Is my Vaquero "cold"?

[Chuck@TreasureHut]

Hello Flint......I'm sorry, but yes it was posted, and also noted on your sales receipt, and verbally discussed as well. I truly am sorry for the misunderstanding. In addition.....it is Tesoro's policy that "no used detector can be sold with warranty."

If you wish to send it back to me (of course in the same condition it was when I shipped it to you), I will be happy to give you full credit against a new machine (with full lifetime warranty).
You will only have to pick up the difference between what you paid, and the cost of the new machine.

As far as the "big L" on your forehead is concerned, I don't see one, and after this post of yours, I'm sure no one else will either!

 

[flint]

Hi again Chuck,

That deal sounds definitely doable to me. The only thing different on the detector is there are a few more scratches on the coil cover, and a couple small cracks along the coil cover edge that happened when I was removing it to clean out all the grit (was beach hunting).

But what you could do (if it's possible) is just swap the coil covers on the new for the one that's on the Tesoro I currently have... that would not be a problem for me. Otherwise the detector is still in the same condition that I got it in.

Or if you prefer I could just pay a bit extra for the 'devaluing' of the detector I have, although it's all just the coil cover. What I could do is just send the detector back to you and then I'll let you take a look at it and decide how you'd like to proceed. Of course I'll have to wait until it comes back from Tesoro, which hopefully should be by the end of this next week.

Once again, sorry for the misunderstanding. I wasn't trying to trash your reputation at all, which would've been pretty hard to do anyway because everybody knows that you're a reputable businessman.

Thanks again for the offer. I appreciate it.

 

[Chuck@TreasureHut]

OK Flint......when you get it back, send it to me. I will change coil covers, and we can go from there. In the meantime, be thinking about what new machine you want....Vaquero or??? Please let me know when you are shipping it.

Thanks.....

 

[flint]

You betcha. I'm normally much better at communicating on the net, but unfortunately the past couple weeks have been pretty rough (some mornings I don't get in until 2am) which is why I kinda stumbled on this one.

I really like the Vaquero, so it would be traded in for a 'new' one. I mainly found the lifetime warranty on their products to be one of the compelling reasons for buying Tesoro. Aside from the fact that people have had tremendous success with Tesoro products... it seemed like a win/win situation to me.

I'll try to keep everybody posted (as promptly as possible) on how things are going. I have at least one more week of working two jobs so the next update probably won't come until next weekend. I just got lucky and got a day off for the first time in fourteen days today.

Updates to come.

 

[Gribnitz]

The Tesoro support is second to none ! No way anyone can match that gaurantee on a machine. They even fix the oldies that people send in. I can sympathize on the 'cold' vaquero feeling. I think I got one too. It is 'ok', but it just doesn't seem to have the oommppfh that I read others talk about. I chaulked it up as hype and bought a Tejon. The Tejon really is a beast on depth. The Vaquero is a back up now, but I may send it in to see if isn't tweaked right. I noticed it isn't picking up nickels until I turn the disc way down past the nickel mark on the knob.

 

[flint]

Yeah, Tesoro has great customer service.

I heard from Rusty, one of their techs a couple days ago, and apparently he could not replicate the problem. He said I probably had the threshold set too low, and when he tested the unit with the threshold set high, he was detecting a quarter at 12".

The only thing that bothers me about that scenario, is when you kick up the threshold, you also lose a lot of the depth estimation of the tone volume, so a quarter at 2" will sound off just like a quarter at 12", which I guess is okay, just that it would be nicer to figure out how far down you're going to have to dig before starting the hole, but this is just minor quibbling.

The point is kinda moot now anyway since this one is going back to Chuck, but it's nice to know that at least it's performing within spec according to their tech.

Maybe I'll have to give the Tejon a look... it seems to be one of the hottest detectors on the market right now, and relatively isn't much more expensive than the Vaquero. Thanks for the input Gribnitz, now I have a dilemma.

 

[flint]

Well, another development has occurred in this scenario...

After posting my last reply, I decided to start breaking down the parts of the detector I still have to box them up (I only sent in the coil/control box), and discovered that beach sand is horrible on metal detector parts. Both of the tightening latches have a bit of grit in them, and there was also grit between the metal and plastic parts of the shaft, which had scratched up the plastic fairly well where it fits inside the metal shaft.

