Are the Makita Maktec line of power tools any good?. Superficially they look the
same as premium brand Makita but the finish is rougher and the colour is red
instead of blue. Has anyone had one of these Maktec tools apart and if so, how
good are they mechanically. The price of these tools is about 60% of the regular
Makita price and I can't help wondering if they are an attempt to counter the
flood of cheap ( and usually nasty) Chinese tools coming into NZ without
devaluing the Makita brand. Maybe Maktec is manufactured under contract in
China?. I have a Chinese copy of a Ramset rotary hammer drill made for Dynalink
tools of Australia and it has been reliable so far. Although the finish is rough
the quality is OK where it counts and it came with a set of hammer drill bits, a
case, a spare set of brushes and a complete workshop manual. Total cost?, about
a third of the Metabo/Ramset equivilent. I need a new angle grinder. I could pay
NZ$25 for the XU1 Pradator (no), NZ$68 for the Maktec (maybe), NZ$130 for the
Makita (my old one owes me nothing), or slightly more for the Hitachi. Forget
Peerless, AEG, Metabo etc., they're out of my price range.

I had bad experience with my Red colored Makita drill (both the motor
and battery died in less than a year of light home use). When I tried
to get replacement parts at Woodworker's Supply, the clerk informed me
that the Red Makita tools are throw-aways, and unsupported.

With respect to the standard Blue Makita products, I have nothing but
praise and own three. The added cost is worth the difference!

Harry C.