VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Radios, Tools, Accessories Craftsman tools

In several other post mention is made of purchasing USA made tools versus foreign. Craftsman tools have been one of the tools that many use and have had good opinions of. I have lots of them in my tool box and until today had not been disappointed, though I realize they are not top line such as Snap-On. When changing wheels on my Silverado and torqueing to 140 foot lbs. the end of the torque wrench snapped off. Clearly defective from looking at the broken parts. No problem I thought as its a Craftsman. I found out the hard way that the torque wrenches are only warranteed for one year. To top it off my broken one was made in the USA and the new one, purchased out of necessity as the wheels were off my truck, was made in China. In previous threads regarding tools most have very poor opinions of tools from Harbor Freight that are made in China. While I agree some products are not the greatest from HF I think that paying $40.00 for a Chinese torque wrench from Sears rather than one from Harbor freight for $21.99 is a "gotcha".

Never knew Craftsman had "various warranties" on their products. I always thought Craftsman equaled "lifetime warranty".

Just another kick in the wallet, eh ?

Thanks, Craftsman.

Craftsman Electric tools are not lifetime warranty.

Craftsman tools such as a ratchet wrench were guaranteed and the customer would receive a free replacement if the ratchet mechanism broke. It is my understanding that now Sears will repair the ratchet wrench instead of replacing it.

Also, a good number of Craftsman tools are now made in China.

The end of another era.

Over the years, any Craftsman tool of mine that broke was replaced, with no questions asked.

As a result of their good will, I continued to buy and buy their Craftsman tools.

That was known as "customer retention", a phrase that is now meaningless to retailers, whether it's a tool, a car or underwear.

I was aware that tools other than "hand tools" had various warranties but I now have to "reprogram myself" as it seems the days of "lifetime warranty" are over. The warranty statement actually says "full 90-day warranty" and after that it's one year but does not include calibration. The Sears store is less than a mile from the two truck shops I worked at so a lot of times when tools broke it was no big deal as a quick trip was made and a replacement received. I think this situation is only indicative of where the once flourishing Sears stores are headed for. My first credit card was a Sears SRC (Sears Revolving Charge) and at 21 years old it helped to have that as a credit reference. A number of years later they for some reason had to change my account statement date and it was not convenient to my wifes paying date. They billed the third week with a payment due date by the end of the month while my wife did all of our payments the first week of the month. We discussed this with them after receiving a late payment charge and was informed they could not make a change. The check went out with the cut up credit card. A change WAS made. At one time my household had almost all Sears (kenmore) appliances-stove-refrigerator-washer-dryer-TV-etc. The only things left now are my mechanic and woodworking tools.

No, they hand you a replacement ratchet mechanism and you get to install it. If you need an item repaired it is shipped to a central repair location and then shipped back. The days of having a repair shop located where the store is is almost non-existant. And if you need repair parts they can be ordered either by phone or computer and shipped from a central facility.

Several years ago when K Mart was on the verge of bankruptcy they combined with Sears and the quality of their products has changed a lot, especially their tools. I bought one of their large Craftsman tool boxes and it is junk.
Harbor Freight has a discount often on their half inch torque wrenches for $9.99. I have three of them in different tool boxes and have had no problem with them.

Today I called their repair parts facility and got a price on just the ratchet assembly for my broken defective torque wrench thinking maybe it would make a good spare. Would you believe only $42.67 plus freight to repair it and a new one is $39.99 and they have the part in stock. I'm certain they will be scrapped and written off. Certainly takes the wonder out of why they are not doing too well.

Pretty much takes all the guesswork out of what happens when the importance of the customer dwindles, in the eyes of the retailer.

Is Snap-on the only good quality tool being made in the USA now, or have they sold out as well? We're all going to be limited to buying used quality tools from Ebay or flea markets soon...

If Lowes has stores in Canada they have tools made by Kobalt that seem to be made well. They use to replace a broken Craftsman tool with a Kobalt. I do not know if they still do that.

Wow! Just finished the sears feedback survey from my new torque wrench receipt. I voiced my dissatisfaction with the torque wrench. Not five minutes later I received a call from the store manager and after some discussion about the craftsman tool line he offered to reimburse me for the purchase of the new torque wrench. It's good to know they do pay attention to the feedback surveys.

Boy, that's good to hear! Now, if we could only get Chevy to fix your wheels.

I purchased four used wheels from a 2008 and will use them for "Winter " wheels while I recondition my aluminum ones. With only 50,000 miles and the frame rust and corroded wheels repaired if anything else happens that is not normal it will at least look good for a trade. Like your insurance situation it illustrates that help is more likely from the top rather than "normal" channels.

"AMEN" as to where you have to find help!