Racer coil issue and my response...

[SavingThePast]

First, I own a racer and it is a good machine.

Second, I just had what in my opinion is a terrible customer service experience with Makro and I dont see myself owning any of their products in the future.

Before the Racer was released, they had a rep posting all the time on forums and I thought that was great and unheard of and to be homest, that definately helped sell me on getting one. I thought...Wow, this company is going to make a mark! I definately have lost that feeling!!!

I use my racer with the 5" on it exclusively. Well, a couple weeks ago I decided to put the larger coil on it for a little bit. This was the first time the larger coil had ever been out of the box. I ran it for maybe an hour and then proceeded to switch back to the 5". When I was removing it I noticed what looks like a very small crack starting from the mounting tab hole at the front. It also looked like the plastic had two different shades of colors running from that crack toward the front at an angle. My thought was it cracked from tightening the coil bolt as I had no clue what else could have caused it. I got online and started looking only to find there had been some cases of coil tabs breaking off. I saw where the rep posted an email to contact with any problems.

On june 18th, I sent an email explaining the above and the next morning received an email back. It stated I needed to get some kind of apps and send a video/photos to some # which I assume is over in turkey. I replied I dont really mess with apps but that here were my photos and attached them to the reply.
Well, I never heard a peep back. After some discussion on another forum about it another member recommended I email them back as they might not have received the photos. I did that I think it was thursday evening june 25 explaining I had never heard back and asked if they got my photos. Friday morning I had this reply..

"Your stock coil looks normal , if anything be like broken please let me know ,"

I waited a week and had to send a follow up to get that...

Maybe its me seeing something that isnt there and if so, thats fine. They sure could have told me that much quicker than was done though. My concern is, I dont think the coil is right and I just know if I ever do use it, its going to break all the way while I am using it which will stink. I guess for makro The coil has to be broken into pieces for it not to be normal and this is with them knowing they have/had an issue with the coil.

I look at myself as a positive person and try to look at the good and not the bad but I have to admit, I was disappointed with having to contact them again only to find out the pictures must have been seen but no response given.

I ended up grinding a v groove along the line and then filled it with a 2 part epoxy based material we use on plastics at the shop. Since they wouldnt take care of it and I definately dont want it breaking clean off during a hunt if/when I ever do use it again, it will give me some peace of mind..One thing I know for sure, it wont break in that same spot. If it breaks next to it, I can probably guess it wont be warrantied then either though since they will say its been tampered with but I dont care anymore to be honest. The only reason I even cared in the first place is because I never use that coil and if I ever decided to sell the machine I wouldnt feel right not mentioning it. what is that going to do to the value of it? It really bothers me that as the route I had to go and with a coil that had a whole one hour of use on it.

oh well, it is what it is, but I definately did not receive the service other evidently have experienced with them.

Here is the photo, what do you all think? Am I crazy or does it look like a small crack starting at the front of the mount hole(about center)? You may have to zoom in. Even if you think I am crazy, thats ok, I can take it. I just checked it in preview mode. You will have to click on it to view it full size and that should put the photo at the correct angle, then zoom in if needed. The crack starts at the middle of the hole and then goestoward the front of the coil.

 

[TallTom]

First, let me say I think you are being pretty reasonable, both in your observations about your coil and
your (attempted) interactions with Makro.

However, the crack on your photo is pretty subtle. If someone doesn't zoom in AND have a pretty
decent monitor with which to view it, they might overlook the crack.

I can also guess that the support person who looked at the photo might say to him or herself,
"That coil sure looks like it's still usable. We can't send out a replacement coil unless the original
coil isn't usable or we'll be throwing money away."

I'm just speculating, of course. I don't know whether they saw the crack and didn't think it was
serious enough to replace, or if they didn't even see the crack. (Or if they're suddenly refusing to
replace damaged coils, although I doubt that.)

My suggestion would be as follows. Take it for what it's worth (if anything):

1. Send them a photo that marks the location of the crack, so they have a better chance of finding it.
I made a crude example, which I'll attach. Maybe that's all they need to understand the problem.
(They'll still need to zoom in to see the notes I attached. I guess I should have made them bigger.)
If you don't get good results from Makro, proceed to number 2 below.

