# How long has your cordless drill lasted?



## Kastoria (May 5, 2008)

Just curious how long a cordless drill lasts other people. I dont mean battery life, I know we all buy batteries cuz they dont last forever. Im talking about the actual drill body. 

My hitachi drill is no longer driving a screw straight. I was driving a few 3in screws the other day and they just kept wobbling like crazy. Nothing I could do to keep them straight. So I removed my chuck reinserted the screw that holds the chuck in place and ran the motor. I could see the screw wobble. So now I know its not the chuck but the actual drill. Cant decide if I want to repair (still about a year on the warranty left) or just buy the bare tool. The hassles involved with getting hitachi to repair a drill just doesnt seem worth it - but I have to go with another hitachi for now cuz I have way too many new lithium batteries I need to burn out before moving on.

I have had this drill for about 4 years, never abused or dropped it - really didnt get much use since the impact craze, mainly used it for drilling holes. Never had an experience like this with any drill, hell the brushes are still good.

So how long are your drills lasting and are they worth repairing?


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## CanningCustom (Nov 4, 2007)

i have a milwaukee 18volt i've had for bout 7 years now and it is still alive and kicking


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## bhock (Feb 17, 2009)

My Ridgid impact driver has been with me for 5 years. Even after it was ran over the other day by a skidsteer!


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## naptown CR (Feb 20, 2009)

I have some dewalts (4) going on 12 years


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## loneframer (Feb 13, 2009)

I have 2 DW 12 volt cordless drills that I purchased in 2001. They still work OK, but get very little use the last 2 years. I have 3 newer 12 Vs that are about 2-3 years old that have been thoroughly abused since I bought them.

I just decided to go with 18 V Bosch Litheon drills and bought 4 of them over the weekend.

They were less expensive than replacement batteries for the DW.

I do have a new 18V DW hammer drill and recip saw kit that gets limited use.

I have several Ridgid corless tools, but overall am not happy with service life.


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## RadRemod (Oct 29, 2009)

I've mostly ran 18v dewalts and would be content to get 4-5yrs out of them. It obvoisly depends on the use/care of them. Batteries of course only last 1-2 years. I have had 2 Makitas burn up in 6mo but I may have been a little rough on them. However my dewalts have handled simular abuse with no problem. 

As far as repairing them, I normally use it as an excuse to upgrade to a newer model with new batteries.:thumbup:


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## avguy (Feb 8, 2010)

I inherited this baby.
It's about as old as I am, and on the original set of batteries.








Lately it's been a bench tool though.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

my LXT died after a hard 5-6 year life. Still have one of the original cells. I normally get about 2-3 years out of a drill so the LXT drill has done very well. I had a stick pack makita back in the UK that was handed down from my dad to me then I left it with my brother who is still using it. That's got to be a good 20 year old drill. Its never been worked hard though. I think that's the problem with the newer cordless tools. They are so powerful you use them for things you shouldn't like mixing thin set and core drilling 5" hole in brick :shifty:


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

avguy said:


> I inherited this baby.
> It's about as old as I am, and on the original set of batteries.
> 
> 
> ...


That's like the one my dad gave me. Tuff old drills them. Still has original batteries as well and they are ni-cd.


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## A. Spruce (Aug 6, 2010)

Two DeWalt 18v, one is just a drill and over 10 years old, the other is the hammer drill and around 7 or 8 years. The oldest does have some side deflection in the shaft, but it doesn't seem to hinder it's usefulness.

I started out with the Makita that avguy has, once I upgraded to the DeWalt I didn't use it anymore and got rid of it. I also had the Makita 3" saw, which was useless for anything but doing drywall repairs, which was what it was purchased for.


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## EMINNYS (Nov 29, 2010)

I bought a 5 piece Ridgid 18V kit 5 years ago. Over the next 3 years, three different tools died, and each time I went back to H DEp, with a receipt, and they insisted on giving me a brand new kit(All 5 pieces ....3 different times). The last time I switched to a DeWalt 5 piece kit, and the sawzall has pooped out on me 2 times. I am on my 3rd DeWalt kit( HD changed the entire kit out each time.) I actually plead with them to just give me a replacement broken tool, but they refuse...Kind of weird, and also time to buy a real kit!


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## Kastoria (May 5, 2008)

See, this is what I mean. I have several drills that are way older than 4 years old. Im gonna consider it a fluke for now and get the newer version bare tool since I have all the batteries. My impacts are running great with 10 times more abuse than this drill got. I have no problem with a drill burning up or braking, but at least I know I got some use and abuse out of it. I have no explanation on how the shaft got twisted or knocked out of alignment. Whatever, new drill, several new batteries, back in business for now. Might bring it to the local warranty repair shop if its free to repair it why not...at least they can tell me exactly what went wrong.


