Etrac Reliability Question

[DonM]

I am considering the purchase of a used Etrac that is no longer under warranty so my question for someone who has an older Etrac - has it been reliable or if something has gone wrong - was the cost to repair reasonable....it is either going to be the Etrac or a used V3i - I know that Whites has an excellent reputation durability and that they make repairs to an out of warranty V3i for a reasonable amount but I am not familiar with the Etrac.....as far as I am concerned - each unit has their pros and cons so that will not be the deciding factor - what I care about is reliability - I am leaning towards the Etrac but if it going to cause me grief in a year or two - then I will go with the V3i.

 

[sprchng]

There's no right answer to your question. I don' think either has a transferable warranty anyway so caveat emptor.
I only know of one e-trac to be sent in for repair--it was on warranty to the original owner and they replaced the "powerboard" for a normally measly $900 repair
I sent an old White's Eagle in for repairs once with instructions to get authorization from me before repairing it and the next thing I know I got an e-mail with a bill for $165. With the shipping I ended up with close to $200 in the damn thing and had to hold a knife to a fellas throat to get him to buy it from me for $265. Thanx White's Get the e-trac

 

[Elton]

My e-trac has never broken.... Both companies you mention offer the transfer of warranty ..It's if you buy the detector within the time frame of the original warranty only..from the original purchaser.

 

[Tenspeed]

I have had my E-Trac for five years without even a hiccup. I also bought a used one for a backup and it works fine too.

I would check it thoroughly before you complete the deal and then run with it.

 

[Neil]

I agree they are very reliable. If you look at the forums you can still see minelab products from way back performing very well, even the first explorers.
Repair costs are often stated as high from those who have to have it done so you need to be aware of that and accept it with your purchase. Used Etracs are a bargain right now compared to their new cost and you can even get brand new Explorer SE pros for a bargain as well so consider that.

 

[lytle78]

Every account I have seen about ML repairs leads me to believe that they will not do any component level repairs. All repair service is done at the board level. Their bord level replacements run into many hundreds od dollars. The whites repair of a detector for $165 was obviously not a great deal on a detector with a low used market value, but if it had been an out of warranty V3, it would likely still been about that much on a detector worth $800-$900. Compare that to a $900 repair on a detector worth $900.

The choice is entirely yours. Likely neither of them would break anyway.

 

[dbennett7]

i myself like the e trac it seems to have a easier learning curve but i agree they both are great machines and have a solid reputation for durabilty dennis