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So I’ve been reading through the forums here and I see people talking about a snap on tool truck going from shop to shop selling tools. I’ve never heard of this but I thought it was interesting. Today I just thought I would share, I was driving home from work, got into town and was passing by Mr. Tire just in time to see the snap on truck pulling in the lot. Haha, it was like the ice cream man for mechanics! I was so tempted to follow him in there and take a look at what’s on the truck. Then I remembered today is payday, and if I want to live to see tomorrow I better just keep driving. Those snap on tools are pretty expensive. But since I’ve been reading about tools and the differences and primarily using harbor freight tools, I now see what you’re paying extra for.
I have a 64pc socket set that I’m not very happy with, I thought it was a good deal but the sockets don’t seem to fit the nuts and bolts correctly. I’m always afraid of rounding off bolts. From now on going forward I will try to buy craftsman tools at a minimum but I’ll probably never own a snap on tool :silly:
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It is very easy to get into trouble on the trucks that’s for sure! Personally I prefer my sockets from sears and most of my other hand tools from the trucks. When it comes to things like ratchets, extensions etc, there is no comparison The tool truck brands are king. When it comes to Snappy, Ebay and Craigslist are my best friend.
Good tools arent cheap, and cheap tools arent good. I have $12,000 in snap on tools, but I use mine everyday and get paid as fast as I can work….and if I round off a bolt, I lose money on that job…so it only makes sense to purchase the best….and especially snap on screw drivers. Nothing has ever beaten a snap on screw driver. Not matco or mac or anything.
Snap on guy is actually worse for pressure than our own car salesmen, but his tools have proven themsleves.
I started in this trade with Mastercraft and Craftsman tools 100%, but over time, I realized that in SOME cases, it is absolutely worth the money for the truck tools.
Broke a couple ratchets, and learned that Snap on ratches were much, much better built. I use cheaper sockets, both chrome and impact, but in cases where either pressure is applied or a tool that gets lots of use, the good stuff is worth it.
I know techs who use strictly cheaper tools, and they do fine, but at flat rate, if you can do a job in an hour with cheap tools and 40 minutes with good ones, the good ones pay for themselves in not much time.
Just be careful not to run a huge tab. Snap on is costing me $100 per pay, which isn’t that much, but consider that is EVERY pay, probably forever, when you add it up, it’s nuts.
F*$% Strap-On! They are pricing their tools out of reach of mere mortals.
I always ask one brand to print off a quote, and then I show it to the next brand…
[quote=”meleemaker” post=79829]Good tools arent cheap, and cheap tools arent good. I have $12,000 in snap on tools, but I use mine everyday and get paid as fast as I can work….and if I round off a bolt, I lose money on that job…so it only makes sense to purchase the best….and especially snap on screw drivers. Nothing has ever beaten a snap on screw driver. Not matco or mac or anything.[/quote]
Ditto.
Snap on is the absolute SHIT. I was a skeptic. Once. Until I actually used a Snap-On wrench.
See, I was lucky to go to a school that gave me a 3,000$ snap on set with a blue-point top box upon graduation. It wasn’t a huge set (at all..like…tiny actually), but it gets you started. And it made me realize the quality and difference between a ‘tool’ and a ‘Tool.’One thing that people don’t understand about the Snap on truck guy is how little HE actually makes. He’s lucky to make 20$ off a 3/8th ratchet. All of that is credit on his card. It may be tough to believe, but its true. So when you see a guy get a deal, remember that Snap-On INC didn’t approve it but the snap-on guy did, and he didn’t make shit for profit. Alot of guys think every driver makes wads of cash, and 90% of the time, these guys are in debt.
[quote=”Just1Tech” post=84020][quote=”meleemaker” post=79829]Good tools arent cheap, and cheap tools arent good. I have $12,000 in snap on tools, but I use mine everyday and get paid as fast as I can work….and if I round off a bolt, I lose money on that job…so it only makes sense to purchase the best….and especially snap on screw drivers. Nothing has ever beaten a snap on screw driver. Not matco or mac or anything.[/quote]
Ditto.
