Snap-on warranty question

[CobraBronco]

I have an older Snap-on ratchet, F71C is the model # on the handle, that has a broken gear inside.

I decided to finally get the thing repaired, so I met up with the local snapon dealer, and had him look at it. He told me it was a discontinued item, and he couldn't get parts for it any longer.

I told him that is fine, and asked if I could get a new ratchet then. The dealer told me since it is a discontinued item, he could only give me a $5 credit towards the purchase of a new one.

Does this seem right to anyone? Shouldn't this ratchet have a lifetime warranty regardless if they make that model anymore?

 

[philw]

A F71C ratchet is an early 50's ratchet. According to collectingsnapon.com it was listed in the 1953 catalog. If you bought it originally from Snap-on in the early 50's then I guess you may have an issue. If you are younger than early 70's then I would be happy with any type of credit. Snap-on doesn't warranty tools forever, they are not Craftsman. Snap-ons warranty statement also has a clause about the warranty only applying to the buyer who has purchased it through authorized snap-on distribution channels.
My guess is the Snap-on dealer doesn't think you purchased it originally and doesn't want to warranty it.

Snap-on didn't have a kit for my grandfathers f-70 ratchet but I was able to use a later model kit and it works fine. I will go try to find out what part # I ordered and post it later.

Is it a 30 tooth ratchet?

 

[Fedwrench]

You may want to try a different dealer. The Snap on warranty has been discussed here many times before and I seem to remember something about the warranty applying to the original purchaser only. Anyway, The F71C is got to be over 40 years old so the average dealer won't have parts for it. You may want to search the Snap on site to see if they even list parts for it. The $5.00 turn in credit doesn't sound very generous. Is the dealer your regular dealer or just one you stopped by? As tools become obsolete and are phased out of the catalog, there is no way to warranty them. It's up to the dealer how he or she handles it. If you're a regular customer, they may give you a similiar newer model if not, you may be out of luck.

 

[64merc]

You're in a tough spot here. It doesn't seem fair when they won't honor a warranty because the item is discontinued, but you can kinda see where the dealer is coming from on this. If the ratchet was only several years old, and you had bought it originally, than I think it would be worth fighting over. Since it is 40+ years old, I think you may have to let this one go.

I had a similar situation occur at Sears and was lucky enough to come out victorious, but it took about an hour and 4 different people to get it done.

 

[CobraBronco]

Our old dealer that we had for our area retired at the end of last year, so this is a new guy that just started in January.

 

[george4]

Snap tries to pass the buck to the driver, do not go for that. As long as Snap on sells on line they are generally stuck. Go over the driver’s head. Find out who manages your region for Snap On and complain loudly about the warranty failure and the specific driver. I got them to just send me warranty items and a postage paid label to send back the broken item. Others on this forum have done the same.

 

[philw]

CobraBronco,
I was wrong. My grandfathers ratchet was an f-71b. It is the ferret design. I think the 71c is the same design. If you go to Snap-ons website look under the "parts catalog" link and then click on "square drive tools, wrenches, and pliers" and then "ratchets" it will bring you a list of ratchet which parts are available for. They do not list your ratchet but you may be able to click on a model that is close and use the diagram they give you to match something up.

I ordered a service kit # RKRA962 for my f-71b. I also ordered the reverse lever kit #f720ark and plate screws # esd1158. All the parts I ordered worked fine and the ratchet works like new. They did include a bushing with the kit which I did not use since my ratchet was a pre-bushing model.

Here is some fine print from the Snap-on catalogs warranty statement.

"Proof of purchase must be provided with all warranty service requests."
"This warranty only extends to the original Buyer and cannot be transferrred or assigned"

Obviously this is not usually enforced but was probably written into the warranty statement to help dealers.
Also, Snap-on doesn't state what lifetime warranty means in their catalog. Lifetime of the tool or lifetime of the user? I would say a f-71c has seen it's lifetime and like I said before unless you are in your 70's you can't complain because that tells the dealer you weren't the original purchaser.

 

[Elroy]

Face the facts. That tool is most likely well over 50 years old and here you're laying down a bunch of tears about how Snap-on won't stand behind their warranty. And all they want to give me is a cheap $5 credit on a new ratchet. Look the damn thing has been discontinued and bitchin is only going to make you look bad.

