Racer vs AT Pro

garret_21

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2014
Messages
80
Location
Missouri
Alright I am just about to pull the trigger on a new machine, and I know many of you have been buying the racer.

If you could only have one....which one would you buy AT Pro or Racer?

Thanks
 
If doing any water hunting at all. The ATP.

Otherwise it's a coin flip and comes down to preference.

Racer has faster recovery and slight edge on depth and All metal mode but cost $50 more.

ATP has notch, iron audio, and waterproof.

I can get you on a great price on either when you choose to buy. Just message me.
 
Thanks, I will be in the Columbia area a week from today. Water hunting will be very limited...mostly old home sites, and a few town spots. Vacation on the beach once a year will be the only water it will see more than likely.

I have set to buy the ATP and now that its time to pull the trigger I am wondering if this is the right purchase. My buddy has an Etrac but I cannot fork out that much cash.

If doing any water hunting at all. The ATP.

Otherwise it's a coin flip and comes down to preference.

Racer has faster recovery and slight edge on depth and All metal mode but cost $50 more.

I can get you on a great price on either when you choose to buy. Just message me.
 
At pro is a much more versatile machine. When the racer first came out my friend picked one up and we compared it to the deus, at pro, tejon and vaquero. We have several old homestead sites we hunt here in Colorado loaded with iron and square nails. Honestly the at pro with the 5 X 8 held its own against the racer and others and it's fully waterproof, rain proof etc. For mid priced detector you cannot beat the at pro.
 
Similar abilities and cost. ATP is all weather. ATP is US made and Racer is Turkish made. Given everything being relatively equal I would by the USA made unit every time.

I was a doubter on the ATP for two years and then I bought one. I am very happy with the capabilities of the ATP and I haven't even explored water hunting yet!
 
Once again detectingMO is on the money as well as the other posts.

Either way you can't go wrong, but I prefer the AT Pro myself. A little better on gold in my opinion.
 
Thanks, I will be in the Columbia area a week from today. Water hunting will be very limited...mostly old home sites, and a few town spots. Vacation on the beach once a year will be the only water it will see more than likely.

I have set to buy the ATP and now that its time to pull the trigger I am wondering if this is the right purchase. My buddy has an Etrac but I cannot fork out that much cash.

You're welcome try them both when in town then decide. I'm on call with my bill paying job so would have to meet you somewhere or during evening. Just pm me details if interested.
 
Either detector will fill your needs. I think the AT Pro retains it's value more than the Racer. Take it from a guy who tried to sell his on multiple forums. But that is water over the dam and I plan to keep it for a while. There are plenty of videos on the AT series. Bill Ladd just put a new one up. It shows what the AT series can do in iron. You mention old home sites and that does mean iron. The AT Pro has been out for quite some time and Garrett still seems to rolling them right out the door. Keep us posted. Do yourself a favor and look to the sponsors here. Call one and save yourself some money. Detecting MO seems to be glad to help. These guys come in very handy especially with their experience.
 
Alright I am just about to pull the trigger on a new machine, and I know many of you have been buying the racer.

If you could only have one....which one would you buy AT Pro or Racer?

Thanks

Funny you should post this. I am a long time AT Pro user and just received the Makro Racer yesterday. I have about 200+ hours on the AT Pro and only about 8 hours on the Racer.
Both machines are good at what they do and they seem to pretty well on par with each other as far as quality, performance and ergonomics. If I had to choose between the two right now it would be the AT Pro and here is why.
1. As stated, the AT Pro is Made In the USA. To some that means a lot, myself included.
2. AT Pro is waterproof. Even if you do not do any water hunting all it would take is being caught in 1 good downpour to see the value in this.
3. Garret Has a proven track record of excellent customer service. If you should have a problem they WILL take care of you. This is proven by 100's of testimonials stating such. It still waits to be seen how Makro will handle any issues that arise.
4. The AT Pro has aftermarket accessories available such as NEL coils, replacement arm cuffs, straight shaft assembly, covers. All I see available for the racer are stock accessories.
Like has been stated, no matter which you buy, you will be getting a good unit and your moneys worth.
I recommend getting in touch with detecting MO as he carries both detectors and his prices and service is unequaled.
 
Funny you should post this. I am a long time AT Pro user and just received the Makro Racer yesterday. I have about 200+ hours on the AT Pro and only about 8 hours on the Racer.
Both machines are good at what they do and they seem to pretty well on par with each other as far as quality, performance and ergonomics. If I had to choose between the two right now it would be the AT Pro and here is why.
1. As stated, the AT Pro is Made In the USA. To some that means a lot, myself included.
2. AT Pro is waterproof. Even if you do not do any water hunting all it would take is being caught in 1 good downpour to see the value in this.
3. Garret Has a proven track record of excellent customer service. If you should have a problem they WILL take care of you. This is proven by 100's of testimonials stating such. It still waits to be seen how Makro will handle any issues that arise.
4. The AT Pro has aftermarket accessories available such as NEL coils, replacement arm cuffs, straight shaft assembly, covers. All I see available for the racer are stock accessories.
Like has been stated, no matter which you buy, you will be getting a good unit and your moneys worth.
I recommend getting in touch with detecting MO as he carries both detectors and his prices and service is unequaled.

