Festool T15+3 Review

[jmbfestool]

just got the t15+3 today , i really like the drill , I've been using the makita 18v litheon ion lxt range ,I've had 3 in a year and a half, first one replaced under 1 year guarantee , i had to buy the second (bare tool) all them 3rd gear went !!!! the festool is much small than the numb makita , and its more powerfull , not going off the nm's quoted , but it is, and I'm sure it'll be like the rest of my festool gear and last longer than anything else I've used
p.s this is the first time I've ever done one of these post ,so if anythings wrong i apologise

yeah all my other festool been great!!!!! this drill is brilliant in size and power but it is not reliable normal use! like screwing 40 60 100mm screws and drilling holes like of average 20mm it wont last more than 2 months.

 

[pierreblonde]

hi jmbfestool
I'm just hoping you've been really really unlucky :'( (sorry), i been using it with a 50mm hole saw and its great
its only used to drill with i never put screws in with drill like this now , i always use a impacted screw drive its the makita 18v and its brilliant
couldn't go back to using a normal drill

 

[jmbfestool]

hi jmbfestool
I'm just hoping you've been really really unlucky :'( (sorry), i been using it with a 50mm hole saw and its great
its only used to drill with i never put screws in with drill like this now , i always use a impacted screw drive its the makita 18v and its brilliant
couldn't go back to using a normal drill

Just i think you should give it some good use so if it is goin 2 stop working it will do it sooner than later. I do like the makita impact driver its small hand has some impact to. Just it is harsh for using in kitchen fitting. I like the Panasonic impact drill which you can turn the power down for use on smaller screws so good for kitchen fitting.

I am still waiting to see what is happening with the festool drill so let everyone know what festool have done. I wont be happy if its another repair to be honest. My opinion a new drill but really just give my money back and ill get the drill when they have become more reliable.

 

[nickao]

Sounds like you got some lemons, it happens.

 

[jmbfestool]

I'm sorry you can't get this product to work for you, maybe it's time to call it quits on this drill and go with another brand.

And it's not good practice to start a new thread for problems with the same tool over and over again.

Yeah you say that but festool or whatever wont give me my money back!!!!!!!! all im gettin is repairs or a new one! And it takes a week everytime!

Im waiting to see what my retailer says to me this week and depending what he is goin to do im goin demand my money back!

I never used a thread before and i know from what im like i just kinda skip alot of comments when the thread is really large so just thought to my self keep it short lol! sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[nickao]

I get your frustration. What I do not understand is why the people you initially purchased from just do not give you your money back.

Say what you want about HD and the big box stores, but I have never had an issue taking stuff that broke so soon and a couple of  times for that matter, back to them for a refund.

Anyone I purchased Festools from seems to be very accommodating even after the 30 days we get here in the USA.

Maybe you should consider a different retailer. To me the retailer should take this issue out of Festools hands already, they probably should have a while ago. Will you ever go back to that retailer at this point?

 

[jmbfestool]

I get your frustration. What I do not understand is why the people you initially purchased from just do not give you your money back.

Say what you want about HD and the big box stores, but I have never had an issue taking stuff that broke so soon and a couple of  times for that matter, back to them for a refund.

Anyone I purchased Festools from seems to be very accommodating even after the 30 days we get here in the USA.

Maybe you should consider a different retailer. To me the retailer should take this issue out of Festools hands already, they probably should have a while ago. Will you ever go back to that retailer at this point?

Well it will all depend on like you said the retailer should take action. So if he  does what i want so gives me my money back then yes I will carry one goin to the retailer.
If he does not then no I dont think I will be returning to the retailer but I will also let people know about the retailer and the experience I have had.
I tell people if i have had good experience and if tools are good but I also tell people if its all bad maybe more so when its bad because im fustrated like you said.
Just that the retailer is close to me and I dont really have anyother retailers close to me who sell festool.

Like I said many of times tho I do like the feel of the drill I love how small the drill is and most of all how much power the drill has for its size and the extra addons to the drill has.
I just wish the drill just kept on working. I dont know what goes wrong but its a computer fault i think or something like that.

It has changed the way i think about festool because with my other festool products I though amazing and i though i will just always buy festool products now.
Now i think you pay more money than you do with other tools but get worse service if it is faulty than you do with your cheaper products. So now if I wanna buy a festool product
I think is the tool worth the money for what it does or is it just the festool name just making it more expensive wish then it aint worth it because the name doesnt give you good service.
Remeber even tho the retailer maybe not be helping my problems festool did send me TWICE a repaired drill in a worse condiction I sent it to them.

ALSO

I get the feeling

> Im the only person who has the drill
> Im the only person who actually really uses the drill alot
> Im the only really unfortunate person to be given TWO faulty drills and TWO bad repairs

because no one yet has said anything about any problems with the drill

 

[jmbfestool]

I got my drill back to day! I got my mum to pick it up she had a look at the drill but she doesnt really have the eye for things so missed the problems. When I got back from work to night I noticed the fallowing

1. adjustable torque settin on the back was stiff not as stiff as the other time it came back from repair but its stiff enough to wear away the numbers.
    I pushed the swith hard down and it clicked and now it adjusts fine! Now i should not of had to do that when coming back from 3rd repair.