Hay, That's it. Elroy just realized the broken 1952 ratchet he just picked up needs to be turned in for a warranty claim. That's it a warranty claim. Ya that's it.

Could you please tell me why I can't buy that trans-am rod bearing insert for my Boss 302.

What do you mean I can't buy OEM four wheel disc brakes parts for my 69 Z-28.

DISCONTINEDno parts available

No parts available. Get over it.

Hell, Elroy had a Snappy oil filter wrench that broke and that thing was less than 10 years old. Would you like to guess what Snap-on said:

DISCONTINED no parts available

Now sure, Elroy will fully admit that $5 is a little on the cheap side. Approch them real nice in a letter to their corporate office, play dumb and ask what they are willing to do. Getting all pissy like "an Elroy" with the their distributor will get you no where real fast like you just found out.

Now for the BIG QUESTION: And what the hell makes you even think they would have 50 year old parts anyways?

That has got to be the most ignorant thing Elroy has heard in quite a while. Sorry for the low blow but you really should know better. Right?

Now about the Talladega fender Elroy needs................

It's available just like like that BOSS 429 front spindle.

 

[DavidtheDuke]

Face the facts.

Matco dealer will replace the whole ratchet if he can't get you the internal parts fixed.

 

[Elroy]

Matco dealer will replace the whole ratchet if he can't get you the internal parts fixed.

Home Depot will replace the whole ratchet if he can't get you the internal parts fixed....................

then you can have a real POS Huskey ratchet and your grandson can ***** about it too. Only problem is your grandson only needs to wait about 12 months or 12 wrench sessions before he gets to *****. NOT 50 years!

Ok, ok 40 years because that "real tool" has been broke for 10.

What the hell happen here to get Elroy so pissed? Warranty on a 50 year old tool. Ya that's it.

 

[DavidtheDuke]

What the hell happen here to get Elroy so pissed? Warranty on a 50 year old tool. Ya that's it.

Sorry Elroy, don't get your sprockets in a bunch, just the facts

Oh, and I bought a MSD4 prybar from Snap-on FOUR MONTHS AGO (and it'd broke way too easily, at the tip, with just the force of my hand). Guess what, DISCONTINUED. I'm not going to get over that easily.

 

[Elroy]

Sorry to hear that. Must have been a little too hard. Next time Elroy would suggest you go to Walmart for your pry bars. Elroy understands they bend first and never break.

enough here

 

[krusty the clown]

if the parts are unavailable then fine but $5 credit.......no way. as previously posted the f720 parts will fit and it can be fixed. send it to me and i'll get it taken care of!

 

[dxdexter]

I would not want a $5 credit for an item that I "actually purchased" that was discontinued after only a few years. I would expect it to be replaced with the current issue, or my purchase price refunded.

Your case is a different because, unless you are old enough to have purchased this ratchet, then it is probably obvious to the dealer that you did not purchase the item. The Snap-on warranty specifies the original purchaser and maybe they feel this is being taken advantage of.

"This warranty only extends to the original Customer and cannot be transferred or assigned."

"at its option, Snap-on will repair or replace its Products which fail to give satisfactory service due to defective workmanship or materials, or provide a refund by repaying or crediting Customer with an amount equal to the purchase price of such Products."

If they are offering a credit, perhaps the ratchet cost $5 in the early 50's????

 

[krusty the clown]

Our old dealer that we had for our area retired at the end of last year, so this is a new guy that just started in January.

call your old dealer. he may just have some older discontinued repair kits!

 

[krusty the clown]

how about this one......

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/parts/pro_det.asp?Item_id=31082&group_id=6868

 

[chad s]

The parts are available for the ratchet. My driver rebuilt a 1947 F-70n for me a few months ago, your ratchet will use the exact same kit. In fact, they used the same interchangeable components into the 1970's. I offered to pay my dealer for the rebuild kit, since it was obviousely a tool that was much older than I am, but he refused to take any money for it.

 

[CobraBronco]

I appreciate (almost) everyone's response . I'll look into getting that rebuild kit and see if i can get this ratchet working again.

