Reconditioned Tools?

[Mac Cambra]

I am thinking about buying a reconditioned Bosch Drill and Impact Driver combo set, would like to know good and bad experience people have had with similar transactions. The savings is roughly $80, is it worth the risk.

Thanks,

Mac

[Joe Shinall]

Mac, I have bought many reconditioned tools in the past and have been extremely happy with all but one. I always hit up the CPO reconditioned outlets for all the major brands and have saved a ton on em. Only one I wasnt happy was a Ryobi 18V drill I got for 29 bucks with a battery. Was regular 89 at the time. It gave out after 5 charges. And because I hadn't used it much and it was past the 30 days I couldnt return it.

Other than that I have a reconditioned list of Bosch trim and 1617 router, Porter Cable oscilating sander and a Bosch belt sander to name a few. A few drills and such also from other brands.

[Chip Lindley]

Tools sold as *reconditioned* have undergone minor repairs and cannot be sold as *new.* Even if the packaging was opened, they cannot be sold as new. Most come with a limited or even full warranty. It's hard to go wrong with reconditioned.

[Bryan Morgan]

My theory on reconditioned stuff is that factories just crank this stuff out without really checking anything... when something fails they get it back and someone has to take the time to make it work correctly so they can sell it as reconditioned. I buy everything I can reconditioned and I haven't had problems with any of it.

[Tom Godley]

I am a CPO fan as well !!

Some of the deals on the reconditioned tools can look too good to be true -- But I have had good results.


Just recently picked up a reconditioned Sawzall -- most of the items have no visible indicators that they are not new.

[James Combs]

Ditto on buying reconditioned especially small powered hand tools. I am trying to think if any of my recent purchases (last 5 years) was NOT reconditioned and I can't think of any. Also as Joe mentioned CPO is a good goto place for reconditioned. Also try Tool King. Purchased a PorterCable 23gauge pin nailer there 2 nights ago at $80 some. CPO was out of stock but price at $99 any way. It normally retails for $179 with a street price of $120 to give you an idea of the difference.


My theory on reconditioned stuff is that factories just crank this stuff out without really checking anything... when something fails they get it back and someone has to take the time to make it work correctly so they can sell it as reconditioned. I buy everything I can reconditioned and I haven't had problems with any of it.

[Karl Card]

i bought a ridgid r4330 planer at cpo outlet for 263 last april. the motor went out and ridgid replaced under warranty. i dont see this as a bad ordeal because a new one could have dont it also. I got my planer back works great and I saved lots of money.. Would do it again.

[Richard Dragin]

My last four cell phones were all reconditioned, including my iphone. I have no problem with reconditioned tools.

[Kevin Gregoire]

i have no clue how many reconditioned tools and other items i have owned over the years and i cant remember ever having a problem at all.

the way i look at it is if i buy something reconditioned it is better then new cause if a tool comes back to factory for a repair, it will get diagnosed, fixed, and tested over and over and most likely have new exterior covers put on. but also if something is just returned it cannot be sold as new so either way you save a LOT of money!!

i visit http://www.tooliday.com/ ever day to see what kind of deals they have on tools and so far i have bought from them a dewalt recip saw, milwaukee orbit sander, milwaukee sander, and a freud router elsewhere.

all in all, DONT FEAR REFURB!

[Joe Shinall]

i visit http://www.tooliday.com/ ever day to see what kind of deals they have on tools and so far i have bought from them a dewalt recip saw, milwaukee orbit sander, milwaukee sander, and a freud router elsewhere.

+1 on that URL. I never heard of that and looks like something I may have to check out everyday! Add that to the list of 40 some odd sites I already check daily :D

[Joe Wiliams]

There's actually three tooliday pages.... near the top of the page there are two banners...:)

[Zach England]

My last four cell phones were all reconditioned, including my iphone. I have no problem with reconditioned tools.


I have had good luck with reconditioned tools but horrible luck with reconditioned phones.

[glenn bradley]

+1 on CPO Bosch. If the box wasn't marked I would have never known it was a recon. Been running a ROS and an orbital for years.

