I'm in the auto industry, and when I started I bought a cheaper set to get me started, slowly over the years I ve been replacing them with Snap-On, yes I have heard bad things about some dealers not giving warranty. And I tell ya, its the dealer not the manufacture that will deny the warranty. We have had a couple dealers like that around here, and well, their not around anymore, cause people wouldn't buy from them, we have always had good dealers on our route to our shop. As for the warranty only replacing the tip of the screwdriver, I really don't care about that, so what if the handle is scratched up, its going to get like that in short order anyway. Their ratchets are by far the best I ve used, I wore out lots of cheaper ratchets, went to Snap-On, and have only broken them a few times. My vote is for Snap-on, just try to find a good dealer. If the dealer gives you a hard time about warranty, maybe contact the area REP and see what's up.