The ratchet belongs to my Dad, who is the original owner. He leaves for Florida in the winter, but lets me use his shop while he is gone. I thought it would be a nice gesture to get some of his broken tools repaired or replaced while he was gone, so that is why I took this to the SO dealer.

I really had no idea how old this was, until this post. I figued 20 years at the most! The handle is in really good shape for being 50 years old.

 

[eschoendorff]

Elroy has a point... why would that dealer want to take a hit on an old discontinued ratchet????

If it were my ratchet, I would call Snap On corporate, tell them what your dilemma is and see if they can make any suggestions. Sometimes all you have to do is ask.

Until you do that, quit yer bitchin'

 

[CobraBronco]

I wasn't bitching about anything. My first post was just asking how the warranty worked.

Like I said earlier, I had no idea how old this ratchet was, until I posted on here.

 

[krusty the clown]

Elroy has a point... why would that dealer want to take a hit on an old discontinued ratchet????

If it were my ratchet, I would call Snap On corporate, tell them what your dilemma is and see if they can make any suggestions. Sometimes all you have to do is ask.

Until you do that, quit yer bitchin'

too gain a customer that's why..........look at it this way, at $20 a week a customer is worth $1040 a year. taking care of the ratchet would be worth that. maybe he want's it for his collection and thats why he only offered 5 bucks.......$5 off of a $75 ratchet would still make him $20 profit and have a collectable tool to boot. i think i would talk to him again, if he's a new dealer that's what corporate trained him to do and he may not even be aware that kits are still available.

 

[Merkava_4]

That dealer is an absolute *****!

If the ratchet is not serviceable due to parts availability, the company owes you a replacement with a compatible model. Period.

Go to a different dealer! That's what I did with a 17mm SO wrench from a yard sale that was bent. The Clovis dealer said NO - the Fresno dealer said YES.

 

[DavidtheDuke]

too gain a customer that's why..........look at it this way, at $20 a week a customer is worth $1040 a year. taking care of the ratchet would be worth that. maybe he want's it for his collection and thats why he only offered 5 bucks.......$5 off of a $75 ratchet would still make him $20 profit and have a collectable tool to boot. i think i would talk to him again, if he's a new dealer that's what corporate trained him to do and he may not even be aware that kits are still available.

I've been $100 a week for awhile now. If I email my dealer about a $2 BP torx bit for warranty, he'll bring the truck out for me

 

[chad s]

I'm still waiting for my dealer to get a kit in for this one:

Could take a while! (it needs more than a kit!)

 

[Uncle Buck]

Now Now boys, It is time for me to pop in with a SO poor warranty rant, you know I love doing this every few weeks. By now everyone should have my saying down pat "Great tools, **** Warranty!".

(Man I love doing that!)

 

[chad s]

If the ratchet is not serviceable due to parts availability, the company owes you a replacement with a compatible model. Period.

Well, the ratchet is serviceable, the dealer is either uninformed on his own companies products, or just unfair.

I personally would expect a dealer to hand me a new ratchet when I hand him an un-repairable one that I clearly didnt buy. Their warranty does state that its for the original owner, but most dealers dont sick to that too seriousely.

The point is, unless you are a VERY big spender, a dealer isnt going to warranty anything that he cannot get his money back on in the form of a credit from corporate. When he sends in the old guts of a ratchet, he has a good chance of getting his credit, and if for some reason corporate disputes it, he isnt out a lot of money. Now if you arnt a customer of his, and are just steeping on the truck for the first time, asking for a warranty, he may not even take the risk on a rebuild kit credit.

However, if he hands you a brand new ratchet, and sends in a 50 year old ratchet for credit, I think its pretty likely that corporate will find a reason not to issue the driver a credit (Im sure they try any way they can not to issue credits), and the driver is out the cost of the new ratchet he handed you.

 

[chad s]

By the way, the repair kit for this ratchet is part number RKRA380, and it is current, still made. Its also the same kit my dealer put in my 1947 F-70.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/sear...nsfr=true&search_type=Part&store=snapon-store

Tell your dealer that this part number will work, and see if his tune changes.

Worst case scenario you pay the $10 for the kit, and use the ratchet for another 50 years.

