Makita UK Reviews 167

Makita products are generally good and reliable. However if you need technical help in the UK they are worst than useless. The one star is for their support and I regret I could not give them zero stars which would better reflect the service I got.

Let me start by saying how great, up until this problem Makita products are. And up until this problem any problems I have had, have been swiftly sorted out and there customer service was brilliant.

Unfortunately this time the people I’ve dealt with at Makita have escalated the problems and made the situation 100 times worse. I purchased a Makita petrol chainsaw from a reputable company, they where brilliant and are still trying to help me as I write this review, shame the same can’t be said about Makita, also a shame that the individuals that have prompted this review can’t be named and shamed as they are widely incompetent and shouldn’t be in there jobs!!! Any way back to the review, the chainsaw never worked correctly so it was arranged to be returned to Makita via the shop I brought it from, who after a long period said there was nothing wrong with the item and without warning or further communication just sent it back to me! Despite me asking to be credited for the item!!
Now this is where the fun starts, the chainsaw was put in a flimsy box with some paper around it and of corse on its journey it was dropped and smashed and parts of the machine where snapped broken etc who know ms what other damage was caused to internals. after a few emails back and forth etc Makita finally had the broken chainsaw picked up again! After another wait I received an email after I had sent a few asking about what was going on. At this point Makita excepted liability, stating that the box wasn’t correct and the packaging was inadequate etc etc. at this point I thought this would be an end to the matter and I would be supplied with a replacement etc, but no, again I heard nothing and had to re chase and find out what was going on etc, at which point I was told that they no longer stocked the item I’d brought 4months ago (and never been able to use) and that I’d get a totally different product, by this point I’ve lost all interest and faith in Makita and asked for asked AGAIN to be credited….. I again heard nothing. It was at this point I had to look to the courts to recoup my losses on the chainsaw and Makita still now are dragging there heals and not replying to court papers or myself. I feel the think as they are a big company they can just look the other way!!! And they are untouchable.

Please think twice before parting with your money there are plenty of other good tool suppliers out there I have in excess of 5000£ of Makita tools which I will be looking to sell and change brands such a shame that a great product line and company have been let down by there terrible staff. I really hope Makita can look into this and sort this out asap there are people taking a wage and not doing much for there money!!!!!!

My makita impact driver broke after 5 months of having it should of stayed with dewalt as I've still got my 10v impact driver and after 10 years it's still going 😔

I had the misfortune of dealing with Makita UK recently, and I have to say that their customer service is nothing short of appalling. I purchased a Makita drill, which broke after just three weeks of use. I contacted the company and was met with an unhelpful and dismissive response. They refused to fix the drill, claiming it was due to impact damage, but they offered no evidence to support this claim.

I was left with a broken drill and no recourse, all because Makita UK was unwilling to stand behind their product. Their customer service was absolutely abysmal, and it's clear that they have no interest in providing quality service or products. As a customer, I expect the products I purchase to work as advertised and to be backed by a company that stands behind their quality.

Makita UK's lack of transparency and unhelpful customer service is unacceptable. I urge anyone considering purchasing from them to think twice. You may end up with a broken product and no way to get it fixed, all because Makita UK will not take responsibility for their poor-quality products.

In summary, I would strongly advise anyone looking for reliable power tools to steer clear of Makita UK. They are not a trustworthy or reliable vendor, and their customer service is abysmal. Save yourself the frustration and look elsewhere for your power tool needs.

Absolute junk. 2 LXT cordless drills burnt out in just 2 years of light hobby use. Seems like Makita has decided to follow the trend of trashing its formerly good brand just to screw a few more pennies out of the customer by mickey-mousing build quality. Good luck with that...

Can’t believe that a Makita drill won’t last 12 month before going up in smoke! That’s what happened to mine and cos it was 10 days out of warranty when it finally failed Makita are interested in replacing it. Not sure I want another one anyway if they are so unreliable! One a great product makita but now ranks alongside cheap supermarket rubbish - great shame.

Bought a Makita back pack petrol leaf blower in late 2021. It has only been used for approximately 30 minutes and now it won’t start at all.
(Now out of warranty by a few months)
Makita service Centre and Customer Service Centre, have failed to return my many messages. Facebook Messenger promised to get the appropriate department to contact me-they never did. Poor service will avoid in future

If your think of buying?…read this till the end, it’ll help you make an informed decision.

1 day later !!! Update…. And Makita probably are not going to like this.

The little bottle of oil Makita supplied, used up….so obviously they didn’t even try to set that from the factory. (And before anyone asked I checked the chain and internals are still fully lubed.) However there isn’t enough oil for me to re-use it safely without buying more, so bare that in mind, because chainsaw’s don’t do dry.

BUT that’s not why I’m adding this update.
It’s not raining today so I thought I’ll slice up the rest of the pallets (all of which are indoor dry stored…no wet wood here), so got my Makita DHS680 circular saw, that I’ve been using for Months to do what I bought the chainsaw to do. So shoved on a 6amp fully charged from yesterday and put another in my pocket…how many pallets does anyone think I managed to do on 1 x 6amp battery? Same as the chainsaw did on 4 ??? No I did twice as many. Now I can hear everyone screaming it’s not like for like ! And that is true it isn’t, 18v against 36v, blade against chain, and yes slower and I had to bend more….. but cut for cut !!!! 1 battery twice as many? That tells me the this is one battery hungry chainsaw !
Oil use you can regulate yourself, shouldn’t have to but you can, battery use you can’t, please bare this in mind ?

