Whenever I am talking with someone that has decided to take on their first large project the eventual question of what type of saw or drill should I purchase comes up. Most of the time this person has never worked with tools of a professional quality and they want to buy something that will last them a lifetime.
Unfortunately all tools will break and whether you can fix them or not will depend on the manufacturer’s support and parts availability and also what goes wrong with them. This means even if you purchase a high quality tool with a lifetime warranty the limitations on that warranty might leave you with a broken tool.
The first thing you should do when deciding what type of tool you are going to purchase is define how long you expect to use it and whether you can purchase something throw away vs something that is serviceable.
Another thing to consider is will this tool be your primary tool or a backup tool in case your better tool breaks. If you will be going into the profession then you should always have a backup tool. Normally your backup tool is your first tool you purchase and then your primary tool replaces it once you earn enough to buy a better one.
If you seldom have the need for the tool then you should really consider purchasing a used or remanufactured tool first.
How To Find Remanufactured Tools
All most all larger manufacturers have a remanufactured line of tools. Normally they are not advertised because they would take away from new product sales. Often they are offered to customers that send tools in for repair that are beyond repairing. If you are in that situation they normally discount the remanufactured tool 50% or more depending on its availability.
Remanufactured tools do come with a warranty but they might have a shorter term warranty so you should ask before you buy.
A good place to find a remanufactured tool is to look online at the manufacturer’s website for a local certified repair center. If you have one local you can visit the store and check out the tool before you purchase it. Often these tools are sent to the dealer from the manufacturer that services them in house to offer to their clients. This is different than a Used Tool that a local repair center may have that they repaired themselves.
Other places to look for remanufactured tools is large online merchants. When purchasing a remanufactured tool online you want to make sure that it was not a tool that was repaired by an individual without skill and just offered as remanufactured. You want to purchase a tool that has gone through the manufacturer’s quality control system.
What Price Will You Pay For A Remanufactured Tool vs New?
Remanufactured tools are always less than new but how much less depends on the availability of the tool. For instance a tool manufacturer will normally have a waiting list for remanufactured new model tools. Getting on that list can require a down payment and may not result in you getting one in a timely manner.
The average price discount is 20% to 40% off retail and this still could be more than you would pay for a new model if you have a business account because nothing in this world is sold at retail list price there are always discounts. That is something you should remember that most large companies will have business accounts for larger businesses and even single contractors can sign up but your discount won’t be as large.
Final Note
Always buy Manufacturer Remanufactured Tools for the best experience. Used Tools may offer a good quality at a good price but you should never consider a tool repaired by an individual that is not certified as a remanufactured tool.
Always check the warranty on the remanufactured tool as it may drop from lifetime to 90 days and buying new might be better in the long run if you expect your tool will see lots of use.
Only buy remanufactured products that are from premium manufacturers. If a generic clone company is offering repaired tools they often won’t have the same level of support years down the line.
Other options include buying Used, Open Box Returns and a discount tool. All of these options should be considered and if the tool won’t see much use they may be a better overall deal.