Tryin to make lemonade......

[Bootyhunter1971]

Tryin' to make lemonade......

O.K. So I wanted to upgrade from Ace 250 which I love and have made some decent finds with, so I started looking at different machines. Really liked a few of them but decided to stay with Garrett and get GTI 2500 for several reasons. Like the sizing of the taget and what not and thought since this machine has been out several years and they are still selling it, it must be pretty good. Surely they have all the "bugs" worked out by now. So I shopped around, found some in package deals that looked real good. Some for nearly 250 dollars less than others but those were "reconditioned". Didn't want one of those or the hassell that I thought would acompany it so I got a new one with a "coin hunter" package including small coil and new Garrett pinpointer. Machine arrived, looked great, I had downloaded the manual and read it 3 times. I watched the video, assembled the detector and the next morning went out for a hunt. 6 hour hunt, decent finds, really liked the machine. Cleaned it and put it away. 3 days later went out for 2 hour hunt, good finds, cleaned it put it away. 2 days later went out for a hunt, machine would only go into coins and all metal mode, imaging didn't want to work, backlight would not work. Checked batteries, in tight, showing good on meter. Did factory reset, no change. Tried reset 3 times, no change. Can not believe a brand new machine has done this. Wrote a letter to Garrett explaining all above, shelled out 30 bucks for shipping and insurance and it was off to Texas last Friday. It arrived Monday per tracking, received call from Garrett yesterday went something like this " this is so and so from Garrett, we checked your detector out and it seems to be ok, but were gonna go ahead and send you a new one" like they're doing me a big favor or something. I said there is definetly something wrong with it and explained what it was doing. He said" well were gonna send you a new one and keep this one to see if it will do it again" B.S. I said look buddy, I am disgusted at this, I could have gotten a refurb and purchased a large coil with it for the same price that I have paid for this one that broke and now I'm out the shipping and insurance charges and lost 4 days detecting time. He said "let me call you back" So I am gone working out and when I returned I had a message from same guy. " Hey this is so and so from Garrett, were gonna go ahead and send you our new pinpointer and coin hunters package a 150 dollar value, I'm shipping that out today any questions call." So I tried to call back even though it was 530 east coast time I thought they are an hour behind, but got a recording saying they close at 430, which it was. I was going to tell him I already have that pinpointer(which is awesome) and I would rather have the large coil, but I was too late and I am guessing he shipped it along with my detector yesterday. It's good that at least they are giving me something for my trouble, but it is something I already have and don't need. Also I am still out my shipping and insurance charges and have had a headache with this whole ordeal. I will be totally disgusted if this second machine is a lemon too. I think they should have reimburesed me for shipping and insurance as I should not have to dealt with this with a new machine. If it had been a refurb I could understand thats a chance you take but not with a machine sold as new. I liked the GTI 2500 when it worked as it was supposed to and think it could be exactly what I was looking for, but my confidence in it will be shaken for awhile.

 

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[Keppy]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

I know what you mean i had trouble with my 1500 sent it in got it back it worked for about a month went bad again sent it in got it back went bad again. I was thinking of getting a 2500 but i see there quality control is still not up to par. I was looking at the 2500 last night but i think i will wait and see how it works out for you. I don't want to get into the same thing with the 2500 i had with the 1500...............==Jim_K==

 

[Monty]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

I have a GTI 2500 and never had a moments trouble with it. I sent it in to recalibarate one of my coils and had it back in 4 days. I broke a coilwire and ordered a new coil and had it shipped in three days. They have always been prompt and courteous with me and haven't charged me except for a discount price on the new coil I ordered. Nice folks to work with so far. Hope everything goes well for you guys in the future. Monty

 