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## KillerToiletSpider (May 27, 2007)

I never got more than 18 months out of my Dewalts, I'm on year three with my Hilti without a hiccup.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

my first one was a 18 volt makita, the drill itself is fine but the batterys are getting stale, gave it to the old man because he was bugging me all the time to come to his house with my drill. bought it in 2003

then got a bosch 12 v impact,,, its pretty much dead, took a few really bad falls and is held together with hockey tape, and the batterys are dead. it lasted 4 years

milwauke 18v lith ion.... 3 months after i bought it the batterys went bad..sold it on kijiji, picked it up in 2007 sold it in early 2009


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## Workaholic (Feb 3, 2007)

I have had my dewalt for about 6 years. I got one of those flexible dewalt lights from 98.


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## mgb (Oct 31, 2008)

bosch 18 v died on me, driving 3" screws on high speed (whoops). That blew the variable speed on the trigger. Still worked but soon the ni-cad batterys crapped out anyway.

Lasted around 1.5 years.

Have a set of hitachi's for around 3 years now, still going strong. Good battery power.

Drills seem to get obsolete fairly quick so I wouldn't care if they died in the next year or two.


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## Rustbucket (May 22, 2009)

My oldest drills that still work is a Makita set as shown above except it's the 12V version that is a little thicker on the bottom. Batteries still work! Doesn't get much use, though. I have an old DeWalt 18V set with XR batteries that must be from the late 90's that still works. Changed brushes once, though. that set got a lot of use the first couple-three years, then intermittent use since. Still use it now and then. I have a Milwaukee V18 set that is about 3 years old, and an M18 compact set that is maybe two years old. 

I have killed several sets in between all these. A couple DeWalt, a Ryobi (why did I ever get that, I will never know) that lasted somewhere around a year-18mos. before they broke for one reason or another. Most of the others I just didn't feel like replacing batteries. When two batteries cost almost as much as the tool with batteries it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to keep buying batteries for a tool that isn't stellar to begin with.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Dewalt 18V drills lasted my almost 5 years but I replaced the batteries. Then I got my Hilti set and stripped all the gears in the drill at the 1.5 year mark, impact died at the 2 year mark.


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## Trim40 (Jan 27, 2009)

avguy said:


> I inherited this baby.
> It's about as old as I am, and on the original set of batteries.
> 
> 
> ...


I have the earlier version, metal box and keyed chuck. I bought it around '85 or'86. It stays in the garage and gets used.


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## Big Shoe (Jun 16, 2008)

I buy a new Dewalt every year. Holiday sales - 99 bucks 18volt with 2 batteries.

I'm lokking at 2 drills(combo),1 is the impact, $159.00 Never had an impact yet. Very tempting.:whistling

The oldest one I have is around 10 yrs and is a dewalt 18v hammer drill.

Everything is somewhat disposable now, the cost to repair a drill is not worth it. And the sawzall is even more $.

You can also buy bare tools only  Saves $


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## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

Makita 14.4 Bought in 2005


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## TimNJ (Sep 7, 2005)

Trim40 said:


> I have the earlier version, metal box and keyed chuck. I bought it around '85 or'86. It stays in the garage and gets used.


I still have my old 9.6 Makita sticks. I bought my first one in '84. They just gather dust now since I use all 18v.


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## DuMass (Feb 6, 2008)

I have two 18V Dewalt DW988 hammerdrills. One was bought as a kit and is about 6-years old. It's used mainly around the shop these days. The other one is part of a 4-peice suitcase set that is about 4-years old. It gets used on jobs. Both still seem to be working okay although probably not as frisky as they once were. I bought a new 18V DCD950 hammerdrill as a bare tool this year to carry with me in my tool bag. 

I have one of their 18V DW960 right angle drills that’s about 4 or 5-years old, but actually looks like new because the body cracked at the base, so I replaced the "clamshell", as Dewalt calls it and both of the decals. Now the drill has a different serial number than when I bought it.


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

Mine is supposed to drive over a million screws before servicing.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

> Mine is supposed to drive over a million screws before servicing.


Thats such a great selling point espicially when my drill never drove one screw in its entire life. :laughing:

Now how many holes can it drill through spruce with a 1" auger before servicing?
:shifty:

In my experiences if you don't abuse the drill too bad then it will outlast the batteries; if you are like me and throw a 1-1/4" auger on your 18V drill to run 3/4 ENT through wood then you are going to kill the drill first. 

I look at cordless tools as disposable tools and I look at corded tools as investments...a corded drill could last over 20 years where I would only expect 3-4 years out of a cordless set before its not worth repairing/replacing batteries.


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## RadRemod (Oct 29, 2009)

Big Shoe an Impact virgin huh:shifty:......... you know what they say," Once you have an impact you never go bacK!":w00t:


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## blackbear (Feb 29, 2008)

milwaukee 18v, nicad batteries 4 years still going strong. Everyday hard use.


