Warranty on Snap On Tool box..

[kwhitelaw]

06/14/09 UPDATE:Warranty on Snap On Tool box..

Has anyone had to warranty their box from Snap On, Mac, etc? Not talking about drawer slides or keys etc, but the actual box?

Awhile back I posted a thread asking if anyone had issues with their stainless top on their SO box coming unglued from the butcher block its attached to...I went to swap my stainless top today (for a 3rd time) and found that the top of my KRL box was bowed up directly in line with one of the stainless trims that run top to bottom on the front.. I believe that bolting the top down on the right side, which is after the "bowing", is causing the wood to not seat right, eventually popping the stainless up. Left a message with my dealer so am waiting to hear back. Spoke with SO customer service today and they said I have to go through the dealer at first, which is understandable..

Just curious how much of a headache this may turn into...

thanks

kevin

 

[Rockaholic555]

I'm pretty sure with Snap-on it depends on the people your dealing with. Have you done a lot of business with your local dealer?

 

[krusty the clown]

usuall this type of warranty will come from the field manager, but try your dealer first.

 

[Merkava_4]

Awhile back I posted a thread asking if anyone had issues with their stainless top on their SO box coming unglued from the butcher block its attached to...I went to swap my stainless top today (for a 3rd time) and found that the top of my KRL box was bowed up directly in line with one of the stainless trims that run top to bottom on the front.. I believe that bolting the top down on the right side, which is after the "bowing", is causing the wood to not seat right, eventually popping the stainless up.

I remember the thread, but now I'm wondering why you bolted the top down, and what you bolted it to........

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

my boxes are all bolted together
I bent the door slides on my kr 660
got new ones for free from my snap on dealer
but you must go thru the dealer

 

[kwhitelaw]

I remember the thread, but now I'm wondering why you bolted the top down, and what you bolted it to........

stainless top is needed (or at a minimum the butcher block) in order to run the riser. the stainless top is bolted to the bottom box from inside the top drawers. then the riser is screwed into the stainless top.

heres a couple pics to show the problem. bear with me as its a black box and the camera I used was some crazy thing my brother had and i didnt do very well focusing etc.

[/IMG]

screw it, the pictures dont show very well, but right where im pointing, the metal rises up then goes back down..so when the butcher block/stainless top is set on there, it must push up on it alittle then go back down when I bolt it down on each end, causing the stainless to come unglued.. it only happend on that end of the box, in the exact same spot (which I have now seen is right along the spot where that screwup is..

kevin

edit: I added the last pic. if you follow the lines across the back, you will see where they get wavy, rising up then dropping back down. that is the problem, and it extends an inch or so into the middle of the box. it is there that i noticed the popping of the stainless.

 

[kwhitelaw]

I'm pretty sure with Snap-on it depends on the people your dealing with. Have you done a lot of business with your local dealer?

tons of business with my dealer. large open account to spend with snap on credit. bought $20k from my local dealer over last 3 years..

hope that means they take care of this.. tired of tearing this thing apart to swap these tops. not much of an issue that the stainless "pops" in that spot, but I'll be damned if im going to "live with" something like this with a $17k retail box.

kevin

 

[Merkava_4]

stainless top is needed (or at a minimum the butcher block) in order to run the riser. the stainless top is bolted to the bottom box from inside the top drawers. then the riser is screwed into the stainless top.

First of all, I can see the bow in the top of the box just fine. What I'm wondering now is... did you drill your own holes in the top of the box, or did you use the existing holes that are already there for bolting on a top chest?

 

[kwhitelaw]

First of all, I can see the bow in the top of the box just fine. What I'm wondering now is... did you drill your own holes in the top of the box, or did you use the existing holes that are already there for bolting on a top chest?

no top chest... a riser.. like this..

so the stainless you see there bolts to the bottom box from underneath, through 2 factory placed holes, one on each end. then the riser screws into the stainless, with 2 bolts on each end.

kevin

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

First of all, I can see the bow in the top of the box just fine. What I'm wondering now is... did you drill your own holes in the top of the box, or did you use the existing holes that are already there for bolting on a top chest?

no top chest... a riser.. like this..

so the stainless you see there bolts to the bottom box from underneath, through 2 factory placed holes, one on each end. then the riser screws into the stainless, with 2 bolts on each end.

kevin

What he's asking is, did you drill your own holes in the top of the box? And I'm guessing that's a no?!

 

[kwhitelaw]

What he's asking is, did you drill your own holes in the top of the box? And I'm guessing that's a no?!

lol , no. I did not drill holes into the box.

yes, I drilled holes into the stainless top.

 

[Merkava_4]

I believe that bolting the top down on the right side, which is after the "bowing", is causing the wood to not seat right, eventually popping the stainless up.

After reading that sentence, and during my moment of horror, is what led me to believe you bolted the butcher block to the top sheet metal of the box.

If you had said : "I'm thinking that by screwing down the right side of the riser, I may have caused the stainless steel top to bow." If you had said that, I would have gotten a better understanding of the circumstances.

