Expert: William Forster - 12/10/2006

Question
Hello William , My son is in a collision repair school and wants to do this for a career . His school has a deal with snap-on that the students get half off on all tools . The tools even at half off seem kinda high, Are they worth the money ? If not could you recommend a brand ?
Thanks
Doug

Answer
Hello Doug! I really don't suggest you go out and buy 10,000.00 in snap-on tools for a school kid. Like everything else, school and the real world are two different things. He may love school, but hate the hustle and bustle of a real shop. I could go on and on about the bad side of body shops, but I won't bore or scare you with the details. Back to your question. Chicago Pneumatic makes good affordable air tools, and all Craftsman tools are good, too. I find that the air tools at Tractor supply company do an excellent job. I Even have some tools from truckload sales. Speedway series air tools will get the job done cheap, and will probably last for a while after he gets a job in a shop. He can deceide if he likes a particular tool, and if he likes it, buy a good one once the cheapo wears out. If he hates it, it can languish in the bottom of his tool box, no big loss. Snap on tools are insanely priced, in my opinion. If you look at some of the air tools, they are made in Taiwan! And they want 300 bucks each, on average! Its nuts. I didn't mind paying thru the nose back when it was all USA made, but now, they are ripping us off with China crap. Snap on also manufactures nothing. They have tools made to their specification by other companies, Black and Decker to name one. They then charge a third more than the original companies retail price for basically the same tool. Save your money, only have him buy specialty tools from Snap-on. Bill