which tool set should i get?

[Jand3rson]

Visegrip is owned by Irwin, who make KICK-ASS tools. Never had anything made by Irwin go bad on me.

[Brandon12V]

^^^^ just sharing my experience mate. Like I said some of you may have better luck but this is what I was dealt. All the sockets I ever bought were made in Taiwan out of solid zinc and it showed. I've used shitty tools and nice tools. If Stanley started producing a forged steel line I would probably give them another shot, but it would be pointless now. Majority of my tool line would probably be a downgrade to go with Stanley. If you can find the quality then save the money. My IR impact doesn't like regular sockets. Not trying to sway the OP to expensive shit, just letting him know what he may expect.

[tjmonsen5]

My IR impact hates chrome sockets, they get stuck on very tight. Buy impact sockets to use with an impact gun!

[TimKninja]

Use craftsman at work(on heavy equipment), really good stuff. Have never had a problem with craftsman.

Also have some harbor freight stuff. Honestly not to bad. Had my 4 dollar breaker bar for three years before it broke . Their ratchets are pretty shitty. Ive gotton good deals on stuff when their changing the packaging, they sell stuff stupid cheap. I got a 12 peice impact socket set for 6 bucks.

[Axxe]

Not really sure how you can claim this. Almost all of my pliers are Channellock's bought over the last 2-3 years. All are great quality and are almost exactly identical to a bunch of 20+ year old Channellock's my father has. Same story with Visegrip. These two brands are some that I would always buy from.

+1. The first pliers I reach for are always my channel locks. They also make a badass wide jaw 8" adjustable wrench that is very slim and tough. I use it for fan removal (opens up to approx 1-1/2"). I also have a pair of visegrip that I picked up in the middle of the street behind my shop, they were completely black from rust, but still worked perfect! I just coated it in ATF and left it wrapped up in an oily rag for two weeks and now they look great and work amazing.

[b*saint]

I dont know. I bought some stuff recently from Channellock and wasnt impressed by them. Same with knipex. My knipex pliers have a lot of flex in them compared to my snapon ones.

[dannyyisntt]

I use several sets of chanellocks at work almost everyday and have never had an issue

[joshh]

Harbor Freight is your best bet. I haven't had a single problem with either their ratchets or their sockets.
At least Craftsman will replace the ratchets and sockets free after you paid about what they're worth. Paying anymore is bowing down to the tool elitists that swear by over priced tools like Snap-On.

[VinniE30]

I wish there was just tool set you could buy that has what's needed to do most things on an e30 and not all the other crap that i'm not gonna use.

[devon.818]

paging blunttech, e30toolset?

[jaywood]

Harbor Freight is your best bet. I haven't had a single problem with either their ratchets or their sockets.
At least Craftsman will replace the ratchets and sockets free after you paid about what they're worth. Paying anymore is bowing down to the tool elitists that swear by over priced tools like Snap-On.

[Restoman]

Craftsman pissed me off recently with their ever changing exchange policy. My ratchet was acting up so I broke it down and greased it. I've had this ratchet for four years maybe. Cosmetically it looked really nice, just mechanically it would not stay engaged in either ratchet rotation. Anyways, I put it back together all clean and greased and its still happening. I take the ratchet to sears and the guy is really cool about it takes my wrench and grabs a different one out of a box behind the counter. This 'new' on has No packaging No nothing. It has grinding marks all over and but mechanically it seems like it might work better. So beware, no brand new replacements. You get a tool that has all the scuffs ground down and maybe its been rebuilt. BTW no more paper catalogs are given our in sears for craftsman tools. BOOOOOOOO!

[blueapplesoda]

301 pc mechanics kit from harbor freight. Has almost everything you need and they go on sale every few months. I've bought four sets of them and have a set at home, 2 at the shop, and 1 in the race trailer. Along with a good calibrated torque wrench, and a set of box wrenches and you can almost take apart any car.

[JGood]

Craftsman pissed me off recently with their ever changing exchange policy. My ratchet was acting up so I broke it down and greased it. I've had this ratchet for four years maybe. Cosmetically it looked really nice, just mechanically it would not stay engaged in either ratchet rotation. Anyways, I put it back together all clean and greased and its still happening. I take the ratchet to sears and the guy is really cool about it takes my wrench and grabs a different one out of a box behind the counter. This 'new' on has No packaging No nothing. It has grinding marks all over and but mechanically it seems like it might work better. So beware now brand new replacements. You get a tool that has all the scuffs ground down and maybe its been rebuilt. BTW no more paper catalogs are given our in sears for craftsman tools. BOOOOOOOO!

I was told the salesmen are supposed to offer you a rebuilt ratchet, but if you insist on wanting a new replacement, they will give you one.

I returned a 1/4" ratchet in mint condition, due to the ball that holds the socket sticking. He gave me a rebuilt ratchet that looked in similar condition, worked perfectly, and even told me he'd give me a new one if I insisted. I just took the used one, it's really not that big of a deal. If it had some big gashes or grinding marks I'd just ask for one that is similar in cosmetic condition to my old one instead.

[tom d]

Harbor Freight is your best bet. Craftsman will replace the ratchets. Paying anymore is bowing down to the tool elitists that swear by over priced tools like Snap-On.

but the question is, have you ever tried using Snap-Ons for hours at end?

there is nothing like the feel of a quality tool in the hand and harbor and craftsman just don't measure up.