[george wilson]

Ryobi is junk.

[Joe Shinall]

Ryobi is junk.

+1 on that. No more Ryobi in my shop.

[Charles Wiggins]

I have a reconditioned Porter Cable 7529 router and it has performed admirably. The only differences I could see between it and a "new" one was that it came without a case and the price.

[Michael Flores]

I too have purchased some recon tools and have been just as happy with new tools. I have also purchased alot of used tool off craigslist and been very happy.

P.S. The plus side to recon tools is if you missed out on the home depot clearance of dewalt planers you can get a recon dw735 for $499 from Max Tools. Thats $150 cheaper than buying new and it comes with 1 year warranty.

[Matt Meiser]

I've bought 3 recon Bosch items from CPO--happy with all other than a spindle lock on the Bosch Colt that stripped after a year or so. But I understand that's a problem with the Colt in general and just bought a cheap wrench and ground it to fit the spindle.

[Dino Makropoulos]

Ryobi is junk.

Best tool line in that price range?
Some of their tools are equal and some times even better
than some of the tools with three and four times the price tag.

We use some Ryobi tools for years with excellent and even better results than someof our very expensive tools.

Blanket statements without any comparison and explanation
is simply very bad for the makers of one of the best "affordable"
( if not the best in their price range) product line.


A Ryobi fan.
Anyone can make the most expensive tools.
To make a tool like Ryobi takes knowledge and good engineering.

Just Imagine if their tools was junk.
Out of business in one month.
From what I know, Ryobi is going to be the last company going out of business because they make the best tools for the best prices.

[rick carpenter]

I got a reconditioned Bosch 18v impact driver for Christmas -- good savings, great tool, no problems.

[Rob Holcomb]

I bought a 12" DeWalt sliding compound miter saw that was reconditioned. Before I bought it, I called the company selling it and asked what had been wrong with it that it needed to be repaired and then sold as "reconditioned" I was told the only issue with the saw was when they painted the name "DeWalt" on the saw, it smudged and couldn't be sold for retail. I bought it for $450. at the time, it sold retail for $750. $300 off for a smudged name was a steal in opinion. I've used the saw for 2+ years and have had no problems at all with it.

[Dave Gaul]

I have 2 Makita drills, Makita Recip Saw & Makita Impact Driver, all Lithium Ion 18V w/5 batteries, ALL Reconditioned from cpomakita.

I absolutely love all my Makita's!!! I don't see much of a "risk" involved, they come with the same warranty as brand new, and the only indication that my tools were reconditioned was the sticker that said so, and a very minor scuff on the body of one of the drills. I've had my first recon drill for over 4 years and the rest for over a year... all still going strong!!

[Russ Kay]

A year and a half ago I bought a reconditioned Bosch random orbit sander from CPO. It was fine for a few months, I didn't use it that often. Then, a year after I'd bought it, the sander stopped working. Totally dead. I took it to a local Bosch dealer for repair; they sent it in and it was repaired and came back with the notation that it was still under warranty, no charge for the repair. I did have to pay the dealer $9 for shipping/handling, but it still works out as a good deal.

[BOB OLINGER]

Sorry for my ignorance - but what is CPO ?

[Dave Gaul]

Sorry for my ignorance - but what is CPO ?


www.cpooutlets.com (http://www.cpooutlets.com)

It's a great place to buy reconditioned tools from several manufacturers. They also sell new tools, but often you can find better deals elsewhere on the new stuff... great for bargains on refurbed tools!

[Rod Sheridan]

I have a reconditioned sawzall, which has been just great.......Regards, Rod.

[Norman Pyles]

I've bought a few reconditioned tools, and havent had a problem with any of them.


I also love my 18v Ryobi drill.

[Bob Borzelleri]

I bought a recon table saw slider from CPO. It was 1/2 of the street price and I couldn't tell it from new.

[tim weidman]

i love reconditioned tools. i still have a reconditioned mcculloch weed wacker that is now 13 yrs old with a ton of use. also a campbell hausfeld oilless air compressor at 10 yrs with alot of use {although its very noisy!}. wouldn't hesitate to buy anything reconditioned.

