulated wisdom has been passed on to you in the above threads. In my humble opinion one thing has been left out. If you decide that the auto technician's life is your choice. you will always have a chance to buy a quality toolbox from someone exiting the business or a great deal on a trade in from your driver. Don't waste your money on a top of the line showpiece toolbox with empty drawers when you can be making money with the tools you have in a lesser box. In the event that you change your mind on your intended career path (or life gets in the way as it has been known to happen), you aren't stuck with a behemoth box the people will offer you 10 cents on the dollar for because you can't store it in your apartment and just want to get rid of it.

thanks for the reply and advice. I bought a mac tool box with my student discount.

Sorry but every truck brand has minimum stock quotas. Your hatred for MAC seems to be unfounded only because your guy is having troubles. If he was Snap-On you'd be hearing the same complaints.

I don't know anything about how the franchise truck program works but our mac dealer is a pretty cool guy and has 4 additional trucks & drivers and his truck is always like a tooltopia when we go on board and if he doesnt have it right then he looks in his inventory to see if its on one of his other trucks and will get it off them for you if he has to.

 

[derosa]

One of the factors for going this way is warranty and stuff like that. If it breaks, how are you going to get another one? Can you wait that long? A lot may depend on if your distributor's care.

At this point in time is either brand really faster for warranty than another. The snap-on guy might be able to fix your ratchet on the spot but if he was there yesterday when's his next arrival time. A phone call and a photo to wright, sk or other brands will get you a replacement sent quick. At this point I don't even need money down, I call up where I buy wright and they have it in 2 days for me if I need, they can also do ratchet repairs on the spot. It's great the drivers come to you but it is always at their convenience and not yours. With the money saved duplicates can always be purchased of tools you go through the most and amazon and a dozen other places can get them to you next day.

 

[SoGaTech]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=306641&highlight=backordered

I live in the most densely populated area of the United States. I can't tell you the last time I saw a Matco truck. There are at least 4 different Snap On trucks in my immediate vicinity, rarely does a day go by that I don't see one. This has been my experience in all three of the states I've lived in.

Look at used prices on Ebay or in pawn shops. See which brand fetches more. There may come a day when you'd like to sell them.

The answer was clear for me, but only you can make your decision, OP.

Thats the way it is here. The instructor said they went 3-5 years without a matco truck but have always had a snap on & mac truck. The mac guy owns 5 trucks total with 4 drivers working for him & been doing it 15+ years and the snap on guy has 2 trucks and been doing it 10 years or so. I like all 3 brands but think matco & snap on being better quality compared to mac.

Don't be afraid to try Napa's Carlyle stuff. They offer student discount with ID card and I've been impressed with the quality this far!

We have some of their quick lift floor jacks and school and thats who get our parts from and their jacks are great. I havent had the luxury of using their tools yet. Maybe i should check some of them out too

 

[SoGaTech]

At this point in time is either brand really faster for warranty than another. The snap-on guy might be able to fix your ratchet on the spot but if he was there yesterday when's his next arrival time. A phone call and a photo to wright, sk or other brands will get you a replacement sent quick. At this point I don't even need money down, I call up where I buy wright and they have it in 2 days for me if I need, they can also do ratchet repairs on the spot. It's great the drivers come to you but it is always at their convenience and not yours. With the money saved duplicates can always be purchased of tools you go through the most and amazon and a dozen other places can get them to you next day.

Anytime our instructor has had to call the mac or snap on guy they come by the end of the day usually because our town is small and only 15 minutes from one side to the other so its never too bad to make a trip at the end of the day to make your customers happy. Which is what i like and if they cant repair it they loan one out until yours is fixed or replace it all together.

 

[Greg85mcss]

Great choice on the tech series. I loved mine and sold it for what I paid plus got 2 matco ratchets out of the deal. Also if you have easy access to napa the carlyle impacts are great. I have the matco version of the 3/8.


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[SoGaTech]

Great choice on the tech series. I loved mine and sold it for what I paid plus got 2 matco ratchets out of the deal. Also if you have easy access to napa the carlyle impacts are great. I have the matco version of the 3/8.


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Wow that was a good deal for you. I love my tech series box now i am going to start on the tool part of getting my tools. I will check out the carlyle impacts. We have some mac & snap on impacts at school and their awesome to work with.

