Sent a service request letter to S&W, will update with outcome on the hammer nose bushing.Thanks

It's been my experience that when calling a company with this kind of issue that the person answering the phone is usually a low level clerical type with no authority what-so-ever.
I don't argue with them but insist on speaking with their manager. If this person doesn't seem reasonable I ask to speak to their manager.
If I'm still having an unresolved problem I'll contact an executive** with the company providing an explanation of the problem and,if possible, pictures.
It's unfortunate but in this day and age it's about the only way to get something done under the circumstances.
**You can generally find a listing of top executives for a corporation by searching online. In your case I'd be contacting the VP Operations or the VP Customer Support.
Jim

Welcome to the forum, Tmnguuyen.

Sorry for your unfortunate experience. S&W's lifetime warranty extends to post-'89 guns and their original owner; the 25-2 doesn't fall under those criteria.

Too, to my knowledge, the firing pin bushing problem (and recall that S&W still honors) was with the early '80s L-frames -- 581, 586, 681, 686 -- not N-frame 25s.

It would be difficult to determine that your 25-2 was truly unfired and shipped from the factory with a defect. Another call to S&W and you might get a more sympathetic ear, but there's no guarantee of that.

If you have the quality of an Alan Tanaka nearby, you might consider simply paying him to repair and tune.

Out of curiosity, were you using factory rounds or reloads?

Having the hammer nose bushing push backwards into the breach face is a relatively common problem and the repair is not that expensive. With all due respect, it's not likely a factory defect even if the gun has not been fired much . I, myself, have had this repair performed on two different N-Frames. It is most common on the big magnums but, as you experienced, not always. The lifetime warranty does not apply to your gun, as stated earlier and you are not the original owner. Therefore, it would seem you have two courses of action available to you. One-have the Smith & Wesson factory or factory authorized repair station repair the gun. Two-have a qualified pistol smith repair the gun. In either scenario, you will need to pay the tariff.

Bruce

About your gunsmith .......... unless he bought the gun new (maybe as many as 50 years ago) I find it hard to believe he, or anyone else, could reasonably claim it is or was unfired.

If you don't have a local gunsmith you trust to fix it, I'd say sending it on to S&W and paying the bill would be worth the effort.

I usually write to the CEO (Chief Executive Officer). It's an easy to find name, and if that doesn't produce results, nothing will.

I recently sent my 25-2 back to S&W for the exact same problem. The cost to me was $130.78 for the hammer nose bushing replacement along with a new cylinder stop. They paid shipping both ways. The total turnaround time was about 2 months.

For me that was the way to go as it came back perfect.

In defense of S&W it is not fair to be angry because they won't quote you the bill for repairing the gun before they have had the chance to diagnose the cause of the problem. That's like calling a auto mechanic, telling that your car is making a strange noise from under the hood and asking him how much it will cost to fix it.

I wonder if S&W's minimum shop rate is $100.00. They repaired my Model 10-6 that the action was locking up (they called ammo binding) for about $125.00 which included shipping.

What else can you buy used that is more than 30 years old and still expect the manufacturer to fix for free? Just curious. I just sent back an N frame 44-40 commemorative that was never fired. Couldn't be fired, the star ejector overlapped the chambers and it was impossible to load. I have to say sending a firearm to S&W is even less painful than driving to my gunsmith (who is very good).

I just this week called S&W up to send in my 41 year old 27-2 for them to go through the pistol and bring it back to as close to factory new as they can, mechanically. The person I talked to on the phone was very helpful and polite and quickly sent me a shipping label so that I could get my pistol heading back to them for the refurb job. Now, I don't expect them to fix and tune up my pistol for free and I'm definitely not complaining as that pistol has given me sterling service through 41 years of shooting.

As to the OP, I wouldn't expect S&W to cover your problem unless you were the original purchaser for this weapon and it had sat in the dealer's vault for 30+ years before being offered for sale for the first time. Just suck it up and get your gunsmith or S&W to correct your problem and then go shoot the snot out of it. The fix for your problem doesn't sound like it would be hard for a competent smith to fix.

If I read the bill correctly it shows PC labor rate at $90.00 per hour, and it took 0.8 hours, and charged $72.00
Firearm estimate & range time was $45.00 with no time given.

My statement on shipping was incorrect as I was charged $13.00 for return shipping. CHEAP!!!

Sales tax 0.78
Total repair bill 130.78 = Priceless

I recently purchased a 627-0 of 1989. The pictures were beautiful. When I received it I was thrilled until I noticed that the barrel/cylinder gap was excessive. It measured .019"! The cylinder had no fore-aft play to speak of. Therefore, it was sold this way from the factory. S&W is charging $121 to fix it. We can rant and rave all we want, but the company holds all the cards. Next hand......

Thank you everyone for your comments. The cost of getting this fix to me is secondary. But in my opinion, the customer service and company reputation should be the primary focus. The agent could have taken a second step and forwarded my request to someone who has more authority or cares about the consumer and reputation of the company. After all, this is not a cosmetic defect it is a functional defect. One can argue this is similar to an old classic car, you need to sink money I to keep it running. Well, it is not quite the same this a hunk of metal and it was machined out of tolerance. $200 may or may not be a big deal to a consumer but I am certain it is a drop in the bucket for the company. You don't expect that s&w has to address this sort of issue very much where it can hurt their bottom line. On the other hand if they do what does that say about their quality?

Granted, I haven't taken the second step myself to get in touch with someone within the company that cares.
Thanks again for a lively discussion

Actually, to me, this sounds exceedingly fair. Turnaround time varies, but I always considered 6 weeks to be about average. In this day and age, people expect more and aren't as patient as in days gone by.

A frustrating situation for certain. You did use half-moon or moon clips to fire .45 ACP, correct? (Sorry, just had to ask.)

A second phone call to the factory 'might' make the situation slightly better, as they may spring for shipping but likely not the repair cost.

My interactions with the factory (parts, repair, refinishing) have generally been positive. Looking at your situation from the customer service rep's standpoint, she had no way to confirm your 25-2 really is (was) new/unfired without having the Performance Center look at it. It is between 26 and 52 years old, after all . However, not suggesting having the factory look at it is strange.

Mr. Tanaka has an excellent reputation, and this is a relatively easy fix, so this sounds to be the best route. Please let us know what happens.

__________________
Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220