Sears Craftsman Lifetime Guarantee (The Forever Full Warranty Put to the Test)
Last week I dug up six bushes that lined the front gardens of our house. Unfortunately, the bushes came down with crown gall, an incurable disease that attacks some types of plants (see Green Gardenista’s article on identifying crown gall for more information).
I grabbed my Craftsman fiberglass shovel from its hanger in the garage and started digging around the roots of the first bush. In an attempt to gain extra leverage, I wedged the shovel between the bush and our concrete porch and pushed down sharply, only to have the fiberglass handle buckle, and subsequently break in two. I was forced to finish the job, carefully, with an old wooden-handled spade shovel.
A few days later I scooped up the remains of my Craftsman shovel, loaded them into the back of the Corolla, and headed down the road to the local Sears. My shovel bore the signature Craftsman Forever Full Warranty sticker, a promise that this shovel will be replaced, no questions asked, at any Sears nationwide.
The Forever Full Warranty Put to the Test
Severed shovel in hand, I walked into Sears and found the nearest sales associate. He saw my pitiful shovel, yelled “broken shovel, Leon” across the room, and told me to go grab a new one off the rack in the back. I walked back and found that my version of the shovel had been discontinued and replaced with a newer red-handled model that looked a bit sturdier. I walked back to the front of the store and stepped up to the register. Leon greeted me. “Just one second and we’ll have you squared away.” I noticed he rang up my new shovel for $0.01, and credited me $0.01 for my broken shovel. As we finished up the checkout, Leon handed me the receipt with a coupon attached - free shoes. I don’t need them, but a nice gesture nonetheless. Here’s the new shovel:
I was in and out of this Sears in under 5 minutes. The Craftsman warranty rocks, and here’s why:
Why Sears’ Craftsman Manual Tools Warranty Rocks
Sears Craftsman hand tools warranty is everything a warranty should be:
- The warranty covers manual (non-power) tools for the life of the tool (not just the life of the original owner).
- Fully transferable. If you sell the tool, the warranty goes with it.
- No receipt/proof of purchase required. You only have to bring back the pieces.
- No hassle / no questions asked. It doesn’t matter if you broke the tool doing something with it you shouldn’t have been doing. If you have the pieces, you can get a new tool.
- On-the-spot trade in. You don’t have to “send it to the factory.” You can walk into any Sears, find the tool, and make the trade instantly.
- Free upgrades to newer models. If the broken tool is discontinued, you get the latest model of that tool instead at no additional cost.
What do you think? Have you had a good (or bad) experience with Sears’ Craftsman Warranty? Tell it here.
Comments & Conversation on this Article...
14 Responses to Sears Craftsman Lifetime Guarantee (The Forever Full Warranty Put to the Test):
Leave a comment and join the conversation!
If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
-
Subscribe!
-
Refurbished Tool Deals
-
Quick Tips & Asides
- Sears Coupons April 19-25, 2009 (Appliance Coupons, Tools Deals, 5% & 10% Off)
- Pneumatic Hardwood Flooring Cleat/Toe Nailer by Bostitch
- Recommended Pneumatic Hardwood Flooring Nailers (Toe / Cleat Nailers)
- Suntouch Coupon for Radiant Heat
- Handscraped (Hand sculpted) Wood Floors
- Bathroom Electric Radiant Heat Mats Kit by SunTouch
Recent Articles
- Before and After: Dining Room Renovation by Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality
- Plywood vs. OSB (Oriented Strand Board) | Differences & Applications
- Choosing Between LCD and Plasma Televisions
- Sliding Glass Door Rough Opening Shims
- Sliding Glass Door Wood Frame Rough Sizing
- Repair Cracks in an Asphalt Driveway
- Before and After: Stunning Black and White Bathroom by Kara @ Made 2 Create
- Different Ways to Clean a Coffee Maker
- Review: Skil Cordless 18V Li-Ion Reciprocating Saw and Flashlight
- Dig a Drainage Trench to Avoid Basement Flooding
October 17th, 2008 11:42 am
I have had several positive experiences with Sears…
I once stripped out the gears in a ratchet wrench. Walked into Sears, showed how the ratchet wouldn’t hold and they gave me the gear replacement kit. Got it home, took about 5 minutes to swap out the damaged gear and it was good as new.
Another time, I brought in an old Craftsman power drill. My Dad passed it down to me after using if for maybe 15 years. The only trouble was that the manual chuck was worn out. After my experience with the ratchet I walked into Sears and inquired about a replacement chuck. The sales man was very friendly and even offered to change the chuck from me. I agreed because I had previously studied the drill’s construction and knew the chuck was riveted to the motor shaft. I thought there was a trick or something to getting the chuck off.
The salesman was convinced that it was screwed to the shaft even after I explained that if you look down the chuck you would see the rivet. Well, the salesman finally resorted to jamming a screwdriver into the motor to stop it spinning and started to swiftly bang on the chuck with a mallet. I knew the motors shaft was going to break but stayed silent since maybe he was right and the screw was below the rivet. He claimed to have changed several of these before.
Next thing, the chuck and shaft are broken clean from the drill. You could plainly see now how the chuck was riveted to the shaft. Now it was junk. The salesman offered me any drill as a replacement for 80% off. Got a great new drill for $20.
October 17th, 2008 1:06 pm
Wow! What great customer service. I will make sure to remember that if any of our Sears Craftsmen tools break.