 

[Merkava_4]

I'd still find another dealer. If he's that stupid to begin with, I wouldn't trust him to service my vintage ratchet with the new kit I paid $10 for.

 

[billymade]

I think it all comes down to the attitude of the dealer and sometimes how they feel that day and (unfortunately) possibly your customer history! Years ago, I had a old ratchet from the flea market that had a (if i remember correctly) hairline crack in the head and the dealer refused to replace the ratchet, yelling at me that I bought it from a garage sale, practically running me out of the truck! I was living in northern california at the time and contacted the local Snap-On distribution warehouse, I told them about the dealer refusal of a warranty replacement and they told me to come on down for a new one. I walked in, gave them the ratchet and walked out with with a brand new model. To me this shows that the corporate attitude is different then the dealer side or at least the local distribution people didn't have a problem with doing the warranty exchange, I literally was there less then 2 or 3 minutes. I live in a small town and have a local Snap-On dealer which I don't particularly like dealing with; I don't buy tons of stuff from him and I just "walk in" occasionally when he is on his route. When I come by for a warranty issue, I just tell him if he can warranty the item "ok" if not "ok" and I'll even buy the kit or parts that I need; if thats what he will or won't do. I'm up front by saying I just want the tool to "work" and don't want him to "eat" the kit if he thinks he won't get a credit for the broken parts. This may be out of a unnecessary feeling of guilt, since I don't owe him 10k and am not paying him $50 or more a week. In the case of the tools, I really like the Snap-On products but not the dealer in my area. One dealer I had, when I worked at a body shop in california, was very nice, had tons of tools to where you almost couldn't get through the truck and he made more money then all the other trucks that came by the shop. This just tells me that to be a successful in tool sales, takes a certain type of person: outgoing, friendly, good at communicating, establishing rapport and maintaining good relationships with their clients; not everyone is able to do be this successfully. It also helps to have the products in stock and many times its hard to sell what isn't there for the customer to see. It takes money (in stock) to make money and what you can't see won't always typically sell. My good dealer had all the points nailed: good, enthusiastic, friendly customer service, tons of stock and didn't flinch when warranty issues came up; results, sold a ton of stuff and made good money!
By the way, I think if you clean, derust, bead blast or wirbrush those parts on that ratchet, grease it up and put it back together you will be fine. I have done this to a bunch of my flea market vintage Snap-On ratchets with great success!

 

[Merkava_4]

I like the way nissan_crawler described his dealer the "Snap-on lady." He said she knows that even if she loses money on the front end with a tool the corporate may not reimburse her for, she'll make up the cost 10 times over on the back end because the customer will be happy and come back to buy more tools.

His dealer services some kind of aviation maintenance facility with 500 mechanics. The dealer lady is there from midnight to 4AM on Friday morning and then there again on Friday afternoon from 3PM-5PM. With that many mechanics on one stop, for her it's like going fishing at a fish hatchery!

 

[Brad54]

I've gotten the same thing from Snap-on dealers, while trying to warranty stuff for my dad, who was the original owner, but didn't want to take the time to chase down a truck.

I'm not a professional wrencher, but like nice tools. For every one good snap-on dealer I've dealt with in the past 20 years (since starting my tool collection at 17 years old), I've had two crappy dealers that didn't want to be bothered dealing with me. Even at a place where I worked up front and the shop in the back had several guys with Snap-on accounts, the dealer didn't want to be bothered with me because I was a casual buyer.

I have NEVER, EVER had a problem returning a Craftsman tool, and while it's popular to rip on Craftsman, I've not had many fail due to poor quality (1/4-drive ratchet's gear is pretty delicate, while I truly do wear out my 3/8-drive ratchets). At 1/8 to 1/4 the price of Snap On tools, I just don't see the benefit of spending that much money for basic hand tools. Craftsman's Professional line has served me very well over the years.

Special tools, like brake flare kits, brake bleeder wrenches etc, I can see spending the long dollar on, because Sears doesn't make them, and I'll buy the right tool for the job every time. But a set of combination wrenches, a 1/2-inch ratchet, 6-point sockets, impact sockets, screw drivers, hammers, and the list goes on...I'll never see the benefit of Snap-on over Craftsman. It certainly isn't the warranty.

