Harbor Freight has a sale right now on a cordless. ($49? I think.)

 

picked up a goodyear cordless impact from pep boys for about $60. works great! what it can't handle goes to the big f'in breaker bar.

 

When I was young and could not afford air tools I used a Craftsman corded 1/2in impact gun. Worked fine for years -- still does. There were a few fasteners it couldn't handle -- but in general it was fine.

In fact, I used it to remove/disassemble the 944 engine and it handled all fasteners I used it on - including the crank bolt. YMMV.

I might look into a cordless one....

-Dan C.

 

So then here's the next question:

Which electric impact gun is the best value? I'm looking at maybe somewhere around $200

 

The problem with the really cheap impacts (or cheap general cordless tools in general), is typically a shorter battery life, so take that into consideration.