I told this story at the other place a while back but I will rehash it here.
A few years back i bought a 1/2 click type torque wrench, the one where the number appears behind a little window (one of the more expensive ones, but not the digital). Well after a few days of using it (was building an engine), a piece of trash INSIDE the handle got lodged where you couldn't see the torque value through the little window. Took it back, about 3 weeks after the original purchase, and exchanged it, no problems.
Fast forward almost a year, and the same exact thing has happened to the new torque wrench. I go back to sears, with both my original receipt and the one for the exchange. Its is one year and one week since the original purchase, less than a year since the exchange. The dude at the register says that since it is over a year since the original purchase, they will not warranty it. I showed him what was wrong with the wrench, and he agreed that it was obviously a defect/quality control issue, but said that he couldn't do anything. Called over the dept manager who said the same thing. I asked for the store manager and after basically telling the dept manager that I had all afternoon to wait, he went and got him. After about 30 minutes of back and forth with the gen mgr he finally gave me one of their lowest grade click torque wrenches. and told me " I'm giving you this for customer satisfaction, but this one has no warranty". I asked him if it would be covered if I bent it in half around an idiot's head...............I was then asked to leave the store. I told him that I would never, under any circumstance set foot in a Sears again, and neither me or my dad have ( and we used to spend several thousand a year on tools there, both business and personal/racing).
I have since started buying the lifetime warranty Kobalt tools at Lowe's. The quality seems to be just as good, a Lowe's is easier to find when I am out of town racing, and Lowe's seems to have a much lower chance of filing bankruptcy.
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