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## jerichos (Dec 9, 2010)

mine's 10 years old


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## Big Shoe (Jun 16, 2008)

It's all about use. I did metal framing and drywall punchout for about fifteen yrs., alot of abuse on the drills i used. Seems like the triggers were the first things to always go, then it was the chucks, drop it a few times too many and you get a cracked housing. 

I was lucky to get a couple yrs out of one and always needed a back up.

The impact is on my x-mas list. One of my kids will buy it for me.


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## jiffy (Oct 21, 2007)

I don't look at how long a tool lasts as much as I would look at how much money I was able to make while using it. One specialty tool can make a job take half as long but it requires a bit more of an investment on my part up front.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

generally im the same way.. starting to think that with cordless drills if it lasts 6 years it probably sat around a long time being more of a cost to me than a investment


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## bob14-0 (Mar 26, 2008)

Kastoria said:


> Just curious how long a cordless drill lasts other people. I dont mean battery life, I know we all buy batteries cuz they dont last forever. Im talking about the actual drill body.


shes are still good.

Porter Cable 14.4 purchased 2001 - been a great drill, amazing battery life. Worst experience was with Bosch 12 volt, batteries crapped out in one year.


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## john5mt (Jan 21, 2007)

Dewalt 18v hammer drill bought in 2004

Though i have basically switched over to makita lithiums now


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## Kastoria (May 5, 2008)

bob14-0 said:


> shes are still good.
> 
> Porter Cable 14.4 purchased 2001 - been a great drill, amazing battery life. Worst experience was with Bosch 12 volt, batteries crapped out in one year.


Yeah those old PC's were great, even the 19.2v. You can still find them on a few sites, Ive thought about getting one...but once the batteries do go they are not making them anymore so you gotta find what you can at that point. Ive thought about just getting the new PC drill and impact set and just abusing it and see what happens. Hell my ryobi set is 8 years old and works great still, and Ive beat the hell out of it. Maybe I will luck out on PC, maybe not?


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## OilfieldCowboy (Jan 14, 2011)

We have a couple 18v Panasonic drills that were purchased in the early/mid 90's IIRC that are still alive and kicking, a little rough looking but still functional.

Its just too bad that the new 12v Lithium Ion cordless tools have almost the same power as those old ones.


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## HandyHails (Feb 28, 2009)

jerichos said:


> mine's 10 years old



:laughing::laughing:Trade: Yes:laughing::laughing:


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## jgood4u (Oct 22, 2010)

A long, long time ago, can't remember when, I bought a Makita 9.6 in the metal box. It is still running, but when Makita cam out with the more powerful 12 v, that also took the 9.6 v batteries, I bought that and have been using it every since. Again, I don't remember when I bought it, maybe mid-80s? It is my favorite general purpose drill and heavy duty screwdriver. I think I've replaced the 12 volt batteries (I have 2) once. I make a point of running the batteries until they are flat, then charging them fully,but never back in the charger until they have a full cycle in the drill again. 

Repeatedly charging NiCads before they are dead, is a battery killer. The charger is a rapid one, that has always charged a battery in less time then it takes me to run the working one down.

I'm not a big fan of cordless drills, but these Makitas have been good to me. I'm not sure I can buy the battery packs for it any more and may have to rebuild my own, but will use NiHM if I do.


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## Sisyphus (Nov 1, 2010)

Yeah, the Makita 9.6V sticks last almost forever. I have three generations of them going back over 25 years although they now are relegated to shop use in favour of the newer 10.8 compacts. The only 9.6 Makitas that disappointed were the ones that came with NiMh batteries, drills were fine but the OEM batteries were the worst rechargeable batteries I ever had. Within a ridiculously short period of time they would no longer satisfactorily hold a charge.


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## vos (Apr 6, 2010)

jgood4u said:


> A long, long time ago, can't remember when, I bought a Makita 9.6 in the metal box. It is still running, but when Makita cam out with the more powerful 12 v, that also took the 9.6 v batteries, I bought that and have been using it every since. Again, I don't remember when I bought it, maybe mid-80s? It is my favorite general purpose drill and heavy duty screwdriver. I think I've replaced the 12 volt batteries (I have 2) once. I make a point of running the batteries until they are flat, then charging them fully,but never back in the charger until they have a full cycle in the drill again.
> 
> Repeatedly charging NiCads before they are dead, is a battery killer. The charger is a rapid one, that has always charged a battery in less time then it takes me to run the working one down.
> 
> I'm not a big fan of cordless drills, but these Makitas have been good to me. I'm not sure I can buy the battery packs for it any more and may have to rebuild my own, but will use NiHM if I do.


are local ace store still has the batteries and the 3"saw in stock. lol


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## jgood4u (Oct 22, 2010)

vos said:


> are? [Our] local ace store still has the batteries and the 3"saw in stock. lol


How dusty are on the packages? 
Thank for info!


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