Reconditioned Tools

[RichZ]

Has anyone every bought any factory reconditioned tools? I got this website from another forum reconditionedsales.com and they sell factory reconditioned Hitachi power tools. I have a Hitachi 18 volt cordless drill, and really like it. This website is the authorized Hitachi reconditioning sales site, and they say you get the new warranty with the tool, but you save over 50%. Looks like a great deal...or is it?

Thanks for any opinions!!!

[egon]

I have a few reconditioned Dewalt tools that have seen serious duty so far. I'm happy with them and would not hesitate to buy another one. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Bird]

No experience with the kind of tools you're talking about, but we have a reconditioned KitchenAid mixer and a reconditioned Mantis tiller. They were considerably cheaper to buy. Instead of a one year warranty on the mixer, it came with a 6 month warranty. I think the Mantis warranty is the same on reconditioned as new.

Anyway, I wouldn't hesitate to buy the reconditioned tools if they were cheaper.

[JazzDad]

My questions are: where do they get all these tools to "recondition"? Are so many coming off the assembly line defective, that there is an entire industry devoted to reconditioning manufactured goods? Where's Paul Harvey when you need the rest of the story?

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Those tools are the ones that come back under warranty replacement. The defect could be electrical or maybe a defective chuck on a drill. They have been "benched" and whatever was wrong has been fixed or in the case of a bad chuck, replaced. You would be surprised at how many chucks go down from galded threads, and it's usually a right-off-the-bat thing. The rebuilt tool thing is an OK way to go in my opinion. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] You won't be getting something with 10,00 hours on it because the warranty would have expired or a tool like that would have been stripped of useable parts at the warranty station and the carcass crap-canned. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

[Bird]

I said no experience with that kind of tools, when maybe I should have said no "current" experience. Many years ago, I bought a reconditioned Black & Decker electric half inch impact wrench and the friend I later traded it to mentioned recently that he still has it.

And yes, I've sometimes wondered myself how they can get so many items to recondition.

I figured when I decided to buy a reconditioned Mantis tiller that they would have plenty on hand simply because they don't just offer a one year warranty; it's one year to return it for any reason or no reason so there's bound to be some people who will get one, use it for the current job and return it, right? Well, when I called and placed the order, they said they didn't have one so I had to wait a few weeks to get it. So maybe they don't have many returned after all.

[kellenw]

I have purchased reconditioned drills, computer motherboards, hard drives, memory, printers, copiers, gps units, wireless routers, directv boxes and more. I've had a very good experience overall.

[Pat]

My compound slide miter saw is a recon DeWalt. Saved a bundle. I can easily see the initial problem as there are tooth marks where the original blade hit the aluminum casting when it did not stop when pulled down, a bad "stop" adjustment. I have been using it for a few years now and just love it. It performs perfectly.

If Joe buys a tool and SWMBO throws a fit and the tool is returned it is not resold as new. Recon tools are repaired (if needed) and then tested. New tools are typically not tested (or not tested much) and little MFG defects get them returned where they get made like new only better and then resold as recon. Not all recon tools are created equal. Some recon tools come with full fact warranty.

In general, when dealing with a reputable supplier, I would opt for the recon tool to save substantial $, especially with a "new" warranty.

Rarely are recon tools very worn. I have even bought a recon Robot Vacuum which malfunctioned and the MFG swapped me a new one for it and didn't want the recon returned. They told me to strip the usable parts like brushes, filters and such to use as spares and discard the rest.

I am definitely predisposed in favor of recon tools from reputable sources with good warranty.

Pat