[Bryan Morgan]

Ryobi is junk.

Anything in particular? I have a few Ryobi things that work just fine for what they are. I have a sawzall that has cut through all kinds of stuff and caused much destruction and still works fine, even being a bit beat up.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

I have not had good luck with Bosch, I wore out the Circular saw and Drill in my kit in very short order.

That said, I buy a lot of reconditioned tools and if I am happy with the original manufacturer I don't hesitate. I just make sure it was reconditioned by the original manufacturer not some unknown supply house.

[Jonathan Hsu]

Got a Ryobi 2-cycle trimmer 15+ yrs ago. Other than the fuel line cracking due to age it ran great.

I also bought a Ridgid circ saw last year. I think they're normally $100, I got it for $50 at the outlet mall and it came with a 1 yr warranty. Had a few little scuff marks (like it has been used once or twice, not scratched up where you could catch a nail) on the bottom of the plate, but otherwise looked new, including the blade.

Not a power tool, but I got a refurb Canon G9 on the Canon trade up deal over a year ago and no problems there either.

[Joe Shinall]

Anything in particular? I have a few Ryobi things that work just fine for what they are. I have a sawzall that has cut through all kinds of stuff and caused much destruction and still works fine, even being a bit beat up.

Every once in a while I have gotten some good things from Ryobi. I have a 4volt lithium ion screwdriver of theirs I use on small things all the time and love it. However, I have had drills of theirs that either did not perform as good as others or broke. I had a random orbital sander that gave up after one project. Sent it back and got a new one and about 2 months later, gave out again. Turned on but wouldn't spin. Same as the first. Had a Ryobi spindle sander that stopped working after a year and a jigsaw that wouldn't keep a straight line for anything.

Like any other tool, everyone has their own opinions and run ins.

[Terry Hatfield]

My last four cell phones were all reconditioned, including my iphone. I have no problem with reconditioned tools.

+1 on the iPhone. Major deal. No trouble at all.

t

[Craig Summers]

I got a recon Rigid drill, saved $40

My only problem, the factory had opened the chuck and I couldn't close it. I was sure if it was defective or not, figured i would use the warranty to make sure. I took it to a factory repair guy, he greased it and used two strap wrenches to close the chuck.
He explained that they often do that with the recon drills, force the chuck to the max open so that they can install the chuck to the motor, and then 'forget' to close the chuck, and it just needs to be 'forced' a lil to make it close.
It was fixed, just cost me aggravation and gas.

Have not had any problem with it since.
I would consider getting a recon.

[Dave Lewis]

I bought a reconditioned Makita 18V set and had 1 of the 2 batteries die shortly. Something to consider on battery -based tools.

That being said, I've bought several othter corded products with no problems with significant cost savings.

[Jim Andrew]

I have a Bosch ROS I bought at a store, had a sticker on top with the price, left it for quite a while, the other day I pealed off the sticker, and it had refurbished under it. Probably had it a couple years and wore out a lot of discs, one pad, and it still runs great.
I knew a young guy just starting out as a contractor, if he needed a sawzall or other not every day tools, he would just charge them at the lumberyard, then take them back when he was finished with them. He couldn't afford the tools, so he just " borrowed" them from the lumberyard. They had to be sent back to the company and sold as refurbished, even though they were fine.

[Shawn Christ]

For me, yes, it's absolutely been worth the risk. I've had luck with both CPO and Tool King, with at least 3 major brand tools. Reconditioning has allowed me to upgrade sooner than the "tool fund" would otherwise allow.

[John Callahan]

The one recon Bosch (1677 worm drive saw) as well as the PC, Makita, and Milwaukee recons I own have been excellent. All looked new or almost new, factory warranty, and considerable savings- recons are the first place I look. Sometimes the savings aren't there and I pass. Do your homework and you should come out fine. The one weak area is sometimes packaging- many recons don't come in the factory packaging and aren't packed as well. Had to return the Mak planer due to shipping damage............ they got it right the second time.