[Bootyhunter1971]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

Monty, I'm glad you have had a good experience, I did also with my Ace 250, but the GTI 2500 was defective. My point was I bought a new one and passed up saving nearly $300 so I would not have to wander if it was working as it was supposed to, and to not have to deal with the hassel of shiping it to the factory. I spent the xtra $ and still had the hassel and lost $30 shipping and insurance. It could have just been bad luck, but I have read several other similar posts in archives of several forums since I had this trouble. I did comment on what Garrett is sending me as restitution and I appreciate it, but they should work harder to ensure the products they sell are good. This experience will make me think twice about buying another Garrett product, I really don't have time to run to the post office and deal with those hassels when I should not have to. If I had purchased a refurbed unit I would have expected as much but not with a new one. I really like Garrett products but I like to have dependable equipment. Maybe the new unit will be a good one, I really hope so. Thanks

 

[Keppy]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

Monty, I'm glad you have had a good experience, I did also with my Ace 250, but the GTI 2500 was defective. My point was I bought a new one and passed up saving nearly $300 so I would not have to wander if it was working as it was supposed to, and to not have to deal with the hassel of shiping it to the factory. I spent the xtra $ and still had the hassel and lost $30 shipping and insurance. It could have just been bad luck, but I have read several other similar posts in archives of several forums since I had this trouble. I did comment on what Garrett is sending me as restitution and I appreciate it, but they should work harder to ensure the products they sell are good. This experience will make me think twice about buying another Garrett product, I really don't have time to run to the post office and deal with those hassels when I should not have to. If I had purchased a refurbed unit I would have expected as much but not with a new one. I really like Garrett products but I like to have dependable equipment. Maybe the new unit will be a good one, I really hope so. Thanks

The similar post you read were they good like ....Monty... or like what you and i have had??..==Jim_K==

 

[Bootyhunter1971]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

After I had the trouble with the GTI 2500 I started searching various forums to see if anyone had similar problems and I found several with various Garrett products that had to be sent back fairly soon after purchase for "erractic signals", "going crazy and beeping constantly" or just plain "metal detector died". I see a pattern in a lack of QC. I am not trying to run down Garret by any means, I respect the man for all he has done for the hobbie and I quess out of the gabillions of people who own his products that if you look for bad machines you are bound to find them just because of the shear number of detectors they sell, I hope that's it. I chose Garret for a reason and I just want the good detector that I know they make.

 

[Keppy]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

After I had the trouble with the GTI 2500 I started searching various forums to see if anyone had similar problems and I found several with various Garrett products that had to be sent back fairly soon after purchase for "erractic signals", "going crazy and beeping constantly" or just plain "metal detector died". I see a pattern in a lack of QC. I am not trying to run down Garret by any means, I respect the man for all he has done for the hobbie and I quess out of the gabillions of people who own his products that if you look for bad machines you are bound to find them just because of the shear number of detectors they sell, I hope that's it. I chose Garret for a reason and I just want the good detector that I know they make.

That is what my 1500 did it was erractic beeping constantly and loss of depth also.... I started useing Garrett detectors around 1985 give or take never had any problems no problems with my 250 but the GTI 1500 drove me crazy i still might get the 2500 i will look at it again this week end keep us posted how your replacement works.............

 

[warsawdaddy]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

I do not have a Garrett at this time,however,I have had a 2500 and a 250 and both performed superbly.I know that having a detector in a warm car and then subjecting it to cold can affect it and vice-versa(condensation).Also,I have had batteries that showed good on the detector but were too weak for it to operate properly.I'm not saying this may be what happened in your case,with micro-processers and the other electronics built in China that all the mfg'rs use,there is bound to be some not up to par.No way to tell til they are in the field in most cases.Happens with every manufacturer.Goodluck with the new one they are sending.They still have one of the best customer services.

ps;I know Minelabs hate the cold.

 

[hollowpointred]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

any detector manufacturer, on any product manufacturer for that matter is going to make a percentage of defective units. it sounds to me like Garrett went above and beyond with trying to make you happy. did they not send you a pinpointer that is worth way more than the shipping you shelled out? surely you can turn around and sell that pinpointer for thirty bucks! hell...ill buy it for thirty bucks! :P I'm not trying to rile you up, I'm just saying...it sounds to me like Garrett is standing behind the machine they sold you. a lot of companies wouldn't exchange the unit for a brand new one.(side note, in your post it sounds like you don't believe them when they told you they would exchange it. why is that? ) now if this new unit also is screwed up,then i would blast them for making crap, but until then i would just chalk it up to crummy luck.

