Need a good orbital sander, advice please, Rupes any good?

[happyhero]

Hi I do a fair bit of wood work, bits and pieces round the house, and have a had a cheap Bosch 1/2 sheet sander for years but I had to do a lot of sanding recently and I did not find it the greatest to work with. My Dad came to visit and said he would bring his for me to try which is a Rupes. He used to spray cars years ago and swears by Rupes saying they used lots of their machines and he has kept one he used to use and uses it on timber which did make me think it wont be a proper wood dedicated one but on checking the model number I find it is SSPF which they still make but it is just a bit more modern looking compared to his. http://www.rupestool.com/p/us/en/0255157904811

Anyway I tried it and obviously compared it to my cheap old Bosch and must say I would say it performed 10 times better so now I am thinking of buying one. The thing is they are not cheap at just under £200 plus VAT and I have never heard of the make before now and wondered if anybody can comment and tell me what they reckon about this make or if there is any other make and model you think I should look at. I don't really want to spend any more than this model costs i.e. £185 = VAT, its already stretching what I expected to pay.

Any advice/help appreciated.

 

[ironsidebod]

Rupes are highly regarded in the car detailing world.

There are alternatives, the DAS 6 Pro is a cheaper alternative to the Rupes, have a look here: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk its in the polisher section but the DAS 6 is actually a sander

 

[foxhole]

http://www.tools4trade.co.uk/makita-bo6030-6-152mm-random-orbit-sander-110v-p-82832

 

[TuffTools]

Makita do some great sanders and have had rather positive reviews from previous customers - not sure if you may have already looked into them. We also offer a great range of alternate sanders here at TuffTools: http://www.tufftools.com/search.asp?search=sander