Sears will be out of business pretty soon. Sad but like our Government, Sears went from great to crappy. It was such a hugh part of american life and now days I walk in to the local Sears and there's hardly anyone shopping there. The names Craftsmans, Kenmore, Diehard meant quality once upon a time.
it's all about reading the fine print and Sears goes beyond by giving you a tool to replace one no longer produced,,,I know I was not too happy when Sears gave me the new style ratchets but they are lasting better that the old ones,,,,they can take more abuse,,,I have no luck with Snap on ratchets,,,I break'em easily and then gotta chase down the vendor.,,,seems to be the only Snap on tool that in my hands is a POS
I have their tools and very rarely have a problem with them . When I do have a problem , that's because I used them the way they weren't suppose to be use . Other than that , the only time I have taken tools back for replacement is ones I find in yard sales for 25 cents and trade them in for a new one . The last ratchet I took back they actually didn't have a replacement to they gave me a new one off the wall ! If you don't like their tools , then go to HF and buy theirs . They are just as good as Sears hand tools and 75% cheaper with the same damn return policy ! They have fine tooth ratchets the are as smooth as the ones you pay $100+ for in that red truck and are just as strong too . So don't complain when they do give you a replacement tool . If you think about all the other things you buy that doesn't last and you get shit when they break ! Just go over to the Garage and they will shoot the TOOL SHIT all night long with you there ! Retro Jim
Sears was a great part of American life. Made great tools. Made by and for the American middle class. Now everyone buys cheap junk from Walmart, Home Depot or Harbor Freight. Sears is doomed unless they start selling junk too. May be too late. The rising middle class is happy Sears is gone and you are buying their junk. The middle class in China that is.... HF tools as good as Snap On? Right until you use them. No self respecting mechanic would have a rollaway full of China junk if he had to use them for a living. I have all American tools, many of which i have used since my father bought them for me when I was 12 years old. No China tool will last even a month under daily use.
I have many Mac, Snap-On, Craftsman and a few HF tools. I use the HF tools to make other throw-a-way tolls out of. Just about every other tool has been used as intended and occasionally as a hammer, prybar and a paperweight too. My Craftsman tools have lasted better than the Crap-on and as stated, I don't have to chase down a Sears truck to get raped in. HF tools are no where near the quality of anything else. If you don't mind the wrenches slipping, rounding off that hard to get off nut and then leaving a huge chunk of skin and muscle tissue hanging off something, then be my guest. My Crap-on ratchet broke years ago, no rebuild kit for it, no replacement offered, it's now a hammer. Craftman ratchet, same one use EACH and EVERY day for 20+ years, still works perfectly and I can reverse it with one finger. Much better design than the one that requires 2 fingers. Yes, I have used a cheater on it many times. They don't have a Craftman tape SO WHAT! They didn't have to give you anything but they gave you a Stanley tape, that is GREAT customer service. I took in a pair of needle nose to sears that I broke the tip off of, they no longer have that pair anymore so they gave me a long reach pair that cost almost twice as much. Again, customer service over and beyond what they had to do. Yes, some of it crap and does not carry the lifetime warranty (read what "Lifetime" is in the warranty, it does not mean YOUR lifetime). I use my tools every day and have never regretted buying good tools, always regretted buying cheap tools as in HF cheap China made junk. Just as bad as "Buffalo" brand. Soft metals, poor finish and ever poorer tolerances. Ya get what you pay for!
Friend of mine walked in Sears with a body shop name work shirt on.Tried to replace a ratchet and was told since you use it professionally they can't warranty replace it. That sucks.
Lifetime warranty means for the lifetime of that product. . . not you're lifetime, it's not under warranty until the day you die. If they make a wrench for ten years, it's covered for those ten years. After they stop making that wrench, it's life is over and that specific product is no longer covered. . . . also, not for nothing, but how do you expect them to replace a tool they stopped making with the same tool? If it's not available, it's not available. If they replace it with the current option they're actually going beyond their warranty. Your tools lifetime warranty is up, yet they're still honoring it. That's pretty good.
Some of my Craftsman tools I've had since the 60's, and my breaker bar was one of them. It broke recently and I went to the store where the kid there handed me a brand new one. But, when he took my old one and threw it under the counter and said thanks just simple as that, I could only stand there and think of all the motors it had turned and race tracks that bar had been to and now be tossed away. I know he thought I was strange, but I had a difficult time parting with that bar. He gave me a brand new one without question, but I kind of wish I had my old one back so I could weld it or something. Tom S. in Tn.
