Thread: Sidchrome kit - is this good value?

Must have been a good deal - they sold the last 6 this morning - before 9.00am - so i mised out.

Hodgo, some of the Sidchrome gear is nowhere near the quality it used to be, atm i own 3 1/4" ratchets from sidchrome, 1 that gets used, 1 thats faulty, and the third is sitting at my local sidchrome agent waiting for warranty approval..... when i talked to the sidchrome rep in june, even he aknowledged there was an ongoing issue witht hem and if i wanted a better quality item i should use a Proto ratchet.....

*meh* the rest of my gear is Sidchrome-Proto, Caterpillar, Stahwille and Minimax.... the 1/4" set is the only Sidchrome gear thats been made in the last 8-10 years

Hey mate

I bought my toolkit a while ago. I was looking at Sidchrome but quite a few fellas at work suggested not going there. Apparently the warranty is not as good as it used to be, and the quality has dropped

I think it's a much of a muchness

In the end I bought an SP kit. They had a 302 piece kit for a bit less than $2000. There's no way you can get that many tools for the same money with Sidchrome

SP also have a lifetime warranty

Have a look around theres a few different brands out there

I think Sidchrome is a bit overpriced these days. I have been quite impressed with the Supercreep stuff - not the cheap gear, but the tools locked in the cabinet. It is excellent quality and finish, good price (much cheaper than Sidchrome) and comes with a lifetime replacement. Each piece is stamped, and all supercreeps will replace it without question if it fails. I would suggest you compare (ie: handle each tool) before you buy - I couldn't find any difference in the quality, weight etc..
I recently bought some sockets, breaker and spanners to do the suspension. These tools stood up to very hard work that would have destroyed most cheap stuff.

Originally Posted by Armadillo

I think Sidchrome is a bit overpriced these days. I have been quite impressed with the Supercreep stuff - not the cheap gear, but the tools locked in the cabinet. It is excellent quality and finish, good price (much cheaper than Sidchrome) and comes with a lifetime replacement. Each piece is stamped, and all supercreeps will replace it without question if it fails. I would suggest you compare (ie: handle each tool) before you buy - I couldn't find any difference in the quality, weight etc..
I recently bought some sockets, breaker and spanners to do the suspension. These tools stood up to very hard work that would have destroyed most cheap stuff.

I'd have to agree with you, I bought a 24mm spanner there a while ago, from memory was only $15 or so

Thanks for the advice guys - but i still think at $250.00, a 69 piece kit in a tool box is good value - even if Sidchrome isn't what it used to be, its still not junk.

I bought my sidchromes back in the days when they put prices on printed catalogues, and the cost of the kits in boxes usually were more than the total cost of the individual items. I bought a better quality Rotax tool box and the same spanners for about the same price.
"If you can, check the individual prices of each item, deduct for any item you don't want/need and see what you come up with.
cheers

Another option is second hand - there are a few tool sellers who specialise in second hand quality tools for reasonable prices (British, American, Australian, German etc) and who do the swap meet rounds in SE QLD.