Porter Cable 18 Volt Drill/Driver & Impact Driver Kit (Refurbished) $97 + Free shipping (expired)

Couple of things to note....

I have had the kit for a year and change.

The drill chuck is not very good, have to really tighten it up to clamp the bit.

Batteries are sometimes dead on arrival, so make sure to charge and run them down to make sure they have a good charge. They are pretty good about sending a good one (new) if you send them a note you got a bad one.

Otherwise great bang for the buck especially with the two batteries, good base to build the power tool collection.

I am waiting for the oscillation 18V tool to go on some kind of deal so i can use the batteries with it.

Quote from JMUFly : Hmm... this or hold out for brushless?

You'll pay significantly more for brushless. It really depends on how much you'll be using them, if you're using them a whole lot, go with brushless if you have the $$$. For the average homeowner/handyman this is a great set and more than adequate.
I have these with Ni-Cd batteries and I love them. An impact driver is one tool every handyman should have and this model gets the job done nicely for me.

Quote from kls629 : Amazon sells the product with NiCad batteries not Lithium

They sell many with lithium.

Here is just one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/...d_i=507846

i'm not sure why this is FP when there was a Craftsman deal on here a couple of weeks ago (dead now, but will come alive again the week of Feb 3 for Craftsman Club week) for the same type of combo, but brand new and with a lithium ion battery for $83 + tax

maybe Porter Cable is worth paying an extra $16 for a refurbished combo? who knows...maybe others can chime in

Quote from Corwin76 : An impact driver is one tool every handyman should have and this model gets the job done nicely for me.

^ THAT

impact drivers are required for sistering joists which i had to do due to some termite damage. i've seen people attempt this with regular drills...it's comical.

these drivers get the job done extremely well

Quote from validis : Just bought it, do you ever buy the squaretrade warranty for things like this, I am new to the US, so I am not sure if the warranties they offer are worth it?

95% of the time, extended warranties are not worth buying.

Quote from Corwin76 : You'll pay significantly more for brushless. It really depends on how much you'll be using them, if you're using them a whole lot, go with brushless if you have the $$$. For the average homeowner/handyman this is a great set and more than adequate. I have these with Ni-Cd batteries and I love them. An impact driver is one tool every handyman should have and this model gets the job done nicely for me.

I've had my Panasonic drill for over 8 years now, so I am tempted to shell out 4x this for their brushless combo. I know it is crazy, but I love this drill, and I am a pretty heavy user (and will likely build an addition to our house soon).

Quote from JMUFly : I've had my Panasonic drill for over 8 years now, so I am tempted to shell out 4x this for their brushless combo. I know it is crazy, but I love this drill, and I am a pretty heavy user (and will likely build an addition to our house soon).

I've heard good things about the Panasonic line and it sure sounds like you have a good excuse for an upgrade too.

I was tempted to get a Makita brushless combo set when they had some good deals over the holidays, but in the end I didn't have a good justification....methinks I need to build on an addition.

I have this impact drill. One of the reasons I got it was because of the high torque rating, I expected it to pull lug nuts off the car like all the other brands out there. There are plenty of video's and TV shows where impact drills do lugs and such. This drill CANNOT pull lugs nuts/bolts off the car! I emailed them probably twice and I get no response. I got an awesome deal at the time and it was new too, it good for the price I paid but I wanted better! I expect better from a brand like Porter Cable!!

decent deal. but i'm saving for the rigid combo at home depot. life warranty on everything, even the batteries. dead batteries are gonna kill you!

Seems like this model performs decently against the competition, but for battery life. Not a bad deal

http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/b...omparison/

Not sure if there is a big difference between the PCL180CD listed in the deal, and the PCL180CDK that was tested, though... It appears to be the same photo though.

Quote from validis : Just bought it, do you ever buy the squaretrade warranty for things like this, I am new to the US, so I am not sure if the warranties they offer are worth it?

use an AMEX or Mastercard (and select Visa cards as well) that provide you with double the manufacturer's warranty (up to 1 extra year)

Quote from validis : When do you need the impact driver / what do you use it for? I use the drill for all my screwing etc :-)

here are some examples of how i've used my Craftsman Impact Driver so far since ownership:

1) sistered 4 joists in basement - not the crap they have in the hardware store today...these were real actual 2 x 4's from the 1950's
2) re-built dividing wall between garage and basement (new studs and bottom frame pressure plate)
3) hung base and wall cabinets, securing them with extra long screws into studs
4) new subfloor under kitchen - since i was laying a thicker piece of plywood on top i needed the impact driver's extra power to screw the boards into the subfloor. the regular drill just can't do this very well

and just other misc things i've built with thicker wood where the drill just didn't provide enough power. i use my regular drill for things that i would use a hand tool screw driver. example - pre-packaged furniture sets, ping-pong tables, door hinges, repair/maintenance on light vehicle components such as the air filter box or anything behind the interior vehicle door panels, etc). anything where i wouldn't/couldn't use a hand tool i will use the impact driver

All Gone! OOS

Quote from eric93se : I have this impact drill. One of the reasons I got it was because of the high torque rating, I expected it to pull lug nuts off the car like all the other brands out there. There are plenty of video's and TV shows where impact drills do lugs and such. This drill CANNOT pull lugs nuts/bolts off the car! I emailed them probably twice and I get no response. I got an awesome deal at the time and it was new too, it good for the price I paid but I wanted better! I expect better from a brand like Porter Cable!!

1600in/lbs =133ft/lbs max/"peak". Were you watching videos of impact DRIVERS or impact WRENCHES? If a lugnut is properly torqued to 100ft/lbs (this changes on the type of vehicle), after some driving I wouldn't expect less than 200ft/lbs to break it free. Cordless impact WRENCHES are upwards of 400+ ft/lbs of torque.

I don't know of an impact driver that I would expect to be able to remove properly torqued lugnuts, even a minute after they were installed. If you hammer on a lugnut for a minute one may come loose but the last one will be the toughest.

I haven't had much luck using 18V impact drivers on many screws. It is difficult to find a strong screw that won't break from the torque of the 18V impacts. 12V seems find, or an 18V drill/driver. Larger bolts/screws work fine.