durability

Merf

Silver Member
Jan 7, 2007
3,662
1,565
Northern Illinois
Detector(s) used
Minelab vanquish, Quest x10 pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I used a Cibola for about a year and swung it in the woods and fields a lot.
It has a coil cover that protects the coil very well.
I now have a Vaquero which is top notch too.
I think it would be very hard to damage the coil on a Tesoro.
 

TimC (North Alabama)

Bronze Member
Apr 28, 2007
1,121
9
Cullman, AL
Detector(s) used
Minelabs-Garretts-Fishers-Teknetics-Whites-Nautilus-Tesoros'
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have several Tesoro's and plan to buy a Tiger Shark and Super Lobo soon. I love them and the quality is second to none and best of all they seem to have the best customer service with a lifetime warranty and that's saying something because Whites, Garrett, and Minelab has great support also, but with only a 2 year warranty. Fisher use too, but I don't know about now since First Texas bought them, so I'll try to keep an open mind about them. Just my 2 cents!
 

SaginawIan

Hero Member
Jun 1, 2006
679
14
Detroit, Michigan
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75, Tesoro Tejon, Tesoro Mojave.
I tripped and broke my fall with my Tesoro, rod and coil. All 200+ pounds of me and it didn't hurt it. That was impresive. While I wouldn't try it again, I'm suprised it didn't snap or bend.

Ian
 

bavarianminister

Full Member
Dec 9, 2007
130
1
Detector(s) used
Whites DFX, Tesoro Cibola, Garrett GTA1000, GTAX550, ACE250, Fisher 1212, Minelab X-terra, Whites DFX
Love the Tesoros! They are rock solid - having two locking rings on the shaft. I would rate them right up there with the older Fishers. You cannot go wrong with a Tesoro. I have owned at least 1 detector with all major manufacturers within the last 20 years - and Tesoro has really come up with some super quality machines lately.
 

JOE(USA)

Hero Member
Dec 3, 2006
668
5
New Milford,CT.
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Cortes/Tiger Shark,Whites,B.H./ Teknetics,3DElectronics/ Two Box, Minelab XS,Excal.
The Tesoro company wouldn't be able to give a lifetime warranty if their detectors weren't "bullet proof". The Tesoro's are professional detectors,giving solid reliable performance at a reasonable price. That price would not be possable if the Tesoro's had all the whistle and bell features that some of other companies have. Gadgets / features sell on metal detectors as well as on cars,trucks and whatever, nothing wrong with it, we all have our likes,dislikes and opinions. Joe
 

U.K. Brian

Bronze Member
Oct 11, 2005
1,629
153
Detector(s) used
XLT, Whites D.F., Treasure Baron, Deepstar, Goldquest, Beachscan, T.D.I., Sovereign, 2x Nautilus, various Arado's, Ixcus Diver, Altek Quadtone, T2, Beach Hunter I.D, GS 5 pulse, Searchman 2 ,V3i
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Great to have a lifetime warranty but the rest of the world that hasn't remembers water leakage into the coils if you stuck one in a cold river or pool on a hot day. The wire connecting the shielding in the coil coming adrift. Three piece shafts that wobbled. Paint finish stripping off the EuroSabre shaft. Knobs that are too free running. Battery door falling off the Tejon etc
Still like them as a machine and they are cheap to buy but they are not perfect.
 

Shenandoah Digger

Full Member
Nov 22, 2006
226
8
Virginia
Detector(s) used
Tried almost everything made since the late 60's
I would agree that Tesoro has had some very limited quality control issues, which of course they've taken care of. As far as the knobs turning too easily, although I've never had a problem with that, 25 cents worth of O rings and five minutes of time will cure that. I had a tree limb fall and crush the box of my Tejon. That's certainly not a warranty repair, but Tesoro replaced it for free. I assure you no other company will do that, even within their short warranty periods. So as far as toughness, durability, and peace of mind, they're not perfect, but better than all the rest.
 

JOE(USA)

Hero Member
Dec 3, 2006
668
5
New Milford,CT.
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Cortes/Tiger Shark,Whites,B.H./ Teknetics,3DElectronics/ Two Box, Minelab XS,Excal.
U.K. Brian & Shenandoah Digger,

Thanks for weighing in on the topic and my comments. Brian your 100% right that Tesoro is not perfect, no metal detector company is, but Shenandoah Digger's words go to show how far Tesoro will go to make things right. Joe
 

U.K. Brian

Bronze Member
Oct 11, 2005
1,629
153
Detector(s) used
XLT, Whites D.F., Treasure Baron, Deepstar, Goldquest, Beachscan, T.D.I., Sovereign, 2x Nautilus, various Arado's, Ixcus Diver, Altek Quadtone, T2, Beach Hunter I.D, GS 5 pulse, Searchman 2 ,V3i
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hi Joe

The rest of the world doesn't deal with Tesoro but a distributor that has already nearly doubled the cost of the machine. This means the Cortes thats list price $849 but sells in the U.S. for $680 is $1300 here...then your supposed to go and buy O rings !
Plus the lifetime warranty has dropped to two years.
Most had at least one Tesoro in the past but thats no longer true which is a pity.
 

