which brand do you guys prefer, matco or snap on? i personally prefer matco due to the MUCH more friendly prices and just-as-good quality.
i DO prefer snap on pliers over matco though.
mac is good too, but i dont really have any mac tools.


matco: 1/2 inch impact
deep sockets
3/8 impact
die grinder(angle)
3/8 air ratchet
impact torx sockets
impact alan sockets
3/8 adaptor for courdless drill
side cart
assorted pliers
etc. etc.

snap on: 3/8 impact sockets
1/4 impact sockets
1/4 and 3/8 extension sets
ratchet wrenches
regular wrenches
1/4 inch adapter for courdless drill
assorted pliers
(probly forgot some)

bosch courdless drill(14.4 volt) most used
mac tool box

...just to name a few. lol

 

Sockets - any of the three(mac,mato,snap-on)

ratchets - snap-on, I really like the fine tooth, circular head/swivel, my long matco 3/8 swivel is cheesy but hasnt broken

wrenches- any of the three, matco has thier version of flank drive.

pliers - my matco dikes cut better than my snap-on pair, plus the regular pliers are wider and flatter, work really well on spring clamps
knipex makes the best pliers IMO, cobra pliers grip better than vice-grips

edit: cordless - got ryobi 18v hammerdrill and 1/4 impact,batteries suck if you leave half-discharged for a couple days, so mine goes on the charger every night

 

Snap-on for me. they seem to have the easiest customer service, IMO

 

Being a dealer tech, you look at it from a slighty varied point of view...

Hand tools:I've noticed that Snap-ons fine-tooth rachets are tighter than Craftsman, but the warranty headache that Snap-on trucks provide generally isn't worth the extra price. I generally go to sears for rachets and wrenches, simply due to the fact that I don't use them that much, and their warranty rocks. As long as I don't wear my MB uniform to Sears, theres no questions asked.

Sockets:Snap-on, w/o a doubt. I've even tried industrial finish sockets and Torx drivers from Craftsman , but they seriously don't hold a candle to the tight fit of Snap-on sockets and drivers. To this day, I've never rounded off a bolt-head, or innard of a Torx bolt while using SO.

Pneumatic:Ingrasoll-Rand. Snap On can't match their power or price, although auto-stop would be nice (IR likes to keep spinning even after you lay off the trigger). Snap-on, however, did just release an 8-vane 1/2 gun last year that is very powerful, albeit a little heavy. You could probably go both ways on this.

Pliers, Channel-locks, etc: Craftsman Professional. I wouldn't go cheap on these, but I just don't see a difference when using SO, other than a lighter wallet. Rubber reinforced grips sure are nice by the end of the day, though

 

Personally I prefer Matco, pretty much because I can get better deals from them. I haven't found a big difference in quality between the two. I have a set of Blue Point flex-head ratchet wrenches that are one of my favorite tools, and I don't think Matco makes anything close to as good as those. Besides that it's all matco and craftsman in my box. I bought my box from Matco after a month of haggeling between the two reps. I got $1500 knocked off the price and my intrest rate cut in half. Ever since that the snap-on guy doesn't want to cut me any deals and the matco guy is more than happy to cut a few extra bucks off the price of a tool to keep me buying from him. I agree about Ingersoll being the best air tools. I have never had a problem with any of their tools, and they seem to have more power than any other one I've used. My friend bought a snap-on 3/8 magnesium impact, and it broke after loosening 3 bolts. I'm sure it was just a fluke, but still makes me leary about buying from any other brand. I've also bought a bunch of brand new tools off of eBay. I bought a 10 pc. set of matco 3/8 swivel head impact sockets brand new for less than half of what you would pay on the truck. I think I paid $130 after shipping and they want over $300 on the truck.