October 18th, 2008 7:02 pm
I have used the craftsman lifetime warranty one two occasions… once I broke a 9/16 box wrench using a “leverage extender,” the other time it was a pair of pruning shears. Both times no questions were asked and it was a quick and simple exchange.
That’s why if you look in my tool box you will see all craftsman hand tools.
October 20th, 2008 8:35 am
Ryan & Paul, thanks for the stories/confirmations. There are a few folks out on the blogosphere who have had a hard time, but I think it was due to undertrained staff in their particular store. Paul, I’m slowly making the move to all Craftsman tools for the same reason. You just can’t beat the lifetime guarantee.
October 21st, 2008 7:58 pm
Sears changed their warranty on tape measures. The warranty is more restrictive. If you break the measure part it is NOT covered anymore. If you have an old yellow one you can exchange it still but now they will give you a red one that doesn’t carry the full warranty.
October 27th, 2008 1:17 pm
Works great, except for precision tools.
Had a nice torque wrench from Sears. If you know about their plastic handled ones, they have a little “ring” that locks it at the setting you want.
Well mine broke. Took it back to them and its not covered outside their 90 day warranty, and a fix would have been a new one.
The wrench still works ok, just a PITA to use.
$20 torque wrench from Harbor Freight, all is good now
October 27th, 2008 1:36 pm
I worked at the sales counter in the tool department in my local Sears several years ago. When I worked there it was any “hand tool” screw drivers, pliers ratchets etc. It does not cover “power tools” or torque wrenches. Everything that does not have the forever warranty is label to have a 90 day warranty.
If your looking into buying Craftsman tools I don’t know if they still do it but you can sign up for the Craftsman Club and they would send you a sale paper just for the members and I think you could get a discount off anything but I cont remember. But it was only 1 week a month.
October 28th, 2008 10:09 am
Friend of mine had an old (1950s I think) Craftsman ratchet and socket set. One day he stripped out one of the sockets. took it to Sears, they gave him a new socket, no problem; they even remarked that “well, we don’t make that style of socket anymore” (it had a kind of decorative knurled ring around it) so he should just “keep the old one; it would be a shame to break up the set”.
Very cool.
November 2nd, 2008 7:37 pm
Even though I am not fond of Sears, their tools are top quality. I have taken back ratchets when they have become stripped and had them replaced… no questions asked!
November 6th, 2008 8:10 pm
My son was using my 40 year old Craftsman 3/8 ratchet handle when the bearings fell out of it. He returned to our local Sears and the gave hi a reconditioned, beat up, scared handle that is in worse condition than the broken handle. This is not the first incident I have had with Sears on there tool Guarantee. Last year I was given infer red thermometer for Christmas, it lasted one day, I was given a replacement, and that lasted two days. I went back to the store and requested my money back. The price of the thermometer had changed so they gave only the new price back to me SHORT $2.75. I no longer buy tools at Sears. Sears does not stand behind ther product.
December 9th, 2008 6:01 pm
I only buy craftsman hand tools. Period. If they are hand tools, I will only buy craftsman with lifetime warranty. I have never had any trouble with craftsman hand tools. There have been times that I have used the wrong tool for the job, because I was too cheap to buy a longer (more torque) version. When it breaks, they replace it. Sometimes I have replaced the same tool 2 or 3 times in the same day. I have even broken a plastic socket holder stick, and they have replaced it. You have to remember though it is *only* hand tools without any electrical components.
March 17th, 2009 3:41 pm
My experience with Craftsman tools has been great.
I don’t like to write a lot so I am just going to say this.
Why in the world would you buy any hand tool that is not Craftsman?
I don’t even know why there are still other tool companies out there they should be broke.
For example Stanley, yeah it’s a good brand but if you want to claim your warranty you have to have your receipt.
And if you have a big tool box who has the time/space to save every single receipt for every single tool in your tool box.
With Craftsman tools you don’t need that.
I am proud to say that every Hand tool I own its Craftsman.
May 4th, 2009 3:47 pm
My past experiences with Craftsman were similar to what I am reading here, but buyer beware … things are changing!!! I took a screwdriver in with a chewed up handle (it spent many long years in my toolbox, but I think the dog got ahold of it).
When I tried to exchange it, the manager of the store (Citadel Mall in Colorado Springs) told me it wasn’t covered. I used to spend extra on Craftsman just for the no-hassle guarantee. As a small business owner, I don’t have time for this, so it’s goodbye Craftsman, hello Snap-On! I won’t be seen in Sears again!
May 24th, 2009 1:40 am
I have taken my broken Craftsman tree trimmer to the nearest SEARS store four times with no saisfaction. (36 miles round trip) The first three times they were out of stock and told me to check back, they could not notify me if and when they were in stock. The fourth time, I asked for a credit on a gift card to use to order it on their website. She could not give me full credit without a receipt and offered to make an adjustment when I picked up the new trimmer. I accepted her offer. When I returned home, I tried to order it from their website. It would not let me order it for in store pickup because they didn’t have it in stock at ANY of the stores in this area. I e-mailed my complaint to SEARS. Here is their reply. “Dear Charles Manning, Thank you for your recent correspondence. We are always interested in hearing from our customers, and regret it was this type of situation that prompted you to contact us. We apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced and understand your frustration with your trimmer. Unfortunately, you do need a receipt in order to exchange a Craftsman tool. Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience you may have encountered with your trimmer. We appreciate your business and value you as a SearsHoldings customer. We certainly hope you will continue to make Sears Holdings your choice for quality and value. Sincerely, Joanne J. “