White's MX Sport - Sweet Home, We Have A Problem

[khouse]

Well it's been several months since my initial order of 3 MXSports.  I had dropped shipped 2 of them and 1 was for me.  All 3 had the initial issues as the feedback came in from my customers.  They however had no issue in sending them back in for repair especially for the price I sold them for. One even had to send his back another time because the pinpoint was weak.  So I just quit pushing the MXS's..  Fast forward to last Tuesday (7/5/16)  I find out from my wife that she's planned a 3 day trip to the Table Rock Lake area. Well since I had sold my waterproof Compadre last fall I was desperate for another waterproof machine.  So I figured I would give the MXS another shot.  After all I've been a dealer since 1985 and using a machine at my cost is always a plus.  I figured by now all the bugs would be smoothed out and maybe even some more software updates might have been done that no one knows about..???  So I get my shiny new machine yesterday.  I get home from work and put it all together and head to my coin garden. It was no better than my 1st one!  In fact it's worse because this one's pinpoint feature is weak to non existent! So I then check the SAT to see if it goes to 8 to prove it has the updated firmware - it only goes to 6!!!!!!!!!!!!!  By now I'm actually pissed!!!  I am so happy I didn't drop ship it to a customer.  Then to make matters worse I start checking the whole machine out.  I found 4 cracks in the clear face around the sealing point!!  I found 2 right in the upper corners as posted by others.  This is not my distributors problem.  This is Sweet Homes problem!!  I emailed my distributor and said I wanted a brand new machine but not before they check for cracks, pinpoint issues and the SAT that goes to 8.  I am not sending this POS machine back to Sweet Home and wait a month or better to get a used machine back!!  So for all you buying a new machine have your dealer or distributor take it out of the box and check it.  This is going to save you a ton of headaches. 

[bowwinkles]

Seems like the logical solution would be for potential new buyers to do the research and choose another maker for their next purchase and use that new machine for the next couple years until the management at whites finally gets a handle on this now worsening problem. We are now seeing the dissatisfaction coming from dealers which carry other brands so they would benefit from that choice as well as the new purchaser.  

[Steve Herschbach]

There are an amazing number of people who don't know about the continuing issues or do know and don't care. The general mantra is "don't worry, White's will take care of you". And while that may very well be the case, the lack of a coordinated response and continued existence of older units in the pipeline with known problems means this issue will churn for at least the remainder of the year, if not longer.

White's will no doubt survive it but not without a cost. I for one if asked a year ago would have chosen White's above all others as the company you could most trust to put out a brand new model that had been thoroughly vetted and likely problem free. You could argue that has not actually been true for some time but it was the way I still felt about it. I also was clearly pumped up over the MX Sport and in many ways the machine was slated to be the machine that I spent a great deal of time using and posting about in 2016. Sometimes I am a "Minelab Guy" (SDC and GPZ) and sometimes I am a "Garrett Guy" (ATX) and sometimes a "Fisher Guy" (F75, Gold Bug Pro) and I even have taken a spin as a "Nokta/Makro Guy" (FORS Gold, Gold Racer). In years past I have been a "White's Guy" (MXT, TDI) but it had been a while. I looked at the MX Sport as bringing it around to White's once again and was all set to ride my "White's Guy" horse this year.

Right now I could be out using the MX Sport and posting regularly as a happy user. I might also have been on board as a product tester. Not to toot my own horn too loudly, but there would have been some value for White's should it have worked out that way. Instead, I have moved on with my perception of White's altered as a result, and not in a good way. I can't in good conscience recommend anyone buy a White's MX Sport at this time, and White's has nobody but themselves to blame for that. In no way am I "anti White's" but after 40 long years I for the first time ever am also not in the "pro White's" camp either.

Just another sad step on the way to becoming older, more cynical, and less trusting.

[RickUK]

Steve,i am probably thinking exactly the same as yourself,all though i have never ever had any problems with any Whites detectors,the last one i bought was a TDI Pro dated 2015,so possibly the last TDI sold in the UK,my long term view of reliabilty of this proven design is a minimum of 10 years,i dont tend too change my machines much.