 

I've got some Matco, Mac, and snap on stuff mainly craftsman though. I started off with craftsman everything and replaced with snap on or one of the others as I've broken them. all my air tools are IR. craftsman 40 inch ball bearing tool box. I would love a matco, mac or snap on tool box but why buy a $5,000 box when the one I have is just as large and is $4000 less which is money i can spend on tools that are what accually make the money for me. also have a Dewalt cordless drill which I use alot and highly recommend, it takes me along time to run down a battery using it everyday and the charger recharges batteries in about an hour if they are completely dead. the one I have is just a 12v but it have plenty of torque and will do everything that I ask of it day in day out.

 

$5000? I spent $2300 after taxes on my matco box. started at 3500, he knocked off 500 for a sale and gave me 1000 for my craftsman box which cost me 500. I dont know about your box but my old craftsman sucked big time compared to the matco, metal is way too thin

gear wrench makes good flexhead wrenches
look for them on ebay, matco mac and snap-on sell them for too much

 

I've got a bit of everything. My 1/2 impact is a craftsman, but it needs to be replaced as its getting weak, and an IR gun will take its place, my 3/8 impact is the tried and true SO gun, its not rated as high in tq. as some newer ones but it hasn't failed me yet. My air ratchets are from Mac, and they both are real good. I like Matcos sockets alot, I buy speciality (impact/swivel) onces from Matco because of their price and IMO, strength advantage over SO. My box is craftsman, and yeah its ****, but the tools are what make me money, so getting everything I need is a priority, having a crappy box is fine for now, but I like the color options and (apparent) build quality of matco. I have to agree with Matto- I went into sears to replace some broken tools on my break so I had work clothes on and they gave me hell, but replaced everything eventually

 

every box i've looked at was around $5,000 to get one with the same capacity as my craftsman 40 inch ball-bearing. that is for both a top and bottom box. I can't sacriface space for the bling factor of the matco or snap on. My current box is pretty full and a smaller box would be packed and overflowing.

 

Any socket, rachet, wrench, screwdriver or plier SNAP ON only.

Snap on air tools suck, and many of them are rebadged IR air tools you pay twice IR price.

Matco: Tool boxes (better tool box then snap on) Air tools, OTC tools.

 

i prefer snap on to Matco, for one simple reason. My Matco tool rep is a DICK. I have never met a more pushy money hungry greedy asstart than this guy. But in reality, they are both waaayyy overpriced, even for their quality. I just bought a 75 dollar snap on ratchet, broke it in 3 weeks. The 5 year old ATD piece of crap that i had been using is still doing well though. They both see the same duties.

Personally, i think the best bet is to search online for tools. They don't nessesarily have to be Mac, Snap On, or Matco either. For instance i found a set of SUNEX 3/8 impact swivel sockets online, a 10 piece set for 65 bucks. I've had them for about 6 months now, and have yet to break one. And believe me, i've been trying. I frequently use them with my IR titanium 1/2" impact gun, and have yet to break one. The best part is that my 1/2"-3/8" is a cheesy *** chrome companion throw away piece that refuses to break.

Just goes to show that sometimes you get what you pay for, and sometimes you don't....

Eric

 

I like Snap On wrenches flankdrive but at 330 dollars 10-19mm a bought matco 10-19mm 276 on sale with free set of 20-24mm bigger wrenches. Sockets i love ind. black snapons but i buy cornwell stuff to.
Tool box Snap on only way to go for everyday use. 42"x19" top and bottom
Stainless drawers and Black sides. Never seen on like it. I wanted lime green but didnt want to special order.

 

Odd, my Matco guy (Tom Goodalis) is awsome, when I order something he has it next week in hand has it sitting on my tool box before I even give him payment.

My Snap on guy while he is cool ordering something from him is an ordeal, cause he is so busy he forgets about stuff I order and you have to remind him. He forgot within a week about a $450 puller set I ordered, course he already charged me for it(?) guess thats all that matters.

 

Ditto, my snap-on rep cant remember $hit. Not very knowledgeable about his tools either.

I havent seen the Mac rep since he found out the shop bought a MODIS scanner from snap-on.
BTW our MODIS wont do dodge ABS......WTF!! it cost $8000!

