I went to check the price on Makita’s new 18V brushless impact driver kit, and as expected it dropped in price to $99 on Amazon.
I have also been keeping an eye on this new Makita 18V brushless drill/driver kit, which was also $129 the last time I checked. Now? $99.
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$99 for a brushless drill kit? Dewalt’s got one. Well, seasonally at least. It’s $130 something now, but I’m of the very strong opinion that it’ll drop to $99 again soon.
But a $99 brushless drill kit from Makita? That was unexpected, at least until I caught a glimpse of the new impact driver.
This new Makita brushless drill, model XFD061, looks reasonably good on paper:
- 530 in-lbs max torque
- 2 speed gearbox: 0-400, 0-1550 RPM
- 1/2″ chuck
- Weighs 3.8 lbs with battery
- LED worklight
- 3.0Ah battery pack with fuel gauge
I wanted to get my hands on one ASAP, so I placed an order as soon as I saw the price drop. Ben ordered one too. He’s been eager to get more experience with Makita cordless power tools, and this seemed like a good match.
With the $99 price point, I believe Makita sees this as a gateway cordless offering.
I find it very exciting to see one more pro-grade 18V cordless drill offering at the $99 or $100 price point. It only comes with 1 battery pack – some brands offer 2 – but it’s at least Makita’s updated pack with built-in battery fuel gauge.
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Here’s a look at all of the $100 cordless drill options that caught my attention last year. This year’s going to see even fiercer competition.
Price: $99
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Am I being too optimistic here? Maybe. I’d be less enthusiastic if the drill had a brushed motor, the older non-fuel-gauge battery pack, or lesser specs.
I’m curious to see how this drill might be built differently than their “regular” products. I think I have a Makita compact brushless drill or hammer drill around here somewhere, courtesy of Home Depot. I’m crossing my fingers that Makita didn’t cheapify the drill in any way.
Cr8on
The torque looks solid but the max rpm looks a few shades too low…. Something around 1800 would make it much more appealing.
Stuart
Speed and torque are proportional. I’m sure they had a fixed retail cost target, and so they had to make the compromise somewhere.
Their “regular” brushless hammer drill goes to 0-500 and 0-2,000 RPM and also delivers 530 in-lbs max.
ChrisP
This drill (known internationally as DDF480) was Makita’s flagship compact drill/driver until being replaced by the DDF484 (XFD12 in US). It is a pro grade drill (with Makita’s Extreme Protection Technology) not a price point/compromise drill. Real world performance is better than the specs suggest.
BTW that XPH12 you got in the 3 piece kit from Home Depot is a contender for best compact period! Would be interested to see you compare it to a DeWalt 791 in real world use.
Satch
Stuart, I think this is very interesting direction by the manufacturers. Going back to your thoughts on the Hercules stuff(either that or an earlier post about this kit, sorry for not remembering exactly) I said something similar.
99 dollar price points and brushless will take over as the norm even faster than lithium batteries. It almost makes me wonder if Makita is doing this as a preemptive strike against brands like Hercules and Kobalt?
I mean, we all think of these entry level drills as a good bit inferior to the flagship models. However, given even a 2.0Ah battery they are leagues beyond any of the old NiCad models. Many people realise after some use they don’t really ‘need’ to upgrade and just use up the drill and get another model in the same price range that is essentially equivalent to the flagship model of 2-3 years prior. It wasn’t all that long ago that a 3.0Ah battery was considered top shelf, period. Now it is available on a 99 value buster.
I am not sure if Makita has a value brand like TTI with their Ryobi stuff but I wonder how this will affect their it and their Ridgid brands? Ryobi always occupied the 79-129 dollar range for TTI/Home Depot but this offering from Makita muddies that right up. Who would buy a Ryobi when you can buy a real Makita and use the battery on any modern tool they make? And even if you just use up and thrash the driver, you will likely be able to use the batteries on any new Makita tool you buy. Interesting stuff.