2. You've already patched the coil, so this suggestion is probably too late, but bolt the coil onto a rod and
remove it once of twice. Does the tab break? Does the crack get worse? If either happens, take a
photo and send THAT to Makro. There will be no dispute that your coil is damaged, I'd hope.
Since you're using the small coil all the time, you should be able to survive the broken 11" coil until
a replacement arrives.

Good luck!

 

[Low-Boy/LCPM]

Doesn't look like a crack more of a scratch if you flex the ears does it change can you see a fisher? Anyway you seem to be one of just a few if any that have had a hard time with them. I would have talked to my dealer but now that you have fixed it that is it you can't do anything. The racer is a sweet machine one I want to keep and keep using for awhile. Sorry it didn't work out for you..

 

[squirrel1]

Very simple. You have made Makro aware. Keep using it and monitor. If the crack get either very noticeable or breakage occurs, talk to makro warranty division here in the USA. You have plenty of warranty time left on your unit. Noone that I know of has been refused timely coil replacement for a coil that has broken.

I guess we could look at it this way. What if no others had ever experienced any coil ear breakage problems and reported???? Would you when looking at your coil as it is now have been concerned/as concerned ????

 

[SavingThePast]

hey Tom,
thats isnt where the crack was. that is just a bad mold mark. the crack was down at the hole and headed out past where you can see where the coil washer rubs(i assume). if you look down at the hole you should be able to see where the plastic looks a lighter shade above it and a darker shade below it. I wish I knew how to do what you did though so I could point it out. I will see if I can get a friend to help me do that.

First, let me say I think you are being pretty reasonable, both in your observations about your coil and
your (attempted) interactions with Makro.

However, the crack on your photo is pretty subtle. If someone doesn't zoom in AND have a pretty
decent monitor with which to view it, they might overlook the crack.

I can also guess that the support person who looked at the photo might say to him or herself,
"That coil sure looks like it's still usable. We can't send out a replacement coil unless the original
coil isn't usable or we'll be throwing money away."

I'm just speculating, of course. I don't know whether they saw the crack and didn't think it was
serious enough to replace, or if they didn't even see the crack. (Or if they're suddenly refusing to
replace damaged coils, although I doubt that.)

My suggestion would be as follows. Take it for what it's worth (if anything):

1. Send them a photo that marks the location of the crack, so they have a better chance of finding it.
I made a crude example, which I'll attach. Maybe that's all they need to understand the problem.
(They'll still need to zoom in to see the notes I attached. I guess I should have made them bigger.)
If you don't get good results from Makro, proceed to number 2 below.

2. You've already patched the coil, so this suggestion is probably too late, but bolt the coil onto a rod and
remove it once of twice. Does the tab break? Does the crack get worse? If either happens, take a
photo and send THAT to Makro. There will be no dispute that your coil is damaged, I'd hope.
Since you're using the small coil all the time, you should be able to survive the broken 11" coil until
a replacement arrives.

Good luck!

 

[TallTom]

Wow! Sorry, my bad.

But my aging eyes can't make out what you're referring to, at least not for sure.
I think you need to take a new photo, maybe with the lighting at a different angle,
and maybe with something like a pencil point in the photo, pointing to the crack.
Can you even see the crack after your patch job? Maybe it's too late.
If so, sorry again.

By the way, I used open source GIMP 2.8 to edit the photo and add a "text layer" with the captions,
in case anyone is interested. I'm sure lots of other photo editing products have similar
capabilities.

--Tom

 

[goodmore]

Like I said in an earlier post I probably had one of the first coils that cracked. And mine you could see. Yours did not look like a crack.

Now having said that I found contacting metaldetector.com the American distributor for Makro yielded me much better results than contacting Makro directly. In fact they were a pleasure to deal with.

I would have continued to use the coil the way it was. If it broke it would have been replaced with no problems.

They have all the paperwork on file. My name, dealer I ordered it through, and serial numbers. I didn't need any receipt.

You certainly are entitled to your opinions and are sure allowed to share your experiences with detector companies. But my experience was the total opposite, and I will deal with Makro anytime.

The crack is front of my thumb. I may try to repair it so I didn't want to push too hard. But it is all the way through.

 

[Low-Boy/LCPM]

Now that looks like a starting of a crack

 

[SavingThePast]

I had a guy at work do this for me this morning...I see/saw it plain as day but I guess thats because I have the coil itself and am not trying to go off a photo like you all...

