Lidl and Leroy Merlin tools: bargain or junk?

A Lidl tool box: 60 euros and 15 years of service

A video exposing the hidden business behind DIY own brands —Parkside, Dexter, Magnusson— has peine the question of whether Lidl and Leroy Merlin tools are junk. The short answer: it depends. The long one: the line between cheap and professional brands has blurred to the point that steel is no longer the deciding factor — after-sales service is what matters.

What years of use actually show

Some people swear that a Lidl set bought for 50 or 60 euros — socket wrenches, tube wrenches, Allen keys, pliers, screwdrivers — has survived fifteen years of motorbike and car repairs with a single casualty: the big ratchet, pushed beyond 100 Nm. Then there's the counter-example, just as specific: a 5-euro extra-long screwdriver that did reach the inaccessible screw, but lost its coating, ended up flaking and is heading for rust. The price gap is not in dispute: a Wera or a Wiha never drops below 15 euros for a single piece.

The warranty as a business model

The argument that carries the most weight isn't metallurgy. It's the fine print. Three years of warranty with the receipt kept — ideally as a PDF — and if it breaks, they hand you a new one that resets the clock. A disguised rental scheme, as long as the store is close by. That explains why a 20-euro heat gun outshines the 50-euro Bosch one for occasional use, and why weekend DIY tolerates alloys a professional workshop would never forgive.

Meanwhile, the debate over origin tangles itself up: most mid-range European or American brands are the same Chinese tools rebranded, and anyone buying on Aliexpress accepts that deal without fuss. With all this on the table, the junk label remains just an opinion.

The number nobody provides is missing: how many hours of work each tool endures before failing. Without a real measured cost per use, the rest is faith. And in DIY, faith carries you until the ratchet breaks on a Sunday afternoon.