Don't ever buy Snap On tools!
- Thread starter ramairfreak98ss
- Start date
Sounds like your buddy wasn't prepared to take on the long term financial responsibility.
Did he read the fine print when he opened up his account?
Im a little taken back when I buy something from Snappy, and see it was made in Spain or Italy, BUT.....better than China, no?
Did he read the fine print when he opened up his account?
Im a little taken back when I buy something from Snappy, and see it was made in Spain or Italy, BUT.....better than China, no?
Young guy had box envy and got in over his head. Should have kept working with whatever he had or bought something cheap until he was established.
FORDSVTPARTS
Authorized Vendor
:lol1: Reminds me of some of the techs here. I have noticed a few have at least been smart enough to buy the cheaper stuff starting out.
I'd have to agree with most of the above. Snap-on is not the problem here. It was your buddy's ego. He didn't need Snap-on tools. He wanted them and couldn't afford them so put them on credit. He then started to fall short on payments due to hardships and the company finally reposed the tools for lack of payment. Short paying is not paying in full and if you don't make your payments in full then you are past due. It a fact of financing anything.
The one thing I didn't see in your post was if he contacted Snap-on at the time of his first short pay and advise them of the hardship. Most companies have hardship programs that can have payments temp adjusted as it's much better for the company and the customer to modify payments vs going down the collections route. If he didn't do this and just started to short pay on his own then that is another lesson learned.
As far as the $1600 back at time of repo. That is not how repo works. The assets are not owned by the end user (your buddy) until they are paid in full. Until that happens they are the banks assets. They are not required to give a full refund back for a repo. Under some circumstance the customer may be entitled to a partial refund if the assets are sold and that sell, plus received payments is greater than the sum of the assets original cost plus the cost of financing.
Are you a lawyer? I'm trying to figure out why you are trying to negotiate this for your buddy. I'm assuming not as most of your voiced concerns are well withing legal rights and a lawyer would already know that. With my assumption being you are not a lawyer and are trying to just help him out that also tells me that your buddy has some maturing to do.
P.S. - $29.99 finance charges a month on a $4K plus loan is not even close to usury (the legal limit for interest). That rate is going to go off the location that the finance company is incorporated and not where you live. Most usury limits are right at 30% thus why you see all the CC interest rates cap at 29.99% interest. Forgive my math if I'm off a bit since I'm just doing it in my head right now but an interest rate of 29.99% (assumed usury limit) for a $4K loan (total principal balance) would equal close to $60 a month in interest charges so they are well below that based off what you posted.
The one thing I didn't see in your post was if he contacted Snap-on at the time of his first short pay and advise them of the hardship. Most companies have hardship programs that can have payments temp adjusted as it's much better for the company and the customer to modify payments vs going down the collections route. If he didn't do this and just started to short pay on his own then that is another lesson learned.
As far as the $1600 back at time of repo. That is not how repo works. The assets are not owned by the end user (your buddy) until they are paid in full. Until that happens they are the banks assets. They are not required to give a full refund back for a repo. Under some circumstance the customer may be entitled to a partial refund if the assets are sold and that sell, plus received payments is greater than the sum of the assets original cost plus the cost of financing.
Are you a lawyer? I'm trying to figure out why you are trying to negotiate this for your buddy. I'm assuming not as most of your voiced concerns are well withing legal rights and a lawyer would already know that. With my assumption being you are not a lawyer and are trying to just help him out that also tells me that your buddy has some maturing to do.
P.S. - $29.99 finance charges a month on a $4K plus loan is not even close to usury (the legal limit for interest). That rate is going to go off the location that the finance company is incorporated and not where you live. Most usury limits are right at 30% thus why you see all the CC interest rates cap at 29.99% interest. Forgive my math if I'm off a bit since I'm just doing it in my head right now but an interest rate of 29.99% (assumed usury limit) for a $4K loan (total principal balance) would equal close to $60 a month in interest charges so they are well below that based off what you posted.
Some people learn lessons the hard way.
Just to be the contrarian. I have a buddy that owns a custom motorcycle parts shop.
He has hired and fired a lot of mechanics over the years. And he has caught a couple of truck owners trying to put his shop down a cosigner for mechanics tools.
He put a stop to that real fast. One truck guy he even got fired for signing an agreement as if he was my friend (I think that's called forgery)
It's completely understandable why the truck guy would pull this shit. A lot of the fired mechanics would just vanish with their nice new boxes and thousands of dollars in tools.
Personally, I bought a big Matco box. Used for cash. Still haven't filled it up. But I do wax it regularly.
He has hired and fired a lot of mechanics over the years. And he has caught a couple of truck owners trying to put his shop down a cosigner for mechanics tools.