2. I noticed a small platic piece I first thought it was of the batterie. I then realised it was of the inside tray and notice it was broken all round the edge.
    I then looked on out side of the festool box and noticed one corner has taken a hard hit and that problems why the inside tray had been smashed.

Taking the drill back first thing tomoro

Worst service I have every had and it aint improving!

 

[Frank-Jan]

I consider myself lucky that the service department from festool Netherlands has things better under control than their UK counterparts. I have send in a few items under the 3 year warranty program (my ts55, my ebq1010, the heavy duty ripfence of my CS70 and recently my kapex), in my case the problems were all minor, but I send them in because they were still in waranty; the festool dealers in Holland have special systainers, which are used to send the tools to the service department, so the original ones are never damaged. (they won't send them in, nor the attachments for the tool that aren't needed for the repair, you keep them). Festool charges the dealers for the transportation cost, but it's not much, and only 1 of my 3 dealers charged them through to me. (I think it was 4 ? to send my kapex back, they packed it in a very big box, filled with protection material; a year earlier I heard they charged my other dealer 16.50 to send the little router back, but that dealer ate the cost as service)

I think it takes some serious throwing around to break edges of systainers, and it won't do the tool inside any good either.

Did the festool rep that aranged you the new drill earlier give you his business card? It might be a good idea to contact him again (or better yet, have your dealer do it); since that rep knows of your previous experience.

I just read  the after-sales service section of the festool.co.uk site, if you (or your dealer) still know the repair number, you can fill out a customer feedback form

As for other people not having that drill, I spoke to a guy on the bus one of my dealers arranged to a building fair, and he bought a few for him and his crew at the time of the introduction, and didn't mention anything bad about them. I guess not to many of the European and Australian forummembers have one, and the American people that DO have them can't talk about it yet because it isn't released there yet. (I know Eli has one, and I doubt he would keep it quiet if his had similar problems)

I hope it will turn out well for you in the end, you had more than your share of problems with it already.

 

[JT Carpentry]

jmbfestool - I'm in the UK too and I think it is important to highlight the problems you are having as at least I know what to expect not just from the tool but the UK customer service . I already have a Kapex and a PS 300EQ Jigsaw and am impressed with these . I went to an open day recently when the area Festool rep came to our local Festool stockist to show us what was new and was very impressed with the T15 +3  and was thinking about putting it on my wish list but this is now on hold .

 

[jmbfestool]

jmbfestool - I'm in the UK too and I think it is important to highlight the problems you are having as at least I know what to expect not just from the tool but the UK customer service . I already have a Kapex and a PS 300EQ Jigsaw and am impressed with these . I went to an open day recently when the area Festool rep came to our local Festool stockist to show us what was new and was very impressed with the T15 +3  and was thinking about putting it on my wish list but this is now on hold .

Yes I think it would be a good idea to be honest. It does seem to be me only with the problems at the moment because I aint hurd n e thing els from other people with problems.
Yeah I like to know when I buy a tool about other peoples opinions and if they had problems so I thought I will make sure I tell every one about mine so people know!

I do like the drill how it works and all that but its just seems to stop working after a while. I dont use it heavy at all I take care of it I like things to be perfect and I feel like I can not achieve perfect and efficient work when my tools arnt perfect so I make sure I look after them so they work at their best!

 

[JT Carpentry]

When I first laid eyes on the T15 I could not believe how compact it was or the amount of power it had , but somehow  it  didn't look as robust as my Milwaukee V28 which has served me well for the last 3 years and is still going strong. I wanted to  purchasing the T15  as  I'm sometimes up a ladder and the Milwaukee is just too heavy even when used with the belt clip .
Like most new products I suppose its going through a few teething problems and once these are sorted I'll reconsider my position .  ;D

 

[jmbfestool]

When I first laid eyes on the T15 I could not believe how compact it was or the amount of power it had , but somehow  it  didn't look as robust as my Milwaukee V28 which has served me well for the last 3 years and is still going strong. I wanted to  purchasing the T15  as  I'm sometimes up a ladder and the Milwaukee is just too heavy even when used with the belt clip .
Like most new products I suppose its going through a few teething problems and once these are sorted I'll reconsider my position .  ;D

yes good choice. Yes I like Milwuakee they have brought out a new range M18 which are also small and powerfull. You can get them with compact batteries 1.5ah or performance 3.0ah

 

[jmbfestool]

I consider myself lucky that the service department from festool Netherlands has things better under control than their UK counterparts. I have send in a few items under the 3 year warranty program (my ts55, my ebq1010, the heavy duty ripfence of my CS70 and recently my kapex), in my case the problems were all minor, but I send them in because they were still in waranty; the festool dealers in Holland have special systainers, which are used to send the tools to the service department, so the original ones are never damaged. (they won't send them in, nor the attachments for the tool that aren't needed for the repair, you keep them). Festool charges the dealers for the transportation cost, but it's not much, and only 1 of my 3 dealers charged them through to me. (I think it was 4 ? to send my kapex back, they packed it in a very big box, filled with protection material; a year earlier I heard they charged my other dealer 16.50 to send the little router back, but that dealer ate the cost as service)

I think it takes some serious throwing around to break edges of systainers, and it won't do the tool inside any good either.

