Brushed VS Brushless Makita Impact - Worth 2x the price?

[wau5]

Sold my old makita impactdriver for a good price and now looking to buy a new one,
I was originally looking at the DTD154z model ,, costs about £115 from other place.
http://www.powertoolworld.co.uk/mak...on-brushless-cordless-impact-driver-body-only

but than I found I can buy regular DTD152z for just some £55

http://www.powertoolworld.co.uk/makita-dtd152z-lxt-18v-li-ion-cordless-impact-driver-body-only

seems like a hell a lot of difference for basically the same tool but brushless version + 2cm shorter body+ 3 mode power selector.
I previously had a brushless makita impact which I sold and I liked it a lot but I haven't had a brushed makita one so have nothing to compare agaisnt really..
Impact driver is my no1 used tool right after sander so wanted to buy a good one, however not really sure if the brushless is worth 2x the price?

 

[big-all]

in a word you are comparing very new with quite old
one will be over priced to very overpriced as its a new toy
the other will be reasonably priced to good special prices
think off phones/tvs laptops games consoles and any other updated "toy"

 

[Deleted member 174758]

For trade use a brushless makes a lot of sense - simply because you get 40% lomnger run time which may make the difference between the need to swap batteries, or not, before the end of day. Similarly the 3-speed makes a considerable difference to useability - a single speed impact can drive big screws into construction timber and trying to drive #6 stainless steel screws into plywood doors to hold kick plates would be a futile exercise - with a 3-speedgun that is indeed possiblle. For those reasons the 3-speed brushless is certainly worth the extra dosh to a professional woodworker

 

[wau5]

Well I ended up buying the Dtd154z ( something around £98 from angliatoolcentre after coupon/quidco cashback) , and here's my review after using it for a couple of hours today ( I previously had a dtd129z - another top-end makita brushless model)

-It's a very very clear improvement over the dtd129 , so would be Miles better than the brushed cheap one.
-super super super lightweight and very tiny compared to everything on market, yet it has super good feel to it and just about the right weight to it.
-it's considerably faster over the dtd129 at driving screws, and somehow it drives them much smoother with better power delivery at the right moment.
-4 power settings, and I can actually drive in very small screws with this without stripping heads or destroying the workpiece as you usually get with impacts due to their high power
-Tried on a plasterboard as well, and It drives in the screws in also very nice and just to the right depth, previously I had to use a regular combi drill to do plasterboard screws because they would get burried too deep or mess up plasterboard with impact driver.
-Very nice flashlight on it, lights up whole room (not kidding...)

So yeah kinda Not regretting that I spent a bit extra and got this one.
Have to rate it so far 9.5/10 , have to deduct half a point only because it says on it that it's made in china.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Well my 5 year old BTD145 outpaces colleagues DTD129s, but only just. It'll get replaced, but only when I finally kill it.....

I'd get used to the "Made in PRC" on Hitachi ad Makita tools - neither seem to produce very much in Japan these days other than the top of the range items (at least for stuff reaching the UK market). Nothing wrong with the Chinese-made Makita stuff I've had to date, although the Maktec stuff like the MLS100 chop saw I had a few years back was definitely a lower quality product. The "T"-mode on a lot of multi-speed Makita impacts is another useful feature if you drive many self-tappers or drywall screws (into metal lath) because it reduces the number of screws you snap. BTW if you think the DTD147 is small take a look at the DTD170. That really is tiny and very powerful.

 

[big-all]

it is completely irrelevant where something is made
with the same material the same training and the same quality control they are the same