BEFORE you buy a Minelab

[doninbrewster]

Before you buy a Minelab you might want to try and call their customer service at 630-401-8150. After you do you might NOT want to buy a Minelab product. Tried calling this morning and gave up after more than 10 minutes on hold. Just tried back and I've now been on hold for more than 15 minutes. I might also add that my CTX3030 is not working and it's only 7 months old. My White's XLT is 10 years old or more and still kicking.

 

[hershey1]

Then don't buy a Minelab. I have had 5 Minelab machines and still own 3. The only problem I ever had was with my Excallibur and Minelab repaired it no problems. Most CTX 3030 problems are due to operator error. I also own other machines and have had good results with their service. Sounds like you have a good Whites machine. Their service is good also. Try this number 1-877-767-6522 for Minelab. HH

 

[ML]

I've been on hold longer than that recently and gave up. Called the next day and got right through. Be interesting to know how many staff make up customer service. Probably not many.

 

[jimzilla]

UMMMMMM why don't you guys go through your dealer instead of Minelab?

 

[PMonday]

Before you buy a Minelab you might want to try and call their customer service at 630-401-8150. After you do you might NOT want to buy a Minelab product. Tried calling this morning and gave up after more than 10 minutes on hold. Just tried back and I've now been on hold for more than 15 minutes. I might also add that my CTX3030 is not working and it's only 7 months old. My White's XLT is 10 years old or more and still kicking.

what kinda problems are you having with the CTX 3030? Being on hold is a terrible inconvenience but if thats as bad as it gets yer OK.

I have a MineLab Explorer XS over 13 yrs old and it works as good as it did new. My CTX is coming up on one yr old, pretty awesome too.

Good Luck...........................really

 

[lytle78]

Minelab USA has had its ups and down service wise. Long hold times for customer service suck. If I call Tesoro, I get Rusty Henry if he is there. If I call Whites I get Mary Hudson.

Who do you guys get at Codan - I'm sorry - Minelab.

Whites flat charge for service is - I think -$65. Tesoro (who until recently did free service for life on all their detectors) charges $50 flat if you are not the original owner and holder of the lifetime warranty.

What's ML's standard service charge?

Whites and Tesoro are American Small Businesses. ML is an international conglomerate - Codan.

The choice is yours - I offer no advice - just a couple of data points and some questions.

 

[Roland58]

I called Minelab about a defective WM10. I was on hold for about 30 minutes (after about 20 you feel like you are vested and hate to give up). In their defense, they do give you the option of leaving your name, number and description of problem and they will call you back, of course, that may not always be convenient, either.

Another peg in their defense, they agreed with me on the WM10 and had a new one on my doorstep 3 days later.......didn't even want the old one back!! (That should give you an indication of what they are really worth, <g>.

 

[chadwick]

I just sent in a coil of my wife's. I called today about a update on it. After almost two weeks it's been processed and should be back on the Ctx by Saturday. I didn't buy two ctxs for the customer service but after 5 grand I'm not mad at the machine it's a great Machine and already have done more with it than any other. Now days every where you go it's all about the money....... I didn't need a minelab to find the GOLDEN rule an either should they..... It could be like my job over there they just won't hire anyone or it was the day after payday and didn't show up.

 

[argyle]

Haha.....

You guys should have seen the hold-ups years ago before the internet brought about the opportunity of public complaints.

The old dealers wouldn't have a bar of you and didn't want to know about problem even within an hour walking out the door with the detector or coil. One of the old dealers has been the marketing manager for Minelab for years now.

Back in the bad old days you had a couple of months wait, backing and forthing with postage on a dud unit worth thousands, only to be there is nothing wrong with it......for the third time.

We have it easy now! .....but it's a major disgrace still today, that a dealer does not directly refund/exchange a dud product, because they should. It's done in most other industries.

