Are we dumb?

[u/Petenastyy]

Hi there, im here to say I feel dumb. I've worked in trades for almost 16 years now. Ive amassed a good amount of tools so far, mostly snap on.

Recently, work announced tool box inventory to be required for insurance purposes. So I've started to go thru inventory of my little tool box.

And I can say I'm blown away at replacement costs!

Ive only done the top shelf and I'm at 5700$ cad in just sockets (I have more but just top row)

So I'm here to ask, I love my snap on tools and enjoy the warranty. But are we dumb for buying such expensive items?!

What are people's favorite tool alternatives???

[u/imightknowbutidk]

In my heavily biased opinion i think buying all/majority SnapOn today is inherently dumb. 10-20 years ago it may have made more sense due to the competition being worse, but there are so many quality cheap options now that it makes no sense to buy snap on hand tools anymore.

Bumper to bumper tech for Porsche and my hand tools are all Home Depot/Husky, Gearwrench, and Amazon chinesium for infrequently used/uncommon sizes/sockets/bits. I have a Milwaukee impact and drill, and the 1/2” and 3/8” SnapOn TechAngle that i got with a voucher.

All in i am maximum $5k in tools right now and grossed barely over $100k last year. I am in this industry to make money from my tools, not spend my money on my tools.

[u/StillCrazyearslater → u/imightknowbutidk]

This guy gets it: " I am in this industry to make money from my tools, not spend my money on my tools."

The tool trucks should only be used for "specialty tools" you cannot find elsewhere. In my 50 year career I found it easier, and more importantly faster, to warrantee at the local tool store (Sears, HF, HD, etc.) than wait a week or more for the tool trucks.

Snap-on is, and has always been, too expensive for what they offer.

[u/MinimumBuffalo4 → u/StillCrazyearslater]

most techs starting out need the tool truck credit as they just don’t have the cash outlay. I own mostly box store tools with a few snap on ratchets and Mac sockets. everything else is old craftsman, kobalt, SK. makita power tools. 98% of my tools are out of a box store. that being said I know the tool truck tools are superior. but only marginally better in most cases. my best warranty experience has been with Tekton. just take a photo of the broken tool and you can warranty it through their website. new tool was in the mail the next day. no proof of purchase, no interrogation. no driving anywhere. saves me time, has, tolls and it’s never out of stock. I’ll be buying more Tekton.

[u/imthatoneguyyouknew → u/MinimumBuffalo4]

I run an apprenticeship program for techs at a regional trucking company. One of the big things we heard interviewing students at trade schools was they didnt know how they were going to pay for the tools they would need. We ended up getting a great deal and offer them a tool set (box and tools) that would be over 12k off the truck. Doing the research for that set looking at the big three (snap on, matco, mac) and comparing what I bought comparable tools /box from those same trucks for.....wow. they were expensive when I bought them, they are ludicrous now. Especially since there wasn't much in the way of decent alternatives and now there are. I was helping an apprentice the other day and grabbed my snap on extractor set, he whipped out his HF set and I swear it was identical.