Good affordable tools???

A thread about what tools needed to be quality prompted this thread. (Didn't want to hi-jack the original)
I personally feel that any tool you are going to use should be a quality tool, but.................

How do you find good tools at a price you can afford?
Do you have to go the Snap-on, Matco route?

Is Craftsman the only retail store choice for tools of a decent quality?
It seems that Sears has outsourced the Craftsman line and I wonder if they truly are a "quality" line anymore.
I think their hand tools still have a lifetime guarantee, but where is the value in replacing a junk tool that fails with another junk tool?

Good question here. Personally, I used to buy almost excusivly craftsman tools, but within the last 2-3 years, it seemed as the quality is not what it used to be. I like to have good quality tools for things such as torque wrenches and such where quality is very important, and its usually a fairly expensive tool anyway. One place i find them that most people overlook is at pawn shops. I've actually had very good luck finding high quality tools such as snap-on, matco etc, in great, slightly used shape at local pawn shops. For example,I picked up a $350 (retail price) nearly new snap-on torque wrench for $50 and just in case, had it tested locally to verify torque was acurate for $10. Cant beat that! Over the last couple years, Ive also bought a welder, a tool chest and other assorted, normally higher priced tools from pawn shops at great prices compared to buying new. Dosent hurt to stop in a take a look, a lot of times you can find some awesome deals, just do your homework first :)

For the casual home mechanic, my personal recommendation is to get "decent" ratchets like craftsman, Stanley, Husky or Kobalt brand. Buy all your sockets from Harbor Freight. I like Stanley screwdrivers, always worked well for me. Everything else has broken or worn over time. I did buy the vessel japanese spec drivers, very happy with them.

A good set of L-shaped Allen keys like Bondhus as well as a set of Allen sockets are invaluable, as are ratcheting wrenches.

For torque wrenches, I buy "Teng" brand. Good prices, and made in Taiwan so the quality is high.

If they still exist in your area, go to a proper hardware store for advise, not a supermarket

In NL, Gedore is deemed a TOP brand, but when I told the shop owner that I will use it for occasional spanner work on my motorcycle, he advised the Rahsol "B" brand from Gedore. Good quality at a lower price point.

YMMV

We don't have any of those stores, probably more's the pity. But like any where else, you get what you pay for. A decent set of tools is worth the extra dollars & should last a lifetime (yours).
Which brings me to this point. Check out your local paper for ads that feature people selling tools, a phone call will tell you what brand(s) their got. And garage sales can be a really good place to pick up quality gear. Lots of times it's the rellies of dear recently departed Gran pop (or Pop) that are flogging his gear, usually so they can clear the house before putting it on the market. Or maybe because he's now to old to ride & there ain't enough room in the nursing home unit.

I am not sure if swap meets are as popular as when I was growing up. I used to go to find bargains on just about anything but that was a long time ago. The Saugus swap meet in So. Cal was huge and there were quite a few vendors that sold quality tools at discounted prices. There was one vendor that sold used equipment and he had just about everything you can use on a vehicle. He also had a section of used surgical gear, now I never had the need for a scalpel, but I did buy some good surgical scissors, a couple Paris of quality tweezers (for other hobbies at the time) and a couple of pairs of arterial forceps (think needle nose pliers that lock) that came in handy quite a few times.