So... it appears that this detector will probably stay in my possession after all. I feel there's just too many scuffs on it now (and grit in the latches) for it to be a valuable enough trade-in just to get the warranty.

I'll probably get enough use out of it to justify the price without the warranty, and if it ever does happen to need repair, I'll take a look at the cost versus just buying a new detector (by that time there'll probably be new, hotter technology out).

At least that solves my dilemma, and once I get the parts back from Tesoro I can get back out in the field, time permitting. I'm missing my coin-shooting expeditions. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

So, I thank you for the trade-in offer Chuck, but with things the way they are I think I'm probably better off just keeping it. Once I get the burning desire for another detector in the future I'll make sure to look you up (those Tejon's are darn compelling machines).

I also plan on playing around with the settings on the Vaquero some more so that I'll be able to differentiate between user error and the machine's limitations. I hate feeling like a doofus, but I guess that's something we can't escape all of the time.

 

[Chuck@TreasureHut]

Hey Flint....thank you for being honest about the sand and scratches in and on the machine. You are right, beach sand is hard on any detector. I wish I could offer you full value on the trade, and I understand your dilema. I do have a suggestion for you however.

The upper and lower rods are replacable. My cost from the factory for a new set of rods and hardware is $55.80. If there are no scratches on the control box and coil, I would be willing to take it back for the price you paid less the $55.80.

Let me know what you decide, and either way, you are a Treasure Hut customer, one whom we value. We are here to help you in any way we can.

 

[Dig'n in Va.]

I'm interested to see what kind of performance you'll get when you get it back from Tesoro.. I'm pretty sure I remember you said in your earlier posts that you were only getting 6 inches on depth..There's no way it will gain 6 more inches in depth simply by raising the threshold level. I think on most Tesoro models in disc. mode I can usually add maybe 2 more inches by raising the threshold from the normal low hum to full on..Maybe it got some bumps in transit to Tesoro and it will be better when you get it back...let us know..... Dave

 

[Dig'n in Va.]

When it comes to Tesoro I don't put that much importance on buying new just to get a warranty. Down thru the years I've had several Tesoro models sent in to be fixed, some of them pretty old, and it has never cost me anything for the repairs or return shipping, only the initial shipping fee to send it in.. The one exception was when I sent in my Lobo ST with a new coil so they could tune them together.. Due to some kind of misunderstanding they opened the control box up and seen dried dirt inside and assumed it had been sent in for water damage..I ended up paying a little over $200.00 for a new circuit board and some switches.. Although it was working fine when I sent it in, I had bought it used about 2 years earlier and it's possible the previous owner had dunked it into some muddy water before I got it ? But the many good things they've done for free more than made up for that one time....As for the parts you need, last year I bought a couple of the center gray metal sections for use with my Nautilus setup and they were about $22.00 apiece. As for the lower brown fiber section, they cost about the same and they fit any model.. But if you are going to keep it I wouldn't worry about a few scratches. Just flush out the sand with some water and keep going.....Dave

 

[Gribnitz]

Started with a new Tejon, but I just couldn't get the knack for ground balancing. Traded it to someone for a DeLeon plus a few coils. I bought a new Vaquero a bit later on because it wasn't too much money and I wanted to get a bit deeper.

Later on, I had to send in the DeLeon to get some things fixed after a while (remember, this was a trade)....no charge, PLUS a brand new 4 inch coil because the one I also sent in was unfixable....no charge.

That sold me, bought another new Tejon since the Vaquero helped me figure out ground balance and now I'm a happy camper. If I had stuck with it longer, I could have saved buying ANY other machine besides the first Tejon I bought, but Tesoro understands the market and really takes care of their customers. Fantastic company.

 

[flint]

Thanks again for the offer Chuck.
I'll definitely keep it in mind now that I know the exact amount extra it'll cost. The main thing is that rather than an extra $60, it's now $120, which is where the wife factor kicks in.

I'm hoping that the detector will be back in my possession within the next couple of days. As far as I can remember, the coil and control box are still excellent, it was just where sand got into the hardware on this one that caused problems.

I'll keep in touch and let you know what I decide.

Also, thanks for the replies Gribnitz and Dig'n in Va. I appreciate the input.