DeWalt no more..

[Noods]

Last time i purchase DeWalt..
Their customer service is shocking..

Purchased a DW impact driver and drill set-4 weeks in the drill motor packed up.. Still within Screwfix period so got a new set but it took an effort..
Then the chuck went on the new one but this time it was after 4 months.. I’d got the 3 yr warranty took it back to Screwfix and they said they will send it away for repair or replace but due to Covid it could take upto a month..
After 5 weeks they issued a refund as i said i’ve had it with their tools now..

A DW745 Table saw, now 18 months old.. 8 weeks in or so the Arbor was running out.. Eventually got DeWalt to collect it for repair, took a couple of weeks but good repair done.

Same saw 7weeks ago the blade height mechanism failed and there was no ability to raise or lower the blade.

20 times of phoning DW without human reply.. i left optional messages to call me back but nothing..

I wrote twice to DW customer services, no reply at all..

Obv, i respect all the issues with Covid etc ...

Needing to use it eventually i stripped it down to see what was occurring ? the mechanism thread was fine but the alloy casings thread was knackered ( cleaned machine and lubed reg)

I began calling etc to see if i could get the spare part to repair it but no, many more weeks have gone by and no replies etc ..

It still has a years warranty left but without any contact it’s all but useless ..

Noods

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

I've been running DeWalt gear for years as a chippie

Only issue Ive had. Cheapie drill/driver set from Screwfix.
The driver spits bit holders out now after 4 years of abuse.

Never had cause to deal with DeWalt for a repair as nothing really broke

 

[Noods]

I've been running DeWalt gear for years as a chippie

Only issue Ive had. Cheapie drill/driver set from Screwfix.
The driver spits bit holders out now after 4 years of abuse.

Never had cause to deal with DeWalt for a repair as nothing really broke

I must of been unlucky then.. I asked the guys at Screwfix about them and was told since they became Stanley Black n decker owned they’ve noticed a lot more issues with DeWalt failures etc where as before, it was really rare... ?

 

[frank horton]

sorry,
but I only bought Japanese electrical tools up untill I discovered Millwaukee......
I have several D/Walt tools
a couple of Routers....noisy and overheat....should get rid......
" " " 4 inch grinders just noisy and rough from new....they'll die soon.........
Sliding chop saw DW708.... faultless after 20 years....
Pl/thicknesser D27300 .....again faultless......
just luck I guess, their big tools must be made in Europe, not the China with a fancy label....

 

[MCKDAVID]

had a lot of dewalt over the years, frankly never rated it... I know joiners all love them, but I'm not that impressed with it. The older grinders were ok, but the drills I always found lightweight. The 18V circular saw, would just about cope with thin stuff, but show it anything half decent, and it ran away and hid in the corner... The only dewalt kit I still rate and kept is a 24V SDS hammer drill, that's fine, light, but powerful.
Had Makita for donkeys, but changed over and been running milwaukee for the last couple of years, and to date, been fine...

 

[Robotstar5]

You can probably get spares from Miles Tool & Machinery Centre but shouldn't need to if it's under warranty.

They do have good parts diagrams so you can identify the part you need in future communications.

There seems to be 3 types of DW745, this is type 1 but the others are listed if that's not your model.

 

[cocker]

The dw drills I've got have stood up well to the abuse I've given them . One is at least 20 year old still good but smells like the magic smoke will soon kill it .
I have heard that some of the good brands have rebadged cheep stuff in the likes of b&q/screwfix/toolstation

 

[pedrobedro]

When I worked at the cardboard box factory we used to make boxes for De Walt, they went to the same factory as the boxes we made for Black and Decker.

 

[hotponyshoes]

I know dewalt are having massive issues with warranty and parts avability at the moment but none of the others seem to be any better so I wouldn't bother jumping ship unless you can find a British made ship to jump onto.

Over the past year I have had 2-3 month waits for warranty repairs/replacements and parts from bosch, metabo, dewalt and ridgid. And that's just for cordless hand tools.

