UKC

I'm hoping to buy a cordless combo drill in the next few days but I'm a little unsure on what to go for. I'm looking for something with a spare battery and that will hopefully last (ie something of a reasonable quality).

I'm budgeting up to £100 but if there's something cheaper that's reliable I'll put the rest towards things for the van.

If would appreciate any recommendations that people may have as my knowledge is pretty minimal...

In reply to James Malloch:

I have a dewalt, seems fine. Comes with 2 batteries. http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dcd776c2-gb-18v-1-3ah-li-ion-cordless-comb...

In reply to James Malloch:

ive had several for work, Makita is very good and comes with 2 batteries but I think to get a decent drill with 2 batteries you might struggle at £100.

In reply to James Malloch:

https://www.buyaparcel.com/p/makita-8391dwpe-18-volt-ni-cad-cordless-hammer...

An older model with NiCd batteries as opposed to those new fangled Li-Ion thingies but I've been using this particular drill quite heavily at work over the last 4 years and it's as tough as old boots. Can't fault it really.

In reply to James Malloch:

I did a bit of research and Makita does seem to come out on top a lot. But they are expensive (as others said).

The thing about cordless drills is that the battery is going to get trashed from recharging, no matter which drill you buy while the drill should out-last several batteries no problem. If you are going to be using it very heavily, you probably want to select a drill based on it having reasonably priced replacement batteries.
You can do a lot worse than look at star reviews on Screwfix. There tend to be dozens of reviews for each drill, rather than the 1 or 2 opinions you will get for each drill on UKC.

I got a Bosch cordless drill for Christmas

In reply to henwardian:
"> The thing about cordless drills is that the battery is going to get trashed from recharging, no matter which drill you buy while the drill should out-last several batteries no problem. ..."

With the new lithium ion batteries I've found that i've killed my Bosch drill before the batteries even started to degrade, although I do have 2 batteries so the use is split.

I've had it almost 4 years and have used it very heavily but the bearings in the gearbox are now shot and I think the brushes in the motor are giving up. It still works OK for most things but it's harder to drill small precise holes now.

The Hitachi drill drivers get reasonable press as do a lot of their other power tools. They aren't cheap but they are cheaper.
I'd go for one of these:-
http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gsb-1800-18v-3ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-dril...
only one battery but it's a massive 3Ah, more than double the normal 1.3Ah you get in a dewalt drill that's £10 more expensive.
I'm quite tempted myself actually considering mine is giving up the ghost.

In reply to gethin_allen:

I'd second the longevity of modern batteries, if you are writing off a battery then chances are the charger is the issue. I've burnt out a speed controller and damaged a bearing but the batteries are still in reasonable nick. I went for Bosch partly on their reputation for good customer support. Their spares aren't as good as they used to be but you can pick up bare drills pretty cheaply if it all goes pear shaped.

In reply to James Malloch:

I recently got a lithium battery drill with brushless motor made by Kielder. It was about £70 and great so far.

Any reason you don't want a corded drill? For the budget you'll get a much much better corded drill. There are only a few situations I've really found a cordless drill to be necessary. Just sayin'...

In reply to NottsRich:

"There are only a few situations I've really found a cordless drill to be necessary.."
I rarely take my corded drill out of the cupboard these days, only if I'm drilling loads of masonry and if heavy drilling is required I get the big SDS beast out. Most of what I do with the battery drill is drilling and screwing wood together with the odd hole in masonry.

In reply to James Malloch:

Thanks for all the replies and recommendations. I'll have a look through them properly tonight.

The reason for the cordless one is because we have to park about 30 meters from the house and it's mainly for doing the van up so there's no electricity source unfortunately. You do get a lot more for your money though with corded, I agree!

Does anyone have an idea how long a 1.3Ah battery might last? Say a couple of hours of reasonably frequent drilling?

In reply to James Malloch:
I've been really pleased with a DeWalt I bought a couple of years ago with two
lithium batteries. I never use a cord drill these days except when I need to drill brick or concrete with hammer drills.

In reply to James Malloch:

I been using cordless drills for 25 years of full time work and the makita's last longest. De Walt's burn out motors, Bosch have too many features and gimmicks that break but the Mak's seem to be more robust. Always buy Lith ion battery versions.

In reply to James Malloch:

Dewalt are prob best value/quality at the moment,i personally wouldnt buy a make i havent heard of,i also wouldnt buy anything nicad however cheap it was.

Makita are good quality but the li ion batteries commit suicide,i.e. if they fail to charge 3 times the chip never lets then be charged again,i got rid of all my makita cordless stuff because of this,at £70 a battery it got just too expensive,but i was using these batts in a cordless grinder and circular saw,i think in a drill or impact they would have been ok.

I now use metabo and bosch,the metabo stuff although not as popular seems to be one step ahead of the rest in technology and they are the only manufacturer to my knowledge offering a three year warranty on batteries as standard,but they are more expensive of course !.

In reply to olddirtydoggy:

Agreed on all points, my makita DHP458(now BHP458 (universal battery)) was kicked off a scaffold, fell 7.5m on to a concrete floor and still as good as new.
I wouldn't touch DeWalt (yellow black & decker) with a barge pole.

In reply to James Malloch:

There are now companies like Stel http://www.specialisedtools.co.uk/ selling generic lith ion batteries to fit all cordless drills from the big companies. I bought some extra Makita ones and they have been brilliant. I've never had any issues with Makita batteries like the poster a few posts above, perhaps he was unlucky. I'm still using a lith ion 18v Makita drill for last 6 years with original batteries and still going strong and it gets intensive use every working day. The small 10.8v miniature guns are wonderful, I'm on my second pair of those.

In reply to James Malloch:

Only one choice..............Makita.

They have been in UK for 43 years and Telford plant has been going for 23 years. Support British workers.

Vast majority of pros use them and you can buy tools, spares etc in kits or naked. You get what you pay for, if your going to be using it properly 18V li-on is what you need. Also what tools may you buy in the future one battery choice can power all your tools. Second hand are ok, never had a problem with them just dont get any thing too used.

More expensive makes maybe better engineering wise but are they worth the extra?

Most workies dont have multiple brands of power tools. Only you know how much use and what your going to use your tools for, but research before buying.

Enjoy

In reply to James Malloch:
Pretty sure I've got this one: http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-ddf343rh-14-4v-1-3ah-li-ion-cordless-drill...

Was a Christmas present last year when they were on some sort of offer, so got a 2nd battery with it.

Great so far for most things, although will second Gethin on using a corded drill for heavy duty masonry jobs.

My old Black & Decker was great, but the motor is on it's last legs now - have had it over 10 years for jobbing DIY use, though.

Actually, it might be this one, which is bang on your budget: http://www.diy.com/drills/makita-cordless-18v-li-ion-combi-drill-2-batterie...

In reply to LastBoyScout:
I've been pondering getting a third battery for my 18v makita which is several years old, has been hammered (ha ha) , the batteries still charge as new. I just had a second look at this thread to see if any one had come with anything in budget as my response ( which I didn't bother posting) was not to bother with cordless at £100 and to get a makita sds. However that makita from b and q is a no brainier and is not far off the price of the two batteries, possible less .
Edit : the makita batteries are £50 a piece on Amazon .
Edit 2: OK the batteries on the b and q are only 1.3 amp hour , but even so still a good buy IMHO

In reply to mike123:

Just checked in the garage and mine is the 18v one in the B&Q link I posted.

Although it comes with 1.3Ah batteries, the case has space for 3 high capacity ones - one in the drill and 2 in storage slots.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

I've got one of these it came in a set with an impact driver from trade point.ive been really impressed with it so far.i use it as my clean drill for when I'm working in finished houses and don't want to take my scruffy site tools on the job.the only problem I've found with it is that the batteries are different from my makita lxt 18v lith-ion ones and can't be swapped about.battery life is better than I expected though.

In reply to James Malloch:

What do you need it for? Gritstone? Northumberland sandstone? It makes a difference!