 

[Cal_Cobra]

I had a coil replaced by Makro for a different reason, and I contacted them directly and they shipped me a new replacement from Turkey ASAP. I didn't know at the time that we could use the US disty, but the few coil replacements I've seen posted about went that route and they were very happy with the service and speedy turn-around.

Looking at your photo, I see what you're looking at, but don't really see it as a problem. That's not to say 100% it's not, but if I saw that on my coil, I wouldn't be concerned.

HH,
Brian

 

[Richard@BackwoodsDetectors]

Contact the dealer.. Richard

 

[foreign object]

Seeing as you had another coil I'm not sure why you did not just use it. Then if it broke you could have it replaced. Now that you have modified it you are on your own.
We live and learn.

 

[SavingThePast]

We live and learn.

I sure did foreign.

As I stated earlier, I only use my racer with the 5" . I put the stock coil on that day just to give it a go. I dont know if/when I will ever use the stock coil again because If I am using a larger coil I use the deus or ctx depending on the site. I guess I could have been dishonest and broke the tab clean off the coil but that is not my style. When I saw they had coil issues I figured if I sent them the photo showing where mine was starting to crack after one use they would switch the coil out no problem. Coil issue or not, Makro had a rep on the forums all the time before release and answered questions very quickly. It was very disappointing to have to wait a week(and that was only because I emailed again)just to get a response. That is quite a difference compared to their actions before the release. I am happy others who have posted received great service. That was not the case for me.

 

[Nokta Detectors]

We live and learn.

I sure did foreign.

As I stated earlier, I only use my racer with the 5" . I put the stock coil on that day just to give it a go. I dont know if/when I will ever use the stock coil again because If I am using a larger coil I use the deus or ctx depending on the site. I guess I could have been dishonest and broke the tab clean off the coil but that is not my style. When I saw they had coil issues I figured if I sent them the photo showing where mine was starting to crack after one use they would switch the coil out no problem. Coil issue or not, Makro had a rep on the forums all the time before release and answered questions very quickly. It was very disappointing to have to wait a week(and that was only because I emailed again)just to get a response. That is quite a difference compared to their actions before the release. I am happy others who have posted received great service. That was not the case for me.

Hello... just wanted to step in here. I (Dilek - Sales & Marketing Manager, Nokta) still read the forum on a daily basis and post actively if there are any questions that are not answered by the members or if we see the need to. We do not want to interfere in conversations between the members as we want to keep the forum as objective as possible. In your case, we are sorry if it took a week for you to get a response as Makro sales team is as responsive as we (Nokta) are. I am sure there is a good reason for it but in any case we apologize.

 

[SavingThePast]

Thanks Dilek. I appreciate the apology and the reply. As I stated in my first post, I think the racer is a good machine and there seems to be many people who were taken care of promptly whith their issues. Maybe I just slipped through the cracks or something. I was just really disappointed with having to send a follow up to get a reply only to be told my coil was normal when in my opinion its not. Its all water under the bridge now and maybe I should have kept using it(instead of filling in the area) until it broke the ear clean off. I guess I just assumed the issue was going to be handled different than what it was. Right or wrong, I am over it. I wish your company all the best in your future developments as competition is a great thing.
Take care
Dale

We live and learn.

I sure did foreign.

As I stated earlier, I only use my racer with the 5" . I put the stock coil on that day just to give it a go. I dont know if/when I will ever use the stock coil again because If I am using a larger coil I use the deus or ctx depending on the site. I guess I could have been dishonest and broke the tab clean off the coil but that is not my style. When I saw they had coil issues I figured if I sent them the photo showing where mine was starting to crack after one use they would switch the coil out no problem. Coil issue or not, Makro had a rep on the forums all the time before release and answered questions very quickly. It was very disappointing to have to wait a week(and that was only because I emailed again)just to get a response. That is quite a difference compared to their actions before the release. I am happy others who have posted received great service. That was not the case for me.

Hello... just wanted to step in here. I (Dilek - Sales & Marketing Manager, Nokta) still read the forum on a daily basis and post actively if there are any questions that are not answered by the members or if we see the need to. We do not want to interfere in conversations between the members as we want to keep the forum as objective as possible. In your case, we are sorry if it took a week for you to get a response as Makro sales team is as responsive as we (Nokta) are. I am sure there is a good reason for it but in any case we apologize.

 

[SavingThePast]

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