I also know other lads who have been messed around / let down by big retailers like homebase and halfords over warranty issues on all sorts of stuff.

All the excuses have been covid or Brexit.
When it was just my stuff I thought it was just excuses but it's been going on so long and causing so many people problems I think those 2 events might genuinely causing a few problems...

 

[slimjim]

sorry,
but I only bought Japanese electrical tools up untill I discovered Millwaukee......
I have several D/Walt tools
a couple of Routers....noisy and overheat....should get rid......
" " " 4 inch grinders just noisy and rough from new....they'll die soon.........
Sliding chop saw DW708.... faultless after 20 years....
Pl/thicknesser D27300 .....again faultless......
just luck I guess, their big tools must be made in Europe, not the China with a fancy label....

To be fair DeWalt inherited the chopsaw when they bought out Elu, the only change was the yellow paint

 

[Mikes]

When I worked at the cardboard box factory we used to make boxes for De Walt, they went to the same factory as the boxes we made for Black and Decker.

Didn't DeWalt used to be known as the profesional side of Black and Decker? Sad thing is that if you look at the Dewalt equipment that is available in America, it is much better quality and certainly isn't the same as the stuff they sell here.

 

[hotponyshoes]

When I worked at the cardboard box factory we used to make boxes for De Walt, they went to the same factory as the boxes we made for Black and Decker.

Mate of mine works in a seafood factory.
They take in massive cartons of prawns and put them into little plastic trays for most of the major supermarkets.
The only sorting they do is by size and colour.
Assorted size prawns are in the value packs and the most evenly sized and coloured ones are the premium ones.
They range from £1 a pack for asda to £4.50 for M&S!

Having said that, another maye of mine runs a lighting manufacturing factory.
They have automated lines churning out thousands of strip lights etc. that they put into different boxes depending on if they are going to screwfix or homebase etc.
But at the same time they also have a decent sized area with a good few guys making smaller custom batches for high end retailers that can sell for £000's each in the trendy london shops so just because they all come from the same factory doesn't mean a lot.
Look at the tesla gigafactory battery plant.
Panasonic have there own line set up in there just to reduce costs of production.
They then further segment the products they produce. Bosch are one manafacture that buy cells from them and even then they cherry pick the best cells for the industrial tool batteries before sorting again for the professional and diy ranges.

 

[pedrobedro]

know dewalt are having massive issues with warranty and parts availability at the moment but none of the others seem to be any better so I wouldn't bother jumping ship unless you can find a British made ship to jump onto.

Over the past year I have had 2-3 month waits for warranty repairs/replacements and parts from bosch, metabo, dewalt and ridgid. And that's just for cordless hand tools.

I've always liked Metabo and when my 125mm grinder packed up after 8 years I replaced it with a similar one. It lasted 5 months then started spluttering and smoking so I contacted the seller who were closed for Covid reasons and told me they would get back to me. I gave it a few months then after restrictions were lifted I contacted them again. They told me to contact Metabo direct but Metabo wanted me to go through the supplier so I got back to them. They sent me a returns label and the grinder went back to Toolstore the original supplier who then forwarded it to Metabo. 3 weeks later it came back to me repaired with a new armature fitted so I tried it and used it on a small job and it was fine. So the grinder I bought in October 2019 and registered for the extra warranty and it packed up in February 2020 but was not able to get it repaired till September 2020, has had about an hours use since then and has now packed up again with the same problem, popping, sparking and slowing down under load. It has now gone back to Metabo for them to have another go at it and I have bought a 125mm Makita which has been fine so far.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

I've always liked Metabo and when my 125mm grinder packed up after 8 years I replaced it with a similar one. It lasted 5 months then started spluttering and smoking so I contacted the seller who were closed for Covid reasons and told me they would get back to me. I gave it a few months then after restrictions were lifted I contacted them again. They told me to contact Metabo direct but Metabo wanted me to go through the supplier so I got back to them. They sent me a returns label and the grinder went back to Toolstore the original supplier who then forwarded it to Metabo. 3 weeks later it came back to me repaired with a new armature fitted so I tried it and used it on a small job and it was fine. So the grinder I bought in October 2019 and registered for the extra warranty and it packed up in February 2020 but was not able to get it repaired till September 2020, has had about an hours use since then and has now packed up again with the same problem, popping, sparking and slowing down under load. It has now gone back to Metabo for them to have another go at it and I have bought a 125mm Makita which has been fine so far.

