Buying a New Drill

[ColaCock]

Anyone got any suggestions? Can't afford a Hilti right now (which is what I'd like) but anything is a step up from what I have now.

I know a lot of people are brand loyal with their tools, but just curious to see if anyone has purchased one lately and felt good about it.

DeWalt, Milwaukee, Hitachi, Makita, Bosch, etc?

Home Depot and Lowes both have a $99 deal on a 18 volt DeWalt.

[Kickerspl80]

Dewalt 18v is as good as it gets IMO. Im a Dewalt guy and its not often u find one that cheap. IMO with tools you get what you pay for. Thats why i stay away form Craftsman! Ryobi is pretty good too if you can find a good deal

[AtlGAMECOCK]

Dewalt batteries suck , they don't last long . Rigid makes a good drill lithium batteries on whatever you get.

[ColaCock]

that is the only thing about that $99 DeWalt deal...those are NiCad batteries, not Lithium Ion.

however, probably going to be hard to find a Lithium battery drill for $99

[ColaCock]

hmm, I actually just found a $99 Makita 18v drill...Lithium Ion...at HD.

[uscfan1]

Got my dewalt 20v lithium hammer drill and impact driver for ~$300. Good deal.

[uscfan1]

What will you be using it for?

[uscfan1]

Originally Posted by AtlGAMECOCK

Dewalt batteries suck , they don't last long . Rigid makes a good drill lithium batteries on whatever you get.

How old is your dewalt? Mine last forever even with daily use. Also take no time to get a good charge.

[AtlGAMECOCK]

Originally Posted by ColaCock

hmm, I actually just found a $99 Makita 18v drill...Lithium Ion...at HD.

makita makes a decent drill.

[AtlGAMECOCK]

Originally Posted by uscfan1

How old is your dewalt? Mine last forever even with daily use. Also take no time to get a good charge.

the drills are great its the batteries that I never have good luck with . I try different charging methods same results and a guy gave the church his dewalt drills and his are the same way the batteries are toast he said he got tired of replacing them . he got a rigid and loves it. I have used rigid alot and I liked it .

[FlorenceCock]

Originally Posted by Kickerspl80

Dewalt 18v is as good as it gets IMO. Im a Dewalt guy and its not often u find one that cheap. IMO with tools you get what you pay for. Thats why i stay away form Craftsman! Ryobi is pretty good too if you can find a good deal

You do know that Ryobi makes the power tools for Craftsman right? They are the exact same drills internally. That being said I have always used DeWalt but their quality has gone to hell since they moved production to China from Mexico/USA. They also have changed their battery style from the old legacy post style 18v batteries to the new Li-ion kind which kind of pissed me off. Whatever you buy make sure to get Li-ion batteries instead of Ni-cad. It might cost a little bit more but it is worth it in the long run as they last longer and keep their power until they are used up. The only down side is you can't use them outside when the weather is below 40* as it will destroy Li-on batteries. I keep my drill in the house instead of my shop for this very reason.
Edit: I realized I did not give my recommendation for a new drill. I have actually been using the Hitachi power tools a good bit in the past year and absolutely love them. They are made in China but they are made to Hitachi's quality standards and I have not had one fail me yet. I bought the grade C reconditioned hammer drill version of this drill from this site and have beat the living shit out of it building and addition to my house this past year and it is still going strong. That site is Hitachi's authorized reconditioned reseller and I have purchased probably $400+ worth of tools from them always choosing the lowest quality grade and have never had a single problem with anything.
http://bigskytool.com/Hitachi_DS18DS...9___i1285.aspx

[uscfan1]

Porter cable makes a decent drill for the money. I know a guy that used to work at lowes and demo the drills...he chose porter cable.

[uscfan1]

Do you need a hammer drill?


Lowes has the porter cable 18v drill and impact driver for $129

But it's not a hammer drill and not lithium. Unless you use a drill often I would not worry about the lithium, and if you just drilling through wood I wouldn't worry about getting the hammer drill either. I actually know a guy that uses a Mikita 18v(no hammer setting) and still drives through cement...so