Harbor Freight
- Thread starter joesregalproject
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Yep, that exact same cherry picker is sold under several different names, HF is just one. I know for certain O'Reilly's sells it as an ACDelco and AutoZone sells it as a Duralast.
Im not sure if the HF engine hoist is the same. I looked at them before I finally bought one to replace the non folding one that I bought used. That one was an older HF.
I went to Pep Boys because thay had the Torin Big Red one on sale but they were sold out. Looked online at all the ones sold by the other auto parts in this area and they all looked the same so I called customer service for Torin. The woman told me their hoist is sold by Pep Boys, Auto Zone, Advance and NAPA. Just painted a different color for each company. I wound up buying it at Auto Zone. They price matched the sale price, had it in stock and the guys even put it in the back of my truck.
A couple of years ago I bought a set of tools from Lowes made by Kobalt for my mobile set. It's a very nice kit with a handy box to hold everything in place. Done many jobs from engine removal to trans and everything in between. The ratchets work fine and show no signs of failing. Harbor Freight is now selling a brand called Quinn. They are the same as Kobalt. I bought a bunch of them to replace the 45 year old set of mixed and matched junk. Used the 25% coupons and saved even more. Now I have a compete matched set of 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2. I also like that the sockets have red and blue on them to quickly sort them out. The US General boxes are very well made. Better than Craftsman. Unfortunately the don't come in a size I can use since my garage is small. I have many friends that are professional mechanics and have spent 10s of thousands of dollars on big name tools and chests. After seeing the Icon cart all I can say is they are every bit as well made as SnapOn. Sure, there's plenty of junk that you are lucky if it would last for one job. On the other hand if that's all you need for it to work then buy a junky tool and move on.
I would not go as far as to say HF carts and boxes are as nice as the big boys, Snap On, Mac etc. There IS a difference. But for what I'm doing now basically just a home mechanic, I have no need for the better quality at a MUCH higher price so the HF works perfect for me. BTW, I worked in a dealership for 12 years as a service advisor, tech, parts manager, and finally service manager.
I have several years of experience working in dealership service departments. In my experience there are a lot more guys with Husky, Kobalt, Harbor Freight and old beat up Craftsman boxes than there are guys with tool truck boxes. Actually at my most recent employer, there was only 1 guy out of 7 under the age of 35 that had bought a new box from a tool truck. And he was an idiot. And he bought the ugliest box Snap-On sold.
Just about all of the older guys had tool truck boxes but a lot of them were bought used and those guy had been doing it long enough to justify having a nice box.
We don't have them up here but I think Princess Auto is a carbon copy and this sounds very familiar. Honestly their surplus products are the main reason we shop there. Also helps living in the sticks, the closest is 1.5 hours away.
I love this thread.
I don’t know the exact name of it, but go to YouTube and search “24 inch breaker bar comparison “. MAC, Matco, Snap-On, and Pittsburgh. Identical results. One costs $125+, two cost $145+, and one cost $19 (not including he used his $20% off coupon). Hilarious. Not twice the cost but 6-8 times the cost.
Also go to Indeed.com or your favorite job website or even google and type in “how much does a Snap-On laborer make?” and tell me that buying that sh*t supports 'good' American jobs at $10-15 per hour. Snap-on doesn't even pay their own employees enough to buy Snap-On tools. Unless they are a Snap-On sales rep or higher, at which point they likely don't even know how to use a hand tool.
And if the truth were known Snap-On, MAC, Matco, or someone else of the same integrity very likely owns the Chinese plant that makes all of the 'second rate tools' and 'deceptive advertisement' that started this whole thread.
I don’t know the exact name of it, but go to YouTube and search “24 inch breaker bar comparison “. MAC, Matco, Snap-On, and Pittsburgh. Identical results. One costs $125+, two cost $145+, and one cost $19 (not including he used his $20% off coupon). Hilarious. Not twice the cost but 6-8 times the cost.
Also go to Indeed.com or your favorite job website or even google and type in “how much does a Snap-On laborer make?” and tell me that buying that sh*t supports 'good' American jobs at $10-15 per hour. Snap-on doesn't even pay their own employees enough to buy Snap-On tools. Unless they are a Snap-On sales rep or higher, at which point they likely don't even know how to use a hand tool.
And if the truth were known Snap-On, MAC, Matco, or someone else of the same integrity very likely owns the Chinese plant that makes all of the 'second rate tools' and 'deceptive advertisement' that started this whole thread.
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