 

[John-Edmonton]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

I'm sorry you are having some problems with your GTI 2500. I have seen many common issues with other makes and models throughout the years. They usually get it right after some time. I have never seen common problems with the GTI 2500 as you describe them ie..."soon after purchase for "erratic signals", "going crazy and beeping constantly" on various forums. Having said that, I know from seeing Bill Revis run a Garrett Classroom on the GTI 1500, & GTI 2500 several years back that the number one problem he encountered by users were that they weren't using their machines properly, and a lot of them thought the machine wasn't working properly and was broken. Once they learned to run it with the proper settings, they were impressed with what the machines could actually do. They are very different from other machines and are in a league of there own.

I know from personal experience, that Garrett had been there for me in the last 15 years, bent over backwards dealing with the few issues that I have had. I know to this day that still their good customer service prevails. Any company that gets a machine returned and replaces it, no questions asked, even after they tested it plus includes a gift worth $150.00 and couldn't anything wrong with it, is about the best it could get. Try getting that kind of service after purchasing a new car and see where it gets you.

I suggest you phone Melinda or Sue at Garrett and resolve your issues. Like I said, they have excellent customer service, build their machines in the USA and are one of the "BEST" ......

I hope you get your issues resolved.

 

[pro778]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

I'm sorry to hear you had problems with your new detector. I don't understand what you think Garrett did wrong. You said it was working when you got it. Are they supposed to be psychic. Sounds like they went out of their way to make you happy. I just had problems with a couple of coils. One wasn't even close to being under warranty and they replaced both with no questions asked. I don't think you'll find to many companies that will do that.

 

[Keppy]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

Yes it is hard to beat Garrett's and tesoro's service. I will admit they are right on the ball.I don't think the girls in Garrett's office now are as good as Mary was any thing i asked her she had a answer very knowledgeable on Garrett's products

 

[JP]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

Let's hope that it was just one of a few that had problems. I've been lucky so far with Garrett detectors. I've had 2 GTI 2500s, 2 Ace 250s, and 1 Sea Hunter. I have to say that all worked without problems. The last GTI that I bought from an individual did have a problem with one of the 6 battery packs that came with it. But, being that the detector only needs two packs to operate I just flipped the one that didn't work into the garbage. I notice just like my first GTI it is very sensitive and I find myself lowering the sensitivity to keep it stable.

That was nice of Garrett to send you the extra goodies. Since you already have the items you could if you wanted to just trade them to another fellow treasure hunter for other items or sell them.

I'm sure with the new one coming in you will fall in love with it. Contrary to common belief they are easy to operate and you will be finding coins faster. The sad thing is that when you go to try another company's detector afterwards you will be spoiled by the features of the GTI.

Again, let's hope that your new machine doesn't give you any grief.

HH

 

[Bootyhunter1971]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

First of all, I think if you read my follow up post I did say that I appreciated what Garrett was doing to resolve the problem. I did not "blast" them as was posted above. As far as user error, the Detector would only go into coins and all metal mode, no jewelry, no relics and no custom mode, it would the first 2 times I used it. Next, if the battery meter is not reliable what the hell is it on there for then. If it shows full scale, I expect the batteries to be good. And as far as the new car analagy, ANYTHING sold as new should be free of defect. If a new car has an intrinsic fault that can't be resolved it would be replaced, might take some lawyers and some time, but it would be replaced. Also I don't understand why you think I doubt that they were going to replace my detector with a new one? I stated that they said they were going to send me a new one and keep the other one to see what it was doing. I have no doubts that they are sending me a new one because the one I sent them was screwed up. Sorry, next time I will keep my problems to myself, I just wanted to know if anyone else had the same kind of problem. And the problems I listed that others had were various models, not common problems with the GTI 2500. By the way, I got a call from Garrett yesterday and it was the same guy that I dealt with eariler in the week, He said that they have folks that "monitor" the forums and saw that I already have the propointer so he intercepted my package, and was sending me the large coil instead. I appreciate what they are doing to resolve my issue, I am just aggravated at the ordeal involved with a brand new detector, and the lost days of detecting that no one can replace.