He put a stop to that real fast. One truck guy he even got fired for signing an agreement as if he was my friend (I think that's called forgery)
It's completely understandable why the truck guy would pull this shit. A lot of the fired mechanics would just vanish with their nice new boxes and thousands of dollars in tools.
Personally, I bought a big Matco box. Used for cash. Still haven't filled it up. But I do wax it regularly.
Free shit from Snap-On? You're as clueless as the OP's friend. I laughed when I read your post.
I get what you are saying in that you end up paying in the long run, but you are still wrong. It's funny to think you know the ins and outs of our business and relationship with Snap On though.
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:lol:
i remember a friend saying "he went and hid like bob does when the snap on guy comes around" referring to a mutual friend of ours lol.
another thing that cracks me up is seeing someone with a $4k snap on tool box and hardly any tools in it. :dw:
If they have credit with Snap On then I can see why SO would offer them discounts to use up said credit.
They dont make interest on credit...... A couple months interest > Free tool here and there.
Re-read OP's Post. Here is a copy/past from his original. This adds up to $120.00 a month in "interest/finance" charges. That's a bit high on a 4K Loan.
EACH WEEK, snap on charged his account $29.99 for some form of interest fee, which again, is over the national limit i believe and does not conform to NJs laws of consumer credit lending.
When I had to start my tool collection over again from scratch, I bought the 330 piece mechanics set from Sears on sale for about $250, and picked up a pair of clearance Craftsman ball bearing boxes for $150. Every time I do a project I'll pick up whatever I need for that project, from Sears. I have exactly 3 Snap On tools in my set now, a pair of ratchets and a remote hose clamp tool. All three were gifts. It's taken me 3 years to outgrow the baby boxes I bought, and I'm confident there's not much I can't do comfortably on a car with what I have. I understand the value of good tools, but you don't have to cripple yourself with debt to get them.
Damn, and I was just giving another guy some sh$t about reading comprehension
I honestly started to skim through the post as I lost interested half way through it. Serves me right though.To correct my stance on that part. If that is true and is truly part of "fee's" and/or "interest" and none of it goes to paying down the principal balance then the OP does have a usury case. I would recommend seeking legal counsel on that part as I'm not aware of any states that allow for higher than 30%.
So was your "friend" actually you and won't admit it? You did a lot digging/ work for something that had nothing to do with you.
The real lesson here is don't finance stuff you can't pay for. Cheap tools will work fine for a beginner mechanic until he gets more experience/ the need for more expensive tools.
The real lesson here is don't finance stuff you can't pay for. Cheap tools will work fine for a beginner mechanic until he gets more experience/ the need for more expensive tools.
Harbor Freight FTW for newbs just starting out. If they stick and make wrenching a career, they can always buy nicer down the road and not be out a fortune.
I've always heard of this brand but never actually bothered to check them out as I usually get the cheapo harbor freight stuff. But after reading this thread and seeing that people spend $4,000 on tools I had to see what's up. And when I saw the prices online I almost fell off my chair.
For example, 14 piece deep socket set...$384? Are you kidding me?
https://store.snapon.com/Deep-inches-chrome-Set-Socket-Deep-12-Point-14-pcs-1-4-to-1--P631681.aspx
I'm sorry, but who the heck would spend that kind of money on sockets? $27 a socket? Tell me what does that socket do that a normal socket that costs even $5 can't?
That's more than a complete set of harbor freight stuff...and yes I know there's quality difference there but cmon. You can buy a whole new habor freight set every year for over a decade and still come out on top.
For example, 14 piece deep socket set...$384? Are you kidding me?
https://store.snapon.com/Deep-inches-chrome-Set-Socket-Deep-12-Point-14-pcs-1-4-to-1--P631681.aspx
I'm sorry, but who the heck would spend that kind of money on sockets? $27 a socket? Tell me what does that socket do that a normal socket that costs even $5 can't?
That's more than a complete set of harbor freight stuff...and yes I know there's quality difference there but cmon. You can buy a whole new habor freight set every year for over a decade and still come out on top.
Didn't even think about that. I know several people who wrenched for a year or two and got sick of so they got out of wrenching.
For some things, its worth the money. I love the ratchets. The sockets I have heard won't expand as much/ crack when trying to get a stuck bolt/ nut loose.
It may not be what you need but when you go into most shops where you got guys that use their tools to the max, you will be hard-pressed to find any of them say anything bad about Snap On's quality. It is easily the highest quality hardware out there and will last longer when it matters. They also hold their value very well. You can buy that set for $384 and as long as it's all there and nothing is severely damaged it will retain that value.
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