Best drill for the money?????

[LONGHAIR]

For the money, it is really hard to beat Makita Lithium Ion drills and drivers.
I work in a commercial cabinet shop and use mine constantly. I'm a bit like SOM, I have several.
For the average guy, the "white" (lower amperage) 18volt units are great. They have the same motors, body castings, and chargers an the higher end models. They just have a smaller battery. It has the same amount of power, they just don't last run as long as the bigger ones. They last plenty long though, plus the charger only takes 15 minutes to get them going again.

As a side note, you can usually get the drill and impact driver as a set for around $200, sometimes less. If you are driving screws, not just drilling, an impact driver is a life saver. They work like a miniature version of an "impact gun" for removing bolts/nuts, not pounding like a hammer drill. They not only drive screws with less torque feed-back to your hand, they do it with far less battery drain than driving screws with a drill.

I drive hundreds of screws in a day's time and these are the ones I use. They are lightweight, tough, powerful, and stand up to a commercial environment...even though they are not designed for that.

I have had the older (higher amp version) in the complete kit form, since they were first introduced nearly 5 years ago. The original batteries are still going strong. In the last year or so, I have added the lower amp drill and driver pair to the collection. As I said before they are great.

SOM, I have you beat in the addiction though
Makita 18v blue Hammerdrill
Makita 18v blue impact
Makita 18v white drill
Makita 18v white impact
Bosch pocket driver 12v
Bosch Impactor 12v
Bosch drill 12v
Bosch I-driver

With the exception of the I driver and the hammerdrill, I use them all every day. Each has a specific bit and therefore function, but that is more than over-board for the average guy.

Sorry, kinda long, but I hope it helps.