To add to the warranty repair issues. I want to address one thing. I'm not bashing the Racer, but if you do a search (even here) you will see that users in the states are having a difficult time getting warranty work taken care of and the steps involved are one off to the company. They require you to download an app, take a picture that gets sent to them. They overview it and determine wether or not it warrants warranty work. We have a member who clearly has cracked coil ears and they told him they weren't going to cover it. He now has to apoxy them and fix them himself.

For me... That's a huge deal breaker. I will admit I am a Long time ATP user, but the Racer REALLY stood out to me. I bought into all the hype and I believe it's probably a pretty decent machine, but I could care less how the machine works if I have no support on the back end. Garrett has been a breeze to work with.

I'm also dreading having to do any work with Minelab if it arises because it seems like a chore too.. Nock on wood with that.
 
I would like for one or some of the sponsors here that sell the Racer to contact the Makro folks and report on official requirements for warranty issues.

I've only seen one person with an issue they feel has not solved/corrected.

It takes more than 1 person dissatisfied before I will draw a conclusion that support is lacking.


Remember also the same folks can use different forum names and report a problem---making a person think there is more problems that meets the eye.

Cheers
 
I had a coil with no threads on connector. Contacted USA service center. Forwarded pics and description to Makro email address. Was sent new coil in 3 days.

Seems pretty good.
 
Alright....well I didn't mean to stir the pot...nor jump the gun, but I found a used ATP on craigslist priced for $400. I did some talking and got a heck of a deal. I know its a used machine, but I am headed to the beach in a couple weeks. With two kids it was going to be a little rough to drain the "momma don't know stash" for the rest of the year.

So far the machine has been super. I took it out to an 1886 church and an older part of town where my grandma lives and between two ATP's and a Etrac I think we did fairly well. Few Wheaties, cool watch fob, toy gun barrel and a few bucks in clad for a quick hunt. I need to put some hours in on the machine, but the racer really stuck my attention with the recent post and Youtube videos.

Altogether this is the machine I have had my eyes on the last couple years, I don't mean any disrespect to the sponsors but I couldn't turn down a good deal. I am looking forward to sitting back and let this topic transpire.....because who knows if I find a big fat ring on the beach I might end up with an extra detector lol. I am trying to convince my wife this was a smart buy....made in the USA...4th of July, my name is "garret" with one T, I have an Ace 350 and a ATPro Pointer, and heck my birthday is the 3rd (tomorrow).

Thanks for all the responses and any pointers would be great.
 
I had a coil with no threads on connector. Contacted USA service center. Forwarded pics and description to Makro email address. Was sent new coil in 3 days.

Seems pretty good.

Very good info to know.
I did not mean to imply by my post that there are any issues with Makro Customer support, only that it is a new company and has not established a reputation good or bad for CS. Sounds like they are taking care of the guy who took care of me:yes:
 
I would like for one or some of the sponsors here that sell the Racer to contact the Makro folks and report on official requirements for warranty issues.

I've only seen one person with an issue they feel has not solved/corrected.

It takes more than 1 person dissatisfied before I will draw a conclusion that support is lacking.


Remember also the same folks can use different forum names and report a problem---making a person think there is more problems that meets the eye.

Cheers

I certainly hope you werent directing that to me tn. I give my word to everyone here I am not running around under different usernames. Do I feel my coil has an issue? yes. do I feel it should have been warrantied? yes!

however, I am not into kiddie games.. Here is a thread I started on findmall about my coil and I did actually get a response yesterday from the rep that was on all the time before the racer was released, but no mention of my coil itself. I am over it and will leave it to others to decide if that would be acceptable service for them..

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?43,2215116

and just to be fair to makro.. This guy, sent a picture to them yesterday and received a new coil in the mail today along with a hat and tshirt! I even replied in his thread about it...
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?43,2216108

maybe makro just didnt like me..:laughing: j/k
 
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I certainly hope you werent directing that to me tn. I give my word to everyone here I am not running around under different usernames. Do I feel my coil has an issue? yes. do I feel it should have been warrantied? yes!

however, I am not into kiddie games.. Here is a thread I started on findmall about my coil and I did actually get a response yesterday from the rep that was on all the time before the racer was released, but no mention of my coil itself. I am over it and will leave it to others to decide if that would be acceptable service for them..

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?102,2215116

and just to be fair to makro.. This guy, sent a picture to them yesterday and received a new coil in the mail today along with a hat and tshirt! I even replied in his thread about it...
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?102,2216108

maybe makro just didnt like me..:laughing: j/k

Not directed at you at all. As a matter a fact, maybe you can answer this question for me (us). As far as your old coil, what are Makro's disposition instructions to you???

I'm asking because I've read in a few places where some have not sent their old (defective) coils back to Makro (them).

If this is the case, maybe this explains why, (and I can understand) they want a pic/vid of defective item.
 
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