 

[Merkava_4]

This is my theory :

We all know that when wood takes on moisture it needs to have room to expand, and with the riser screwed to the top of the wood, that prevented it from expanding sideways like it normally would.

Being that it couldn't expand sideways, it had no choice but to bow; and by doing so, it pushed the top sheet metal of the box down.

 

[kwhitelaw]

This is my theory :

We all know that when wood takes on moisture it needs to have room to expand, and with the riser screwed to the top of the wood, that prevented it from expanding sideways like it normally would.

Being that it couldn't expand sideways, it had no choice but to bow; and by doing so, it pushed the top sheet metal of the box down.

but the bolting down of the riser is per snap on's instruction, otherwise a jarring or moving of the box could force the riser to slide off. they intend for you to screw it down. and as far as I know, im the only person that has ever had this happen to.

and the problem has occured twice, and only on the right side, in the same exact spot, right in line with the defect in the metal of the bottom box. we thought humidity at one point, but again, it only happens on the right side.

hopefully on monday I get somewhere with my dealer. he is well aware of this situation from its inception.

kevin

 

[Merkava_4]

but the bolting down of the riser is per snap on's instruction,

Jee ... in that case, maybe it's THEIR fault the box is damaged ... ya' think ?!!?

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Merk,

Mine is screwed down just like kwhitelaw's. Never has warped though.
By the way....I do like the new style interior in stainless on the riser but it would look REAL nice in neon green

 

[kwhitelaw]

Jee ... in that case, maybe it's THEIR fault the box is damaged ... ya' think ?!!?

I hope.. ball starts rolling monday I guess.

 

[Merkava_4]

Merk,

Mine is screwed down just like kwhitelaw's. Never has warped though.

That's probably because you live in a low humidity demographic area.

 

[bgott]

Here's an idea for the next top if they don't want to replace the box, or the next guy to run into the problem. Shim the top before you bolt it down. You could probably shoot an afternoon in the azz getting the wobble out of it and getting it even but it would beat the hassle of dealing with warranty issues.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Merk,

Have you ever been to Georgia in the summer????

Hot and humid is the norm here, I just checked on our local weather. 78 degrees and 82% humidity. Can't wait for summer to get here so we can be nice and toasty again....

 

[Rockaholic555]

Since you've done quite a bit of business through the dealer I'm sure he will try to help you out. They like to take care of the customers that take care of their income, lol. Good luck with it!!

 

[Junkman]

Tell your dealer that you know a guy that will buy that defective box and top, and give him $1000 for it, sight unseen. Please let me know where and when to pick it up...

 

[Merkava_4]

Merk,

Have you ever been to Georgia in the summer????

Hot and humid is the norm here, I just checked on our local weather. 78 degrees and 82% humidity. Can't wait for summer to get here so we can be nice and toasty again....

At least I came up with some kind of a theory as to how the top of that box got bent ... now let's hear yours.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Even Snap-on can screw up on occasion. I think the box got bent during shipping or coming down the line before final weld out. I'm tempted to pull the riser on mine and take a look but that is a LOT of work. Either that or the tabs that the top bolts too are in the wrong location vertically on one end or the other.

 

[fordracing200]

good luck, I hope they warranty it, but thats a high $$$ claim. let us know.

 

[Merkava_4]

They'd have to replace the whole box, but I wouldn't want the top of my box bent, warped, or sagging.

 

[kwhitelaw]

spoke with my dealer yesterday. He is going to call his boss on monday and arrange a time to come to my house with him to look at it.

not going to be fun pulling the riser again but I had nowhere to store it off the box..

Atleast my dealer knows about the problem from when I first swapped the stainless last year.

Will update as it plays out. Not really sure what they'll do. I guess they could swap the box and resell it to someone at a discount with the precaution of not adding a top to it..

Question is, if they say they will swap the box, do I ask for any compensation for this or just take the box swap and call it a day? Curious how some of you guys would handle this?

thanks

 

[ossaguy]

If it were me,I'd be satisfied if they would just replace the box.On my KRA top and bottom that I bought new,both the bottom crossmembers were warped ever so much.The bottoms bowed up,the tops bowed down.It was ruled it was just cosmetic,and that "These are just starter boxes,that's what the KRL units are for"
It just bugged me.Then my coworker bought a new KRL761 off the truck,and his was warped on the top,but in the front right panel edge just like yours,yet he never cared about it,and he didn"t have a ss top on it.
If I believe the last Matco guy,he had one of his customers buy a new KRL box that had some really bad defects in it,and when they wouldn't do anything about it,he put it on his truck to take it to every shop that he could to show what the competition's lack of quality was,the guy ended up getting a new box after all after a district manager heard about it and took care of it.
I hope they just take care of it the right way,since you paid big bucks for the best of the best,and it's clearly a defect that is more than cosmetic.

Steve

 

[daveblank]

Question is, if they say they will swap the box, do I ask for any compensation for this or just take the box swap and call it a day? Curious how some of you guys would handle this?

thanks

Why would they owe you compensation? If they replace the box they have performed the warranty.