 

[doninbrewster]

I did finally get through and sent it out yesterday. As I said in my note to them "Last week when I turned on my metal detector it seemed to be stuck on a Geotrack mode. The detector would also not turn off. I tried removing the battery and reinstalling it and when I turned on the detector the same thing happened again. After trying this a few times the metal detector came on and seemed to work fine. The next day when I tried to turn on the detector it would not turn on. I tried the other battery pack and that would not work either. The next morning I turned on the detector and it seemed to work fine, until I was out in the field and it would not turn on again. This has happened several times. Sometimes it goes on and sometimes it doesn

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

Minelab wanted me to relay to anyone having issues on contacting them to leave a message with a # and they will get back to you. I have had very good luck with this method.

 

[Digger]

Whites flat charge for service is - I think -$65. Tesoro (who until recently did free service for life on all their detectors) charges $50 flat if you are not the original owner and holder of the lifetime warranty.

What's ML's standard service charge?

Since this is only your second post to the CTX3030 forum, and only your fourth post in 6 years to any Minelab forum on Finds (the other two on the X-TERRA forum 5 years ago, where you claim to have served as "metal detecting expert" in an episode of one of these adventure-hunt type TV programs, where the detectors were supplied by a dealer in Dubai"), you might not realize that the CTX3030 comes with a 3-year transferrable warranty. So in regard to your question about how much Minelab charges for service....... the CTX3030 has only been out for 18 months, so the answer would be $0.00.

http://www.minelab.com/usa/warranty-registration/limited-product-warranty-conditions

Minelab's Warranty periods are as follows ("Warranty Periods"): a. Electronic control boxes (with the exception of the Excalibur), Minelab branded search coils, handles, shafts, headphones, bags and battery chargers are under warranty for a period of 3 years (36 months) from the date of retail purchase as set out in the Warranty Registration Card ("Date of Purchase").......is extended to the purchaser identified in the Warranty Registration Card ("Purchaser") and is transferable to a legitimate subsequent owner residing within the country of the original purchase;


HH Randy

 

[lytle78]

Hey Randy really had to dig for that.

First about the metal detector expert on the TV show business

 

[GKMan]

lytle78 My mother would have said it's not what you said it's how you said it (I am not disputing any of your facts).... Sure I would rather deal with a good old American owned company, but I like Minelab, I am comfortable with them and will continue to use them until something better comes along that really interests me.

 

[Digger]

Hey Randy really had to dig for that.

Not really. As an Administrator, it is my job to monitor the sites for posts that do not pertain to specific forums. So, not recognizing your username on the CTX3030 forum, I simply checked your previous posts to see if you were a regular visitor to one of the other Minelab forums. I posted those results.

First about the metal detector expert on the TV show business I was the "metal detector expert" in that I was probably the only one in Muscat Oman who knew anything about them and the producers contacted me for my assistance and I was happy to help. I liked the Minelab detectors that we used in the TV program - they worked fine. The dealer in Dubai was Minelab's authorized agent in United Arab Emirates.

In addition to being the US Field Tester for the CTX3030, I'm quite familiar with the X-TERRA series, having been one of the initial Field Testers for that series as well. My experiences with the X-TERRA evolved into my writing a book entitled "Understanding your X-TERRA, which is available FREE on Minelab's website. I just found it interesting that you would refer to yourself as the "metal detector expert" on the X-TERRA forum, and then not return to share your expertise.


Thanks for the information on Minelab's warranty terms, although I was already aware of it. My question about the flat rate service charge for mine lab was not in respect of detectors under warranty.
Actually, what you asked was "What's ML's standard service charge?" Since you asked this question on the CTX3030 forum, I responded in reference to the CTX3030.


I fully expected Minelab, like any other reputable firm will honor the terms of the warranty for detectors that are covered by it. I was curious about two things. First, what do non-warranty repairs cost and second, does anyone have any information about an actual person at Minelab who has been helpful in regards to service and repair issues.

According to their website, http://www.minelab.com/usa/customer-care-1
"If your detector requires a non-warranty repair, we will always advise you of the costs up front, so that you can make an informed decision before we start any work."

