Cordless Drill/Driver - Best Buy?

[pushrod]

Alas, my trusty old DeWalt 12V batteries (all three of them) are on the steep slide to being completely used up.

Since the cost to replace them is rather high (at least $29.95 plus $8 S&H each), I am contemplating replacing the old drill with a new set. Since LOML and the kids keep me financially disadvantaged, I'm into economy, too.

I'm looking at 14.4V or maybe 18V units, with the best bang for the buck. The Ryobi One+ looks good, but I haven't seen much on their durability.

So, to quote O'Reilly, "What say you?"

[bigstick509]

My vote: Ryobi

You can't bet the 18V Ryobi products. I picked up there renovator combo pack and the impact driver after x-mas.

[steve-u]

Amazon and others have a decent price on the Makita 14.4 volt combo that includes drill, impact driver, 2 batteries, charger, flourescent light, and case for $215. If you add a few bucks to the purchase such as certain adjustable wrenches, etc then with $220 purchase you get $40 off and free shipping. May be worth checking out at the link below. --- Steve

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...&s=hi&v=glance

[tuttlejr]

Be sure to check out the Hitachi line of cordless at Lowes. Quite impressive.
My favorite is still the Bosch Compact, great but pricey.

[sweensdv]

I'd just replace the batteries for the "trusty old DeWalt". Don't know if I'd replace all 3 of them though. Depending on how hard you use your drill, you might be able to get by with just one new battery. The 3 older batteries should be able to keep the drill running while the new one is recharging.

[jhart]

I have both the 18v drill and hammerdrill from Ryobi. The drill I have owned for about a year and the hammerdrill for about 6 months. Both work great, but I find myself using the hammerdrill more and more as first choice. I also own a number of other Ryobi tools and so far, the quality has been great on everything. Excellent battery life. I now have 4 batteries.
Tough to beat the performance for the price.

[RmeDad]

I'll 2nd the Ryobi vote!

You can't beat the 18V Ryobi products for the price/performance and great warranty. I own their Renovator combo pack and their One+ Miter Saw, 4 batteries and a charger. (And of course the BT3100-1!)

Remodeling the house and I use the tools on a daily basis. Good battery life, excellent cuts, drilling is a breeze. (Sounds like a commercial, huh? Well if anyone from Ryobi is lurching on this site, please feel free to send me free tools for the testimonial! )