Farid
One more thing to think about: Rigid offers lifetime warranty on batteries (with registration). So, if you don’t need top performance all the time, buying Rigid makes sense for occasional DIYers, especially given that batteries will die if left unattended for long periods of time between uses.
fred
Lifetime warranties have their appeal but you sometimes need to consider how easy they are to use. When Sears used to warrant a Craftsman wrench and you could walk into the local Sears and get an on the spot replacement – that had appeal. It was still slim consolation if you were in the middle of a job and the wrench failed and/or skinned your knuckles in the bargain.
When I was buying for a business, I’d prefer to have a battery that I could rely on compared to one that I had to seek out a warranty replacement. To that point, we had over 100 Makita BL-1830 batteries – and early on had issues with a few of them not accepting charge. We returned some, scrapped others and were really annoyed – almost to the point of questioning why we had invested so heavily into the Makita 18V lineup. I don’t think they ever completely “fessed up” to the problem – but then “star symbols batteries” and chargers started appearing and the problem seemed to go away.
I don’t know how easy it is to register (if needed) Ridgid batteries and then get a replacement should one fail, but it is a good marketing ploy on the part of TTI – one that says “why not take a look at this brand where the manufacturer stands behind its most expensive single replacement part – its battery”. I guess that also may have a limit should the battery be obsoleted some time in the future. Since Ridgid, like Ryobi power tools are mostly sold at Home Depot, it would be great if you could just walk into a HD with a defective Ridgid battery and get an immediate replacement. I don’t think its that easy but that would go along way to promote the brand.
BTW – Makita doesn’t seem to have a second-tier brand – but has over the years produced some “beginner-grade” or less powerful cordless tools – sometimes having used white and black color schemes instead of their signature teal.
farid
You are correct, Fred. I don’t know how many even bother with standard warranty, let alone keeping receipts for lifetime warranty claims. And, it is not clear what happens when parts are obsolete. Home depot told me they will replace with nearest equivalent, but I don’t know If I can take that to the bank.
For me , there was appeal at the time a I bought my set a few years ago. Battery technology and tool offerings were changing every 6 months (or so it seemed). I needed something to replace my dead Nicad Powered Dewalts (1-12V and 1-14 Volt) Buying Nicad batteries. For the price of new batteries, I got two new tools and batteries. It seemed a safer option, given that if something happened to the batteries too soon, I was covered. The tools have worked for what I needed at the time and still do. When I need heaver duty tools, I buy top of the line. When I needed something lighter, the warranty sounded appealing.
Now if only my photo printer came with lifetime warranty on ink, that would be something!!!
(actually, the last three 4 years, I’ve gotten three pro photo printers. Once a year, the manufacturers offers arebate on the printer and paper bundle. The total cost after rebate comes to roughly 50% of a single set of ink!)
FYI: Here is the verbiage from Ridgid’s registration:
“In the event that you require service on your products, please present your Customer ID at the time of service to a local RIDGID Power Tool authorized service center.
If your tool needs service in the future, bring your tool to an authorized service center found at http://www.ridgid.com. Note: If a battery requires service, bring in the battery, charger as well as the tool it was sold with for a proper diagnosis. If a serialized piece of equipment with LSA status is ever replaced, you have 90 days from date of replacement to call 1-866-539-1710 and re-register that piece of equipment. Proof of replacement required. Replacement products that are not re-registered within 90 days of replacement will not maintain LSA status. Also note that if a serialized piece of equipment without LSA status is ever replaced under the 3-Year Limited Warranty, the replacement piece of equipment will be covered by the 3-Year Limited Warranty only for the remaining time prorated from the original date of purchase or the date of manufacture shown on the originally purchased products. In other words, the 3-year limited warranty period does not “restart” from the date of replacement or from the date of manufacture shown on the replacement product’s serial code. Visit http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/Power-Tool-Warranty for full details on the RIDGID Lifetime Service Agreement and the 3-Year Limited Warranty.”
