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OK I will ask another way. What if anything do you dislike about the Model 659? I sold one like new for $200.00 and it left me puzzled. I can't find anything bad about this pistol but no one seemed to want to buy.
 
All I can suggest is that the SS S&Ws 9mm seem to be out of fashion.

The polymer guns of various manufacturers are much lighter with many having higher capacity.

The 659 is the second generation S&W (59 was the first, 5906 and other, the third generation), so maybe people feel it is better to get the third generation guns. Some of these were cop guns, some people like that.
I don't because many were treated indifferently.

The 3rd generation guns can be purchased for $325 give or take from several places. So maybe people think the 2nd generation is worth less.

Looks like I was typing as you were typing.


Nothing wrong with a 659, it is just not popular and perhaps people don't know what it is.
 
The first semi-auto I ever shot was a 659. The grip felt blocky but it shot well and never jammed. I liked it well enough to want to buy one but at that time in the late 80's, the third generation pistols had become available and I ended up buying a 5906. I figured a newer generation pistol had to have some improvements. I later sold that 5906 to fund the purchase of a Walther P88 Compact - a decision I never regretted. I prefer the single stack S&W pistols these days - the 3906 is my favorite and probably the pistol I should have purchased back then had I not been caught up in the wondernine craze like everyone else.
 
The 3rd gen guns are generally better in most regards. If the price were right, I would consider one but my heart is with DAO handguns (which were not around in the 2nd gen timeframe).

I had a friend who had a 459 and it would still be a very serviceable weapon (alloy frame would make me prefer it over a 659).
 
Lately, maybe due to the quantity currently in the market, the 3rd gens (5904, 5906, etc.) have been selling for less than I would expect so it kind of makes sense a 2nd gen would go for even less.

The only thing I don't like about the 659 is the weight. but, like the 5906, it is built like a tank.
 
It's kind of like the 745 I gave to my daughter. Though it is a supurb firearm, reliable, accurate, etc., it really has very little monetary value. It was an expensive gun when I bought it in the '80's, but the 3rd gen guns sort of eclipsed all the 2nd gen guns. Even though the SA only 745 has no direct replacement in the 45XX line, you can hardly give one away.
 
I don't have a 659, but do have a 469. I actually prefer the DA/SA 469 over the 6946 which I bought a few months ago, just because I have not quite gotten the hang of the DAO trigger. But watching the GB listings, it does appear that most of the 3rd Gen guns are going down in price, and very few of the 2nd Gen even sell. Based on what is selling, I guess most folks are like me, and would prefer to have either the single stacks, such as 39-2, or the compact 69xx.
 
The 659-and the 639 (I have both) seems to have no "cachet" and the popular perception is that the later generation S&W autos are "better"-as opposed to the idea that the older S&W 4 and 5 screw revolvers are
"better".
 
I just got one today. Haven't got a chance to shoot it yet, but maybe this coming week. The fact I am the original owner of a 5906 did not stop me from buying this second gen autoloader. I picked it up as a companion piece to my 645. Once I get it cleaned up, I'll post pics.
 

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