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That's about where it ends, though.It continually lost grip in the chuck on drill bits and drivers with quick changes.I tend to work fast once I'm 'in the zone' and had need to rapidly kick into reverse and back into drive, and the Makita transmission kept making grindy noises and not wanting to quickly engage.Basically, it was frustrating to have a drill that promised so much and turned out to be less than it could be, and felt like it wasn't quite as polished and solid as a professional-level tool should be.Comparatively, the cheaper B&D's, a Craftsman 18V, and a generic NiCad were all noticeably of a bit less hefty and quality build, but performed about the same as this Makita other than the obvious longer legs of the Lithium battery and extra power from the bigger motor, I'm just not sure the extra $300 is worth it until they do a line redesign. I'm an Engineer, and do a lot of projects on the side, but had never invested in a true 'construction' quality drill. Had a plethora of brands and models available from a group of volunteer crew (fathers) over a month-long set-building project for our kids' musical. Feels like they rushed things a bit to get out the door with a Lithium model.*BTW - The clear winner of the bunch during our project was a year-old Panasonic NiMH that just kept on working like a tank, and had a solid grip on any bit, instant response to exactly where you pull the trigger, quick change of direction with no noises or loose feel anywhere. My $50 B&D finally stopped holding much of a charge after a year or so of hard use so I took advantage of the opportunity to borrow and use every other drill present. The friend with his "contractor-quality" Makita was quite proud of the price tag on his new Lithium driver, and I'll admit based solely on the battery tech and ergonomics, and reputation for eventually fixing problems within warranty - which he'll apparently need - I give it a hearty 3-stars. In fact, I need to search for that drill on here and write up a 5-star review for it while I'm online. I am looking forward to seeing what the newer Lithium-Ion power can do for that dependable Panasonic design.
While not used in a contractor setting, used pretty much daily building decks and such. After two years the transmission/clutch went out. Makita wouldn't warranty as I could not find the original invoice, only the credit card statement from Mastercard. The quality is just not there and with other better alternatives would not buy Makita again.
I do contracting work and have had many power drills in the past. This one's the best so far.I had a DeWalt for many years and it was a good drill. But this one had the li-ion batteries and is a little lighter mainly because of the li-ion battery.Charges fast and I can interchange the batteries with other Makita power tools.Great purchase.
I run a small construction company in the Chicago area. B4 Christmas, once again, the transmission burned up. The molded case is one of the worst I've seen in 16 yrs in the construction industry. I purchased this drill from a local box store about 3 years ago. This tool will probably suffice for the weekend warrior but for a professional it sucks (unless you like to wait 3 weeks out of every year to have it serviced). I use the drill daily on the job. My DeWalt 18V hammer/driver passed away(6yrs old) and I needed a new drill pronto. The battery charger sounds like a 747 taking off; I later learned the noise is present due to the charger being defective.
Since I purchased the drill it has been in for service 3 times. All 3 times the transmission and the clutch were replaced. My case is literally held together with duct tape. I picked up the new Panasonic 21.6V and must say it is far SUPERIOR to the makita.
This is the best driver drill I have every used. Outstanding in all functions. Light weight with long battery life.
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