OK Take a look at these three drills.

ERBAUER 12V DRILL / DRIVER

http://www.screwfix.com/sfd/i/cat/24/2472_l.jpg

Unbelievable! The Erbauer 12V drill / driver gives a superior performance you'd expect from a top brand - at a fraction of the price.

* 12V
* 0.8 - 10mm Chuck Capacity
* Electronic Variable Speed
* Reversible
* 2 x 1.3Ah Batteries
* 2 Speed / Torque Ratios
* Electric Brake
* Carry Case

Price £69.99

Specification: No load speed - 0-350/1150rpm. Optimum Drilling Capacity in steel / wood 10mm / 22mm. Max torque 20Nm. Chuck capacity 0.8 - 10.0mm. Weight (without battery) 1.1kg.

and....

MAKITA 6096 9.6V DRILL DRIVER

http://www.screwfix.com/sfd/i/cat/40/4048_l.jpg

Popular Makita 9.6V 2-speed drill driver with Nickel Metal Hydride batteries that offer improved power & performance.

* 9.6V
* 10mm Keyless Chuck
* Variable Speed & Reversible
* 16 Torque Settings
* Electric Brake
* 2 x 2.2 Ah Ni-Mh Batteries
* Fast Charger
* Carry Case

Price £124.99

Specification: No load speed 0-350rpm / 0-1100rpm. Drilling capacity max in wood 18mm; steel 10mm. Net Weight 1.3kg.

Finally...

BOSCH GWB 712VE ANGLE DRILL 7.2 VOLT

http://www.screwfix.com/sfd/i/cat/99/9979_l.jpg

Cordless, slim design angled drill for awkward, confined spaces.

Specification: No load speed 0-750rpm. Max drilling capacity in wood 15mm, steel 10mm. Weight 1.2kg

I've already got a nice Bosch Cordless drill but it's a little too heavy to use as a screwdriver however I need something thats going to do the job, thats always going to push those screws into anything with confidence and no nonsence. Sometimes into pretty confined spaces. What do you think of this selection? Good? over the top? Better ideas?
Thanks for any suggestions.

MAKITA!! no question, it'll last you for ever and a day. You might also want to look at DeWalt.

Top one screw fixes own, Ive tried it and sent it back, Best of the 3 makita, BUT I swear by DEWALT imho its the best for me , AND it gets well used, cheers Alan.

De Walt every time ...... 30 day money back if you are not satisfied and 1 year free servicing (inc. parts !!) , I have had new chucks , batteries and chargers all covered by De Walt and no quibbles on faulty items.

Nate.

Makita i have two that date from 1988 and they still work though the batteries are not so good!

i use to be a theatre tech and now a sparks so they get good use.

i have a dewalt lasted 15 months before it died went back to the old Makita.

I now buy tools for 8 electricians who work for my team and have bought Makita for all of them and find them very good.

i buy atlas copco/milwalkie gear, its top gear and service is really good if you have any probs.
all my joiners are changing over to it from dewalt and makita.

we use the 18v battery drills everyday and they are 18 months old now and still on original batteries and brushes and thats not to bad for building site battery drills that get no respect what so ever

[Edited by killemonthecorners - 6/8/2003 9:33:30 PM]

forgot to mention, on the demo stand in the shop a video was playing showing an 18v milwalkie drill pulling an a class merc up a hill

[Edited by killemonthecorners - 6/8/2003 9:38:15 PM]

Just to let you know that dewalt is only black + deacker runnungs in a yellow casing, made in the same factory

We always bought Makita, always been reliable and lasted for eon's, up untill about a month ago that was.
So we decided to try alternatives and came across an online retailer Screwfix.com

Couldnt fault their service, next day delivery, 10-20% discounts over a certain amount.

So we tried the 12v erbauer model £59.99 with discount, great drill so we thought, only after just over four weeks use, Its burnt the motor out.

Carpenter by trade so it doesnt really get a huge amount of use, just regular, but even so four weeks use and its gone back broken.

Makita's get our buisness from now.

P66

I bought a dewalt 9.6 from here, just to use as a lightweight screwgun, so good so far:

http://diytools.com/store/detail.asp?ProductID=62326

This is the cheapest retailer I have found - good servive, next day deliverey on everything is about £3.

im a carpenter and use a cordless most of the the day
the best on the market is a panasonic 3amp 15 volt

deffo dewalt, im a spark and they get through anything.

Dewalt are good. AEG I think was about the best. Hitachi also. Dont like the look of the panasonics!! but They also are fantastic.


Dewalt sell well..but have a very high return level.

So long as you stick with a quality brand you should be ok.

All those mickey mouse drills without exception are crap, my company always buy the sh1ttest brands possible, crazy 1000watt drills for £35.00 etc, they never last more than a month or two no matter how much respect you give them, not even worth buying for a casual diy'er.

You deffo get what you pay for in electric tools.

theres some good AEG bargains to be had on ebay.

Search for either AEG, Atlas Copco, or Milwaukee ( they are all the same drills ) - there was a guy selling 12V Milwaukee branded combis the other day for 85 quid inc P&P. My brother and dad have both got these drills ( I have the 18V :D ), and they paid IRO £150-160 from a local retailer.

Dewalt are good for the money - assuming you pay the right money, panasonic are excellent quality - I have a 24v SDS for work, 3AH batteries and very compact/light for what it is.

From what I have gathered Bosch are smosch- and as mentioned above - if it isnt branded, assume it will be sh1te.

I still have my old AEG on the go, 12v cost me 250+ about 10 years ago but it still goes well - I have had to glue the batteries back together abot 4 times - but it would be sacrilidge to let it go - it has sentimental value :rolleyes:

Think Bosch/Black+Decker/DeWalt all owned by same parent company, and maybe are all built in same factory, but surely not just rebadged and recased ?

Would like to see some proof of that, always found my pair of DeWalt's 100%, although deffo not very well balanced in the hand.

Don't buy a Bosch , I have the GSB 12 volt type for 'professional' use , the drill is fine, puts 100mm screws in all day, but i have had 5 charges in the space of 2 years , 3 were repalced under warrenty, but have had to buy one, £55 quid and that one last two months and was replaced again under warrenty, i'm now on my 5th one , hopefully this one will last a little long, touch wood.

Maybe bosch has a problem with this drill / charger combi as it is no longer avaliable.

We've had Makita's at work now for donkeys years, never go wrong and take the stick that they are given, workshop and on site.