Stupid Craftsman and Sears....

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:51 am

I recently found that my torque wrench at work was broken (almost found out the hard way, putting together another one of those Titanium bikes).

I prefer to torque to spec, rather than go by feel on a bike, so this was disturbing.

I have ordered another wrench for the shop, but I wanted to keep the Craftsman one and get it replaced under warranty.

I took the wrench to Sears to get it replaced. The wrench is only about 8 months old.

I got there, and was told that I was SOL because I didn't have a receipt. Weak.

After 10 minutes, of asking how I could go about getting my wrench fixed or replaced, I was told that I could try calling Craftsman about it.

I am losing faith in Craftsman tools. This isn't the first time I have been denyed warranty replacement. I've broken their sockets, and it was a debocle to get them replaced. I wish I had Bob Villa's phone number.

Yukonart · Post by **Yukonart** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 1:30 am

I didn't think they had lifetime warranties on the torque wrenches, anyway.

LaureltheQueen · Post by **LaureltheQueen** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 1:32 am

that's odd, I worked at sears, and we replaced pretty much everything except torque wrenches and saw blades and drill bits no questions asked, didnt need a reciept or anything. Torque wrenches require a receipt because they don't have the lifetime warranty. if it was purchased with a credit card, a statement from the company should do, or if purchased using any kind of sears card, they should be able to look it up for almost a year.

The full warranty is only for a month i think, after that it's merely a calibration warranty for a year.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 2:21 am

The full warranty was for a year, and the calibration warranty was 90 days.

That's why I was upset. It's not a year old, but they need a receipt to replace it. GRRRRR. I don't have a receipt, so I gotta buy a $70 wrench.

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 2:31 am

Why are you mad at them? You should've kept your reciept

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 2:56 am

Can't they look the sale up with your phone #?

Blackbart · Post by **Blackbart** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 3:01 am

If you are 100% certain that it should be under warranty and you are only guilty of misplacing the receipt, you can buy another one (if they are still the same) and use the new receipt to return the broken one.
The outcome would be the same, Sears would not get hurt. They wouldn't have gotten hurt if you found your receipt. I broke my torque wrench years ago, they told me I was out of luck, I chucked it in the trash, wish I had thought of this back then.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 3:21 am

THAWA wrote:Why are you mad at them? You should've kept your reciept

Store bought it. I was going to get it replaced for the shop, and my coordinator said that I could just keep it. So I was going to get it warrantied for me, but I don't have the receipt.

Bart - I would, but I can't return a visibly worn, and broken, torque wrench. If you mean to use the receipt to warranty the tool, I would rather not.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 4:43 pm

You might try going to Home Depot. I understand they usually will trade you a new Husky tool for your broken Craftsman one, at least with the lifetime-warranty hand tools. Craftsman has been slowly switching to cheaper crappier tools and Home Depot's trying to capitalize on people realizing that.

professor · Post by **professor** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 5:53 pm

I agree that Craftsman tools are going downhill. My ratchet set (the best thay have) doesn't hold a candle to my Dad's 30+ year-old set, in fact my 1/2" handle is half stripped. I broke every 13mm socket I had trying to get a Honda exhaust off. The screwdrivers are a joke.

But I've never had a problem with warranty, ever.

The Craftsman professional metric wrenches (the polished ones) for $75 are the best tools I own, very, very long even at small mm sizes, you can reach everything with them. 2nd best tools: the 3/8 and 1/2" ratchets with swiveling heads, the handles are longer, too and I use these all the time, nice extra lever arm, and great for spark plugs, etc.

IMO the Husky tools are just that, too fat and awkward, they don't fit where you want them to, they just throw extra steel at it, not as nice as a real quality tool. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to fit a socket over a nut due to clearance, a continual prob. with those fat Husky sockets.

Blackbart · Post by **Blackbart** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 12:50 am

The newer Husky tools are a different company than the older ones. I broke a socket and brought it to the HD, they looked at the part # and told me someone bought the company and will not honor the older stuff. Had the same problem with Tasco scopes.

Subaru_Nation555 · Post by **Subaru_Nation555** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 1:10 am

I've never really been happy with Craftsman or Stanley tools. I've heard that Snap-On tools are very good, anyone used them before?

legacycontinues · Post by **legacycontinues** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 1:47 am

Snap-ons are great.....If you are rich or don't mind financing your tools.

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 1:49 am

Snap-On rules but they're expensive as all get up. They are really nice and worth the price if you have a lot of disposible income or are a mechanic by trade and are going to be working with them daily. If I could afford them I'd love to have 'em. Most of my tools are Craftsman though.

LaureltheQueen · Post by **LaureltheQueen** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:58 am

From what I heard from customers while working at SEARS was that home depot no longer did the "any tool" return, and that to warranty their tools required mailing them out. I received a Husky socket set for christmas one year, before I had any other tools, so I've used them(and luckily not broken any, i dont think i'm strong enough), but have had the same problems with them that the Professor did, the sidewalls are too thick. I'd much rather have a socket with thinner sidewalls, even if it were more likely to break, because at least i could do with it what i needed to.

On a side note, be nice to your cashier or tool associate at sears. If we didn't like our customers(Ie: they came in in a confrontational mood, or were simply assholes) we wouldn't return their tools for them. Many craftsman tools have names etched into them, guess what, that theoretically COULD affect the structural integrity of a socket, and the warranty states that you're not allowed to modify the tool in anyway. The warranty also does not include rust.... just a tip

AWD_addict · Post by **AWD_addict** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 11:51 pm

I have a Craftsman torque wrench from SEARS. Hasn't given me any trouble yet, thankfully. I'm keeping the receit though.
My grandpa once brought a pair of garden clippers into SEARS to get them sharpened under the lifetime warranty. They gave him a new pair instead, which was ok with him since the old ones were 20 years old.

123c · Post by **123c** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 6:11 am

My Crapsman tourque wrench crapped out, and I bought a $9.99 tourque wrench from Harbor Freight, and I have been happy with it...

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Stupid Craftsman and Sears....

Stupid Craftsman and Sears....