Here is another review by John Bushong - "This happens to be my second Hitachi 12v drill and my fifth cordless drill overall. Needless to say I am sold on the quality of this drill. It has just the right size and is powerful enough for most projects it is value priced and will provide several years of reliable service".
John Bushong continues - "My batteries eventually gave out on my previous drill; otherwise it is still 100% serviceable. Which brings me to a pet peeve; Hitachi and all other cordless tool manufactures please listen up! It is more expensive to replace or rebuild the two battery packs than it is to buy the drill with it's two battery packs, charger, flashlight, bits, and the case! Why is that? Why be green and recycle when manufactures price this way? It just does not make sense if you(manufactures) are even in the least bit environmentally responsible to support this type of pricing. This is just another fine example of the throw it away and buy new, even when the old product is fully serviceable, mentality endorsed by most manufacturers".