I started out with a really cheap set, because that's all I could afford at the time. Over the years the stuff that gets a lot of use eventually broke & I got good stuff. Craftsman, SnapOn, whatever... I still have some oddball sizes of the cheap set.

But I think in the long run I spent more money that way. I would have spent less if I'd got a complete set of good stuff instead of 1 socket at a time. It's your money - only you know how much you can afford right now.

 

go with something cheap and that has a lifetime warranty. with snapon you pay for the name.

 

You pay for more than the name. I have never, ever, ever broken a snapon tool. If you manage it, you were doing something stupid.

 

but the deal is that he is just looking for a basic set there is no sence in paying $3000 on a set of snapon i would only buy something like snapon if i were serious into mechanics and my tools were making my money. dude just do craftsman they are reliable and affordable.

 

i find stanley to be very high quality, thats all I use at home for all my sockets, and they stand up to alot of shit, I use them to blast off crank pulley nuts with my 600ft-lbs impact wrench, when I cant find my impact sockets, and they have held up fine.

 

snap-on tools are worth it, but for the weekend mechanic craftsman will do the job.

i use both

Boost Lee Turbo Prelude

 

I've been a mechanic with various shops since the age of 16. Craftsman gets the job done, but still break. Husky gets the job done, but breaks more often. Anything lower than that, and you might not get a heavy job done. MAC tools are like the name-brand Husky, big handles and such. Snap-on is the Ferrari of hand tools. I only get specialty tools from Snap-on, or sockets that just won't hold up from another brand [of course, you don't know if it will or not until you break it], and I have yet to exchange a broken tool, only a ratchet that I liked so much that the teeth wore out h:

You basically just need to decide what kind of work you're going to do, and that will set the level of money you need to invest in tools. For fixing a bicycle, cheap tools are fine. For rebuilding an engine, not so much...

 

craftsman
guarenteed for life

 

Ok lots of good advice in here , I,ve been a mechanic of all sorts for 30 yrs , craftsman stuff is ok for the basic home "tinkerer" and their cheap but the wrenchs are too bulky and don,t feel right , the sockets sets and srewdriver are great , Stanley tools and SK stuff is the next step up and Walmart sells them at good prices . Now if your into a little shopping EBAY !! you can find screaming deals on tools here , Snap-on wrenchs are my choice and their sockets sets seem to just fit better on imports cars , Mac tools and Matco tools are are also top line and about half the cost of snap-on on ebay . I picked up $4600. worth of snap-on and Mac tools for about $700 in about 6 weeks this way , find a dealer in your area and get the catalogs and price sheets and go shopping , good luck (PS ,if your ever down for money Snap-on or Mac tools sell hi and fast )

 

Hmmm... great advice from an experinece mech!

Thanks! :thumbup: