For a budget of £100ish I need a cordless drill with 2 batteries (or a drill where a spare is cheap and easy to get).
It needs to take a 10 mm bit. Any recommendations? They all look the same to me.

After wasting money on umpteen drills in the past my next one will have Makita written on it. Think they do a double battery one 14v one for about £80.

I bought a Makita a few months ago from Screwfix, like this:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-8281dwpe-14-4v-1-3ah-ni-cd-cordless-combi-drill/39849

Very good and has a hammer setting – more powerful than my Bosch 14v too.

EDIT – duplicate post!

I’ve got a Makita and some AEGs. Both are good. Do you need two batteries or is that based on experience of an older drill? My L-Ion Makita lasts for several days of moderate use and only takes a tea-break to charge. Batteries generally cost the same as the body so you are down-speccing quite a lot if you get two batteries in same budget.

Stretch your budget and buy this: http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-bhp453rfx-18v-3-0ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/50393, you won’t regret it 🙂

…or this is a nice bit of kit http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gsb-14-4-2-li-14-4v-1-3ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/25293# and fits your spec

Good deal on Makita drill at B&Q If you get a retired person to buy it on a Wednesday I think you get more discount!

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/drilling-screwdriving/drilling/cordless/Makita-8391DWPE-18V-Combi-Drill-2-Batteries-10798552

Personally I would avoid those older NiCad Makitas. I had one and they are very nice drills but the new LIon ones are much better. Lighter, last longer, charge quicker, more powerful, the light is handy too.

EDIT beaten to it by Nick above. Nicad = last generation technology. Li ion is where it’s at.

Think about how you’re using it. I got a set of two Makita drill/drivers. They’re nicad but for me that’s fine. The advantage is that I can have one with a drill bit in for drilling and the second with a driver bit for screwing. That way I don’t have to keep changing the bit and it’s dead quick to drill a hole then fit a screw into it.

Makita all the way, but make sure you get bigger batteries – a lot of the offers are for 1.3ah, not a lot of use!

Makitas are v.good, we use Bosch professional at work (the ones with a blue case) and they are v.good to.
I like the idea of Ryobi’s stuff where the same battery fits everything but not sure how good there reliability/longevity is.

Green Bosch has proved pretty terrible for me lately- drill replaced under warranty, 4 batteries and 2 chargers also replaced on warranty- mad.

Have been very happy with the Worx stuff I have. Batteries on my drill are pretty much borked now, but that’s over 5 years of heavy use.
Very good kit for the money.

Blue Bosch, two Li-ion batteries, £99.99 http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-gsb-14-4-2-li-14-4v-1-3ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/25293
I’ve got one, it’s lovely.

i’ve got a Li-Ion Bosch, got it in the sale at B&Q last January

http://www.itslondon.co.uk/pd_MAKBHP343RH_BHP343RH_Makita14.4vLithium-ionHammerDrill%5BfSlash%5DDriver.htm

Only 1.5Ah battery but better than the other Makita’s up there. You won’t find many situations where you need more that 14.4v, and your arm will thank you for it if you have to drill overhead anytime.

DeWalt one from B&Q last summer with 2 batteries works well for me.

DeWalt are made by Black and Decker, Makita FTW!

Makita are good but Hitachi are prefered by tradesman as they last much longer

They also have them on offer at Screwfix

Makita are good but Hitachi are prefered by tradesman as they last much longer

Strange, I’m a carpenter and much prefer Makita. My mate has a Hitachi impact driver and its a nasty thing.

Makita..

Hey,

I used to use the 18v Makita kit and never had any issues. I know use the new 10.8v drill/driver and impact driver. Both blinding!!!

B&Q sell a dewalt 18v with two 1.3Ah batteries and you can get similar deals on same spec makitas, both will be ok for general use, my dewalt has lasted over a year now of serious use but it doesn’t compare to the Panasonic 14.4 v which is lighter more powerful and lasts longer between charges but it was about £180 with two 3.1Ah batteries.

Hitachi are dung!

Definitely go for Makita and if you can go for 18v Li ion. It should last you a lifetime and charge time is only 22 minutes…

rather than plump for the 350 quid bosch for work i bought a 100 quid hitachi takes a 13mm bit great for drilling and light screwing.. screwing is the weakness putting floorboard ing down today (22mm) and did about 30 screws before battery died and doesnt just have the torque to pull up 2 inch screws as snug as i would like
otherwise 3 yrs old dependable rugged ( fell out of van when door opened going round a motorway exit.. ouch..)

just been reading this thread as i’m looking for a cordless one as well for occasional DIY.

If its just being used now and again am i better off getting a Li-ion package with a maybe not so good drill, or a good drill like a makita but with ni-cads?

Just thinking if its not used for a few weeks how the ni cads will hold the charge, and if i’m only using it occasionally will the ni-cad batteries end up failing quicker, or suffering from memory effect?

I like the idea of Ryobi’s stuff where the same battery fits everything but not sure how good there reliability/longevity is.

Got a couple of these,the batteries have been pretty poor, two have packed in in under two years – one being duff from the outset

Sorry for slight thread hijack. Also currently in the market for a decent drill, can anyone tell me if the suggested ones above have a spirit level built in? Quite like the idea of that as a feature given that most stuff I drill seems to go in at an angle probably a good idea!! Like the look of the makita ones could just stick a small level on the side though as they don’t come with that inbuilt. Looks like there are a few good deals on eBay if you buy the base unit battery and charger separately, any other deals around people know of?

bump for the daytime crew