No. & So. America
Minelab Americas Inc
Sales, Support & Service
1938 University Lane, Ste. A
Lisle, IL 60532, USA

Customer Care:
1-877-SOS-MLAB (1-877-767-6522)
Toll Free: 1-888-949-6522
T: 1-630-401-8150
F: 1-630-401-8180
E: service@minelabamericas.com for Service
E: info@minelabamericas.com for Consumer products


And as far as how many posts I've made on Minelab Forums - or haven't made - I wasn't aware that this was a private club - sorry to intrude.

It isn't a private club. Finds Treasure Forums is one of the world's most popular websites with information on metal detectors, metal detecting, detectorists and treasure hunting. As a sub-forum, the CTX3030 forum is for those interested in learning more about the CTX3030. Anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion, if the comments are appropriate for this forum. As stated when the CTX3030 Forum was introduced......http://www.findmall.com/read.php?86,1693368,1693368#msg-1693368... three simple ground rules that will be implemented on this forum. 1. No cursing. If you want to talk trash, take it to another forum. 2. Show respect to other members and forum sponsors. Again, if you want to talk trash, take it to a different forum. 3. Participate in the forum with good intentions. If your purpose is to do a drive-by, go back to the forum you came from and show them how smart you are. Its likely you've already shown us! And remember, as part of my duties as Moderator, I am the one who takes out the trash.

We do have something in common however, I've been detecting since 1972 as well. HH

 

[seaweednh]

I don't post much but I can't resist on this one. I've had good luck overall with White's service although once I had a beach hunter ID that took three times to get it right. Time consuming (about a month overall) and expensive to keep sending it back. Tesoro was great, serviced the machine for free and it was used. You can't get any better than that. I recently contacted Fisher to get a cost to change the housing on a 1280X. The first call said I had to send it in, period. The second call said a minimum of $350 because it was a water machine.

Now, my Minelab experience. First the old Minelab. Sold a non-working Excalibur Sword parts machine on E-bay. The buyer took me to small claims court because he couldn't get it repaired because the old boards were no longer available. Called Minelab and told them what was going on. They looked up the service slip and let me know that the new boards will fit the old machines, and that the customer didn't want it fixed. This was the info that won me the case. Under the new Minelab, I sent in an Excalibur I bought second hand and was well past warranty. It had a bad headphone wire, and yes, I'm the one who broke it. This was well after they would no longer install the Ikelite headphone end caps on them. I sent in an extra set of headphones and also asked if they would consider putting the end cap on mine. I latter talked to service that said they wouldn't. Yes, it was during the transaction and the repair took longer than I liked. They never called me for payment, it just arrived one day. Repaired and to my surprise it had a new coil, an Ikelite headphone end cap, and both sets of headphones had the Ikelite plug. Total cost, $15 to ship it to them, well worth it in my opinion. Now, on another Excalibur, I managed to break the battery wire this time. The service tech called to let me know what the cost would be and I said "you got to be kidding me" He was very apologetic explaining that it was a water machine and the process they go through to ensure it stays waterproof. He then adjusted the price down to what I felt was very fair. In closing, I am very happy with not only the service and customer care at Minelab, but with Whites and Tesoro as well. However I will refuse to send any thing to Minelab"s southern repair facility.

 

[jas415]

Well, I guess I will toss my experiences in here also. I have had 3 Minelabs and all three were, and are, great machines. On one, an E-trac, It took less than 10 business days to ship it in and get it back (problem with the backlight button shutting off the machine). On the CTX the dealer swapped out brand new machines with me as the one I ordered had some issue with the speakers. I also had a coil go out on the CTX, at least it said 'coil not recognized' or something similar, and it was sent in and replaced within 10 business days. I was never on the phone for longer than 30 minutes, ever! Oh, and recently, about 2 months ago, the E-trac would not power up so I sent it in and got it back again in less than 10 days! I think I have gotten great service, before, and after the sale. Yes, I know their prices are a bit high, but I do believe you get what you pay for. So, when I buy a $2500 machine and it breaks after 4 years I would expect it to cost some real dollars to get it fixed. That may be why some of the other manufacturers tossed their 'lifetime' warranties and went to a set fee.

Anyway, I'm happy as I can be with my Minelabs.