The other day a 16mm socket from my 1/2" drive MAC Impact socket set broke in two. I bought this set from the MAC man who visited the dealership I worked at in the late 80's. I have been carrying it around with me hoping to see a MAC truck. I never did. I stopped in to a shop and asked them if a MAC truck stopped in and they said not in years. I went on the MAC tools website and found that they will accept tool returns thru the USPS. So I went to post office and found it will cost $10 to $12 to send the broken socket back to MAC.. You guys have any luck getting MAC tools warrantied? Are they going out of business? I would like to have my set complete again as I've had so long it feels like a part of me..... but I'm not sure it is worth $12 buck to send it off with no guarantee of getting a replacement. What's your thoughts? Thanks Greg
Twelve dollars sounds like a small priority mail box (regularly about $10.40, but the USPS applies a ‘peak-season surcharge’ beginning October 5). If the package weighs 12 oz. or less, ‘Ground Advantage’ may be better. Above 12 oz., you’re better off with a small priority mail box.
Nope. Ive seen three mac trucks in 15 years. Main reason why when I come across mac tools at flea markets I usually leave them at the flea markets. That and they're usually broken
When I was still hauling parts for Napa, I'd see the Snap-On & Cornwell trucks weekly. MAC truck, been years. File it with your Craftsman broken tools....
It would probably fit in a small pouch, and cost much less. I broke the locking tang on a (Kai?) knife I bought for $26 on Amazon that had a lifetime warranty. Dug into it and found you had to send it in on your dime plus enclose a check for $7.00 for handling and return postage, with no guaranty the failure would fall under the warranty coverage.. WTF! I’m stubborn. Sent it in with a check. A few weeks later a new knife showed up, and it’s been four months and they never cashed the check. In the meantime the knife’s now $42 on Amazon. My opinion: pay the postage and send your socket in. You might want to contact them with a photo of the broken socket first, as some companies are allowing, or even encouraging that now. It costs them something to handle packages that just contain broken tools. Cheaper to deal with email pictures. In general, I don’t consider warranty when purchasing anything, tools included, although I do occasionally use the warranty. I have a bunch of worn out and broken SnapOn that should be warranted, but no driver. SnapOn has accepted photos in the past, in lieu of returning broken / flaking chrome ratchets.
Good info, @finn ! I've got a few SnapOn tools I need to get warrantied, but I don't want to leave them with a local shop crew to try to get solved (the truck guy has a rep as a******) and didn't want to mail them off. The last time I did that, they sent back the timing light saying they couldn't do anything, and lost a part.
The easiest way to get a replacement is probably eBay. Be sure to check the photos closely, you don’t want to buy a rusty one. No eBay account? Maybe a relative or friend could help.
life's too short to worry about problems like this. I've never seen a use for a 16mm socket, aside from using it to round the corners on a 5/8" hex head bolt. Metric hardware has 15mm and 17mm heads, but not 16, that I can recall ever seeing. If you think you really need a new 16mm socket, buy one from any other company, and put it in your set. And when it bugs you too much, sell the incomplete set on ebay and buy a new set of metric sockets from the snapon guy for $800.
I own lots of MAC tools , from mechanic days . Just sent the torque screw to be replaced on my pitman arm puller , new one returned in 5 days .
Mac guy comes not quite once per month to my shop. He doesn’t offer anything to anyone. Checks in on one guy and heads out.
There is some stuff out there that is 16mm. I had to buy a single wrench, as most kits don’t have 16mm. It gets used on some bicycles, and some of the more modern cars the kids drag home. cheers, Harv
Your MAC socket is broken and no longer useful. A matching set might be nice, your options are to send it back and see if they send you a new one, or go online or to a flee market and buy a replacement MAC, or some other off brand socket. Can you even buy a quality single socket from anyplace for $12 these days? No place local to me will sell you a single socket. Unless you are buying off a tool truck, you need to buy a full socket set.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-3...nt-Metric-Standard-Socket-H3D6P16MM/202913509 it's not rocket surgery
Could be . My tap and die drawer has metric, BSC, gas, BSP, Whitworth, NP (and some bizarre UNS pitches) along with the normal UN gear. I'm pretty good at snapping and cross-threading all of them Cheers, Harv
Well, sometimes I like to worry about little things, Jim. I'm retired and have time. I had a heck of a time finding the Snap On rep up here , but I did and he fixed/replaced 2 items. But last night I slept just fine even though this issue is not yet resolved.... I think 16MM is same as 5/8". Thank for all your suggestions, guys. I did send a email to MAC asking for a contact. I am now carrying broken socket around in daily driver glovebox.
.1 mm = 0.00393701” but if you convert 16mm to inches then subtract .0625” the difference is now .004921”.
Heres my Pegboard solution to wrench sizes. I specialize in not having "sets" of wrenches and concentrate on just having as many sizes as I can accumulate. That way I have virtually every size .....especially when you are talking about the larger size wrenches that usually have to be bought individually. Bought a "group" of larger wrenches last month for about $35. Having the correct size when needed is all thats important to me. Virtually every size up to 2 inches. Virtually never worry about warranties except for power tool batteries. I use a permanent marker (silver) and write the date of purchase on them and throw the tool receipt in a drawer. Since I switched to Kobalt instead of Craftsman & DeWalt, batteries seem to last way longer. Call 1-800-MAC TOOLS and ask them if they will replace it or not.
I don’t think the tool companies that only have the tool trucks are doing the sales they once were. You can buy tools most everywhere at far less than Snap On, Mac, and all the others for far less money and when you need something you can hop in your car or get on the phone and have it shipped to you in a day or two. The last time I bought from Snap On I got tap drivers and they were made in china. Why pay top dollar for Chinese*****?
because you can get a loan shark to visit you every week. That's the business model. It has little to do with the tools.
The Matco guy that comes to my shop is probably the nicest guy ever to become a tool salesman. Problem is, I don’t buy into Matco rebrands. He was borderline kinda begging for. Business today, telling me he’s just a regular guy trying to make a living.. I know that’s true and he’s genuine, I just don’t want his product. FWIW I owe $0 to the tool trucks. I only buy what I can cash flow.
I bought the fractional MAC combination wrenches when I worked at the gas station, back in the mid 70s. Its the only MAC tools I own. I bought a few Snap On tools when I worked at J C Penny's, they are the only Snap on tools I own. I bought a few Matco tools when I had my welding shop. I don't think any of them have survived. I bought all of those tools off the tool trucks at the time I needed them, and always had them paid off the second time the tool truck came buy after the original purchase. Those tool guys didn't like me much. I have also purchased store brand tool from several different stores, when I needed them. I never fell into that tool trap of out doing the other mechanics in the shop. My****orted tool collection has worked for me for all those years I needed the tools to earn a living. Most of them go pretty much unused these days, though I did have to buy a replacement oil filter wrench yesterday, my 20+ year old oil filter wrench decided to retire.
when I had my shop in town 35 years ago, I bought a few tools off the trucks that stopped by neighboring shops. Always paid cash. Still use some of the tools. Never got into debt buying tools or equipment...
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