 

[md21722]

At this point in time is either brand really faster for warranty than another. The snap-on guy might be able to fix your ratchet on the spot but if he was there yesterday when's his next arrival time. A phone call and a photo to wright, sk or other brands will get you a replacement sent quick. At this point I don't even need money down, I call up where I buy wright and they have it in 2 days for me if I need, they can also do ratchet repairs on the spot. It's great the drivers come to you but it is always at their convenience and not yours. With the money saved duplicates can always be purchased of tools you go through the most and amazon and a dozen other places can get them to you next day.

You're in some part of NY and Wright is in NE OH. OP is in South GA. What's the UPS shipping time there? Probably another day, at least. Good dealers will come by if you have a problem, and will order things based off text messages. A lot of this comes down to how good your dealer is and what his route is like. Not trying to piss on you, but rather, citing excellent delivery times for Wright is mostly about your location. That would not work for me out in Colorado where it would take 3-4 business days ground transit after UPS received the package.

When you buy off Snap On, Matco, MAC on the web, it all ships out of their central locations like Crystal Lake, IL for Snap On, Antioch, TN for Matco, and Columbus, OH for MAC. The truck delivery system is different, they have access to regional depots to get tools delivered faster.

 

[BIG BACCHUS]

Does that always matter?

See if you can a price sheet from both companies with the student discount prices then look at other brands. Bondhus makes as good a torx or hex tool as either brand, Wright and SK make just as good a socket or wrench as either brand, gearwrench makes ratcheting wrenches as good, and in my experience better, then Matco. Snap on ratchet wrenches seem to be better but for a beginner is it 4x better which is the rough retail cost difference. There are plenty of pro brands out there and a little time at night spent researching the options could net you some real steals that will give you a variety of tools every bit as good as either brand but still cheaper then the student pricing; leaves you more money for more tools or more beer for those saturday parties.

50% off of both Matco and Snap On makes them cheaper than most second hand SK, Proto, Wright and many others.

 

[pelletman]

I love Snap On ratchets, that being said, I use my Milwaukee M12 cordless ratchet more and more. Time is money. Also never buy a house with someone you're not married to.

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[dsimatt]

Thats the way it is here. The instructor said they went 3-5 years without a matco truck but have always had a snap on & mac truck. The mac guy owns 5 trucks total with 4 drivers working for him & been doing it 15+ years and the snap on guy has 2 trucks and been doing it 10 years or so. I like all 3 brands but think matco & snap on being better quality compared to mac.



We have some of their quick lift floor jacks and school and thats who get our parts from and their jacks are great. I havent had the luxury of using their tools yet. Maybe i should check some of them out too

Sounds like you have a good choice of dealers that will give good service and be around for awhile, nothing worse than spending a bunch of money on a brand and then the dealer quits and leaves you hanging.

The hardline tools of all the brands are good and whatever you pick will serve you well. I would recommend looking else where when it comes to air or cordless tools because there are better options out there.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

Sounds like you have a good choice of dealers that will give good service and be around for awhile, nothing worse than spending a bunch of money on a brand and then the dealer quits and leaves you hanging.

There have been a bunch of Us that have been left hanging when a SnapOn Dealer quit. A job relocation can have the same effect. If Your franchised area lacks a dealer, You are left with internet sales and service. SnapOn corporate refused to give the phone number for a dealer in a neighboring franchise area.

The value placed on the weekly red carpet service can also be diminished
when a New true turd dealer takes over a franchised route.

Yes; It is a definite plus to have a Good Dealer who will provide the red carpet service that You paid for.

 

[nti06]

I was a UTI student and took an additional living expense loan to buy most of my initial tools and Classic 78 box.
You will never have access to Snap-on tools at the prices you can get them for right now as a student.
Take as much advantage of that discount as you possibly can while it's available to you.

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[JohnDeere1]

Snap on wins at least they make thier hardline but do have a set of Matco combo wrenches that are almost identical to my snappys and a couple ratchets I like okay but wouldn't trade my snap ons for any of it.

 

[bixxjs]

I'd say go with Snapon,there service is second to none.But remember you are paying for it.

 

[1950mercury]

What about craftsman

 

[mrbillh]

Not a tech but a guy who work on his street "racer"...regularly Listen to the guys here and do lots and lots of research. I recently replaced my mixed bag of screwdrivers with Proto due to advice here. They are the exact same as MAC but a different color. But have to admit I love my SO ratchets. Be cost efficient and not necessarily brand loyal, good luck!

