Makita 14.4 Drill / Impact driver / Light Set

[buckeye95]

All,

Was thinking of upgrading to the Makita 14.4 drill / impact driver / light set from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=228013) and was looking for some advice.

I know many have praised this set, and I can end up getting it for about $180 with gift cards. I currently have a Milwaukee 14.4 drill (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=228013) and 3/8 impact driver (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=228013) with two batteries total between the kits. They are both about 2 years old, and still run fine.

From what I can find on Ebay, it looks like I can sell my Milwaukee stuff and be even with purchasing the new Makita kit. The reasons I am thinking of changing are:

- The Milwaukee impact driver is nice, but is 3/8 square drive, and the 1/4" hex adaptor (which I use 95% of the time) keeps sliding off in use. The Makita has the 1/4" hex built-in. Additionally, the Makita impact has a higher torque rating.

- Getting a fresh set of batteries (even though mine don't have a whole lot of cycles on them). The Makita's are 3.0 Ah NiMH, while the Milwaukees are 2.4 AH Nicad.

- Getting the Makita 14.4 flourescent light. That is one thing I miss with my Milwaukee stuff, but a light compatible with the 14.4 batteries is $25 (and non-flourescent).

Sorry to make this long, I was just looking to see if anyone had any advice here. I'm just trying to make a wise decision, but don't want my "tool envy" for the new Makita set to overcome good judgement.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Pete

[ryan.s]

I just received the makita kit a week ago. I ordered one when amazon had the 75 off 300 promo. I haven't used the impact or the drill extensively but have tried out both and am very pleased. I guess makita has a very good reputation with regards to impact drivers (the impact was the main reason i ordered the set). The kicker for me was the light, it's super bright. Came in handy this weekend when I had to crawl under the house to secure some loose floor boards which were making noise. For the money I don't think there is a better deal, HD has the 12V makita impact alone for around $200.

[steve-u]

The Makita kit is certainly a value but I suggest that you wait a bit to see if they have another $40 off with $220 or such deal to really sweeten it.

Having said that keep in mind that you may not net as much as you think on Ebay particularly after Ebay and maybe PayPal fees and most people want to use PayPal to charge the purchase to incur PayPal fees. Also if you do not sell your's as a kit/package any cordless tool sold without batteries/charger does not bring much and there is a lot of competition from remanufactured sellers that offer warrranty.

Also I would contact Milwaukee about your problem to see if they will attempt to fix it. One thing I really like about Milwaukee is their five year warranty and I think Makita is only one. The Milwaukee drill looks/shows more heavy duty than the Makita model. As far as the advertised extra torque for the impact driver I really doubt that you would notice any difference if it even exists.

As far as batteries I believe the Makita has 2.6 - not 3.0 AH. Also NIMH have a potential disadvantage in that they loose charge quickly when not being used meaning a fully charged battery will lose a lot of charge after only a week which may or may not be problem for you depending on useage pattern. I see this with my digital cameras and NIMH rechargeables.

Looking at your post I see that the fact that the Milwaukee impact driver adapter keeps coming off as the big factor in changing if Milwaukee can not address it for you. Good luck. --- Steve