got the NAPA catalog today

davestlouis · Dec 17, 2007

https://goo.io/KKQVMl

My friendly neighborhood NAPA dealer gave me a huge catalog today, it must be 500 pages thick, with all the NAPA tools. Very nice presentation. They apparently have el-cheapo Evercraft hand tools and NAPA, and NAPA Professional lines. Anybody have any experience with their speed of delivery on ordered items and the quality of the tools? I am under the impression that Danaher makes a lot of their high-end hand tools, and I've had good luck with my Matco-branded tools so far...any reason I should steer clear of NAPA?

Jbullfrog · Dec 17, 2007

Napa has been offering tools with their name and New Britain for 60 years. They stand behind what they sell, and what you may already have, no hassle. Most stores carry the basics, but they can get most of the tools next day from the warehouse.

davestlouis · Dec 17, 2007

I have found that this relatively small NAPA store carries all sorts of odd-ball stuff that even CarQuest doesn't carry, including Lubro-Moly 5w40 synthetic oil for my wife's Audi A4 1.8T, so I want to throw some money their way and support the store.

plinker · Dec 17, 2007

Napa tools for the most part are made by Danaher and are the same as Craftsman / K-D/ Allen.
Some items are stamped K-D and are just repackaged as Napa ( I.E. 7 ton gear buller , feeler gauges).

The impact socket are Taiwan bit seem to be well made the bolt grip puller,hack saw and stud remover set are also Taiwan

Back in late august my local Napa had a 33% off all tools so I picked up about 667$ worth of tools for about 425$

The only thing about Napa tools that I find is on some things they are more expensive than craftsman for the same item.

The Craftsman 3/4 drive ratchet goes for about 80$
The napa one retails for about 150$ I belive
The only differnce is the handle
(the napa ratchet is the same handle as the Allen 3/4 drive ratchet)

I picked up a Napa 3/4 ratchet for 25$ shipped off ebay. Napa tools tend to go cheap there

ImportTuner · Dec 17, 2007

I didn't know Napa even had a tool catalog ...

wythors · Dec 17, 2007

One thing to bear in mind here is that most NAPA's are locally owned and employ real parts professionals. So by shopping there, you usually get better service than Vatozone and you're supporting your local economy, rather than some large chain.

Oh, and their tools are very nice quality overall.

davestlouis · Dec 17, 2007

This catalog was huge, 1/2 as thick as the St Louis yellow pages, lots of shiny pages, punched with binder holes. I spent almost $5000 with my Snap On guy this year and have never seen a catalog...

eschoendorff · Dec 17, 2007

I just purchased the NAPA pro ** extended pliers (2 pc. set) for $25 on clearance. tehse are the same as the GearWrench version... but made to Danaher specs in China

The NAPA Professional stuff seems to be sourced from the Allen/Armstrong Danaher line. Good stuff... you could do worse (like Evercraft).

Support those independent NAPA stores!

mulepackin · Dec 17, 2007

wythors said:
One thing to bear in mind here is that most NAPA's are locally owned and employ real parts professionals. So by shopping there, you usually get better service than Vatozone and you're supporting your local economy, rather than some large chain.

Oh, and their tools are very nice quality overall.

Gotta agree with this. They are the only national chain around here that have knowledgeable countermen on a consistent basis. There is a statewide chain that has some pretty good heads. Otherwise, it's pretty hit or miss.

mulepackin · Dec 17, 2007

davestlouis said:
This catalog was huge, 1/2 as thick as the St Louis yellow pages, lots of shiny pages, punched with binder holes. I spent almost $5000 with my Snap On guy this year and have never seen a catalog...

Have you asked your Snappy man for a catalog? I'll run mine down every few years just to get a catalog. I don't buy often, and he doesn't come around, but is always willing to provide me with a catalog and price list when I ask. There is just something alot more satisfying for me about perusing a print catalog, as compared to internet shopping.

davestlouis · Dec 17, 2007

Yeah, the Snap On guy never seems to have any, Matco comes by once a year with fresh ones, and I spend $2500/year with him too. We see both trucks on Wednesday around lunch time, like clockwork

Danglerb · Dec 17, 2007

Whats bathroom without a catalog?

Fedwrench · Dec 18, 2007

Ask your Napa store about the quarterly tool promotions. They publish a glossy sales flyer with specials in it quarterly. Their tools are a little pricey compared with their Craftsman or KD twins. I like their fully polished professional series wrenches. They have good balance and feel, feature off corner engagement on the box ends, and have excellent finish but, aren't as long as the Craftsman Pro wrenches. Napa ratchets are the standard 36 tooth Craftsman type guts but, the reversing lever is still metal instead of plastic. They do have a 60 tooth next generation ratchet. The Napa blue and yellow screwdrivers are German made by Witte. Napa specialty hand tools are repackaged KD products. I believe their current line of professional impact sockets are made by Grey Pneumatic. They are made in Taiwan but, are fairly durable. They offer a fairly complete selection and great customer service.

mulepackin · Dec 19, 2007

Danglerb said:
Whats bathroom without a catalog?

Just another place to sit

l_bilyk · Dec 19, 2007

mulepackin said:
Gotta agree with this. They are the only national chain around here that have knowledgeable countermen on a consistent basis. There is a statewide chain that has some pretty good heads. Otherwise, it's pretty hit or miss.

I'm blushing

davestlouis · Dec 19, 2007

I'm a little irritated, I called my contact at the store this AM, checking price and availability for an item I didn't see in the catalog. No call back so far.

davestlouis · Dec 19, 2007

What I was looking for was deep-offset metric box wrenches, full-polish finish, as a set. They show SAE in the catalog, no metric

davestlouis · Dec 20, 2007

Day 2, no call back from the store. This was the guy who was so eager when I was in there, now I can't get a courtesy call back. If he can't get it, so what, just let me know.

ImportTuner · Dec 20, 2007

davestlouis said:
Day 2, no call back from the store. This was the guy who was so eager when I was in there, now I can't get a courtesy call back. If he can't get it, so what, just let me know.

Maybe he's on vacation or something ... with the holidays here and all ...

Uncle Buck · Dec 20, 2007

Nope, that would just be NAPA! (or an accurate description of how their customer service has worked for me; just about as good as Snap-on!)

davestlouis · Dec 20, 2007

Good grief, that is just poor service. I'm not looking for the cheapest price, I'll pay more to get good service, but I WON'T pay more for bad service. Kinda like the nice supermarkets doing self-checkout lanes...if I wanted to bag my own stuff I'd go to Shop-N-Save where at least everything is cheap.

got the NAPA catalog today

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