Carl Beck Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 I love Snap-On Tools... Best advice I could give a young man starting out is: 1. DO NOT GO INTO DEBT - - for anything you can save your money to pay cash for. You spend your future income only on a house to live in. 2. The only way to buy Snap-On tools - is to buy them used. Today there are tons of them out there. Shop CraigsList today - I was looking in this area just for kicks. Lots of nearly new Snap-On boxes going for 1/4 of what they cost new.. Show up with CASH in hand, and a truck big enough to haul everything away - and you can do better than that. If you shop used - lay all the real Snap-On tools out of any Snap-On tool box, if your looking at buying a complete used set. See what is really Snap-On in that box, and what isn't, as well as what is missing from wrench/socket sets etc. Don't take the seller word for it that there are $15K worth of tools in that $8K box... Once you lay them all out - and throw out anything that isn't Snap-On.. the sellers will usually lower their price - because at the point they see what is really there, not what they thought was there. FWIW, Carl B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingnothing616 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Craigslist is a great way to go, with all of the dealerships going under there are plenty of out of work mechanics. If you happen to be in school, take serious advantage of the vo-tech discount through matco. I picked up my first double bay box that retails for 4,000 and paid 1700, kept it for 3 years cleaned it, waxed it, etc, just traded it in with my MAC guy 3 months ago and got 5k trade in on a 8k box. And he let me do it on truck credit which is no interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrustnut Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Hey, I guess i might as well jump in. I have been an aircraft mechanic for over 12 years, the first ten where in the military where my tools where supplied, most of them where good quality (mostly Snap-On). For the last almost three I have been on my own at an FBO where we work on any aircraft that rolls in. So unlike some of the others on here I dont have the luxury of a "specialized toolbox" I need to be ready to work on anything. My tools are 90% Mac, with the rest being a mix of Snappy and Matco. I dont buy much Snap-On for three reasons, first I dont know if anyone else has noticed but the quality of Snap-On has been falling off over the last few years and seems to be overpriced for what it is, second, im on night shift and the Snap-On guy comes by in the AM, and third the dealer is an A-hole, hard to get him to warranty ANYTHING. But Mac and Matco come by on my shift, and the dealers are cool, so they get my business. Now for why I support the chrome pimps... say im using a Craftsman (fine for my Z) on a Cessna 425 main gear attach bolt, and it slips(due to a lesser quality steel) and rounds off the head...crap, so I get my 1.99 drill bits and try to drill off the head, and the bits warped, so now i marred the casting. I go look up the part, and what do you know, I cant get one because Cessna discontinued them in 1990. So I get lucky and find a serviceable unit at a boneyard, and hey they only want 15,000 for it. CHEEP!! So all I have to do now is explain to the customer that he needs to buy this 15,000.00 part, and not fly his plane for a month or so because its coming from England. So, do the math...how much did I save again with my cheep tools? Bottom line, you get what you pay for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Why in the world would you use an ill-fitting wrench on ANY aircraft part? IMO that's a poor analogy of the real world. You have to know what works and what doesn't. He's working automotive, not A&P. I got $10K+ in stuff from Aircraft Spruce because it was the only place I could find things like the 37 degree A/N flaring tools like I used in the USAF. Parker Tube Bead Rollers anybody? Some stuff is specialized. Automotive work is not, at least not from what I've seen compared to Tactical and Strategic Aircraft Support. ILM ain't punching out Main Gear Struts for SR71's any more, either. Working AT ILM, I used Craftsman. Working ON ILM's products in the Military, I used the Snap On stuff they provided me. Being promoted to Captian for pay purposes while I sat in the brig for $100K in damage to an aircraft because I used something I was trained better than to use did not appeal to me at all! "Your Tax Dollars at Work" I have to agree with Carl Beck on his prioritizing of debt as well. BUY A HOUSE WITH YOUR DEBT NOW and pay with future income. Buy what you need, to do the job, with cash as you go. The house will pay you off 100X what your tools will ever dream of doing in a similar timeframe! Hell, 30K in a house will pay handsomely in a 5 year or even a 10 year window. All those tools will do is depreciate! No matter what you use them for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Beck Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Here is an example - and not the best one that one can find.. Just on the Tool Box. Looks to be in pretty good shape... Snap-On Box $6000.00 http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/tls/1127740257.html Looking at the Snap-On On-line Catalog: http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/catalog.asp?tool=storage These are close to the same. Riser, Workstation, 54", Red, BrightTrim (27 1/2" depth) $2890.00 Stock #: KRL7954APBO End Cab, 8 Drawers, Red $2525.00 Stock #: KRL1011APBO Roll Cab, Triple Bank, 22 Drawers, Red $10394.00 Stock #: KRL1023APBO $15809.00 plus 6% sales Tax $948.54 - $16,757.54 I'd bet that if you took CASH - and a truck - you could haul it home for $4500.00. It's been on Craigslist since last month. The REALLY GREAT DEALS sell the same day, so you have to keep checking and have the CASH on hand... This could be at least a good deal.. if you love this style, layout etc. Sellers don't want to hear "I'll have to check with my bank"... When they hear that - the price stays at $6000.00 - standing in front of them with $4500.00 CASH - - will usually buy the whole deal.. Hard to let CASH walk away when you need to sell... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrustnut Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 TonyD- I would never use an ill fitting wrench on an aircraft part, that was the point of my post. I am a home owner, and a tool owner. I think you can do both if you are careful about how you spend. I do believe in getting good deals when you can. I have a nice older Snap-On tool box I bought from a guy who was leaving the shop for 800.00. It was a 3,000.00 box easy when new in the late 80's. I also buy from ebay ect. but I buy brand names that I can trade in on the truck if needed. I also understand hes an auto mechanic, my Dad has been a Mercedes Benz mechanic for over 40 years (Mercedes certified master mechanic) and he has a huge box full of brand name tools (and im not talking craftsman). So I guess you can use whatever you want, but like I said, you get what you pay for. Its the nature of the beast that we mechanics never get paid for the investment we have in tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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