Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Power Tools). This thread is read-only.
Hi guys,
I was helping my dad with some general DIY stuff around his house the other day and he mentioned that his drills had all crapped out. Needless to say, we had to use screw drivers for everything, which took forever, especially when we were screwing heavy things into the ceiling…
I’ve been doing a lot of research and I want to get him some new tools. He is a general contractor and knows his way around tools, but I’d imagine the drill will be used mostly for DIY stuff around the house, as he has crews that do all his work for him at jobs now. He’s more of a manager now than anything, as he’s getting older and can’t really handle the stress his body gets put under in the field. Every once and a while he’ll do small jobs, when it doesn’t make sense to send a crew out to do it, but nothing that’d I’d imagine requires heavy work.
That being said, I want to buy him something that’s going to last. I believe the problem with his old units are actually just the batteries, but the cost to replace said batteries would be more than just buying a new drill in most cases.
Budget would be $150 or under. I’d imagine it’d mostly it’ll be used for wood work, screwing into drywall and maybe some metal sheeting. There HAVE been times when he’s had to drill into concrete, so if there’s any drill/impact drive combos out there even worth looking at in my price range, that might be cool, too.
Really, I’m looking for something that has a long battery life, is reliable and has a good warranty if something goes wrong. Ryobi seems to have some really great deals on what you’re getting, but from past job experience on my part, they can be iffy in the reliability department (though, I haven’t used any of their newer stuff). Bosch and Ridgid are really what I’ve been looking at, specifically, these:
It’s a little over budget on the Ridgid, but I’m also getting 2 tools and a Lifetime Warranty, which definitely makes me feel better about it than Ryobi, DeWalt, etc. However, I hear iffy comments about whether the Ridgid batteries can last a good amount of time or not?
What else would you guys suggest?
That Ridgid you posted are a coupling of two X3 drills with an X4(hyper Lithium Ion battery). It is basically a mismatch kit, that only comes with one battery. If you were gonna go the route of Ridgid I would suggest spending the extra $50 dollars and getting this kit. It is the newest from Ridgid, it has two batteries and a free radio. http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18-Volt-X4-Hyper-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Drill-and-Impact-Driver-Combo-Kit-3-Tool-with-Radio-R9601/203810442#.UbdagcqC2Ws. I can only speak for Home Depot products, but that Bosch would be a hell of a deal…….if it had two batteries. There are plenty of options for drill kits with two batteries for around $150.00 I know we have a Milwaukee, Ridgid, and Makita drill-drivers for around that price. I also know Lowes has similar prices on Bosch’s and Hitachi’s. I’m trying my hardest not to be a typing billboard from HD, but even for $169.00 right now you can get a Milwaukee Drill/Driver with two batteries and instantly get a free third battery. I think those are some better options for you personally, where ever you buy it, DON’T settle for a one battery kit.
If his old tools are in decent shape you can have the batteries from the old tools rebuilt by various companies online. The other thing is you might want to look at 12 volt drills and impact drivers. If he is just doing light punch work that will work great for him if he can’t handle things that are too heavy for long periods of time plus they are really really small so you can get in cramped spaces.
Lowes has a bosh kit with 2 L-boxes plus a drill and impact driver for 179. Amazon
Both Joe and DR99 make good suggestions. For the sake of exploring options, here is a Reconditioned 18V X4 kit from CPO. It comes with a Drill, Impact Driver, and 2 batteries, for $140. I’m not sure you’re open to recon stuff, but I’ve bought a few recon’d items and all have been like new. The warranty on recon items is typically shorter, but warranty was never a real concern for me anyway.
The new Ryobi kit’s are pretty nice also plus there are a lot of handy tools he could add on like a tire inflator.
Joe M wrote:
That Ridgid you posted are a coupling of two X3 drills with an X4(hyper Lithium Ion battery). It is basically a mismatch kit, that only comes with one battery. If you were gonna go the route of Ridgid I would suggest spending the extra $50 dollars and getting this kit. It is the newest from Ridgid, it has two batteries and a free radio. http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18-Volt-X4-Hyper-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Drill-and-Impact-Driver-Combo-Kit-3-Tool-with-Radio-R9601/203810442#.UbdagcqC2Ws. I can only speak for Home Depot products, but that Bosch would be a hell of a deal…….if it had two batteries. There are plenty of options for drill kits with two batteries for around $150.00 I know we have a Milwaukee, Ridgid, and Makita drill-drivers for around that price. I also know Lowes has similar prices on Bosch’s and Hitachi’s. I’m trying my hardest not to be a typing billboard from HD, but even for $169.00 right now you can get a Milwaukee Drill/Driver with two batteries and instantly get a free third battery. I think those are some better options for you personally, where ever you buy it, DON’T settle for a one battery kit.
Thanks for the heads up, definitely didn’t notice those batteries wouldn’t work!
I’ll definitely check out the ones you suggested. How do you get the 3rd battery free for the Milwaukee drills? I’m checking them out now, but don’t see any mention on the Home Depot website?
DR99 wrote:
If his old tools are in decent shape you can have the batteries from the old tools rebuilt by various companies online. The other thing is you might want to look at 12 volt drills and impact drivers. If he is just doing light punch work that will work great for him if he can’t handle things that are too heavy for long periods of time plus they are really really small so you can get in cramped spaces.
Lowes has a bosh kit with 2 L-boxes plus a drill and impact driver for 179. Amazon
To be honest, I’m not sure reinvesting in the old drills will be worth it. He hasn’t bought new power tools in probably 10-15 years. I’m sure they’ve seen their fare share of use and replacement batteries and packs are going to cost as much as buying new ones would, and I’m sure the new ones have more features, anyway.
