This is my second Makita 3/8 12 volt. The first is over 3 years old and still going strong, while being used professionaly on a daily basis. It is extremely powerful, rugged, lightweight, and very well ballanced and the dedicated drill/drive switch is a new and very useful touch. In comparison to My friends Dewalts (even the more expensive XRP) the Makita is MUCH more reliable. His Dewalts have seen numorous returns and repairs, albiet with heavy use.(no moreso than I put my Makitas through, though!) My next purchace is going to be a right angle model of the same. Kudos to Makita. I highly reccomend them.

the only reason I hesitate giving this a 5 star is because the batteries don't last forever. But I've had this for the last 6 years or so, and I love it. I only use it occasionally for light work around the house - I imagine if I was constantly remodeling my house, then I'd need something with a touch more power or battery life. I am certainly keeping this until it dies, and don't expect to replace it any time soon (I'm just visiting this page to say I own it and like it, so I can get recommendations in hardware). The version I bought came with 2 batteries.

I've had this tool for five years now.
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br /Everything still works like new, though I'm wondering if the batteries might be loosing their charge a little quicker... probably not, I'm just using them more.
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br /Anyhow, I just purchased the 14.4v set to compliment this old tool so my staff doesn't have to fight over the one Makita.
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br /As a professional contractor, I've used it bore 1" holes through studs to run electrical, drive deck screws, and even to assemble corporate cube-land (where you don't want to be rounding out Phillips screws!
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br /Either I've been real lucky with Makita's products, or the just make quality stuff - you judge.

As a cabinet maker I used this drill every day. This is a very powerfull 12 volt drill and the battery life is amazing. the flashlight is very powerfull and comes andy when needed. I highly recommend this product.

My old Makita 9.6 volt unit died and I wanted another 12 volt model for light duty use in a shop for cabinet/furniture making, and general use. Unit qualtiy is equal or better than my other Makita 12 volt models and I may buy another.

I purchased this about 2 years ago, and it is invaluable to me.. They have a much nicer, stronger, lighter model out, but this one has done a great job for me, and I use it almost every day,

I bought mine a number of years ago and am on my third set of batteries. Used and abused on a nearly daily basis. This drill has a great power to weight ratio and is a smooth operator that never lets me down. I have some heavier DeWalt (14.4V and 18V) drills. It's the smaller Makita I keep coming back too. You just can't go wrong here.

When I hired on with an elite interior trim company some years back, I asked what was the first tool I should buy. My foreman told me to get a cordless drill, because all the drills on the crew were so busy that my chances of borrowing one were next to nothing. As a framer I had seen Makita drills keep going thru years of hideous abuse (the 9.6 types are incredibly robust). Anyway I went with a Makita 12 volt. I'll stick with Makita, but I've tried most others and like Panasonic and Millwaukee as well.