actually i started on a harbor freight MD and once i became familiar with its quirks i actually got used to it. you can get a 3 year additional warranty for like 8 bucks. i returned mine when i bought an ace250 and got store credit for my new solar battery charger and they pro-rated my warranty and gave me cash back! its a good feeling
I picked up a MPx Digital from Aardvark ( Kelly CO) on Ebay. The detector has a bad rap because people has judged it without giving it a chance. I submitted a best offer of $110.00 and received two search coils, waist bag, probe and a cheep digger. It has a built in pin pointer and gives icons of items you are detecting so you dont have to dig everything. It came with a 5 year warranty and I cant complain about my purchase at all. I would love to have a minelab or a fisher but, this works just great for my budget!