I’ll definitely check out the Bosch kit you linked. Realistically, even at $150, that’s more than I want to spend… Not really because I don’t have the money, but because I know he’d feel bad if I spent a ton on him, and since he’s in Lowes or Home Depot at least twice a week, he could easily check to see how much I actually spent on him 😛
Conductor562 wrote:
Both Joe and DR99 make good suggestions. For the sake of exploring options, here is a Reconditioned 18V X4 kit from CPO. It comes with a Drill, Impact Driver, and 2 batteries, for $140. I’m not sure you’re open to recon stuff, but I’ve bought a few recon’d items and all have been like new. The warranty on recon items is typically shorter, but warranty was never a real concern for me anyway.
Hmm… Definitely something to consider. Generally, recondition/refurbished electronics scare me, but maybe it’s different with high quality power tools?
DR99 wrote:
The new Ryobi kit’s are pretty nice also plus there are a lot of handy tools he could add on like a tire inflator.
Yeah, I really like the expandability of the Ryobi line. All of their products are fairly cheap and could be replaced without breaking the bank if something goes wrong, but I’d really like a few people’s opinions on them before I spend money on them. The ones I’ve used in the past were decent products, they just didn’t hold up as well as others I’ve tried and felt cheaper in my hands. Really, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind either way, but I’m the kind of person who has to research something a lot before hand… I don’t really want to give him something that’s going to break in a year’s time.
Yea, most of the recon tools are returns of tools people didn’t want I would imagine. I used Ryobi tools for years the the drill and impact driver were nice thereciprocating saw and circular saw are kind of weak, but I am still using the the garden tool’s with my 18v lithium batteries.
You can really trust CPO, I have bought several tools from there, the Bosch 12v is very nice and powerful! and the Lboxes are great! I also have the Ridgid 12v impact( Thanks TIA) and it has monster power, lifetime warranty, and a lot of features for not a bad price. Now looking into 18v/20v I have the dewalt 20v drill driver and impact which both have a great feel and some of the most power on the market but, these will run up the bill…….a lot. But the best deal is the Bosch kit in which you also get the impact!! Hope this helps!
MatrixClaw wrote:
Thanks for the heads up, definitely didn’t notice those batteries wouldn’t work!
I’ll definitely check out the ones you suggested. How do you get the 3rd battery free for the Milwaukee drills? I’m checking them out now, but don’t see any mention on the Home Depot website?
Its an instant promotion in store. Assuming your are U.S.A
The recon tools I’ve bought were all very much “like new”. Not even a scratch. A lot of the recon stuff was returned by people who needed the tool for a project, then returned it when done, meaning there was never anything wrong with it to start with. I can’t stand people that do shit like that, but it is what it is. As Chase said, CPO is a great outfit to deal with. Very good customer service. As previously mentioned, eBay is a great source for tools. I got my 18V, 4 tool Milwaukee combo (brand new) for $325 when it retailed for over $500. The downside is that you sometimes have to wait for the right deal to come along, which isn’t too handy if time is of the essence.
Thanks for all the help, guys!
I think I’ve narrowed down to 4 sets… More than I wanted to spend, but I’d rather pay a little extra for something I know is going to last, than force him to have to buy new ones in a year or two. All 3 are the same price… so really comes down to which one you guys think is the better brand (and product). I’d really like to be investing in the system, so something that’s expandable would be great, but really quality of just these are the deciding factor:
Ridgid 18v X4 Drill/Impact Driver/Radio combo (alternatively, there’s this one on eBay without the radio for cheaper, I assume I can still claim the warranty on it…? Only problem with that is I doubt it’ll be here by Sunday…)
Milwaukee M18 Drill/Impact Driver combo, hoping I can get the 3rd battery in store still (cheaper on eBay, too, but no 3rd battery)
Bosch 18v Drill/Impact Driver combo
DeWalt 20v MAX Drill/Impact Driver combo
There’s also the cheaper DeWalt 18v Drill/Impact Driver kit for $169
I’d prefer to either buy it in store, or from Amazon, as long as it has Prime shipping (so I can get it in 2 days), since Father’s Day is Sunday, though the eBay ones look enticing, since I won’t have to pay tax (an extra ~$18).
Of the kits you listed, I vote Milwaukee. I have a bunch of M18 stuff and its all been great. No problems or complaints at all.
I like Milwaukee products I have both M12 and M18 tools, but you can’t go wrong with any of those tools really. BTW Milwaukee is still offering the free 3rd battery. The Ridgid with the free radio is nice though if you dad likes to listen to sports on the radio its pretty handy. Stay away from the Dewalt kit for 169 they are phasing out the 18v platform for the 30 dollar savings its not worth it at all. Find a HD coupon somewhere
Ten bucks cheaper at HD, but like DR99 said I would go with Lithium. If your gonna spend that type of money you might as well get something that is new or newish technology.
Joe M wrote:
Ten bucks cheaper at HD, but like DR99 said I would go with Lithium. If your gonna spend that type of money you might as well get something that is new or newish technology.
Yea I dunno why Dewalt is still asking so much money for these old 18v kit’s. Plus I would figure stores would like to have shelf space for the new stuff
My vote would go to the DeWalt 20v, I have that combo and it has massive power and is very tough! But you cant go wrong with DeWalt or Milwaukee, both leading brands in the tool world. I would go and see how they feel.
DR99 wrote:
Yea I dunno why Dewalt is still asking so much money for these old 18v kit’s. Plus I would figure stores would like to have shelf space for the new stuff
I do, its been shoved in my clearance bay for the past 5 months.