NOTHING! If Matco's drill bits are so good that they cut through steel like butter, then all someone has to do is steal someone else's drill bit and watch it melt through your lock.

None of these expensive tool boxes are worth even half the price that they ask for them. It's just that there is no nice "in-between". Either you get something from a retailer that you find on sale that you can live with or think it's "good enough".....OR....you suck it up and sign over a huge chunk of your salary to the guy in the tool truck. Then you try to justify it to everyone that says, "WTF?"

Are they better than retail stuff? Of course! Are they worth 5-10 times as much? HEEEYYYYAAALL NAW!!!!

 

I beleive the Sam;s club box is BETTER than Matco, Mac, Span-N-Half, etc...

It only cost $650.

******************
About the comment on being really hard to break into these ultra expensive boxes - I say if someone whanted to steal your tools they would take the whole box.... especially if they knew it cost (but is not worth) six large ones.......$$$$

 

There is no way in HELL you can even compare the quality of the Costco box (yes, I've seen it and it is nice for the money) to a good Mac, Snap On, or especially the new Matco boxes.

The big name boxes have deeper drawers, better roller slides, heavier construction, better and more welds, better casters, better hinges, the list is endless.

Sure the Costco box is nice for the bucks, and with the average hobbiest load of tools and use it will last a long time. I'd buy one in a second for home use. But put 150lbs+ of tools in the drawer, and open it 20-100 times a day, for 10+ years, and see where you end up?

I'm not saying the Mac, Matco, and Snap On boxes aren't marked up like crazy, I know they are, but the quality is MUCH better than any Craftsman, Costco, Huskey, or even Waterloo box you will find.

Then again, I got my Mac box used, with a side cabinet, and in very nice shape, for $2,300, so I guess I didn't get raked over the coals that bad for it. I feel I got my money's worth and then some.

 

first off, if you havent been a technician at a dealer or independent then you wouldnt understand, you also get what you pay for. i bought my snap on box ror 8k. its all i will ever need, for the rest of my career.
2nd if someone wanted to steal it they would just take the whole box. thats just stupid, you know how hard those damn things are to move, you would have to break into the shop to even get to it. thats pretty unlikely. bottom line there is now way in hell sam's boxes are better than snap-on.

 

If some one would liek to take a pic of them standing on an open drawer of sams club box I will happily post video of me jumping on an open drawer of my matco box. OR maybe some video of a few guys lifting my fully loaded craftsman box into the back of a truck. Then the same guys attempting to lift one end of the matco box. Now dont get me wrong I think its crazy to spend 10+k on a tool box. Hence why I bought mine used for about half what retail is.

 

Good call. The newer Matco boxes are probably the best in the business right now.

A guy I used to work with had a new Matco double bay. We used to each pull out a drawer, toss a 2x10 accross it, sit down and eat lunch every day. Mind you, these were drawers that already had 100+lbs of tools in them. They never flexed a bit. I thing that would be enough to waffle a Craftsman drawer.

And you're right about the weight. My Mac bottom box, even being a single bay box, is a challenge for two people to lift even with the drawers out. The side cabinet alone probably weighs 150-200lbs.

I've gotten pissed and thrown my 1/2" impact wrench at my box from accross the shop and barely scratched it.

Another good point to remember is resale. You probably won't loose much if any money on a good box. I know someone who traded in his 17 year old Snap On box (biggest double bay with top and bottom, and side cabinet, probably $11,000 new currently, they still make the same box) on a brand new custom Matco 4 bay bottom box (also around $11,000 new) and only owed the Matco guy $2,000 on trade. So after having the box for most of his career, he only lost $2,000 on the deal. In reality, he only paid around $5,000 for his previous setup, so it's value went UP over time.

So after nearly 20 years of daily use, the box still looked almost new, worked flawlessly, and went up in value.

 

I have a new matco tool box.any item on this earth is worth exactly what someone will pay for it. supply = demand . if you ever collect $50,000 worth of tools, maybe you to will want a real box.yes i once owned a crapsman.

 

Somebody asked about how to move a tool box, most tool guys are nice enough to transport your tool box to another shop provided you are on their good list even if you arn't going to be their customer anymore.

Snap on and Matco tool trucks have a hydro rear lift gate you can strap a box too.

 

I'm planning to retire in Georgia, I currently live in NY; Will the Mac toolman transport my tool box to my new home?

If yes, I suppose the the box is worth about $1,000 not $6,000.

Considering the asking price of $6,000 for the MAc box, I'll buy a $650 Sam's box and keep the $5,350 difference and pay someone else to move the box to teh peach state...

As far as being sturdy, I like to drive nice cars too but I don't drive an M1 tank to get groceries since I won't need the armored plate even if someone dings me in the parking lot...

 

You get what you pay for, I used to have a waterloo and it was worth about how much I paid for it, $300. Was pretty useless couldn't fit anything in the drawers, drawers, drawers needed a slide hammer to open sometimes, was only 12" deep.

My Matco box worth every last penny I paid for it, If you were in the business rob you would understand. Just bought a Matco Wide locker for it too, they had 'em on sale for last week only. $1750 bucks.