-Brad

 

[Merkava_4]

I just don't see the benefit of spending that much money for basic hand tools.

I feel the same way about diamonds and rare coins.

 

[Elroy]

I wasn't bitching about anything. My first post was just asking how the warranty worked.

Like I said earlier, I had no idea how old this ratchet was, until I posted on here.

This is the last time Elroy is going to pick on you. You don't really deserve anymore **** but you were bitchin. Just a little bit mind you:

I have an older Snap-on ratchet.....
it was a discontinued item....
Shouldn't this ratchet have a lifetime warranty regardless if they make that model anymore?

Actually your bitching was minor compared to Elroy's. Good luck to ya getting your father's tool repaired. Excellent motive by the way.

 

[SteveV]

This is why I think Snap On (and he other tool truck brands) aren't usually a good choice for a weekend wrencher. Their very selective about what they warranty.

Even though this is a severe example, this sort of thing happens all the time for ANY warranty case. Unless your a good customer or work at a shop, most dealers will tell you to piss off if you want an item warrantied. Does anyone doubt that if the posters' father, (who originally bought the ratchet) went up to a Snap On dealer, he wouldn't get the same answer? And yes, I think Snap-On should give you a new ratchet, even in exchange for a really old one if they can't fix it. That's my definition of a lifetime warranty, and that's a big reason why people pay such a premium for the tools, Snap_on is supposed to stand behind them.

I'm not ripping on the quality of Snap-On products, they make great tools. But some of their policies really ****, and I'm not sure their products are worth both the enormous markup and the warranty bullsh!t that comes with them.

The fact that so many people have to go over dealers heads to get their tools fixed is ridiculous. I would be very hesitant to make a large investment in their products if I was not using the tools in a commercial environment.

You might be better off getting by with slightly "inferior" tools that are priced more reasonably and can be easily warrantied.

 

[nissan_crawler]

This is why I think Snap On (and he other tool truck brands) aren't usually a good choice for a weekend wrencher. Their very selective about what they warranty. You might be better off getting by with slightly "inferior" tools that are priced more reasonably and can be easily warrantied.

Returning a tool at sears is 10x the pain in the *** that getting one exchanged on the Snap-On truck is.

"This screwdriver isn't warrantied" "it said it was" "but the tip was obviously used to open a paint can and broke" "funny, I'm an aircraft mechanic not a painter"

"to *warranty* the couple LIFETIME warranty taps you have that are broken, we can only exchange you for this no-warranty chinese set"

"we will only *warranty* your LIFETIME torque wrench with this 90 day warranty one"

"your wrench isn't under warranty" "why?" "you were using it professionally" "it's a professional wrench!!"

"The Craftsman name and 18mm on my socket are upside down, I would like one with the printing the right way" "we can't do that" "why, I just bought the set two days ago" "it's not defective" "it's not? then what in the hell do you call having stamped it wrong?"

"What are you returning this tap driver for?" "the prongs bent out while using a tap" "well, that's from using too big of a tap" "it came with the damn driver!!"

Exchange a broken pair of dykes, they *claim* they only have smaller model now, one I have is discontinued, so I get smaller model. Fast forward 5 weeks or so, and I see my old model on the shelf while getting other tools. I go to work, get exchange receipt, and smaller dykes and go back and tell them I want the other pair.

"We can't do that." "why not?" "we cant upgrade tools" "it's not an upgrade, that's what I had the first time when you lied to me and said it wasn't being made anymore!!!" "yes, but you accepted the smaller pair, so now it's an upgrade" "what the...are you serious?" "yes, we don't do upgrades" "it's not, you downgraded me!!! I just want what I had to start with when you lied and said they weren't made!!" "sorry, I can't do upgrades"

That took a call to the regional manager for a stinking pair of dykes to get exchanged.

Trust me, I can do this for days.

Snap-On truck: "My ****'s broken." "Oh ok, heres a new one." "did I sell that to you, I don't remember it?" "nope, I got it on ebay" "oh, that's why, here's the new one"

She has warrantied NON SNAP-ON tools that I did NOT buy from her for me, even.