Snap on is the absolute SHIT. I was a skeptic. Once. Until I actually used a Snap-On wrench.
See, I was lucky to go to a school that gave me a 3,000$ snap on set with a blue-point top box upon graduation. It wasn’t a huge set (at all..like…tiny actually), but it gets you started. And it made me realize the quality and difference between a ‘tool’ and a ‘Tool.’One thing that people don’t understand about the Snap on truck guy is how little HE actually makes. He’s lucky to make 20$ off a 3/8th ratchet. All of that is credit on his card. It may be tough to believe, but its true. So when you see a guy get a deal, remember that Snap-On INC didn’t approve it but the snap-on guy did, and he didn’t make shit for profit. Alot of guys think every driver makes wads of cash, and 90% of the time, these guys are in debt.[/quote]
+1 on all that…
I looked into being a dealer… These guys don’t have the easiest of jobs…
The truck dealer extends the credit… If a guy skips town, it is the dealer that is out all the money and inventory…Not Snap on… These guys are franchisees…
The price of fuel these days… Just to move that truck for a week takes $200+ in fuel…
Most are under capitalized and cannot survive bad periods… This is a problem with the business model… Most successful guys have been doing this for years…
They are easy targets for robberies… Every year or two a snap on dealer is murdered (google it)… Every crackhead out there knows that snap on is liquid gold… Many times shops are broken into and the craftsman stuff is left behind, they even know to go for the Snap on stuff..
Snap on got sued for how bad they treated their dealers when they used the “more feet on the street” model a few years back… put a lot of good guys out of business….
I give my snappy guy respect… He has a tough job, long hours… He has to go home and do a couple of hours of paperwork a day…they may work 10-14 hours a day and on average they may make between 60-80k a year… Hardly a kings ransom.. Additionally, they have to provide their own heath insurance and if they get sick, or their truck goes down, they are not bringing in any money….
I am convinced it does take a special kind of person to do this job… I got a new Snap on guy in and frankly, I don’t think he is going to last… He is overwhelmed…. I have ordered stuff from him and he has issues with organization and even finding it… He is a nice guy, but I will be surprised if he is around by this time next year….
That said.. I do believe that they make some great tools… Their dual 80 ratchets are the best and no one makes a better line wrench…. For any starting tech I recommend those two things… You can make do with inexpensive sockets until you get money for better ones…..
Sadly, some techs get in over their heads with debt…. I don’t recommend buying regular stuff (hammers, tape measures, or anything that plugs into a wall outlet from snappy…. That stuff is definitely way overpriced..
A few years back they started their behemoth line of snap on boxes… wow 25k for some of them… They were a lead in the catalogs for a couple years… now, not so much… they make a good box, but I would never buy a new one… I bought a 12k box for 2k at a pawn shop…. that and Craigslist is the place to get them…
JMHO
-Karl
At the dealership I used to work for, the Snap On truck would pull up like clockwork on Mondays and park right outside all day. At first I thought it was ruthless marketing but the convenience of having it there in case you need a particular tool or a warranty replacement does justify it somewhat.
For sockets and ratchets, I’d personally go for Koken, or Japanese and German brands, even vintage bits and bobs that have stood the test of time that you find at flea markets if I could help it, but wouldn’t mind buying certain Snap On products as I go along for the assurances of warranty itself.
I too own cheaper tools and I’m looking for a better set for DIY work. I’ve had some good luck with ebay and consignment shops. I picked up a nice snap on 3/8 ratchet last week in good shape for 1/3 of the tool truck cost.
Yeah getting on the strap-on truck (haha) can be a bit of a burden. They do have some of the finest high quality hand tools though. Power tools honestly basic dewault or milwaukee are just as good. For air tools IR cant be beat. Can find good snap on deals at pawn shops though then you can just have them warranteed and get brand new ones.
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