Bosch seem to give me best results in grinders

 

[Domdom]

I felt your pain a while back. Once B&D got their teeth into Dewalt the quality went down the tubes. I changed over to Makita which I get from a pal who owns a shop near my brother's place. Any better? Well yes, somewhat, but having the shop owner as a mate does several things for me. Warranty matters are dealt with by replacement which he is authorised by Makita to do, and the tools are trade price in the first place. Win Win.

The fact I now have 3 corded and one cordless grinders, 3 impact guns, an impact screwdriver, a cordless drill and a 9" grinder which are all makita pretty much says it all. If it were not for Makita and friends discounts I would probably buy Milwaukee.

Dewalt are now (IMHO) no better than cheapo far eastern junk, in which case just buy from Lidl or Aldi and save a ton of cash.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

I felt your pain a while back. Once B&D got their teeth into Dewalt the quality went down the tubes. I changed over to Makita which I get from a pal who owns a shop near my brother's place. Any better? Well yes, somewhat, but having the shop owner as a mate does several things for me. Warranty matters are dealt with by replacement which he is authorised by Makita to do, and the tools are trade price in the first place. Win Win.

The fact I now have 3 corded and one cordless grinders, 3 impact guns, an impact screwdriver, a cordless drill and a 9" grinder which are all makita pretty much says it all. If it were not for Makita and friends discounts I would probably buy Milwaukee.

Dewalt are now (IMHO) no better than cheapo far eastern junk, in which case just buy from Lidl or Aldi and save a ton of cash.

Funny that all the Facebook trade pages say the same thing about Makita.

Pick a colour and pay your money. All much the same whatever shirt it wears

 

[Domdom]

Funny that all the Facebook trade pages say the same thing about Makita.

Pick a colour and pay your money. All much the same whatever shirt it wears

Yep, like I said, were it not for pricing and backup I would buy Milwaukee

 

[hermetic]

Having had almost every make under the sun, I now buy most of my power tools at Lidl, all have a 3 year unconditional warranty, they are not silly prices, and if they do quit on you, they are repaired or replaced quickly, and spares are easily available. I have two angle grinders, jigsaw (first one the speed control quit, and they replaced the whole kit, and told me to keep the old one) planer, belt sander, mini grinder set (dremel type, mains) SDS drill, and a small hand drill,and sabre saw that I can remember, theres probably more! The 9" angle grinder soft start quit, and was repaired free including collection and delivery! There are better tools, but they are so much more expensive that one really questions if they are that much better, even milwaukee make a lot of their stuff in China, it is on the drills in very very small print! I have a black and decker mains electric screwdriver from the seventies which refuses to die, but it is from their old industrial range, and a 5" angle grinder likewise which came out of a skip needing new brushes! You used to get what you paid for, now you just pay more for what you think is a better tool!
Phil

 

[Domdom]

There are better tools, but they are so much more expensive that one really questions if they are that much better, even milwaukee make a lot of their stuff in China, it is on the drills in very very small print!

well, whilst I don’t disagree, there is a world of difference between Designed in China and Made in China. If something is designed and specified in the UK or USA etc, and then made to that specification in China it will likely be vastly better than designed (cloned) in China, depending of course on the production being quality controlled properly.
Just look at the iPhone As an example.
Snap On are also prone to this. Although I do think their stuff has always been unnecessarily expensive. Sexy looking though

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

I must of been unlucky then.. I asked the guys at Screwfix about them and was told since they became Stanley Black n decker owned they’ve noticed a lot more issues with DeWalt failures etc where as before, it was really rare... ?

I buy my gear from FFX as a rule.
Some of what SF sell are made cheaper so the price looks more appealing