How Does Harbor Freight's Lifetime Warranty Work And Which Tools Come With It?

Harbor Freight is known for being a tool store with quality products at an affordable price, especially compared to the other larger home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes. In fact, because the sold brands are owned by Harbor Freight, the company has the right to dictate policies to help not only themselves but the customers as well. For example, on all Harbor Freight Tools, you have 90 days to return an item for either a full refund or exchange. Other stores usually only give you a month.

In terms of a warranty, most items have a 90-day warranty. On top of that, for some tools, like power tools, Harbor Freight gives you the chance to purchase an extended warranty, which is useful if you plan to use the tool frequently. Additionally, the tool store also has another warranty — a lifetime warranty. With that said, how does Harbor Freight's lifetime warranty work and exactly which tools does it apply to?

The lifetime warranty works the same as the 90-day warranty — the only difference being the time limit of the warranty from the date of purchase. However, the warranty is on more than just the tool itself. If needed, whoever enacts the warranty must be the original purchaser. To use the warranty, you'll need to show the receipt, the defective item, and an explanation of what is wrong with the item. We'd suggest either keeping the receipt in a safe place or uploading it to your computer, so you'll always have it. Additionally, if you are part of Harbor Freight's Inside Track Club Membership, the store keeps track of your purchases.

It's important to understand that the lifetime warranty has limitations. When you present your tool to the store, they will do an inspection. If it is determined that there is a defect or that it has failed to work as it should, your item will be replaced with either the same tool or a substitute if the identical tool is not available. However, if it is determined that the item is broken due to user misuse or if the user modified the tool at all, the company reserves the right to deny the warranty and the replacement. With that said, we suggest following Harbor Freight's guidelines and using your tools properly, so you won't have to cover the costs of a new tool if needed in the future.

On Harbor Freight's customer service page, the lifetime warranty states that it covers hand tools. However, upon further research, we discovered it's not all hand tools. On Harbor Freight's main page under the Shop tab, you'll find a list of hand tools. We wanted to check under the different hand tool options and see if the lifetime warranty pertained to all of them. Under hand saw and cutting tools, looking at the Portland Saw 12-inch Flush Cut Saw, which is technically a hand tool, it is listed under Harbor Freight's 90-day return policy and warranty. However, within the same tab of hand saw and cutting tools, the Pittsburgh 42-inch Bolt Cutters is protected under the lifetime warranty.

There's truly no explanation as to why some Harbor Freight hand tools are not covered under the lifetime warranty and others are. Your standard hand tools like ratchets and tape measures as well as accessories like sockets and tool sets like the Quinn socket sets are all under the lifetime warranty. Before purchasing, we suggest looking at the product page of the tool and checking out the warranty information section to get a definite answer for your tool's protection plan.