Is there any cost benefit to buying from a truck vs. on-line?

EBay.   Spent an easy 10k on there and saved an equal amount by not using the truck.  Besides, they won't deliver to my house anyway.  

Depends on your truck guy. The old guy used to give me decent deals I would say, but my area just had a change of hands and it's getting pretty tough just to buy tools at full price in general.  I love to keep my money local, but it's getting to a point where "I have a credit card and the internet and I'm not afraid to use them." I think I'll mention that to him next time we catch up.

Also, a lot of Caterpillar branded hand tools are made by Snap On, some are similar to their sister company Williams tools too. It's a crapshoot in pricing on Cat tools. Sometimes nobody notices them and you can get a smokin hot deal (1/4"=1 1/8" combination wrench set for $130), and other times people see the Cat name and the bidding goes through the roof.

I have a good mixture of Cat and Snap On tools mostly in my toolbox, Haven't broke any Cat tools but I understand the warranty is pretty much the same, you just take them to the Cat parts dept and you get a new one, may take a extra day or two as not every store stocks every tool, but sometimes the tool truck is out of what you need too. There's a Cat rental store in my town with service guys that can get me parts, so it's not as much of a hassle for me as it may be for others.

I have done both.  Trucks do not always have everything that I want.  Online catalog is the candy store...

I never have had the chance.
I could never get the truck guy to stop by or meet me anywhere. even a shop.
so unless you work at a shop they regularly visit, online may be your only choice.

I do also agree, ebay is a good way to get them cheap, BUT you have to know how much they really run. some items get over priced fast for some reason.

Snap On dealer that sells at work is 25% off the website prices.  Bit of a clown, though.

I could never get the truck guy to give me a visit.

We had offices in a 'high bay' building, and I spent many dollars.

Unless you have a regular guy that comes by, go online.  When I turned wrenches for a living we got the weekly visit and he occasionally gave me a few good deals with cash, or 50% or more down.  But that was 25 years ago.  When I reciently had tool problems, I chased a truck down and got the grumpy treatment.  Since then, I just call the 800 number and get warranty repair via postal service.

Thanks for confirming guys.
It looks like on-line is way more convenient and cost is a wash.

Only issue with buying online is if something breaks, some guys are finicky about warranty unless your a regular customer. If you know the prices, eBay does have good deals sometimes.

The S-O dealer at work loves selling us shit, but by god if we have a problem, we're basically on our own.

Bout 2 months back, I bought a C-Tech torque wrench ($800 msrp) and its supposed to vibrate at the torque.  It rattled from day one.  Insanely annoying.
Dealer says maybe it's supposed to, and then emailed his rep who said that some do rattle.
I don't think so, send it back and get it fixed.
Wow, he got pissed.
I don't know where he sent it, but it wasn't fixed, and I got a note with it stating what was said before.

I was pretty pissed about the ordeal and just put in a drawer and didn't even use it until I had to send my other out for calibration.  I sent both and the guy who does calibration told me to send it back and get it fixed.

I contacted Snap On and got it fixed.

Been a Snap On customer for over 40 years. I have around $60-70K in Snap ON tools. Lately all the dealers have been big time flakes. If you need a tool they can't figure out how to special order it. Took 2 months of fucking around trying to order a MTS-2 socket and the idiot never ordered it, could figure out how to add the Snap On prefix to MTS-2 to make it a part number. Took me about 3 minutes on the Snap On website, and got it the next day calling Snap On. Snap On threw in free next day because all the crap I went through.

Add in the dealer can not figure out I work 6AM-2PM, if he comes by it's around 3PM, or he calls if I still there at 3. I see him maybe once every 2 months. Fucking unreal the dealer customer service sucks big time from dealers in the last 10 years. Then they bitch because Matco & Cornwell are taking their customers.

So.....you have a cabinet, two sets of wrenches and a socket set?  

JK!

I can usually shame the Snap On guy into a discount.  He's a friend and knows I'm just a hobby guy.  Most of the stuff I buy is bought at sales or pawn shops except for just a few items.  I also hit his box of used trade ins when he stops buy.  He's also very good about warranty work on the used stuff I buy from other sources.

Two trucks guys here were almost 10% over the online price...so I buy online.