How common is needin a repair?

[FenderBass]

Hello, im back after a several year hiattus. (Started a band, actuallywas quite a success, started golfing). Dont do that stuff if you want to detect a lot!😉. I have a Tesoro Vaquero, has been a great unit. I am looking at a barely used Tigershark, and i have been reading a ton here the last few days. I am aware of to Tesoros business struggles and that they may be closed. Many people here talk about sending in their units for service. How common is this. My vaquero is at least 12 years old and has been great. My concern with the Tigershark is if I have an issue I will never be able to get it fixed . How likely is it that the unit will eventually need service?

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Likely? Slim to none. With that said however, NEVER, EVER, buy a water machine second hand. Go with an AT Pro, or Minelab Equinox ( unless you plan to SCUBA with it.

 

[JoeInMO]

Terry offered you good advice, and I'm not going to hate on Tesoro specifically. In general it's not a good idea to buy a product from a manufacturer that is out of business. Can things break? Absolutely. Will things break? Eventually. But in either case you have little or no support system. Tesoro may have a person trying to clear out their existing repairs, but that's not likely to continue for very long. They didn't close shop because things were great. There might be someone that picks up on doing some basic repairs to make some money, but then it's still a flip of the coin.

Reality is that no matter how much you like Tesoro, or how good you think they were, it's not a logical decision to buy one now. In reality Tesoro didn't have a magic potion that made their detectors better than the rest... what I mean is that there are others out there that are just as good, or better, that are still in business and offer you a support system of some kind. There's no path moving forward with Tesoro so it's time for you to start a new path forward with a better choice.

Good luck!

-Joe

 

[boogeyman]

Likely? Slim to none. With that said however, NEVER, EVER, buy a water machine second hand. Go with an AT Pro, or Minelab Equinox ( unless you plan to SCUBA with it.

AMEN!

 

[FenderBass]

Great points guys. Ya, im a sound oriented person, and quite familiar with the Tesoro sound only system, and was really hoping to stay with that, it works well for me. But maybe i just need to move on. Do understand that in the guitar world, analog is still king and a good tube guitar amp will truly kick the pants off of any digital attempt at modeling it. Analog tube amps demand 2 to. 3 x higher price. Crazy world it is.
I will probably aim toward a Garret At pro or gold. To me the Tigershark is worth the risk if the price is low enough. Right now at $350, i guess not. At $200 i might bite. Im in michigan and right now there is 24 to 30” of ice one the lakes. I have plenty of time.....

 

[Peter67]

I have 3 tesoro's for the moment and had also 6 other in the past. All of them were bought second hand. I only had one problem with a Tejon. With this Tejon the second discrimination didn't work. 1 from 9 for second hand machines is not bad.

 

[steve1357]

there are places to get it fixed, you don't have to send it to Tesoro....

 

[Stoof2010]

Besides sending in my DeLeon when j first got it along with a Troy super 7 coil for a check-up I've never had to send a unit in.
Turns out the troy coil was bad and needed to be rewound and DeLeon tuned to the troy coil. Non GB machines should be set to the coil so that doesn't mean anything was wrong with it.
The DeLeon is a different Tesoro as well. The TID accruacy is tied directly into the GB of the machine which is affected by changing coil sizes on a Non-adjustable GB machine. Most times small size changes don't make that much if a difference but with a hybrid analog/digital machine like DeLeon it matters alot more.
However again, none of my other machines have needed to be sent in.... Yet
They are pretty tough solid state machines. Besides a component in the board frying or a wire breaking loose from a solder point, or an apprentice electrician playing with trim pots inside the machine not much can really go wrong with them if you care for them.

 

[Kitz]

Four of my five Tesoros were purchased used, and one of them was very used indeed. But all worked just fine.

Those were all land machines, though. I agree with Terry that you should stay away from a used water machine (of any brand) unless you can do a hands-on inspection yourself.

-Ken

 

[pinenut]

I have several Tesoros purchased used and they’ve been working well. Lots of 20+ year old Tesoros still work fine too. However, I’d expect to see more older Tesoros for sale that do have some issues, especially over the next few years. I think more people will be dumping their problem machines before too long, and used offerings could get worse and worse.
My advice is to ask lots of questions about used machines you’re considering.. Tesoro won’t be around fixing them and you may not want to send ‘em to England (Pentechnics?) for repairs.

 

[steve1357]

I have several Tesoros purchased used and they’ve been working well. Lots of 20+ year old Tesoros still work fine too. However, I’d expect to see more older Tesoros for sale that do have some issues, especially over the next few years. I think more people will be dumping their problem machines before too long, and used offerings could get worse and worse.
My advice is to ask lots of questions about used machines you’re considering.. Tesoro won’t be around fixing them and you may not want to send ‘em to England (Pentechnics?) for repairs.

In just reading, East Texas shows to repair Tesoro.
https://www.facebook.com/easttexasmetaldetectors/
East Texas Metal Detectors Products & Services

I talked with Pentechnic, he said the shipping isn't too bad if you just send them the electronic box to them. The older metal chassis may be a bit much he said.
https://www.pentechnic.co.uk/repairs.html

fwiw

 

[FenderBass]

Thanks, That's good info for everyone Steve1357.