I think everyone has at least 6 or 7 25' tape measures.... can't find one? Buy another. If I could round them up all in one shot, that would be a miracle. Bob
I may have been in a Sears store 3-4 times in the last 25 years. Last time was to get a Whirlpool washer/dryer combo they had the best price on. For tools, I'm pretty well set. The last ratchet I bought was a 3/8" Husky, works great and the $$$ was right. For some reason, the 1/4" and 3/8" Crapsman ratchets are total shit. Bob
In my opinion, the OP is a Whinerbaby and any merchant would be better off not having him as a customer...........doesn't read the terms of the warranty and doesn't appreciate any effort to satisfy him even when he has nothing coming. Unfortunately, the US/world is going to shit because of attitudes like his as much as for any other reason. Ray
I was helping my grandpa move to a house next door to my mom's last week and found a sears catalog from 1934. Back then they sold a wrench for $.25!!! I'll take ten of every size! If only Doc Brown could get the delorean up and going again...
Get a Lufkin, & be done with it. Sears did warrant an old torque wrench for me once that was out of warranty (no lifetime on t-que wrenches). Along with obviously abused screwdrivers (visegrip teeth marks), sockets (hammered), ratchets & wrenches of various degrees of abuse. No complaints, but I do agree the new stuff ain't what it used to be.
40 years ago my grandfather told me to buy the best tools I could afford, which was Craftsman. Since Craftsman switched over from American made to Chicom, I have absolutely no loyalty. I started buying Cobalt tools from Lowe's because they were American made. They switched to Taiwan and China last year. Husky switched a few years back. It is unfortunate but nearly everything is made in China now, even most American flags!
Isn't that the truth.. ^^ The flag part is the epitome of AMERICAN GREED right there and it fucking sickens me. As Far as Craptsman goes, I used to be a firm believer in Sears tools, I bought a lot of things off the snap on and mac truck (most of mac and matco are china) mostly air tools, specialty tools, tool boxes, basically the really expensive shit, because I do believe they are superior. But, Sears won my business when It came to sockets, screwdrivers, ratchets I hardly use but need, things like that. But recently I went in there for a couple replacement wrenches I lost and was BLOWN AWAY by their prices now. Damn near better off on the truck to get a set of wrenches, at least they give you a payment plan for free and come to you when your stuffs broken! DAMN! Plus Snap On is like 97% american made!
oh and one more thing.. I went in to get a rachet replaced one time, gave me a "Rebuilt" one, had to take it back first time I used it. The head on the "Rebuilt" one was so warn the tolerances were off bad enough it skipped and things.. they thought I was full of it. I'm sure someone else ended up with the same "Rebuilt" ratchet
No offense, but quit bitchin. They handed you a new tape measure and wanted to hand you a new ratchet, what's your problem ?
I threw out a Snap on tape after I broke it thinking they did not have a warranty but I was wrong,now if I can find a Mac truck as I have one that is about ready to break.
The real problem is the American Consumer who would rather save a buck and Buy Chinese crap. If no one bought it, then it wouldn't get made over there - plain and simple. We can control this with our most powerful vote - our wallets! Don't buy junk from China and there won't be any Chinese Junk to buy.
I had a craftsman torque wrench that broke. The guy asked how long ive had it? I said about 12 years. He said they only have a one year warranty. Then handed me a new one and said thanks for not lieing. So i bought a nice timing gun. If i need or want nice hand tools i buy old ones and estate, garage, yard sales and swapmeets.
i never have probblems getting tools replaced...buying a bench grinder on the other hand was an issue..had to get a manager involved just to buy it.....i sent sears an emails explaining how hard it was for me to spend money with them,,,i told them their salesman should be falling over themself trying to get me to buy something rather than making it harder....
Dad wanted a metric wrench set 20 some years ago. I bought him a set of Craftsmans as a Birthday or Father's Day gift. He never used them. Bought another brand. Dad's are smart. Craftsman has always had crappy handles.
I spoiled , I get my tape measures by the box ( 12 ) new from a friend for field testing......... yeah that's it field testing. One breaks grab another. They usually get to the point where I can't read the numbers anymore rather than breaking, and no their not Craftsman but an american off brand. Now if I just had friends that worked at a early Hemi parts place...
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