ChrisP
Makita have a second tier line that has been marketed under at least 3 brands, SSP, Maktec and MT. Usually green or orange not teal. Downgraded Makita with less power/features reduced warranty, sometimes cheaper internals. Maybe NAINA?
https://www.makita.co.nz/products/mt/
http://www.maktec.co.za/
Matt
Yeah, not available here in the States. We had “white Makita” for a while, which were still branded as Makita, but with white cases in lieu of teal and denoted their entry-level/budget models. Pretty sure it was only 12v and 18v drills and impacts available in that line.
Andrew LB
The white and black Makita drill/drivers have the exact same power and technology as their teal/black counterparts with the ONLY difference being a slightly lower capacity battery and corresponding lower price. There is nothing beginner about them and imo the reduced weight is nice. As long as you can charge a battery faster than you can use one up, the lower capacity is not an issue for me.
Stuart
$99 is not the norm, though. It’s the seasonal promo kit gateway drill or impact driver kit price.
Makita’s “white” tools were often considered consumer-focused tools. Some of the past $99 specials seemed to be recolored and rekitted versions of those tools.
I haven’t heard memorable things about Makita customer service, good or bad, although I have heard of past battery problems. There don’t seem to be many complaints these days.
JMG
I have had to warranty one Makita tool (not a cordless tool), in all of the years I have owned their tools, and outside of having to deliver the item to a service center, it was a rather painless ordeal. The customer service rep on the phone, who authorized the return, was also easy to deal with, and the service center shipped the tool back to me directly after the repair. Early on, just after LXT tools were introduced, I experienced one battery failure, and it was replaced at the point of purchase, no questions asked. I have had a mostly positive experience with the brand, and it has a strong presence in my tool kit because of it.
As far as the “white” tools are concerned; I was not a fan simply because the tools always looked dirty. Worked great, but couldn’t keep them clean. For many customers I had, appearances were just as important as the work being performed, and keeping things looking clean on the job kept them happy. The white tools I owned ended up being relegated to the shop a majority of the time. They are still going strong in my brother’s tool kit today.
Satch
Stuart, I agree. For now anyway. However, it is like the sub 500 dollar pc. All the tech bet this would ever happen. There was no way to make them at this price point. Same went for flat screen tvs. My wife and I bought a 55 inch Samsung led telly last fall for my daughter’s bedroom. Entry level to be sure and a loss leader sale but it was around 279 dollars at best buy. I think brushless drills with one battery will be the new entry level very soon .
Gtcway
I think I’m going to order this. Extra battery and charger is always a good thing. Can’t beat the price of $99
I have 2 drills, 2 impact drivers, brushless saw, brushless metal saw, brushless angle grinder, reciprocating saw and a vacuum. I started with a drill/impact driver set just over 8 years ago. I’ve had 8 3.0ah battery packs since I started. I still have 6 of those battery packs and I gave the 2 oldest packs to my dad who still used them today. I notice a slight drop in battery life on the older packs but they just keep going and going.
Toolfreak
That’s it’s brushless is really the only impressive thing.
$99 or just under $100 is only a magical price point to those who are after a drill that’s normally $129-149 or something but they want a better deal so they wait for a sale or black friday.
Most consumers don’t need the features of a “pro” drill and so these offers, while nice, seem like just a way to capture that middle DIYer who wants a better drill but doesn’t want to pay for the more expensive “pro” stuff.
Really I do think most companies should have an entry-level $99 kit by now, other than the price drops for the holidays stuff, but maybe it won’t happen with the brushless stuff until Black & Decker makes their 20V line brushless.
Probably a case of companies keeping the prices artificially high, too.
wilcharl
So simple question
Makita Brushless better warranty better feature set reliable brand or
Herc from Hazard Fraught for the same price?
Gordon
Is that a real question?
The Herc only outclasses a screwdriver because I’m lazy, But I would literally take any other screwgun for $99 over it.
AvE did a teardown on youtube, and the thing is exactly as it seems; cheap plastic crap.
Stuart
I plan on doing some direct comparisons.
