kobalt tools

[86chevyk20]

have you guys ever gone to lowes and looked at kobalt tools??

I wish i never spent so much on snap on and mac tools. I can not belive that kobalt has a bigger selection than sears and they are much better tools too. Modled after snap on i have read.

I need to start buying them

Lima

 

[RetroC10Sport]

Wrong. Kobalt is made in Taiwan. Craftsman is made in China now. Kobalt and Craftsman USED to be made on the exact same assembly line from 2002-2011 (or somewhere in there). Now before 2002, Kobalt was made by WILLIAMS which is a division of Snap On. Snap On got pissed because Lowe's employees were saying they were made by them and pulled the account, then they went to Danaher which makes tools for Craftsman, Kobalt, Matco, K-D and many others.

Not to say Kobalt aren't good tools to have, they just are not on par with some other brands. Only NEW tools I buy are Wright and Cornwell unless Harbor Fright has something good on sale.

 

[RetroC10Sport]

Here's a great tool board to see what is good and what is crap.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=4

 

[Irishman999]

have you guys ever gone to lowes and looked at kobalt tools??

I wish i never spent so much on snap on and mac tools. I can not belive that kobalt has a bigger selection than sears and they are much better tools too. Modled after snap on i have read.

I need to start buying them

Lima

You cant go wrong with Snap-on, I am slowly phasing out all my cheap tools and replacing them with Snap-on. If money is a big deciding factor check out ebay, they have smokin deals on snap on stuff if you can live with engravings. As far as the tools origin, you can look on the website or in the book and it will tell you where its made. Pretty much all the wrenches, sockets and stuff like that are listed as being made in the USA! There is some of their stuff made in China, its expected and they have to be competitive too.

Jay mentioned harbor freight having good stuff, there is a thread somewhere where we concluded their 10 dollar 3/8's breaker bar looks exactly like its snap on counterpart and the HF breaker bar is indestructible.

I just got some pnumatic tools from there a while ago. The impact gun they sell called "the earthquake" is pretty bad ass. Their D/A sander works great, it looks like a quality unit. The 15 dollar HVLP paint gun blew my socks off, I cant wait to use it more. I have used a very high dollar Sata HVLP gun alot and this cheap ass 15 dollar sprayer is just as good.

 

[86chevyk20]

i hate that **** is made over seas. This country would be so much better off if everything was made here like it use to be. In only 21 but thats what i was told how it use to be lol

Im still going to buy kobalt tools they do get a good review, i just gate supporting china ****.But even some of my snap on stuff is china internals. hate it.

 

[350runner]

I bought some of there channel locks and such... The tolerance (fitting USA sizes) is off. Bad business

 

[silverscottsk10]

Most of my sockets, ratchets, wrenches, pliers are kobalt
I love the 72 teeth in the ratchets and I've also bought the set of 1/4 3/8 1/2 extreme socket and ratchet sets and I love them
They fit much better than craftsman sockets
I have the. 3/8 torque wrench and love it
And as far as the return policy on kobalt
No questions asked
After some weekend shenanigans with some friends and removing a hitch with a 12' cheater pipe my 1/2" ratchet teeth stripped and broke my socket
Replaced for free and without any explanation
250# guy standing on the other end of the 12' bar would put 2880 pounds of torque on the ratchet right?

 

[Irishman999]

My brother in law got some kobalt tools for Christmas and they looked really nice. I would say the finish was on par with Snap-on.

 

[silverscottsk10]

They are very nice
I bought the plastic 3 drawer box and after being out in the bed of the truck in two years the little rust that was on them just wiped off
Bad thing about that box is it will hold water

 

[Gmule]

There are quality tools to be purchased everywhere at every price point. What I am paying for when I buy tools off the Snap-On truck is service. In the rare instance that I break a tool I know that my dealer will come to me and replace that tool. I don't have to take time out of my day to go and get something replaced. If I am working on a vehicle that I don't normally work on and don't have the tool I need I can call my Snap -On dealer and he will bring it to me at the shop with no extra charge right away and in most situations he gets it to me as fast as I can get my parts.

In this business time is money. If I am out tracking down and replacing broken tools instead of fixing cars I am not making money.

Fwiw I am not a tool snob and I have all brands of tools in my box most of them are Snap-On or Mac but I have to agree that the Harbor freight Earthquake line of impacts are a great value. I have both the 1/2 and 3/8 impact guns and just purchased the reactionless air ratchet that is spectacular when it comes to not getting your knuckles busted. I purchases all 3 for what it would cost to buy 1 off the truck.

 

[silverscottsk10]

But you also run the chance of the dealer being crooked too

 

[Gmule]

But you also run the chance of the dealer being crooked too

What do you mean by crooked dealer?

 

[silverscottsk10]

Not crooked per-say
****** at customer service
Ik the dealer here won't even drop price between credit or cash
Not many people like him but he's the only one around

 

[Gmule]

That is a bummer. I have been dealing with my dealer for many years and he has always been a stand up guy. Of course. We also have Mac, Matco, and Cornwell dealers making the rounds as well so there is competition and incentive to treat customers good.

 

[silverscottsk10]

Yes
And without being a good dude he will lose money