 

snap-on, mac, matco, etc - if you don't understand the need for it you wouldn't need them anyway. if you're working as a mechanic as your career, then the investment isn't so odd. i have a craftsman box and whereas i can appreciate the power of a box so strong that you can sit on an open drawer and eat lunch on it, i don't think it's necessary unless it's your career. Performance tools and tool-boxes make a difference, and if you're a mechanic by trade and career, you know what i mean. Otherwise, a $600 costco box will do just fine (not being sarcastic, i know the one you mean )

 

I started out with a craftsmand three tier (base-mid-and top) boxes. I now have a Triple Bank KRL snap on box with the top and a locker on each side, along with the roll car. I have spend well over 12k for my boxes. I am a diesel suspension mechanic and i have multiple 3/4 and 1" guns, and if anyone knows those are not cheap. so i lock them up with the state of the art top of the line boxes. I wouldnt trade them for anything. and what some people dont know is that you dont pay all that much a month for those boxes, you just pay on them for a good amount of time. I have seen the Homec and costco and husky boxes and the retail store boxes. but when i go to my snappy box and i pull out the top drawer and i have ALL ALL of my air tools in it, and it has double slides and rolls like butter, i am pleased. just have to be a mechanic to understand.

Mike

 

I think we can we all agree that the "tool truck" boxes are indeed much better quality than the retail boxes, but they are way overpriced.

 

I have one of those $6000 overpriced Mac tool boxes I love it and think its worth every penny ! So are the Snap-on , Matco. and other quality boxes. For those of us that earn there living with our tools no explination is necessary and for the Robert Bartsch's of the world no explination is possible. By the way Robert I have seen a few of your posts and you seem to be a regular Cliff Clavin from Cheers you know the kind of *** hole who argues just to feel important. The same kind of person who gets someone like me in trouble because my B.S. tolerance level is about 2 minutes then a few hits and arguement over.

 

No one needs your opinion on the state of the economy and the worth of the transportation of goods circa 1973.

Sell the Sams box for whatever you can get and buy a new one when you get there. Less headache.

We've already been round and round this topic; those who are light duty users don't need the Mac box. Those who need it, know it. Enough already. Enjoy your retirement. Here's to you having no phone, and no broadband.

 

If you are a hobbyist, then perhaps all you need is a Craftsman, Husky, or Sam's box. But they are not nor will ever be in the same class as Snap-On, Matco, etc...

If you are a real mechanic, and that is how you make your livelyhood then you might want something that the drawers won't collapse on, and that can take a bit more abuse than your basic hobbist box.

As for me, I own a Bluepoint box. Bluepoint is a division of Snap-On. My box was $1200 retail. They gave me $100 off for trading in my old Craftsman box. An equivilant Snap-On box was $7500. I can swap the label and the drawer trim, and it is a Snap-On box. It was built in the same factory, etc...

For the best deal in tool boxes, I would recommend going to Lowe's. Get the big 42" top and bottom box. Lowe's tool are made by J.H. Williams. J.H. Williams is the industrial line of Snap-On. So, your Lowe's tools, and boxes are made by Snap-On in many cases. The Big 42" box is made in the same Snap-On factory that the other Snap-On boxes are made in. It's blue, but for $1100 for the top and bottom box, it beats the $8000 or more for the same box from Snap-On.

The S/S boxes are pretty, but I don't think they would stand up to the day to day world of being a real mechanic. As for the hobbyist, they might be just fine for the infrequent user...

So, to say that someone who makes thie livelyhood using a particular piece of equipment is stupid for getting the best and most reliable part is stupid, well, I would have to disagree.

Its like wrenches. I use a lot of Craftsman stuff. Its not the best, but it gets the job done in most cases. The issues I have with it is that often times the tolerances are not close which leads to issues with bolt heads rounding, and wrenches slipping (which can hurt). Anyhow, you use Snap-On, and this isn't an issue. Yes, Craftsman is cheaper, and its easier to get, and it has a warranty. But you get what you pay for.

So, for the guy who play with his car every once in awhile, its perfectly ok. For the guy who makes his living working on cars, it probably isn't...

 

I usually use Craftsman tools because its hard to track down the local Snap-On guy to swap out my broken tools. But I have a few Snap-On tools cause their craftsman counterparts just suck ***.

 

What about the tech/hobbyist who spent $7k on the Snap-on box when they could have bought the equivalent Bluepoint box like you did for $1200 less trade-in? What do we call that...value impaired? No, they wanted the Snap-on box because it said Snap-on and not Bluepoint. It's the same reason a person would buy an Escolade instead of a Tahoe. Personal preference, not quality. $1200 is a great price for a professional grade Bluepoint/Snap-on toolbox. $7500 is a dry **** rape with lemon juice.

Oh, and for everyone who keeps saying that "you have to be a mechanic/technician to understand"... I was and I understand. I understand that I made <$30k/year, so to spend 1/5 of my yearly salary or more on a box is not sound financial planning. Even on credit.

 

If you make under $30,000 a year being a mechanic you must not be a very good one.

 

Flat rate killed me, and this was a while ago...I don't do it anymore. Fact is the top guy made $35k.