After decades using Craftsman mechanics tools, I decided it was time to upgrade. When Lowes acquired Craftsman, they became the hub for any warranty issues. The process worked great if they had the items in stock, but became a pain if they did not stock the item. Craftsman’s online service was mid at best, often you will get the run around to contact another department, or contact Lowe’s or Ace Hardware. This prompted me to slowly replace my mechanics set.
There were a few stipulations I needed to meet. Made in the U.S.A. and Tool Truck tools are fantastic, but are overpriced for a weekend warrior. Taiwan manufactured tools will suffice, just nothing from China. I also needed easy lifetime warranty replacement. This led me to a few different manufacturers. Harbor Freight is great, and I am 10 minutes away from a store. The warranty process is pretty much how Sears used to operate; bring the broken item in and it will be replaced, no questions asked. The other manufacturers I considered were Tekton and GEARWRENCH due to their glowing reviews and easy online warranty claim process.
Home Depot had a sale on a GEARWRENCH 106 Piece Mechanics Set. It normally retailed for $154, but was on an in-store sale for $77. This was quite the steal, so I immediately jumped on it. The set came with 1/4″ and 3/8′ 90T ratchets as well as chrome sockets. First impressions were fantastic, the ratchets felt like such an upgrade over my 72 tooth Craftsman ratchets, and the heads were definitively more compact. As many would, the first socket I reached for was the 10mm deep well, and I noticed that the socket end had a rough feeling to it. Upon further inspection, the chrome plating was peeling off. After inspecting the rest of the set, I only found one other that had plating issues, the 1/4″ deep well. Time to test out the GEARWRENCH warranty process everyone raves about.
The online warranty form for GEARWRENCH was great, just upload a photo and give your mailing and contact information and wait for a response. I filled out this form on a Tuesday, received shipping confirmation that Thursday, and had the replacement parts at my doorstep on a Saturday. Pretty damn good, and I kind of prefer this online method as opposed to driving to a store.
So far this has been a win for GEARWRENCH and I’ll be replacing my other ratchets with GEARWRENCH. Tekton also offers a similar warranty process, so I will be filling out the socket drawer with their offerings to give them a shot. Overall for the DIYers, GEARWRENCH is a fantastic value with great customer service and I highly recommend the company.