Warranties on hand tools

[AJBelayer]

This weekend I bought a new garden rake and shovel, one lists a lifetime warranty the other a 15 year warranty which seems great but I feel I have bought other tools (and I know I have in "kids" tools) that boast such great warranties. However they seem to only be tracked by a sticker on them and I'm sure I will forget in a couple years when it eventually breaks.

How do you track warranties on such things? Do you care enough or just plan on replacing in several years when it eventually breaks?

Bonus: Do you keep receipts or rely on the store to track the purchase?

Or is this just a rant and these seemingly endless warranties are just gimmicks and I should buy whatever and plan to replace as needed?

 

[oosik]

My only warranted equipment are hand tools. Wrenches, sockets, drivers, ratchets. I've only had to replace one tool in over 50 years. It was a Snap-On ratchet. I took it back to a store that sold that brand. It was not the store where I purchased it and I did not have a sales receipt. It was replaced free - no problems, no questions.

I don't think I ever owned a garden tool that was warranted.

By the way - the store owner was more than pleased to receive my broken Snap On ratchet. Snap On had not produced that style for over 45 years. It was some sort of an antique.

For what it's worth - I wouldn't worry about a warrantee on a garden tool. If you wear it out or it becomes broken - just purchase a new one. The bother of trying to get a replacement under a warrantee may not be worth your time.

 

[Gator6x4]

This weekend I bought a new garden rake and shovel, one lists a lifetime warranty the other a 15 year warranty which seems great but I feel I have bought other tools (and I know I have in "kids" tools) that boast such great warranties. However they seem to only be tracked by a sticker on them and I'm sure I will forget in a couple years when it eventually breaks.

How do you track warranties on such things? Do you care enough or just plan on replacing in several years when it eventually breaks?

Bonus: Do you keep receipts or rely on the store to track the purchase?

Or is this just a rant and these seemingly endless warranties are just gimmicks and I should buy whatever and plan to replace as needed?

I have a file cabinet in the basement. When I purchase something with a warranty I staple the sales receipt to the owners manual/warranty and file it in the cabinet. Ever now and then I clean the file cabinet drawer out and marvel at the price increases over the years.

 

[Roadworthy]

I suspect it depends on the brand and whether the vendor is still around and the identifying label is still attached and legible. I had a lawn tool from Fiskars. It broke on the second or third use. They shipped a replacement to my home at no charge and very quickly. That was the only lawn tool with a lifetime warranty I've ever had. You should not need a receipt for your lifetime warranties other than to prove you're the original owner. For the fifteen year warranty by all means retain your receipt.

 

[ArlyA]

We use fiskar loppers. They are quite good but we do occasionally break them. We email a photo of it to fiskars at their warranty shop near Madison WI and a part is usually shipped in 48 hours. No questions asked.

 

[bmg88201]

Never heard of a warranty on a rake, lol. My hand tools are Craftsman and Snap On, Proto and Klein. They get replaced when broken immediately, no questions asked. Don’t need a receipt of any kind. I just lay the tool on the counter and they give me a new one. I buy broken tools that I know have a life time replacement warranty at yard sales for 50 cents or so and then take them and get new ones, lol