JOE(USA)

Hero Member
Dec 3, 2006
668
5
New Milford,CT.
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Cortes/Tiger Shark,Whites,B.H./ Teknetics,3DElectronics/ Two Box, Minelab XS,Excal.
U.K. Brian,

I'm not sure about what you are saying about U.K. metal detector distributors? Do the Distb. over there double the price on all detectors or just Tesoro? Do U.K. buyers get a different warranty than the U.S.? I understand about the "O" rings because you are already in an aggravated state about paying double for the detector. What kind of a dealer would let their customer be unhappy because of a few "O" rings? I certainly would not let a customer of mine be unhappy because of a item that cost $1 or less ,I would supply the "O" rings. Joe
 

U.K. Brian

Bronze Member
Oct 11, 2005
1,629
153
Detector(s) used
XLT, Whites D.F., Treasure Baron, Deepstar, Goldquest, Beachscan, T.D.I., Sovereign, 2x Nautilus, various Arado's, Ixcus Diver, Altek Quadtone, T2, Beach Hunter I.D, GS 5 pulse, Searchman 2 ,V3i
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hi Joe

What happens is that the dollar price is often converted direct to sterling so $1000 becomes £1000 which at the moment means the price is doubled.
Lifetime warranties for Tesoro and Fisher in the past are reduced to two years which is the minimum that can be given with any product. The new T2 and F75 drop from five years to two.

Whites has an assembly and repair factory up in Scotland. This tends to mean their machines are better value here, plus I think you only get two years warranty in the States which we also get. But they don't supply the money off vouchers you get at times.

If I buy in most of the rest of Europe I still pay more than the U.S. price but less than the British one and get three years warranty rather than two.

So people import direct from the States but then get caught by the fact that if the machine does need repair they can't get it done under warranty in Britain (classed as a 'grey' import) and have to return it at their own cost. Could be you get a faulty machine straight out the box. Postage is no longer based on weight but also the size of the parcel. So its far more expensive than in the past and there's the time factor in the machine travelling across the Atlantic and back and passing through customs.



There is V.A.T. (value added tax) which is added to almost everthing in Europe at the rate of 17.5% so that increase and the cost of getting machines here has to be considered as just but the actual increase is way above what it should be and no doubt is the reason machines such as the Treasure Baron, Troy Shadows etc didn't do well as the in store price was way out of the range that many could afford.
 

Shenandoah Digger

Full Member
Nov 22, 2006
226
8
Virginia
Detector(s) used
Tried almost everything made since the late 60's
Well Brian I'm not an expert on all the dollar to euros to pounds conversions, but I had considered getting an XP Goldmax. With the conversion and poor value of the dollar, the machine would have costed me a whole lot more than what I think it's worth. So I had to pass on it. And I can certainly see why you'd pass on a Cortes at double the U.S. price, because as good as it may be, it's not worth that price. And without the warranty, it has very little value. Although I'm not a big White's fan, I think they're a much better value for you. I'm not sure what "native" machines are available to you, but if I were going to buy a White's, I'd probably go with the M6.
 

U.K. Brian

Bronze Member
Oct 11, 2005
1,629
153
Detector(s) used
XLT, Whites D.F., Treasure Baron, Deepstar, Goldquest, Beachscan, T.D.I., Sovereign, 2x Nautilus, various Arado's, Ixcus Diver, Altek Quadtone, T2, Beach Hunter I.D, GS 5 pulse, Searchman 2 ,V3i
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
You may have had a lucky escape with the Goldmaxx as though it is one of my favourite machines there's a heck of a lot of places in the States where it doesn't work that well. Same applies to the Nexus.
The lower frequency XP's are often a better choice and its possible to pick up a almost new one of the previous range ie 200 (rather than 250), Adventis (rather than Adventis 2) quite cheaply off U.K. E-Bay as many here have to follow the fashion trends and have the latest of everything.
The low dollar is a problem at the moment. Funny it costs you more to import but doesn't gain us anything here when buying a new U.S. machine.
Detecting full time the cost of a machine doesn't come into it for me except that if two brands are similar in price and performance but the U.S. one is then loaded far higher its the U.S. machine that doesn't get bought.
 

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