well i've used a dewalt for almost four years now, owned one for two years. i use mine daily and it has never let me down. i bought a makita because i liked that it was light... figured i'd give it a shot and see how it worked. i hated the thing. when i took the buffer out of the box the first thing i noticed was the quality... the makita was much cheaper and looked like you could brake it real quick. i have dropped my dewalt off the ladder a few times now when i've done motorhomes, it hasn't phased it yet... the makita looks like it would brake into a million pieces if you dropped it at all. the next thing i didn't like was the speed adjustment dial, on the makita it has numbers and you have to look at the little chart to see what number represents what rpm you're spinning at... too much work. the biggest thing i hated is how it took forever to get up to speed... and it would bog down very easily. it is way underpowered and not very strong. the dewalt is very powerful and virtually indestructable... but i guess it comes down to personal preference. makita used to make a quality product a few years ago, now they're quality is severely lacking. i returned the makita within 24 hours of purchasing it. my advice is buy both if you can afford it and return the one you don't like... both companies offer a 30 day no questions asked return policy. but if you can't buy both, get the dewalt dw849 from properautocare.com... it comes with a buffer bag and gloves and the best part is it's on sale for $174.95.... that's a steal.