Minn Kota Terrova – New vs. Used

I am looking to upgrade my trolling motor to a Terrova with i-pilot (currently have Power Drive V1 with co-pilot). Other than the obvious risk of going with a used item and getting a beat up POS with no warranty, are there any other disadvantages to going with an older model? Have there been any recent updates or fixes that make buying brand new worth the cost? Is the GPS accuracy the same or have they continually been able to improve it over the years? Are there certain model years that I should avoid?

I would really like to have the Link feature, but my budget is about $2000 so if I go new then that is not an option. If I go used, then I will potentially have enough in my budget to also upgrade my GPS/graph at the same time.

I see with supply chain shortages, certain features like the i-pilot wireless remote and bluetooth heading sensor are currently not being shipped with new models and you have to submit a redemption to get them shipped to you when they become available. Does anyone know what the wait time is?

Thanks,

Mike

If you are looking at used motors at all, then I would highly recommend getting one with bluetooth, 2017 models or newer. That will have the upgraded spot lock with the jog feature, and it’s awesome.

The ipilot Link feature is nice but certainly not a necessity, IMO. It kind of depends on your fishing style and water bodies, if they are high def Lakemaster mapped or not.

I’ll second the bluetooth comment above. I sold my 2012 terrova for a new one with bluetooth. My entire rationale was based on trying to use my remote with someone sitting in the bow- the old non-bluetooth models have to have a clear line of sight like your old TV remote. Bluetooth ones just work no matter if the remote is pointed at the unit or not.

Thanks, exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. This helps tremendously.

Mike

Also these are brushed motors so if used enough the brushes could wear out and need replacing. Also, seals can and do go bad. The older they are, the more likely. It’s been a while since I’ve gone looking for parts but I think the supply chain on replacement parts is pretty goofed up.

I would also recommend going with a newer year model if used. I’ve been out before and I can see other boats positioning on similar structure to me and they sit nice and steady, then mine (early generation spot lock) is in full drunken sailor mode and shifting around all over the place. I maybe make it sound worse than it is but it’s definitely noticable.

I bought my boat new in 2017 with a 2016 terrova, spot lock was a joke and boat did circles. Upgraded to a Bluetooth with link and has been great

When it comes to concerns about used… you can replace every component for a fraction of the price of used. So, about anything can break for a fairly low cost to replace and replacement can all be done by yourself.

Pretty amazing the difference between new price tags when compared to replacing major components. Hefty profit margin on new

Sent PM

i have a 3 year old terrova and man sometimes it works like it should and other times it does whatever it wants. most of my concerns are related to the autopilot. the spotlock is awesome but sometimes it likes to wrap itself up. my least favorite feature is when you hit the anchor button and it takes like another 8 seconds to find the coordinates you were at 8 seconds ago and goes full power just to get back to where you hit the button. frustrating to say the least. my old powerdrive would go straight on autopilot wherever i aimed it. not the terrova, you take your eye off it and you might be going sideways. maybe mine is a lemon?

eyeguy, try changing the settings to legacy autopilot

i think i tried that before but will defiantly look into it…..thanks

eyeguy507 wrote:

i think i tried that before but will defiantly look into it…..thanks

Usually this happens when the boat is still moving forward when Spotlock is hit. With the slower ramp up of the motor for safety it takes some time for the boat to respond. Best cure I have found is basically have the boat stopped before hitting Spotlock.

Grizzly, I did not receive it

Thanks for all of the feedback. Much appreciated.

Mike J

eyeguy507 wrote:

i have a 3 year old terrova and man sometimes it works like it should and other times it does whatever it wants. most of my concerns are related to the autopilot. the spotlock is awesome but sometimes it likes to wrap itself up. my least favorite feature is when you hit the anchor button and it takes like another 8 seconds to find the coordinates you were at 8 seconds ago and goes full power just to get back to where you hit the button. frustrating to say the least. my old powerdrive would go straight on autopilot wherever i aimed it. not the terrova, you take your eye off it and you might be going sideways. maybe mine is a lemon?

Besides changing to legacy autopilot change your boat scale. Setting that at -1 or -2 will slow down the ramp up speed. If it’s windy you may need to go back to 0 or even +1. My boat is heavy and stays at -1 most of the time

poomunk wrote:

I would also recommend going with a newer year model if used. I’ve been out before and I can see other boats positioning on similar structure to me and they sit nice and steady, then mine (early generation spot lock) is in full drunken sailor mode and shifting around all over the place. I maybe make it sound worse than it is but it’s definitely noticable.

I have the same older generation. My buddies refer to it as “Area Lock” lol

Mike Johnson wrote:

Grizzly, I did not receive it

l have a almost new 1 for sale in classified

Tom P. wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>eyeguy507 wrote:</div>
i think i tried that before but will defiantly look into it…..thanks

Usually this happens when the boat is still moving forward when Spotlock is hit. With the slower ramp up of the motor for safety it takes some time for the boat to respond. Best cure I have found is basically have the boat stopped before hitting Spotlock.

my boat is def moving forward, i am just impatient

Onthewater wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>eyeguy507 wrote:</div>
i have a 3 year old terrova and man sometimes it works like it should and other times it does whatever it wants. most of my concerns are related to the autopilot. the spotlock is awesome but sometimes it likes to wrap itself up. my least favorite feature is when you hit the anchor button and it takes like another 8 seconds to find the coordinates you were at 8 seconds ago and goes full power just to get back to where you hit the button. frustrating to say the least. my old powerdrive would go straight on autopilot wherever i aimed it. not the terrova, you take your eye off it and you might be going sideways. maybe mine is a lemon?

Besides changing to legacy autopilot change your boat scale. Setting that at -1 or -2 will slow down the ramp up speed. If it’s windy you may need to go back to 0 or even +1. My boat is heavy and stays at -1 most of the time

i got to dig into the settings and try this, thanks. just this year i found out my motor had bluetooth! its just hard for me to sit in my boat and do something other than fish.

I have a 2008 terrova. i bought it off a guy who had it deploy on him going 60mph. i put another 100 bucks into it and in the end had a fairly rebuilt terrova for under $500 bucks. it works and is very good. I use spot lock here and there, i record tracks here or there. I run bearing lock 90% of the time.

that said, we went on a trip and I ran a boat with a newer blue tooth model of the terrova. it was WAY better. each function I mentioned above was an upgrade.