About one year ago, Makita came out with an 18V entry-level hammer drill/driver kit, priced at $99. It was introduced at ~$125, but you can currently buy it for $99 at Amazon.
Well, they’ve just gone and done the same thing with an impact driver. The new Makita 18V impact driver kit, model XDT042, is now available for $99 as well.
Advertisement
Amazon’s direct pricing is $119 $99, and there’s one 3rd party retailer on there offering it for $99 plus shipping. That’s an indication, to me at least, that the price will revert to $99 as the holiday season approaches.
The impact driver delivers up to 1420 in-lbs of torque, and is reasonably compact at 5-7/16″ long. Its speed range is 0-2,300 RPM and 0-3,200 IPM.
As with other impact drivers, it has a 1/4″ hex chuck.
No, this model won’t win any power, features, or performance contests, but it’s at a very appealing price point. For $99 plus shipping, you get the impact driver, a charger, carrying case, and a 3.0Ah Li-ion battery pack.
Seems like a real bargain, but you only get (1) battery. Most users would benefit more from having (2), but that would drive up the cost substantially. But for casual use, as opposed to big projects, a single battery might get you along just fine. This is also a very inexpensive entry into Makita’s 18V platform.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Advertisement
Mark
I’ve had Makita for 5 years, currently using brushless. Batteries are starting to slowly die, and fan no longer works in charger. Home Depot sells them for $99 apiece. This seems like a bargain.
Jay k.
About time… all the other big names have a $99 special!
Stuart
For impact drivers? I can’t think of any at the top of my mind; we typically see $99 cordless drill specials around the winter holidays and Father’s Day.
Stuart
As predicted, the Amazon price is now $99.
Steve
My DeWalt DW056 impact driver is starting to wear out. This tool has done a ton of hard work and has never backed down from any task mainly in the residential/light commercial repair and remodel carpentry arena. Currently own a mix of Dewalt and Makita power tools. Looked for a similar offer from DeWalt with no luck. Just ordered this impact driver kit from Amazon. Also have an aging 3/8 inch chuck DeWalt cordless drill starting to wear out. If this impact driver checks out ok will pick up the $99 Makita XPH012 hammer drill kit off of Amazon as well.
Works out a little better than a Dewalt impact driver and drill combo. A DeWalt combo for $199 comes with two 1.5 Ah batteries and a charger. Will end up with two 3.0 Ah batteries and two chargers on the Makitas for a buck less than the DeWalt combo. The Makita batteries may actually be a slight upgrade over the 2.4 Ah 18v XRP batteries on the truck now depending on how they actually perform.
This will be the first dip into the Li Ion battery pool but want to see a bit better track record before jumping on the brushless bandwagon. Seems that they haven’t perfected the brushless tech quite yet from fragile motors, switching issues and shutting down from heat. It gets real hot here in Texas so any tool that can’t take the heat just won’t cut it. Maybe it’s just dumb luck but have never had a problem with DeWalt or Makita brushed motor tools backing down outside of charging delays due to hot battery packs. We’ll see how these Li Ion battery powered tools stack up against the 18v XRPs that have worked so well in the Texas heat for many years.