Reconditioned or New Makita Drill & Driver

[BOB OLINGER]

I need to replace my 14V DeWalt cordless drill. I've picked up several recommendations from a couple of contractors for the Makita impact drivers. One online store is offering a package 18V drill and impact driver (lithium-ion) new for $229 and reconditioned for $169. I've never bought reconditioned, but the savings of $60 is real tempting. Does anyone have big issues with reconditioned. FYI, I'm a hobbiest, so occasional use is the situation.

[Roy Turbett]

It depends on who did the reconditioning. I have a facory reconditioned Dell computer that I've used daily for five years and its still going strong. It also came with a factory warranty. If the same can be said for the Makita driver, go for it.

[Dan Hulbert]

I am also a hobbiest and havebought a number of reconditioned tools over the years. Never had a bad experience. To my way of thinking, "new" gets random sampling inspections at the factory, "reconditioned" gets 100% inspection. My latest reconditioned purchase was a Bosch air nailing setup. I've been happy with it for about 18 months now.

"The only normal people are those you don't know very well."

[Jerry Bruette]

Bought a reconditioned Makita 18v Li drill driver from toolking about 2 years ago and I have no problems with it. I think if the price difference is enough it's just smart shopping.

Jerry

[Joe Angrisani]

My initial reaction is to say, "Buy the reconditioned unit."

That said, I went through THREE reconditioned Epson 3800 printers, direct from Epson, before buying a new one. So it's not always cherries. But those reconditioned units were bad out of the box, not some subtle problem that showed up down the road. And Epson made good on my hassles by hooking me up with a full set of spare inks (not insignificant on the 3800).

Buy the reconditioned Makita. Check it out right away and return it immediately if there's any problem.

[John Nesmith]

I have purchased many reconditioned items, mostly tools and electronics. I think the only time I ran into a problem was with a cheap MP3 player. never been burned otherwise.

[Mike Henderson]

I've bought factory reconditioned tools and only had one problem. The defect was not easy to find and the people at the factory probably missed it and thought the tool was NDF (no defect found) and just re-shipped it.

Otherwise, all good.

Mike

[Jack Lemley]

I need to replace my 14V DeWalt cordless drill. I've picked up several recommendations from a couple of contractors for the Makita impact drivers. One online store is offering a package 18V drill and impact driver (lithium-ion) new for $229 and reconditioned for $169. I've never bought reconditioned, but the savings of $60 is real tempting. Does anyone have big issues with reconditioned. FYI, I'm a hobbiest, so occasional use is the situation.

Bob,

I have used Makita cordless drills for years (currently have the 18v Lion drill/impact kit) and have always been satisfied. Never bought a recon Makita but have has a couple of Bosch factory recons and have been very happy with them. The tool brand carries more weight with me than recon or new. So, if it is "factory reconditioned" and a Makita or Bosch I would save the $60 and get the recon without hesitation!

Jack

[Mike Cruz]

Bob, I know you just asked a very specific question, and I hate to be one of those guys that doesn't answer your question, so before I give my advice, I'll answer your question. I've never had luck with reconditioned...there was a reason someone returned it. Sometimes it was nothing...sometimes it is a lemon. For the few bucks you save, I would go new.

That said, if you can at all fit it into your budget, look at Ridgid. What I mean by fitting it into your budget, is that if you buy the 5 piece combo pack, you get a lifetime gaurantee on the tools AND the batteries. Not sure if that applies if you just get the impact wrench or if you have to get the set. I just got the combo pack from HD, asked for 10% off, got it. And also got their promotion that gets you an extra battery. So, for $450, I got the impact wrench, hammer drill, sawzall, circular saw, light, charger, 3 batteries, lifetime warantee on the tools, and lifetime replacement of the batteries. GREAT deal if you asked me. So far, I've liked them very much, too. JMTC

[Kenneth Crisler]

Ditch both and buy Milwaukee! :D

I've been lucky with recon cordless tools, but have had to replace a faulty battery once(Milwaukee coincidentally). Wasn't an issue other than the 6 weeks being down a pack.

[BOB OLINGER]

Thanks for all the replies. Unless something more attractive turns up on black Friday, I'm going to give the reconditioned a try.

bob

[Buck Williams]

Bob,

If there are Menards in your area, they have in their Christmas Catalogue flyer http://menards.inserts2online.com/customer_Frame.jsp?drpStoreID=3058

A (http://menards.inserts2online.com/customer_Frame.jsp?drpStoreID=3058) Bosch 18V Lithium drill driver and Impact Driver set for $179. Take that add to Home Depot and have them price match plus a 10% discount. You could pick up any like set for $161.10. I have the Makita set and have used the heck out of it, and am really pleased.

[Dave Lewis]

I'm happy with my Makita 18V lithium set. But having bought the set reconditioned from Amazon ~ 2008, one battery went south real fast. I'd buy new for that reason.

[Kevin Groenke]

The orange BORG has the 18V makita drill driver kit on sale for 199.

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware-Power-Tools-Combo-Kits/Makita/h_d1/N-5yc1vZar5vZyg/R-100596872/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

[scott vroom]

I always look for a factory reconditioned over new. You get the warranty plus a tool that received 100% inspection.

[Jim Andrew]

I used to buy from a lumberyard that sold a lot of tools, and some guys would buy a tool they needed for a particular job, and when done with it, they would just take the tool back. The company couldn't resell it as new, so they call it "refurbished". Usually there is nothing wrong with the tool.

[michael osadchuk]

Several years ago I bought the Makita black n white 18v. li-on drill & impact driver duo and they have been great. It was a factory conditioned set and I was able to examine them before buying and the units looked 'almost new'. Some of the very early drills in this set had non-centered chucks - according to Amazon reviews but this complaint was long ago the I've only heard good reports regarding units - new or reconditioned - bought in the last three years or so.

good luck

michael

[Ben Hatcher]

I bought the Makita 18FV lithium reconditioned combo kit and have had no problems with it. I bought just the drill for my brother and he's had 2 bad batteries in a row. I'd still buy the recon again. They replaced the batteries under warranty.

[glenn bradley]

I have a couple from CPO and have had no problems.

[BOB OLINGER]

Thanks for all the comments. I went on line yesterday (Cyber Monday) and found the Makita 18V combo new set was $25 off for the day - that took the price advantage away from the reconditioned, so I purchased the combo kit for $199.99 delivered no freight.