I break the tips in my general automatic punches all the time. She had some, it happens the snap-on ones take the same tip, so I bought some. She tells me to put them in my general punches, then take the old ones from my general punches back in the envelopes and bring them back to her, and she'll warranty the GENERAL tips out, and give me ANOTHER package of Snap-On ones.

I broke my Streamlight, she carries them, but I didn't buy it from her. She not only sent it to them for warranty, but she provided me with a LOANER for two weeks for a tool I never bought from her in the first place!

Yeah, it's that easy.

It depends on your Sears stores (although I hear most completely **** anymore), and your Snap-On dealer.

 

[Merkava_4]

"your wrench isn't under warranty" "why?" "you were using it professionally" "it's a professional wrench!!"

LOL!!!

That wouldn't be a C-MAN professional would it?

 

[nissan_crawler]

LOL!!!

That wouldn't be a C-MAN professional would it?

Roger that. They were upset because I stripped out half of the open end on my 1/4" wrench. Sorry, I could only get the open end halfway down the nut, what am I supposed to do? By stripped, I mean completely deformed an mooshed the metal away on that side of the open end. Personally, I think the jaws should spread before metal deforms...

 

[eschoendorff]

The point is, unless you are a VERY big spender, a dealer isnt going to warranty anything that he cannot get his money back on in the form of a credit from corporate. When he sends in the old guts of a ratchet, he has a good chance of getting his credit, and if for some reason corporate disputes it, he isnt out a lot of money. Now if you arnt a customer of his, and are just steeping on the truck for the first time, asking for a warranty, he may not even take the risk on a rebuild kit credit.

However, if he hands you a brand new ratchet, and sends in a 50 year old ratchet for credit, I think its pretty likely that corporate will find a reason not to issue the driver a credit (Im sure they try any way they can not to issue credits), and the driver is out the cost of the new ratchet he handed you.

Exactly. Sure, he may be losing a potential customer, but I have got to believe that most of the people who (aren't his regular customers) step on to his truck looking for a warranty are not going to be new regular customers.

Case in point.... my dealer sees purchases from me every three months or so - and they are relatively small purchases. But, he provides me with great customer service (I know the shop owner and the employees at this stop pretty well) and he treats me like one of the regulars... even does warranty stuff for me. Besides, it is a small town and the rumor of good service or poor service spreads FAST!

But in another setting, it probably wouldn't make much financial sense for him to invest his energy into me when he could be making more money using that time to serve other customers - with bigger needs and bigger budgets. That's just the numbers/facts.

I really wouldn't expect a Snap On dealer to warranty a ratchet from someone taht they didn't know... I mean. where's the motivation? A potential customer, or yet another person just looking for a questionable warranty?

 

[eschoendorff]

Returning a tool at sears is 10x the pain in the *** that getting one exchanged on the Snap-On truck is.

"This screwdriver isn't warrantied" "it said it was" "but the tip was obviously used to open a paint can and broke" "funny, I'm an aircraft mechanic not a painter"

"to *warranty* the couple LIFETIME warranty taps you have that are broken, we can only exchange you for this no-warranty chinese set"

"we will only *warranty* your LIFETIME torque wrench with this 90 day warranty one"

"your wrench isn't under warranty" "why?" "you were using it professionally" "it's a professional wrench!!"

"The Craftsman name and 18mm on my socket are upside down, I would like one with the printing the right way" "we can't do that" "why, I just bought the set two days ago" "it's not defective" "it's not? then what in the hell do you call having stamped it wrong?"

"What are you returning this tap driver for?" "the prongs bent out while using a tap" "well, that's from using too big of a tap" "it came with the damn driver!!"

Exchange a broken pair of dykes, they *claim* they only have smaller model now, one I have is discontinued, so I get smaller model. Fast forward 5 weeks or so, and I see my old model on the shelf while getting other tools. I go to work, get exchange receipt, and smaller dykes and go back and tell them I want the other pair.

