dewalt not as good as they use to be?

[DeuceLee 10+ year member]

i'm confused...lately i've been hearing from alot of people that dewalt's quality is not as good as they use to be...

and that other brands are owning dewalt like a mofo and dewalt doesn't really anything that makes it stand out anymore...like vs. makita or hitachi if comparing the same tools (i.e 18v drill vs. 18v drill from makita or others)

like i've talked to a bunch of people from lowes or hd and even tho they may sell both dewalt and makita and/or hitachi, its like they are totally recommending makita or hitachi or some others like bosch, i'm not sure if they're getting an extra break from selling non-dewalt but i kinda doubt that as well...

i hear alot of complaints about their xrp batteries...and their other equiptment alot online...

i'm interested in buying somethings from them this holiday season but this is kind of depressing news...

any insights?

Click to read more...

 

[Fiercetimbo17 10+ year member]

i have an 18v dewalt drill and 12v hd impact from dewalt and love both of them. I only have to change batteries every few days.

I had a hitachi that was a piece, i would say these are just as good as my old $400 matco's

 

[bamaboy 5,000+ posts]

i just bought a hitachi Li-ion drill

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=77627-67702-DS14DFL&lpage=none

very very nice and batteries barely weigh anything

i guy i work with has a mikita, and its a nice drill

the hitachi has the cool green designs

 

[Ignatowski 5,000+ posts]

My Dewalt dies a slow death,I bought an Hitachi for replacement

PWNS the yella POS

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

Never really liked the feel of dewalts.

 

[DeuceLee 10+ year member]

looks like this all kind of confirms what i've been hearing and reading about...

looks like i'll be looking into others like hitachi, makita and others than...

 

[Shyne151 10+ year member]

I bought a impact and drill set from the snapon man last week. It is a makita 18v lithium ion set. Impact is strong enough to do lugs, and the drill is just amazing.

Here they are:

http://www.makita.com/menu.php?pg=product_det&tag=BTD142HW

http://www.makita.com/menu.php?pg=product_det&tag=BDF452HW

Best part is they charge in 15min and the charger plays a cool song when they are done //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[jdeaton]

Ive got a dewalt 9.6v drill, 14.4v drill, 14.4v circular saw, and 14.4 impact driver. Havent had any problems with any of them, unlike my stepdads Milwaukee drill (charger broke)

 

[fair warning]

I have an old dewalt and have no problems with it. I think the new ones are still good. Dewalt is owned by black and decker. I think mikita sucks ***. Always has IMO. The contractor I work for sent a few back with stripped out clutches and I have seen older ones with stripped gears. The best cordless IMO is a Hilti. I have been using one for three years at work and have no problems. It's bad ***. I tell other workers to keep there eyes off it. They are not cheap and you my have to by one at a contractor supply house.

 

[trimegatron 10+ year member]

Dewalt is rock solid - batteries have been their low point for ever. This is nothing new. If you use them or don't they will not last much longer than 2 years. Whatever you do - only get the XRP series. The other ones are basically home owner crap grade (the tools, not the battery). What you do get is a better quality batter if you get the home owner line. + the xrp have magnesium shafts in the drill. But - I will add that they've got a new chuck design ie. not the jacobsen designed 150yr old stle clamp. It looks like a robotic mandible shooting out and the chuck doesn't spin in your hand. Looks really cool, but the chuck doesn't grip as tight.

I've got a DC988-KA and this other new style perhaps a DC990 or 989. It's equally good, I just don't care for the chuck.

 

[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

i bought the 18 volt kit from dewalt last year. i absolutely punish the hammer drill and the sawzall at work. co-worker has burned out 2 ryobi 18 volt drills just this summer. dewalt pawns.

 

[btnhfan 5,000+ posts]

Makita has always been my favorite. I have one of their hammer drills and it is my favorite tool.

I just bought an Hitachi 14.4v cordless drill a month or so ago and I love it so far. Really powerful and pretty good battery life.

I have used a dewalt 18v cordless and that was a pretty good drill. I don't know if they changed everything up recently, as it was a model from a few years ago.

 

[Fattony911 10+ year member]

i love my dewalt router and table saw. they make a solid product for sure

 

[davidfre21 5,000+ posts]

im a dewalt ***** also, love my xrp 14.4v drill and router.

 

[MarcRocks 10+ year member]

I worked at HD for 2.5 years, and can tell you that we didn't get an incentive to sell any brand over another brand. They are telling you Dewalt is lame because in recent years they've lost a lot of quality. Ryobi sucks, Hitachi is ok but not a big fan. I L-O-V-E Makita though. If I could have *** with a Makita tool, and have little tiny half-Marc half Makita bastard babies, I totally would lube up and get to business.