Original review
1st things 1st ! I’m a Makita Fan Boy, have been more than 30 years.
Will Makita like what I say….maybe, but it’s what I found.
So if you’ve gotta go kill a load of Zombies in a Church this is the chainsaw for you, it’s unbelievably quiet ! Compared to ANY petrol saw you wouldn’t know it’s on ! I’ve neighbours both sides of me and noise is a big reason I bought battery not petrol and I’m impressed, and when you consider no tick-over and no pull start, better again.
Does it cut ? Out the box brand new chain …through pallets like a hot knife through butter, it’s that easy. It’s a “Zero Effort Required” job, so top marks again to Makita.
Power…36V only thing I’ve got that is, bucket loads of 18V and wouldn’t swap any of it ! Trouble is because I’ve LOT’S of 18V I’ve lots of batteries, so I bought bare, and there in lies the only issue I have ! This thing “LIKES BATTERIES….A LOT !” If I was using brand new factory fresh 6amps I my have I totally different opinion, but on mine that have to earn a living, and have been used and abused on everything thing and his dog….it chews them up and spits them out. And if you had factory fresh and only used them on this, I think it still might ?
I’ve a 4 battery PDC01 back pack so I’m going to get 4 brand new batteries and shove them in there see how it does, but I’m still not expecting an endless life. If you can live with the battery usage, then boy what a Chainsaw….but if you have a lot to do get a petrol !
Is this my favourite Makita Tool ? No….but it’s easy going to be my 2nd !

Very disappointed!!!
Buyer beware!!
3 year warranty not honoured!
My 18v LXT grinder stopped working - put it in for a repair with 6 months warranty left.
Declined due to (lack of maintenance, dust inside)

I ordered a drill from CG Fixings Ltd // powertoolworld
and the baterry died all of a sudden of very little use in two years and they directed me to Makita as the retailer didn't want to help me in any way. I have not had registered this with makita for extended warranty but despite that Paul L still helped me out even though on legal basis I think he could have just said " you're outta luck " I am getting a replacement battery anyway so good day for me :)

poor service to have to register with in 30 days

Having been caught out before not registering for the 3 year warranty , I tried to do it this time. I had to put in my details and they send you a link, only they don't. There is actually no way to register without the link which they don't send. How convenient.

I purchased a makita trolley tool bag and the pull out handle became detached as I was pulling it. I contacted makita service centre who told me I must have used excessive force so it’s not covered under the warranty. This is the 4th trolley tool bag from makita that has failed on me. I am extremely disappointed with their unhelpful attitude. Will be looking to purchase from a different supplier in future

I bought into the makita lxt range 2 years ago and I am now beginning to regret it!!

While they bring out new tools and they are good quality, they seem to have stopped at 6Ah batteries where as Milwaukee have bigger and cheaper batteries, won’t be getting any more makita tools, may look at swapping and selling my makita tools.

Absolutely disappointed brought a brand new 36 volt drive used twice and it smoked and burnt out had been using these tools for twenty years but over the last 12 months tools are rubbish
Returned to shop nothing they can do WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT

I was constantly getting issues with my tracksaw where the cut was a couple of milimetres out, after some investigation I found that my guide rail wasn't straight. I got in contact with the returns team to see if it could be repaired or replaced as it was always like this.

They collected it and let it sit for 2 months in their returns office, and it was only me chasing that got it moved along so a technician would look at it. I didn't hear anything more until it reappeared at my home a couple of days later, in the original packaging I sent through.

I got back in touch to find out what had happened, because as far as I could see they'd not even looked at it. They collected it a second time and they've just let me know that they won't be fixing it.

Just terrible service honestly. The communication was appalling and I'm left exactly where I was 3 months ago except I haven't had my track all this time.

Makita is supposed to be a premium brand and I was expecting service to reflect that, but I've gotten far better from much more budget brands.

The had to fix a hedge cutter under warranty, they returned it and it still won't start. They claim it started in the workshop but there's absolutely no way. I've lost some work due to waiting and have bought a husqvarna now. I really wish I'd read these reviews before buying a makita product. Awful customer service as stated in other posts and cheap products.

Had a circular saw for 2 years when it suddenly stopped working, just out of warranty.

I considered getting it fixed locally, but went online and had heard their customer service was good.
They said they'd take it for free, have a look and offer a price to repair and would send it back if I didn't like the price.

I thought there was nothing to lose in doing that, so went ahead. After two weeks and some chasing, they send a bill for £190+ to repair a £150 saw. Then said they could send it back for £24 or bin it for me - cheers!

I didn't know there was a cost to have it sent back, and as it's only been used for DIY, they should be embarrassed it has given up so soon.

Their responses have been curt, I assume because they're dealing with this a lot.

I'm gutted because I've got all my tools from them and expect a bit back after being slavishly loyal to their brand.

I have to say, be careful going for Makita. Take a look at other manufacturers Trustpilot ratings and pick a winner. This lot need to improve, a lot.

Purchased a pole hedgetrimmer from a makita supplier online. EN 5451SH . Almost immediatly i had trouble with cutting out problems. It has since been returned 5 times for various repairs .The repair department just keeps returning the machine without any explaination their note indicates the items replaced not the cause. The machine last two times would not start previous times started after i had ckeaned the spark plug but usually cuts out after short running. It seems they just dont care about the customer when you finally manage to speak to someone they seem helpful then the machine is returned again in a poor state. The last time they said there was nothing wrong with a hint slightly threatening that they had proof it works. Dont buy from this company its quality does not merit the makita name there are much better machines out their for the same price.

After more than three weeks of trying to get them to honour their three year warranty, they have finally said my expensive hedge trimmer is exempt from this offer, as is their entire range of petrol powered tools. This is deeply misleading, and probably illegal, as their website has a clear offer of a three year warranty on power tools. It's only when you read the small print you see a very large chunk of tools are not included. This is a cheap and tacky way to mislead and cheat their own customers, and doesn't fit with their reputation as a premium brand. Never again.