Did the festool rep that aranged you the new drill earlier give you his business card? It might be a good idea to contact him again (or better yet, have your dealer do it); since that rep knows of your previous experience.

I just read  the after-sales service section of the festool.co.uk site, if you (or your dealer) still know the repair number, you can fill out a customer feedback form

As for other people not having that drill, I spoke to a guy on the bus one of my dealers arranged to a building fair, and he bought a few for him and his crew at the time of the introduction, and didn't mention anything bad about them. I guess not to many of the European and Australian forummembers have one, and the American people that DO have them can't talk about it yet because it isn't released there yet. (I know Eli has one, and I doubt he would keep it quiet if his had similar problems)

I hope it will turn out well for you in the end, you had more than your share of problems with it already.

I wish I knew about the customer feedback form because I have had 3 repairs to complain about all 3 of them bad! lol

I did speak to the same rep! He said its not very good and  hes sending me a new box and new intray straight away!

So I am waiting for that now! Also waiting to see if the drill will last. I am constantly thinkin everytime I pull the trigger the drill will stop

I feel I gotta make sure I got two drills with me on a job just incase this stops working. I would like to feel that I could go on site and just

know the drill aint goin to let me down n e time soon.

If you see the Guy again ask him how long has he had the drills for and what job they use the drill for heavy or light. thank you.

 

[Frank-Jan]

If you see the Guy again ask him how long has he had the drills for and what job they use the drill for heavy or light. thank you.

I doubt I'll even recognise the guy in workclothes (we were in a touringcar, and he was in the seat right behind me). I believe the guy mainly did interiors for offices etc. (metal stud divisionwalls, lowered ceilings, but he also had a domino he uses a lot, so he probably also builds cabinets etc.)

I do know the dealer (which is a pretty big store that sells about everything construction related (also materials, the other dealers I frequent just sell tools and hardware) has sold a lot of the drills, and I ordered some stuff today (the protool centrotec systainer, and a new hosegarage for my CT); so when they call to pick it up I'll ask if they had any warranty returns, or had complains about the drills.

 

[jmbfestool]

If you see the Guy again ask him how long has he had the drills for and what job they use the drill for heavy or light. thank you.

I doubt I'll even recognise the guy in workclothes (we were in a touringcar, and he was in the seat right behind me). I believe the guy mainly did interiors for offices etc. (metal stud divisionwalls, lowered ceilings, but he also had a domino he uses a lot, so he probably also builds cabinets etc.)

I do know the dealer (which is a pretty big store that sells about everything construction related (also materials, the other dealers I frequent just sell tools and hardware) has sold a lot of the drills, and I ordered some stuff today (the protool centrotec systainer, and a new hosegarage for my CT); so when they call to pick it up I'll ask if they had any warranty returns, or had complains about the drills.

Yes that would be good. I would like to know!

Im the only one with my dealer

 

[pierreblonde]

Jmbfestool, when you say you've had 3 drill, is it  3 different drills or one thats been repaired 2 times ??? my t15 is going great I've been using it every day , i love the chucks , I'm doing a loft conversion at the minute so its site work ,not shop , with no problems I'm in the UK , Newcastle! , your maybe down south and got one of them soft southern drills Lol

 

[jmbfestool]

Jmbfestool, when you say you've had 3 drill, is it  3 different drills or one thats been repaired 2 times ??? my t15 is going great I've been using it every day , i love the chucks , I'm doing a loft conversion at the minute so its site work ,not shop , with no problems I'm in the UK , Newcastle! , your maybe down south and got one of them soft southern drills Lol

LoL funny!  I have had TWO NEW DRILLS

First drill broke in a week and was repaired came back working but had a different fault so went straight back came back with the back part of the drill smashed off also
the box was damaged.
So the FIRST drill had 1 repair but the send back twice because of bad service repair.

So the festool rep wasnt happy and gave me a brand new drill and new warrenty and 2 new fleeces.
Second drill lasted longer about a month went in for a repair came back fine but box was damaged so gettin a new box tomoro I was told.

Drill is still working now I have had it over a week now i think.

I have used it alot two day actually and it lasted even had to but some very large frame fixing in a wall had to usa a PZ4 bit massive!

That helped you?!

 

[Frank-Jan]

....had to use a PZ4 bit ....
[/quote]

Cool, I haven't come across those yet, the big screws we tend to use have T40 heads, or hex for sockets.

Let's hope this one's a keeper.

 

[pierreblonde]

jmbfestool , i only use W?rth fixings , i've been putting 160mm assey drive (a bit like torx) washer head screws in, no pre drilling and its playing with them, as i said in a earlier post i normally use a impact screwdriver for screwing , but because of the problems you have had i,ve been using the t15+3 just to see if its OK (i think I'm gettin paranoid ) , and its better than my impacted one, i love it