Einhell sanders especially orbital oss ones are very good for the price they work really well with good extraction. everything else is junk. in my humble of course.

The guys in my particular workshop, who’re fitting dual controls in driving school cars, all use Makita. I use a corded heat gun all day, which means dragging thirty feet of cable around while I’m putting the decals on, which is not only a pain, but a hazard, but I’ve noticed that Makita do a cordless one, which uses the same batteries as a Makita cordless vacuum cleaner we also have, so I’m getting one with a battery, meaning I can swap with the other one if necessary. A win all round really.
I’ve seen just how well the drills cope, even the small ones, which gives me plenty of confidence in the quality, and if I was going to get a decent quality drill to replace the cheap Aldi ones I’ve got, it would be Makita, no question.

A weird problem I had with 3 Makitas I tried in a row (buying then returning them for the same problem) was radial runout.

Not terrible but clearly visible with any size bit. I ended up with the impression their strong point was toughness rather than accuracy.

I bought a DeWalt instead and it was nicely true.

in the spirit of sods law, my bosch impact just quietly died 🙁

We use Einhell at the factory as it had an excellent 12v range. However that’s been superseded by heavier/bulkier 18v stuff now so well need to find someone else if/when these die. That’s said they’re not showing signs of that just yet.

I have a little Bosch 10.8/12v drill that’s excellent. You can swap the fittings for offset, right angle etc.

Really good.
Directly comparing it side by side with my Einhell it’s a completely different tool in terms of build quality and power.
Leagues ahead.

Sadly my old Makita batteries seem to have gone to sleep. They’re little Pa12 12v NMiH (yes, that old). It looks like you can get ‘aftermarket’ shite ones. Does anyone know of a source for originals and/or have any experience of the copies please?

You used to be able to get new cells put in the existing casing. No idea if anyone is still doing that as they are a little dated now.

Hmmm, I was pretty set on Einhell as I like the range but having second thoughts now.
Was going to start with this one and build up from there

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Einhell-Power-X-Change-TE-CD-18V-Li-i-BL-2-x-2-0Ah-Brushless-Combi-Drill/p/207752

that Makita for 150 might be the way to go.

.

Hmmm, I was pretty set on Einhell as I like the range but having second thoughts now.
Was going to start with this one and build up from there

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Einhell-Power-X-Change-TE-CD-18V-Li-i-BL-2-x-2-0Ah-Brushless-Combi-Drill/p/207752

that Makita for 150 might be the way to go.

I would suggest so yes. That Einhell has x 2 2amp hour batteries, the Makita comes with x2 5ah. Waaay more grunt and just better quality tools.
Makita have a fantastic range and the bare tools are great value usually.
I wouldn’t personally buy any power tool and generally nothing at all if I can help it from the big diy sheds.
Built and priced for a market.

My heart always sinks when I have to resort to visiting a DIY shed 😂