 

[kwhitelaw]

Why would they owe you compensation? If they replace the box they have performed the warranty.

I should have proofread that before I posted... the message was moreso supposed to say " if they wont swap it (because its not major structural damage etc), should I ask for compensation?"

 

[Merkava_4]

I should have proofread that before I posted... the message was moreso supposed to say " if they wont swap it (because its not major structural damage etc), should I ask for compensation?"

No amount of compensation could allow me to live with that box the way it is unless they gave me enough money to buy a new box ........

 

[walrus]

I should have proofread that before I posted... the message was moreso supposed to say " if they wont swap it (because its not major structural damage etc), should I ask for compensation?"

Yes, If it doesn't really affect the performance of the box? Not sure how much as I don't know how much the box cost. The more the box costs the more the compensation. If this has been an ongoing thing and your dealer has been involved from the start I'll bet they swap it

 

[kwhitelaw]

Yes, If it doesn't really affect the performance of the box? Not sure how much as I don't know how much the box cost. The more the box costs the more the compensation. If this has been an ongoing thing and your dealer has been involved from the start I'll bet they swap it

no, it doesnt affect anything honestly. if there is no weight on the stainless portion (other than the outer perimeter of the riser), and you push down on the stainless on the right hand side, you can tell that it is not glued to the wood underneath. thats really it... but with the amount of money that I spent..thats why I have chosen (twice) to replace the top. just now figuring out what might have caused it..****, i'd sell them back the stainless top, but then I wouldnt be ablt to use the riser unless i switched to a std butcher block which I dont want.

 

[walrus]

but with the amount of money that I spent...

Thats the key, I don't blame you for wanting what you thought you paid for. You should get what you paid for.

 

[daveblank]

I should have proofread that before I posted... the message was moreso supposed to say " if they wont swap it (because its not major structural damage etc), should I ask for compensation?"

Then in that case, by all means YES. As long as you're willing to live with the damage--mostly cosmetic--from what I've read, then figure a dollar amount in your head. You might even offer that you'd be willing to accept *** dollars in tools & keep the box. But, be pre-warned, doing so will most likely void any remaining warranty on the box. Then again, if it does, slides & small parts are cheap.

 

[Merkava_4]

kwhitelaw,

Was the top of the box sagging BEFORE you put the butcher block top on? It shouldn't matter one way or the other for warranty purposes, I was just curious if in fact the butcher block had anything to do with the top sagging........

PS. I'm expecting you to get the box replaced; anything short of that and I'm gonna be very disappointed in both you and Snap-on.

 

[kwhitelaw]

i'll try to be as descriptive as possible as the pics dont tell it clearly..

the top flat metal of the bottom box was pointed up towards the right, where I pointed.. so what i think happened is the stainless top (which has a 1.5" roughly piece of wood glued to it) was placed on the box, and bolted down, one bolt on each end, which is inserted up through the top drawers of the bottom box, into the wood that the stainless is glued to. so, being that the right side bolt is past the defect, i believe in tightening it down, i pulled the wood at a weird angle, up and over the defect. eventually allowing the stainless to release in that area.

so no saggy persay, hell i never noticed it til months down the road. we ordered a new stainless top and chalked it up to a defect with the glue (dealer commented about humidity in my shop but the problem was only on the right side of the top).

fast forward a couple months and the problem is back. then, my dealer told me SO put a hold on the tops as I may not be the only one with this problem..

on friday afternoon I got my new top and went about swapping it, only to find the "pointed" part of the metal. I put the old top back on and stored the new top til this gets figured out.

SO customer service commented how the field manager will have to verify that their wasnt any modification or damage to the box, which Im not worried about as im very particular, even going so far to have my own fleece tool box cover stitched to cover the entire box, locker and riser included. so no scratched, let alone dents.

Im calling my dealer tomorrow to see if he got ahold of the field manager and arranged time for them to come down and see it. not looking forward to pulling that riser off again..

 

[kwhitelaw]

Dealer just left from looking at it. Spoke with the field manager and they are swapping the box whenever I am ready. Im thinking of taking this opportunity to upgrade to the next size though, so waiting to hear back as to how much the difference would be..

So far, couldnt ask for any better service from Snap On, both my dealer and the field manager.

kevin

 

[billymade]

Sounds like this whole thing; may end up being a "blessing in disguise"! Let us know which new box you are considering; of course pics of the new one when it shows up too!

 

[Art From De Leon]

Dealer just left from looking at it. Spoke with the field manager and they are swapping the box whenever I am ready. Im thinking of taking this opportunity to upgrade to the next size though, so waiting to hear back as to how much the difference would be..

So far, couldnt ask for any better service from Snap On, both my dealer and the field manager.

kevin

You have just learned why Snap-On has earned its reputation, and why their products command premium prices. You went about explaining your problem in a reasoned manner, did not abuse the toolbox, and Snap On fulfilled their end of the agreement. Snap On did not get where they are by being chickenshit with their customers, a legitimate complaint will be taken care of, which, in the end, will earn them more business (In your case, selling you a bigger box), but you also will not hesitate to tell others how they treated you.