"We can't do that." "why not?" "we cant upgrade tools" "it's not an upgrade, that's what I had the first time when you lied to me and said it wasn't being made anymore!!!" "yes, but you accepted the smaller pair, so now it's an upgrade" "what the...are you serious?" "yes, we don't do upgrades" "it's not, you downgraded me!!! I just want what I had to start with when you lied and said they weren't made!!" "sorry, I can't do upgrades"

That took a call to the regional manager for a stinking pair of dykes to get exchanged.

Trust me, I can do this for days.

Snap-On truck: "My ****'s broken." "Oh ok, heres a new one." "did I sell that to you, I don't remember it?" "nope, I got it on ebay" "oh, that's why, here's the new one"

She has warrantied NON SNAP-ON tools that I did NOT buy from her for me, even.

I break the tips in my general automatic punches all the time. She had some, it happens the snap-on ones take the same tip, so I bought some. She tells me to put them in my general punches, then take the old ones from my general punches back in the envelopes and bring them back to her, and she'll warranty the GENERAL tips out, and give me ANOTHER package of Snap-On ones.

I broke my Streamlight, she carries them, but I didn't buy it from her. She not only sent it to them for warranty, but she provided me with a LOANER for two weeks for a tool I never bought from her in the first place!

Yeah, it's that easy.

It depends on your Sears stores (although I hear most completely **** anymore), and your Snap-On dealer.

Dude, your dealer rocks.

 

[billymade]

Unfortunately, at Sears allot of what you are dealing with is the attitude of the "associates" as well and sometimes, even the managers. Allot of it is actually IGNORANCE about what the written warranty actually is. Here is a little insider info; if you have a item that is not in the store, request that they call the catalogue and have the warranted item sent to you. Sears will do this free of charge! It can be hard sometimes to get certain items, as they go in and out of production or are "superseded" by another part # or item that is similar. An example is the Craftsman "leatherman" style plier Sears sold for awhile and now they stopped making it. If it is something old, rare, not made anymore, or has sentimental value; I usually tell people how they can fix it or they should keep it if they have a strong connection to it (e.g. grandfathers ratchet etc.) Many times my manager will credit the customer a price amount if we don't make the item anymore and that way you can purchase something else useful. This has been the case with the craftsman framing hammers and they have been replaced with the OEM brand Vaughn; warranty issues are dealt with by calling their 800 #. On some of the odd early stuff, it maybe better to keep but we have also emailed sears corporate to get a value on some discontinued items. If you have a issue I would ask for the manager first, store manager or call the national Customer Relations Hotline: 1-800-549-4505. Here is a overall statement directly from the craftsman website:

CRAFTSMAN® mechanics tools and CRAFTSMAN® hand tools have a Lifetime Warranty… they are guaranteed forever …unconditionally, no questions asked. If one should ever fail to give you COMPLETE SATISFACTION (emphases mine), Sears will replace it, free of charge.*

Replacement:
A proof of purchase is not necessary to replace a tool. All that is necessary is that the "Craftsman" name is stamped on the tool. A 5 digit number located on the tool is required.

Important:
We provide repair kits for ratchets. Ratchet handles that are broken or bent are covered by the Craftsman lifetime warranty.


*CRAFTSMAN mechanics tools & CRAFTSMAN hand tools include: Sockets, Wrenches, Wrench sets, Hex wrenches, Ratchet wrench handles, Micro adjustable torque wrenches ( not including calibration), Pipe wrenches, Hammers, Screwdrivers, Pliers, Cutters, Scroll and Metal saws (except saw blades), Hand drills, Hand saws, Squares, Levels, Drift punch and drive punch sets, Shears are covered by the Craftsman lifetime warranty.

Craftsman Tools not covered by the lifetime warranty include: Micro-adjustable torque wrench calibration, Hand tools cutting edges, Portable electric tools, Bench and Stationary tools, Battery operated tools, Precision measuring tools.

The following brand name tools are not covered by the Craftsman warranty: Companion, Estwing, Fuller, Grey & Footprint, Stanley, DeWalt, Skil, Bosch, Delta, Makita, Black and Decker.
If you actually LOOK at the wording of the warranty is doesn't saying anything about the tool actually being "BROKEN" but if they "fail to give you COMPLETE SATISFACTION" they will be replaced. I have actually gotten into arguments with some of my managers about this. Maybe you should print out the above warranty statement the next time you go into Sears!