 

[21stTNCav]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

I have a 2500 I did buy used on ebay. I have had some slight problems but nothing too big. After about a year mine started to be eratic and sorta go nuts. I called Garrett, they said it was the old type of coil, They sent me a new epoxy unit for $140, but gave me credit for my old one for $50. It worked perfectly. It died about a month ago, but when I called they said it may be the battery clips and sent me new ones for free. Guess what? That was exactly the prob. I put the new ones in and she fired right up. I am going to send her in for the upgrade soon, but I have had a good time and luck with my 2500, knock on wood

 

[hollowpointred]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

First of all, I think if you read my follow up post I did say that I appreciated what Garrett was doing to resolve the problem. I did not "blast" them as was posted above. As far as user error, the Detector would only go into coins and all metal mode, no jewelry, no relics and no custom mode, it would the first 2 times I used it. Next, if the battery meter is not reliable what the hell is it on there for then. If it shows full scale, I expect the batteries to be good. And as far as the new car analagy, ANYTHING sold as new should be free of defect. If a new car has an intrinsic fault that can't be resolved it would be replaced, might take some lawyers and some time, but it would be replaced. Also I don't understand why you think I doubt that they were going to replace my detector with a new one? I stated that they said they were going to send me a new one and keep the other one to see what it was doing. I have no doubts that they are sending me a new one because the one I sent them was screwed up. Sorry, next time I will keep my problems to myself, I just wanted to know if anyone else had the same kind of problem. And the problems I listed that others had were various models, not common problems with the GTI 2500. By the way, I got a call from Garrett yesterday and it was the same guy that I dealt with eariler in the week, He said that they have folks that "monitor" the forums and saw that I already have the propointer so he intercepted my package, and was sending me the large coil instead. I appreciate what they are doing to resolve my issue, I am just aggravated at the ordeal involved with a brand new detector, and the lost days of detecting that no one can replace.

hey man dont take it the wrong way, i wasnt trying to make you mad i was just trying to make the point that it looks like Garrett is trying to right the wrong. the reason i thought you might not have believed them when they said they were going to send a new one is because you wrote "BS" right after the comment. i can understand your frustration believe me. nothing makes me madder than shelling out a lot of my hard earned cash only to find that my new toy doesnt work right. hang in there, i have a feeling Garrett will get it right the second time.

 

[kdismuke1]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

garrett will solve your problem. i have had them. best of luck.

 

[The Master Chief]

Re: Tryin' to make lemonade......

I Must comment. I have had my Garrett 2500 for the past 5 Years. It is by far the most advanced and reliable detector I have ever used. I have a bug with it right now but I live with it. My Back light does not light up the entire face plate. I never use it anyway. If I would hunt at night I will use a head lamp. It just makes sense. I also know that I probably need the new mineralization chip installed. I am living with it. I just do not want to part with it. This is a great hobby and being in the desert I do not have the harsh weather as some of you, so loosing my 2500 for a few days would kill me.

I have nothing but praise for Garrett. I have no stocks and have no formal affiliation with the company. I Just Love their DETECTOR! I do have a backup backup backup. Its a Whites IDX Pro. I haven't used it yet. Due in part of having my Garrett Sea Hunter as a backup. Now what I have seen of the White's is an OK detector. One of the my buddy's that detect uses the new model DFX 300. I Like it too. But my heart is with the Garrett 2500, Even though my right arm gets extremely tired of swinging. The tiring goes away when I find a coin.

My Comments for anyone reading is everyone has their certain amount of praise for the product they use. I LOVE THE GARRETT 2500 GTI!