Discrimination is the Key to a Taurus.....
From my research and from talking to several Taurus buyers, Taurus does stand behind their warranty.
That said I have found that the Taurus products that are made in South America have little or not quality control and the workmanship is highly suspect. It is like playing Russian roulette. If you get one of the old worker's guns, it will probably be very good. If you get one of their new worker's guns, God help you because the gun will not. Also you may have to send it back more than once for issues that should have been corrected before it ever left the factory.
However Taurus now makes their TPC 738 .380 in the USA and the workmanship is top rate on these few guns. I have never seen a bad review of one of them and this goes for the TPC 732 as well, even though it is no longer manufactured.
Some of the revolvers I have seen from South American plant are just terrible, but not all of them. So my recommendation if you buy a Taurus import be prepared to spend some time shipping it back and forth before you get it right. They will eventually get it right, but it may take a long time, and who needs that kind of hassle.
However, the American made mouse guns by Taurus are like a different brand.
I would not recommend any of the imported Taurus handguns to the first time buyer or to the buyer unwilling to deal with a near total lack of quality control on their imported guns.
I would recommend the Taurus TPC 738 in .380 if you have need for a super lightweight, and ultra concealable mouse gun. However, if you don't need both of these features, I would suggest a S&W 649 or even one of the lightweight variations on this gun. While the revolver will not conceal as easily as the mouse gun, I feel more comfortable betting my life on a gun I trust completely, which in a small gun to me means revolver and I would not buy a Taurus revolver.
So I don't lump all Taurus handguns into one pile. I try and separate the wheat from the chaff. Additionally, Taurus has improved from the Taurus of 30 years ago when their reputation was terrible across the board. But many of us old timers still remember those old Taurus relics and have not allowed that the company has actually improved from those days.
I am ashamed to admit how may S&W and Ruger handguns I have, but I only have one Taurus and it is the TPC 738 in .380 and like the reviews of this gun, mine was flawless from the get go. Still I only carry it on rare occasions when I need both an ultra light and a highly concealable gun and the alternative is a knife.