Why hate Mac but not Matco

[ngk22r]

Ok so this convo sorta drifted from the original thing I stated was in reference to a comment that people do not like MAC tools because they rebadge other tool makers tools with their logo. I just pointed out that Matco is also guilty of this "tool sin".

And yes Snap-on has the Blue-point and Williams, but Snap-on owns Blue-point, Williams, Sun, Bahco, and so on. The point I was making is that Snap-on owns these companies and they make the call on the smaller companies. Matco is owned by Danaher and so Matco tools is grouped with all the other tool companies that Danaher owns. Atleast with Snap-on there is originality (not saying Matco has not originality to them at all) when it comes to buying their tools. I have not yet seen a 72/80 tooth Williams ratchet yet. Snap-on makes the call as to when its other divisions get what technology if you catch my drift.

That being said if you want the top of the line from the Snap-on corp. you go to Snap-on and the price can be justified. With Matco for the most part, you can get the same tool for far less money BRAND NEW from gearwrench, craftsman, otc, etc...

And to top it all off, most of Matco's (and some of cornwells) tools cost more than Snap-on. I could maybe understand the pricing but not when the same tool is at sears for less.

As far as personal choice of what tool you want is all on the person and I can respect the person chosing the tool that works best for them, not everyone is for Snap-on, and not everyone is for Matco, all good. I am not talking about quality but pricing.

[mikevango]

I just hate all tool companies.

[jamie640]

MAC and snap-on both have certain china shipping junk tools with their logo on them. The key is, you have to look at the tool before you buy it.
They both have good qualities compared to each other though..
Example: Mac hex sockets, are wayy stronger than snap-on.
Snap on ratchets are better than MAC. ect.

[Spam16v]

I thought this forum was all about going to the pawn shop and collecting as many broken ratchets as humanly possible and posting pics of 50+ obsolete 3/8" raised panel ratchets that aren't rebuildable?

[mrholeshot]

As a once very loyal Mac tool buyer I tuned them loose after being sold a bunch of Taiwan tools without discloseure they had moved offshore. Upon closer inspection and use of said tools and finding the quality (or lack of it) I asked my dealer why he didn't tell me he was selling me crap. His reply was "It has the same warranty" Sorry not good enough. End of my dealings with Mac. My matco experiance has always been a bit limited because we just never had a decent dealers. The tools I did buy the Chrome comes off at an alarming rate so my Matco stuff is just down to a few sets of sockets, few screwdrivers and wrenches. Despite my beleif that Snap-On is hiding the COO ot part or all of the Dual80 ratchets the quality is still there no matter where they are built. I can't bash Matco because my experiance with them isn't vast enough to form a really good or bad opinion of them. Getting totally screwed over by MAC from Taiwan screwdrivers to warranty my USA tools with inferior Chicom just really burns my Ass. I have a lot of Mac tools, I like them but I now shudder at the thought of having one warrantied. Mac has been owned by Stanley for over 30 years. About 10 years ago they decided to start hosing the dealers a bunch of them sued MAC. Then about 2005 the Top Secret Chicom crappy tools started hitting the streets. MAC preyed on the ignorance of long time buyers thinking they wouldn't notice and wouldn't care. I fear that Snap-On is headed down the same path. Snap-On is a great company with the most loyal customer base in the automotive tool market. With what they charge there is no reason that any Snap-On hand tool being sold in the US not be made in the US and Marked USA. I guess those of us who got hosed by MAC it's just Dejavu

[Spam16v]

I bought a mac side cabinet mainly to put my aerosol cans in (dealership necessity), no lock or door retention system installed... uhm, wtf? little baggies with Stanley on them, strait up home depot garbage to lock and hold the door shut while unlocked... great....

[bimmer630]

I pretty much lost interest in MAC tools when I saw my truck guy selling These Titan pieces of crap with red handles and MAC stampings on them http://media.cygnus.com/files/cygnus...o_10102203.png

[TheGrooveking]

Originally Posted by Skin

I have hardly any Matco but even i'm not going to claim their tools are the same as what is offered in the Craftsman/GW catalog. Anyone with two eyes and a brain can see that plain as day that there are differences in things like socket/ratchet/wrench design and chrome quality by simply picking up the products and comparing them.

You could just as easily be saying that all Stanley and Proto tools are the same as MAC.

You need to get on a Matco truck more often, many tools lately from Matco are Gearwrench and are stamped as Matco. You will not find Made in Taiwan or China on the tools or the packaging, yet if you call Matco customer service, they'll tell you, so you can then realize you just paid 250% going rate for Matco.

Also Matco doesn't deal on their boxes from what I can tell.

TheGrooveking

[wchamberlain]

Ok as a consumer of tools.........Here is the bootm line!!!!!!!!!

Snap On for the most part is made in USA, not all of them mind you........I'm convinced that the new quick releases are Imported........Not trying to flame on people at all.

Matco is owned by Danahar, which owns alot of tool companies, so rebranding rebadging is done just like Snap On

Mac is owned by Stanley, and they have moved alot of their production overseas, to quote Mr Holeshot, made in taiwan, warranty is still the same, not buying it. I understand your feelings on the Mac issue.

Most people are Snap On fanboys, leg humpers, quality tools, some rebranding, a little overpriced IMO

Matco tools do rebranding, I still like the quality fo them though!!!!!!!

Mac, alot of foreign production, still a quality tool!!!!!!!!