I used to have the best matco rep around, he would break the stuff for you to warranty it.
Now all I get is "what did you need this week?" and "wanna come out to the truck?"
Buying tools online and giving to them when they are broken is great!

 

I buy either craftsman from sears or Kobalt from Lowes becaus they are both have a lifetime warranty and will replace them if broke no questions asked. And you can do all dealing in person and never have to do the hassel of makeing phone calls, mail, or over the internet.

 

im a snap on dealer. i choose to be a snap on dealer not because of the money but because its a tool i can believe in. matco is almost as expensive with not the same quality. ive personally tested matco wrenches and seen there top of the line wrench slip at the same time as craftsman. while a snapon will turn almost 40 percent farther. matco tool boxes are a joke and damn easy to brake into. matco impact wobbles are more expensive than snapon without any protective sleeve to protect your hand. and ive seen mac s newest wobbly design **** up a customers hand. mac at lest paid his medical bills. matcos products are mostly knock offs of snapon. matco has the best knock offs, but they aint snap on. and all there power tools are avaiable through anyone, because they dont make there own product. ir does. plus with snap on the dealer force is twice as large thus your warranty means alot more when there is someone to warranty it. lowes **** i hate. ive broken that **** on barely torqued bolts and they slip easily. matco testers etc. i can get normally cheaper. leak down testers are avaible for cheaper, if you want the matco brand, through a snap on dealer. snap on is more expensive. and way higher quality.


your modis is probally not the 5.2 version. the reason a lot of scanners wont do dodge(chrysler) is because dodge refused to release the info. through court bs they are being to forced to release that info more and more each time we update. last modis up date we added info not only for new chryslers but as well as going back and adding more info for older vehicles.

im not sure but i belive sunex is matcos chaeper wobblies.

ive personally put breaker bars on pliers to brake them to get them through warranty. sometimes it comes down to service as much as the tool quality. good look guys

 

Working in auto shops I've learning service is the difference in making the sale versus not. I know of snap on guys extending the warranty on air tools to help people out and I've seen it go the other way also where getting things warrantied was a pain. Our snap on guy has been coming around for several years and is a pretty nice guy doesn't really make any deals or anything unforunately. Our Mac guy just started coming seems like a real nice guy I've bought some stuff from him but nothing that I am likely to break until I find out how well he does on warranty and make sure that he'll be around for awhile. One thing about the Mac guy he seems willing to deal and work out things in order to make a sale. He even let a guy at work take an air ratchet and use it for a week to see if he liked it which snap on never has done. When he comes tomarrow I'll know whether he'll hold up his end and let the guy return the air ratchet free of charge or not assuming the guy decides to return it.

 

Our shop bought a MODIS, too. It was a huge waste of money for them. Not one person in the shop uses any of the extra features of it. That pretty much makes it a $8000 scanner. I'm not saying it isn't worth the money, it is, but only if it is used for everything it was meant for. For the price they paid they could have bought a 2500 scanner and a Tech 2. We see mostly GM products and the Tech 2 would be alot more helpful than having a scope built into our scanner. Not to mention you have to buy add-ons if you want to do coil-on-plug ignitions or 5 gas analyzers.

 

I don't think they are, reason being is that the sunex ones have a collar over the pin, whereas the matco ones don't.... or at least didn't. I haven't seen any of their newest ones. Either way, they have a lifetime warranty so i'm covered none the less, AND i spent $300 LESS than i would have if i bought either of the two other brands.

As far as the dealer thing goes, i didn't mean to sound as though i thought all matco dealers were dicks, just that my particular guy is. My Snap On guy is very laid back, not pushy with payments, and always brings what i ask him to bring, no matter how little. I'm sure their are plenty of snap on guys out there that aren't even close to the guy that comes to our shop.

Eric

 

My Snap On guy is like a Mercedes/BMW/Lexus sales rep,expensive but awesome at the details,the Mac/Matco guys that work my shop are blue collar, shorts/t-shirt types(no offence,thats me in a nut shell ) but I swear When I put a Snap On tool in my hand it just seems to feel/fit better Am I blinded by the light?