S&W Lifetime Warranty?

roundgunner

roundgunner

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My nice little model 60-9 in 357 has a broken firing pin. I ship it off to S&W 5 weeks ago to get it replaced (lifetime warranty). Today I got this letter wanting me to pay $158.07 to get it done.
I have sent things to them in the past and had them returned fixed, lifetime warranty.
I call S&W and I’m told it has a lifetime warranty, but only for defects. Well, it’s broken…isn’t that a defect? He said lifetime warranty doesn’t cover worn parts. I didn’t get too angry, but I did question him about it. What is a lifetime warranty?
I didn’t give them the go-ahead because it seems like a lot to replace the pin. The parts are only $30, but the labor is $70 & then another $45 for them to estimate & range test it. I’ve been dealing with S&W for more years than I can count, and have always been happy with their service & honoring their warranties. This is a first for me. Has anyone else had this kind of experience from S&W?

I do have a lot of S&W products and recommend them to my students at every class. Now...
 

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You should have ask for a supervisor, and if necessary his manager, right up the ladder until you get the correct Lifetime Warranty Service!

The joke has always been about the "STC charge" Stick it To the Customer. That is what this sounds like to me!

Ivan
 
If you read the warranty, you'll find that what you were told is correct. Most S&W guns come with an unlimited warranty for the first year and then warrant the gun for the life of the original owner. This warranty does not cover wear parts.

I guess S&W considers the firing pin to be a wear part, but if it broke, that doesn't seem like normal wear to me. Meh, I would have just replaced it myself anyway.


For the record:
Ed Brown is the only gun manufacturer that has a written unlimited lifetime warranty on the gun. If your Ed Brown ever has an issue, they'll fix it for free. They do charge shipping though.
 
The parts S&W writes they will have to replace tell a different story. The need for a new hand indicates the cylinder is not carrying up. She's out of time. That's normal wear from extensive firing which is usually accompanied by increased end shake. I'd bet a nickle that the yoke needs to be stretched. Cylinder stops are replaced to reduce sloppy rotational play at lock up or because they are not popping back up. The broken firing pin is not the most expensive repair needed. It is just what stopped a worn gun from continuing to go off.

I suggest that you ask to speak to the gunsmith who examined your gun.
 
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My experience with my Glock 17L

Bought what I was told to be NIB G17L, even though I saw it had an aftermarket trigger. Bought it ftf, but didn't look inside, as the outside looked new. Took it to the range and it jammed after each round I fired. Let a friend shoot it with various ammo - same problem. So even though I am not the original owner, I gave Glock a call to ask about a repair. I was told on the phone they would remove any aftermarket parts and totally rebuild the pistol. Sure enough, I got it back 2 weeks later, with 2 pages of replaced parts listed, and shipped to my ffl,
ALL AT NO CHARGE. Now that's customer service.
I've had better experience than o/p with S&W in the past.
I was happy with their service, and thought the cost was more than fair.
 
I would have asked to speak to a supervisor. I sent my M & P 22C back with a broken firing pin with almost 60,000 rounds on the gun. They fixed it and covered shipping both ways no cost to me.
 
I posted this because I was surprised by S&W’s refusal to fix a part that cost less than $10.

(“Hi Warren, this gun left the factory in 2002. Our lifetime warranty covers against factory defects in materials and craftsmanship. It doesn't cover what is considered to be "wear" parts. The firing pin would be considered to be a wear part. If you would like, I can have the firearm sent back to you if you would like? Just let me know if that is what you want me to have done. Thank You! SWCS”)

I have owned my business for over 30 years. I’m not the best or least expensive at what I do but I do try to give the best customer service I can. I keep customers for years. In business when trying to attract new customers it is common to spend a lot of money. Advertizing and supporting matches is expensive. One way S&W attracted new business in the past was to offer “lifetime warranty”. It worked for many, I’m sure it cost them plenty also. I have always been grateful for the repairs they have provided and I make a point to let my students know about my experiences with S&W and Ruger repairs.

By refusing to honor the warranty they saved a couple dollars on a part. I do not consider it a wear part but oh well I can replace it myself and ordered the pin this morning from Brownells. They have however lost my trust and faith. I will tell this story, and the good things they have done in the past but it is a black spot for them, Ruger’s story comes out with a shining star.

I have over 30 hand guns a couple are Ruger’s, I can make the triggers nice but it takes some work, same as new S&Ws. I have always looked at S&W as a better gun but I will be looking more closely at Ruger to replace the 45 colt I let go of.

S&W saved a couple dollars but what did it cost them to do it?

I had to put a photo in my post, this 929 is my latest S&W.
 

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My FFL purchases all of their guns from Davidsons which offers a lifetime warranty on anything they sell. If they can't fix it, they send you a new one.
Have had to return 2 over the past few years. No problems.
 
It looks like your 60-9 revolver also had a broken hammer or it was grounded down for DA only. Was that factory? I was always told that S&W would not honor warranty work if any modifications were made.
 
@ the OP, I do respect where you are coming from, but they are being honest and upfront. Frankly, $ 70.00 or whatever for labor per hour is...CHEAP!!!! Almost all companies now doing service work are $ 100.00 +. When you get it back, should you wish, you can probably find a YouTube video on installing it or one similar and decide for yourself if you are comfortable with that. Alternatively, maybe a range friend or local gunsmith could help. I realize this was predicated on the notion of lifetime coverage, but there are reasons that companies take this approach. If they didn't, they wouldn't be around.
 
Thanks for scaring me roundgunner. I just sent mine off to S&W because it's gone through two firing pins in under 100 rounds. Simply changing the firing pin did not fix it. I'm sorry to hear what they did to you. I can only hope that, because I'm the original purchaser and my gun is only 2 or 3 years old, that they will fix it. If they send me an estimate, I'm SOL because I'm out of work and just can't afford to spend on anything but gas and groceries right now. I'd have to tell them to send my back my revolver until better times, when I can afford to get it fixed. Sometimes I think I should have bought a Taurus. At least they work...and you don't feel like a chump for spending $900 bucks on junk.:mad:
 
Rastoff said:
Shipping it back to your home would have been good customer service. Shipping it to the FFL was just OK service.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that kind of annoyed me that they shipped it to my ffl.
S&W shipped my guns directly to my house.
Can't complain, as they rebuilt/shipped my Glock for free.
 
I just got an email from FedEx saying my revolver was en route back to me. Not a peep from S&W at any point in time about what the problem was...or what they did to it. Is that a good thing?
 
500SNW said:
I just got an email from FedEx saying my revolver was en route back to me. Not a peep from S&W at any point in time about what the problem was...or what they did to it. Is that a good thing?
Click to expand...

I would think that is good. They let you know if they are going to charge you.
If you do have to do it yourself it's not hard or expensive. I just ordered one from Brownell. $7.00
 
Thanks for the encouragement roundgunner. I'll report back in a day or two with the results. I really hope they read my attached letter...I taped it to the wrapper around my revolver...warning them that merely replacing the firing pin would not work. I put that in bold print. IMO this has gone too well...too quick of a turnaround time. We'll see:rolleyes:
 
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