Guide to buying used Excal?

[Pyledriver]

I bet this has been discussed but can't find much on what to look for when buying a used Excal. I don't have my eye on one yet (no money), but would like to buy one sometime this year. Mainly I'm just looking for tips of common problem areas, etc. that I should be looking for. I've already decided it would be best to send the unit in to Minelab for testing but just don't want to buy a 'money pit' that will have things wrong with it that I may have been able to spot if I knew what to look for up front!

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

 

[wavecrazed]

Hi, If you see one for sale grab it. Don't hesitate.

 

[Dig]

Just keep in mind that a used minelab has no transferable warranty. So always ask the seller the age of the unit, if it's ever had water in it, and if it's ever been sent away for repair. When you acquire some money for one, talk to the guys on the forum. They are a pretty tight knit group and as a whole are pretty straight shooters. One of them is bound to have a machine they want to sell. Joe Demarco and Richard from backwoods are great sources of further knowledge as well as a great source for a new or used machine. I do agree with wavecrazed though, if you see one in your price range, dont wait. Buy it and get used to it so you can be ready to get in the water come warm weather. If you get out there and use it, it will pay itself off pretty quickly. I paid for my machine in its first 6 months and had a little extra left over to boot, and if I can do it anyone can. Good Luck!

 

[grumpyolman]

I bought used and after I had it a few months it was gone for a month to Minelab and was returned to me taking a $150 out of my pocket. However, I got it at such a reasonable price that, except for the time without the unit available, I still came out OK. Sort of factor in a trip to the lab in terms of price and you probably wont' be disappointed. Like dig said, there are lots of honest members and sponsors that you can buy from with no fear. If GulfHunter was selling one, it would be perfect. I think he did sell one a while back. Others are good too. Just ask around. Remember you can ask questions via a PM and no one except the moderators will see it. Jim

 

[kered]

Buying any used machine is a risk. If you can find a local one it would probably be better, that way you could see it working and do the trade hand to hand. A friend of mine just bought an Excalibur 1000 on ebay, it had to travel half way round the world and took some 18 days,(who knows how many dents and bangs it got in transit) when it arrived it didn't work as the battery was flat, on charging it it only worked for a brief second then died, he took it into a local shop and they tried a new battery and it powered up ok. I sent him one of my new 1400mah fully charged batteries to give it a proper try, when he tried it it works but intermitently once you start to move, seems like its has a battery cable fault too. Rather than send it back at great expense for a refund(and loss) its gone to the minelab dealer to be fixed, the seller (give him his due) refunded the price of a new battery & pod as the old one was cracked and has water inside, the machine looks clean and dry, we'll see the outcome when it comes back, hopefully they won't find too many faults.

Having said all this lots of guys as already mentioned are good and honest, this may be a one off, any machine can work one day and fail the next, You might pay a little more for a good trade in but you have some peace of mind from people like Richard(its only a pity for me as i'm not in USA or i would have bought from him a few times, minelab rules&regs don't permit)I had to buy my second excali and etrac new.
Take into consideration the cost of a trip to minelab added to the cost if you buy second hand(just in case) like Jim

Be patient, one will turn up sooner or later and from a good source.

 

[Pyledriver]

Thanks guys! I'm planning a beach trip right now but only have my Xterra 705. I do have the large DD high freq coil, 5x10 DD HF coil and even the 6" DD HF coil so I guess that's about as good as it can get. I'm hoping to be lucky on that trip though and dig up part of the funds I need for an Excal!

 

[Gulf Hunter]

Hello Pyledriver, actually the last 2 Excals I bought were used and they are FINE units. Look for the closet units, there are plenty around. That would be the clean one owners, where the guy thought he was going to go out and find a treasure chest or Spanish treasure (I know some is found) or something. People figure out there is work involved and you don't score every hunt and it is simply too demoralizing. ANYWAY, you can tell the unit is not beat to hell, savvy? Buy that unit and YES sending the unit into Minelab for a tune & check would be an EXCELLENT idea. Fact is, you should be able to easily find such unit in the $800 price range AND I would trust buying from among forum members, as opposed to buying it off E-bay as well.

 

[tomcatpl]

i got 2 excal 1000 on ebay and they work just fine( about 800$ each)

 

[Pyledriver]

Thanks for the advice! LOL about the work involved. Some of my buddies give me grief about all the work just to find a few coins.. I just grin and remind them that last year's work paid for a good part of my family vacation!

 

[Gulf Hunter]

Careful now, you wouldn't want to be TOO encouraging, savvy?

 

[Gerry]

Gulf Hunter, you are right lets not encourage the Nay Sayer's When I first got my machine I was in awe of what it could do and told everyone so. Now I just go about my business if anyone asks I explain, you can tell the ones that get it and the ones that don't. I explain detecting as a form of dirt fishing, a nibble here and a nibble there and you end up with enough to buy your hamburger at the end of the day.

Gerry

 

[scubadetector]

It almost doesn't seem worth it to spend a grand on a machine to find a quarter!!

 

[Steve from Ohio]

It almost doesn't seem worth it to spend a grand on a machine to find a quarter!!

When you find lots of quarters, dimes. nickels and pennies it quickly adds up and you can pay for the machine and then some.

I recently sold some of the silver I had purchased with my metal detecting finds to buy an Excalibur II 1000. So that machine cost me really nothing.

I convert my clads to silver in the past and when silver went up to $18.50 an ounce, I sold some of the US silver eagles. At $.50 above spot, I had to sell 63 silver eagles for enough to buy the Excalibur. I still have hundreds of silver eagles left that I bought over the years. All due to the hobby of metal detecting. BTW...now is the best time to convert now that silver is around $17.00 an ounce. It will probably go up again.

The time I spent finding all the coins, rings and such was time that I enjoyed. Can't beat that with a stick.

 

[Dig]

Hehehe trust me Scuba knows....

 

[seaweednh]

I've bought two Excalibur II with 10" coils in the last year, both less than a year old. I sold my Xterra 70 and three coils to buy it. It was on E-bay with a buy it now for $685. This was the second one this person sold and I waited days before I bought it because there were no photos and I thought it was a scam. It showed up and what a machine. Not a scratch on it and to my surprise it came with an extra battery pod. I still use this one and is the last machine I would sell. The second one I got off of Craig's list. The guy needed money bad to pay his liability insurance before his customer would release a $12,000 check. The volume control didn't work so I sent it into Minelab under his warranty with an Elite that had coil issues. It came back with a new circuit board and new coil, a new machine! All under warranty. This was a better deal than my first one and came with a Minelab bag and car charger as well. The previous owner only used it twice and couldn't find anything with it (perhaps because the volume didn't work right from the factory?) So even on Craig's list and Ebay there are some good sellers.

Regards,
Ron

 

[Waterdog]

I have had a Minelab Excalibur 800 since new. I have had it hip mounted for many years until I went to a straight shaft. After many years of use I went to a bigger coil making it a 1000 and had that put on by minelab. I have had to replace the headphones and I think maybe some seals. A year after putting on the ten inch coil I sent it back to Minelab and had them put the original 8 inch coil back on it. It looks BAD and my friends have told me to sell it and get a newer better looking unit. I know it works good and what it is telling me, so I will keep it and maybe get another... someday.
If you find a Excalibur that sounds good, get it . Send it in too Minelab for a checkup. When the season is here you'll be Ready.