[DrkMtnDew]

Originally Posted by bimmer630

I pretty much lost interest in MAC tools when I saw my truck guy selling These Titan pieces of crap with red handles and MAC stampings on them http://media.cygnus.com/files/cygnus...o_10102203.png

i actually like those titan pieces of crap... as long as i pay the titan piece of crap price...

[billymade]

I've noticed that the titan ratchets are now rebadged as Kobalt at Lowe's too...

[Skin]

Originally Posted by TheGrooveking

You need to get on a Matco truck more often, many tools lately from Matco are Gearwrench and are stamped as Matco. You will not find Made in Taiwan or China on the tools or the packaging, yet if you call Matco customer service, they'll tell you, so you can then realize you just paid 250% going rate for Matco.

Also Matco doesn't deal on their boxes from what I can tell.

TheGrooveking

hindsight is 20/20. My post is 7 months old . In fairness i'll stick with what i said. You're mainly targeting ratcheting wrenches yes? In which case i dont disagree one bit.

[idubvdub]

idk you get what you buy and not every one has everything you need. The Mac guy has always been the guy I prefer to deal with. 2nd Mac dealer, 2nd shop. I've seen Matco trucks. Love my 88, I got as a student. If a truck came by I'd have more 88's at the very least.

[Racr350]

Originally Posted by wchamberlain

Most people are Snap On fanboys, leg humpers, quality tools, some rebranding, a little overpriced IMO

Matco tools do rebranding, I still like the quality for them though!!!!!!!

Mac, alot of foreign production, still a quality tool!!!!!!!!

That sums it up right there...

[wreckercologist]

I don't "hate" Matco, but they're about twentyish down on my list of preferred tool companies.

My dad told me matco was junk when I was starting out and to avoid them. He was a mechanic from the early '50's through 1994 and from most of what I have owned of theirs, he was right. Still holds true today IMO. I no longer buy new from them, and rarely buy in the used market. The 10mm through 24mm wrench set I bought in 2005 was a piece of crap. Crooked stampings, pits/holes in the finish, certainly not up to the quality chrome of some other tools companies(peeling), sloppy finish work, and a dealer that laughed about it and did nothing. The 15" long 3/8" ratchet I bought several months ago? Bent the handle and locked up the mechanism on day one. I guess they're long reach, not high leverage. I was eyeballing the new guys 24" 1/2" drive flex ratchet a while back and asked to borrow it. I broke it.....oops! Why would I buy this stuff? I vote with my paycheck, and guess who gets it?

I'll say this, Matco is run by smart people. They went from being nothing to a real market share competitor in a short time, and they support their dealers better than Mac and probably Snap-on. They also didn't screw over their dealers and customers like Mac did. I have not forgot what Mac did.

If you have good luck with them, fine. I'm happy for you. My experience has been different and I won't support them.

[Skin]

say what you want about matco but their hard line is just as good as everyone elses and quite a few new and up and coming tools/designs are premiered with their brand [modern ratcheting wrenches of varrying lengths and designs, pinless swivel impacts, locking flex ratchets etc..].

I also like their socket designs. The color coded easy read etchings is one of those "duh" things that everyone should be doing.

[wchamberlain]

It's simply a matter of preference.........Alot of Matco tools are overpriced, just like Snap On and Mac.

Some people are gonna pay the price of the brand no matter what the cost is due to their preference.

Kinda like some Jimmy Johnson fans will only shop at Lowes, Tony Stewart fans only at Office Depot and only eat BK. Now that Jr is AMP, some people will only drink that kool aid!!!!!

[bimmer630]

Originally Posted by Skin

say what you want about matco but their hard line is just as good as everyone elses and quite a few new and up and coming tools/designs are premiered with their brand [modern ratcheting wrenches of varrying lengths and designs, pinless swivel impacts, locking flex ratchets etc..].

I also like their socket designs. The color coded easy read etchings is one of those "duh" things that everyone should be doing.

The colored etchings have already started to come off of the two matco sockets that I bought. still a good socket, and I didnt expect a blue number marking to stay on something like a socket anyway.

An older set of matco 1/4" sockets I had had serious chrome peeling/chipping issues.
I love my (witte) Matco nut drivers though

[Mr.Nutcase]

On the dealership I work, the only one that come is Matco and Snap On,
Mac and Cornwell dont stop .

[Virgil Cain]

Originally Posted by dirtrider

Like everyone else said Mac did some pretty unethical things to their dealers and customers alike. There used to be a website started by a former dealer telling in detail all the legal actions taken against Mac and describing many of their terrible policies, it was called mactoolssuck.com I think, it has since been taken down but may still be accessible through a web archive site. I think generally Matco is not criticized as much do to the much better business practices they have, yes Matco outsources and rebrands a lot of tools but I think that is more accepted by some people because of the way they present it. Even so Matco is not held in the same high regard of Snapon by most people, mainly because of the reasons listed above and also due to there tools being manufactured by Danaher, that makes Matco more of a tool distributer and tool brand more than anything. Many of Matco's tools closely resemble other Danaher brands but at a higher cost. Snapon is usually considered the best tool you can buy for a reason, Snapon is owned and manufactured by Snapon and most of there hard line is made in the USA still and there quality is the best.

archive.org has several snapshots of that website (mactoolssuck.com). Seems to have been most active around 2005.

http://web.archive.org/web/200502120...toolssuck.com/