Never sent a machine back to Whites in Inverness for repair or calibration as they just keep working,but since they have gone away from the reliable metal box machines i have also lost my confidence in the brand as well.But if a decent as new MXT came along at the right price i may be very tempted to add that machine to my arsenal before they discontinue them.

Must admit i am finding the older i get the tighter i am getting,but i do have 18 detectors and about 45 coils in my detecting arsenal for various site specific uses.

 

[DetectingMO]

3 hours ago, khouse said:

Well it's been several months since my initial order of 3 MXSports.  I had dropped shipped 2 of them and 1 was for me.  All 3 had the initial issues as the feedback came in from my customers.  They however had no issue in sending them back in for repair especially for the price I sold them for. One even had to send his back another time because the pinpoint was weak.  So I just quit pushing the MXS's..  Fast forward to last Tuesday (7/5/16)  I find out from my wife that she's planned a 3 day trip to the Table Rock Lake area. Well since I had sold my waterproof Compadre last fall I was desperate for another waterproof machine.  So I figured I would give the MXS another shot.  After all I've been a dealer since 1985 and using a machine at my cost is always a plus.  I figured by now all the bugs would be smoothed out and maybe even some more software updates might have been done that no one knows about..???  So I get my shiny new machine yesterday.  I get home from work and put it all together and head to my coin garden. It was no better than my 1st one!  In fact it's worse because this one's pinpoint feature is weak to non existent! So I then check the SAT to see if it goes to 8 to prove it has the updated firmware - it only goes to 6!!!!!!!!!!!!!  By now I'm actually pissed!!!  I am so happy I didn't drop ship it to a customer.  Then to make matters worse I start checking the whole machine out.  I found 4 cracks in the clear face around the sealing point!!  I found 2 right in the upper corners as posted by others.  This is not my distributors problem.  This is Sweet Homes problem!!  I emailed my distributor and said I wanted a brand new machine but not before they check for cracks, pinpoint issues and the SAT that goes to 8.  I am not sending this POS machine back to Sweet Home and wait a month or better to get a used machine back!!  So for all you buying a new machine have your dealer or distributor take it out of the box and check it.  This is going to save you a ton of headaches. 

Same distributor, same exact issues minus the cracks on mine.  Will be back Monday after nearly 3 week hiatus.  hopefully it works and isn't cracked. :(

[khouse]

This is the exact reason Whites should have done a full recall.  All dealers and distributors need to open every box and make sure the SAT goes to 8 and check for cracks.  Whites does not give refunds and as soon as I get my replacement and make sure it's upgraded and works right I'll sell it at cost and move on. 

[bowwinkles]

Mr. Khouse, When you say they do not give refunds, does this mean that you as a dealer only have a one way system of doing business? When you order your stock you have to pay for it, and if you have to return defective units at your expense  they only give credit or another same unit and there is no option for you to receive payment for returned defective items even though you do not wish to stock a problematic unit? If that scenario is true then it is a win win for Whites and a loose loose for the dealer/customer base. Does that follow through the distributors also or is this just Whites call?

[khouse]

I cannot simply send the machine back and ask for a refund.  The work around is I ask for a replacement and then send the bad one back and refuse the new one so it's sent back.  So in the long run I can get my money back.  As a customer Whites stance is "No refunds"  They will however repair it as many times as it takes within 2 years.  The customer can get a refund from a dealer and then it will be up to the dealer to hassle with the distributor if the dealer choose to do so. Nothing is easy when you have a bad machine....

[Steve Herschbach]

That is not unusual. As a past dealer for many brands of many types of equipment I can report "repair or replace" is pretty much standard operating procedure between dealers and suppliers. It is also fairly standard terminology in warranties for consumers. When I ran the service dept repairs under warranty was job one - replacement a last resort. Outright refunds? Extremely rare.

[bowwinkles]

Sure looks like being a stocking Whites dealer is not the thing to do until this mess is finished. The manufacture does not know what they are shipping and the receiving dealer has to break the seal and test to find out what they received. There is something seriously wrong with that system. We are going to be seeing a lot less Whites dealers unless things change. It appears the solution would be for the manufacture not to ship faulty units in the first place. Case solved and UPS stock will go down in value. Finds pouches will start to fill up with the use of functioning detectors that are in use rather than being in shipping or repair status.