 

[4x4gearhead]

In my honest opinion from a price point they are very close but you will find spending the money with snap-on to be worth it. In my own experience most of the Matco tools I ever bought were expensive, and could be bought cheaper somewhere else (lisle Armstrong Otc) and most of them are at home where I don't use them as much and have been replaced with snap on or higher quality things by now. I had a good dealer that I liked and bought a bit off of 8 years ago or so. I found I was disappointed a lot of the time by the performance of a lot of hardline items like ratchets. This is just my opinion. A lot of people will poo poo on snap on for being expensive but if you are going to buy expensive tools, that is the way to go for me. Good luck in your career. Welcome to one of the most thankless jobs you can have!

 

[The Fall]

A lot of great advice here.

I bought only Snap-On with the student discount. Then when I got a job working at a shop, the Matco guy turned out to be much more pleasant (and better with warranting broken tools) than the Snap-On guy. They're both top-notch companies. Snap-on makes really amazing stuff, but at the end of the day a lot of it comes down to the local rep, at least from my perspective. When I needed a long-handled, fine-toothed 1/4" ratchet, I went with the Matco one. It came down to the driver.

SK appears to be the best value in American-made tools. My flare-nut wrenches and SAE wrenches (long pattern) are SK and I have several roundhead ratchets. I'm not concerned about warrantying them. I don't think it'll be much of an issue. And if I do, their customer service gets good reviews on here.

 

[Wamsutta]

Snap-on makes really amazing stuff, but at the end of the day a lot of it comes down to the local rep, at least from my perspective. When I needed a long-handled, fine-toothed 1/4" ratchet, I went with the Matco one. It came down to the driver.

I very politely disagree. I let the tool itself be the main deciding factor. After the friendly Matco driver is long gone, you're stuck with a Matco ratchet when perhaps - you would've liked the Snap-on version better. If the driver is that bad, I just bypass him and find another source.

 

[PeterT]

what about mac ?

mAC dADDy wHack

 

[md21722]

I never did get those Matco carbide scrapers I mentioned way earlier in this thread, they were continuously back ordered with extending dates. A set of 3/8" SAE hex drivers has been on B.O. for over 6 weeks. A front end suspension tool was on B.O. for a few weeks and then it jumped to about 2 months after that. Plus they are knowingly selling defective impact sockets and don't care. My Matco guy is a good guy who stands behind his product, but the corpo back end is a disaster. Generally I look to Snap On first, and Matco when their price is too good, or I don't care for the Snap On one for some reason.

 

[The Fall]

I very politely disagree. I let the tool itself be the main deciding factor. After the friendly Matco driver is long gone, you're stuck with a Matco ratchet when perhaps - you would've liked the Snap-on version better. If the driver is that bad, I just bypass him and find another source.

By all means, that's your right. Of course -- if Snap-on has a clear advantage (and they sometimes do), THAT'S the tool to get. I already have what I feel are the Snap-On essentials that I picked up before I started working there. If there's something that I'd like to get from Snap-on, I'd most likely hit ebay for a used version, waiting for a decent price. My friend/owner of the shop just paid off his Snap-On tab and we both check the other trucks first, which should say something.

The Matco guy has been there for five years. When I started at the garage, and it was clear that I was going to be sticking around, he acknowledged my presence first. It might not mean a lot to some, but I appreciated it. If I'm going to pay $90+ for a new ratchet, especially one that's not common but necessary, I'm going to give the money to someone who I feel is doing a great job and offering a solid product -- and I feel that the Matco 88-tooth 1/4" ratchet was a great purchase (I wouldn't have purchased it otherwise). I like supporting people doing a good job; put effort in. That's why I also get SK. I like what they represent and their price point. Proto is another one. I just got their long 1/2" ratchet for suspension work.

My family has been in cabinetry for forty years. I've seen more salesman in my lifetime than most -- lumber, equipment, hardware, etc. Honestly, I disliked most so when someone good comes along, I value them. There's no right or wrong answer here, as far as I can tell, and if you want to look past the salesman (no matter how bothersome) and strictly at the product, that's a valid approach. At truck prices, I look at the salesman and the product. If they're both not there, I'm sure I can find the tool I want elsewhere and surely cheaper.

 

[Michael_in_DE]

i should tell you, I had some things I worked on over the weekend (Mercedes air-spring) and after starting with Snap-on deep sockets, I had to move to my matcos because the depth of the reinforcement on the SO was too shallow, thereby not allowing the screw to pass far enough into the socket, and there by not getting purchase on the lower nut.