Makita vs. HF Hercules, right now at the same $99 price point, I’d go for the Makita, even if its spec’ed lower than their regular brushless cordless drill.
mattd
$99 gets you a brushless drill, a 3.0 AH battery, and 30 min charger, access to the largest 18v tool line up out there, and a 3 year warranty. I do not understand why anyone would buy the HF Hercules drill for the same price but with a smaller battery, brushed motor, 1+ hour charge time, and a 90 day warranty. I think HF was a bit late on putting out their “quality” tool line.
Satch
Exactly, Matt. It is a no brainer for the targeted customer. At least I know which way I would go if contemplating a purchase in this category. The battery/tool ecosystem is something Hercules and Kobalt will never match.
Even if this is more of a special run of tool, I still cannot help but wonder if we won’t see more of this type of ‘special’ deal almost all the time from brands like Makita, Hitachi, Bosch and a few others who don’t have the three tiered branding system like TTI or SBD? It will be interesting to say the least.
dwain (oztooltalk)
Is this new to the US? It’s been out for years in Aus and Europe etc.
Satch
Dwain, the tool world is really weird. Brits , Aussies , Europeans, and others get things like LBoxxes, Systainers, the better end of the Black &Decker tool bags and other things we have a hard time sourcing here. Conversely I have seen many a UK bloke lament the ridiculous prices they have to pay for most cordless tools. Same for Canadians sometimes on the tool prices. It is hard to understand at times.
It doesn’t surprise me one bit that you can get something like this in Asia for awhile now but not so much here. Look at all the really cool Bosch cordless stuff we can’t get here without sourcing it from UK or Germany. Then look out for the ruddy carriage charges. Let alone warranty.
steven hagen
made a purchase a while back wondered when it will arive.
ktash
I’ve been looking at their 18 v sub-compact drill and driver kit for a long time, but haven’t found it on sale yet. Hoping for Black Friday or holiday sales. It wasn’t eligible for the coupon deals for Amazon, either. I don’t need anymore drills or drivers, but would love the compact set. The set is $229 and if I needed a new drill or driver I’d opt for it over a larger drill. But that’s because I’m a woodworker and this has significant advantages. My full size (non brushless) Makita drill and driver kit is by far my favorite drill and driver.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-18-Volt-LXT-Lithium-Ion-Sub-Compact-Brushless-Cordless-Drill-Impact-Driver-Combo-Kit-2-Pieces-w-2-2Ah-Battery-Case-CX200RB/207051121
I also have a black and white makita drill. I don’t like it at all rarely use it. Would never buy it again. It was a very cheap closeout, so the batteries/chargers still made it worthwhile at the time.
Deksinjo
Want to buy for my good friend starter cordless drill and have 3 opinions.
Dewalt DCD777
Makita (above) XFD06
Makita XFD12
Dewalt DCD777 have 340UWO what according Dewalt UK is max 65Nm, 0-500rpm and 0-1750rpm
Makita XFD06 have max 60Nm; 0-400rpm and 0-1550rpm
Makita XFD12 same power at low (1) speed 60Nm but 0-500rpm and 0-2000rpm
So lets ignore baterry capacity, different pack will maybe make different max torque. If we use same pack for all what is best choice, most powerfull low price brushlles drill ?
Stuart
The Makita XFD12R kit is the best of the three, but is $221 via Amazon.
I’d rather 2x compact battery packs than 1x high capacity.
But between the XFD061 and DCD777, both currently still $99, I’d go for the Makita.
Deksinjo
Thanks Stuart,
Will be nice to see dual like this, know that is utterly stupid 😀
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aYmjZIUa8o&t=569s
Stuart
Nope.
That’s Dewalt’s most basic mass market drill vs Milwaukee’s everyday drill.
“Duels” like that are a complete waste of time and don’t provide any useful comparative data.
Deksinjo
I know, but it’s funny to watch. Like drag race, fastes car is not best race or rally car but it nice to know who is owerpowered other one.