S&W has had my 1911 for 6 weeks!

[The Curmudgeon]

I sent my 1911 in to S&W for ejecting spent casings directly at my forehead and they recieved it on 21 May. They still have it. Every time I call customer service, I get told "It is upstairs in the warranty department. No, I don't know why it is taking so long. Call back next week."

Has anybody else run into this lengthy return time? The letter I received from S&W said that I could expect my handgun back 2-3 weeks from receipt at the factory. I guess they blew that deadline!

Are they that backed up? Does it take that long to repair a handgun? I think I have read that S&W has been prompt in the past, so what is happening now?

Thanks

 

[XTrooper]

I just sent my 1076 in for work last week and was told they are backlogged 6 to 8 weeks. In fact, I was told I wouldn't even receive an estimate for the work for at least 2 to 3 weeks. It looks like they're currently buried in work.

 

[wefski]

S & W Service

Gander Mountain sent my 4566 to S & W for repair and I had it back in three weeks, it is like new. Obviously I had excellent service.

 

[n4zov]

S&W is dealing with the recall of the Walther handguns plus this is the time of year when most workers schedule their vacations, so I'm not surprised they are behind. I am sure you want them to do a quality job repairing your gun, so just be patient.

 

[novalty]

I sent my 5906 to S&W back around May 15th, and had it back in 10 business days. Mine was a Failure to Fire issue and being as it was a basically unused leftover gun from CDNN, it might not have needed as much work. Suprised that they have fallen so far behind, as the Walther recall seems to have been out for some time now, maybe they are finally starting to receive them from owners.

 

[retarmyaviator]

My 4506 goes to S&W Monday to have the extractor replaced, with these time estimates it does not look like I need to expect it back any time soon.

As for the Walther recall, that involved about nine years worth of production which is going to take a while to work through.

 

[Fastbolt]

Aside from the other potential considerations already mentioned, you might keep in mind that sometimes a specific vendor-supplied part may be on back-order. I'm waiting on vendor delivery of several back-ordered parts, myself.

 

[stevieboy]

I'll count myself as being lucky. I sent my 1911 back to Smith for some (very) minor warranty work about 30 days ago and it was shipped back to me by Smith within a week. Now, on the other hand, it took UPS almost a full additional week to deliver it back to me due to a series of screwups on their part that read like something out of a Monty Python skit.

I've sent items to Smith for either warranty work or for Performance Center enhancements a few times. They've always been prompt and the quality of their work is outstanding. So much so that it became the primary reason why my 1911 is a Smith 1911 and not some other brand. If it's taking time to fix a gun I'm sure there's an excellent reason for that. Be patient, it will be worth the wait in the end.

 

[Orsogato]

They've had my model 29 for 7 weeks. I don't mind the wait too much. Want it done right.

 

[HUGHP]

Sent my Model 410 on 7/6 for trigger failing to reset "everytime". FedEx delivered it back to the house today.

 

[andyo5]

I can appreciate your frustration at them keeping your gun for 2 months and still not so much as a word on what the problem is. My experience with them has been usually a 1 to 2 week turnaround.
My Para Ordnance used to launch empties into my face. Good thing I wore safety glasses. But obviously this will not do for a self protection pistol as it would likely get you killed. Turned out to be excessive extractor tension on my Para. Something I could fix myself.

 

[XTrooper]

When I called the factory yesterday about my Model 1076, I was told the current turnaround is ~4 weeks from the time payment is made for the repairs. They received my pistol on 6/22/09. On 7/6/09, I received a written estimate for the work and authorized payment. This was 2 1/2 weeks ago, so with a little luck, I hope to have my pistol back the first week of August. If I do receive my pistol within the first week of August, it will make the total turnaround time approximately 6 1/2 weeks.

I was also told that warranty work is fast-tracked and that the turnaround time for it is normally less than 2 weeks.

 

[XTrooper]

Holey Moley! After being told on Monday that they'd have my pistol for approximately two more weeks, the Fedex truck pulled up to my house this afternoon and delivered my pistol to me! That means they had my pistol four weeks and three days from the day they received it. That's not bad in my book, but then again the only thing I had done was have a new extractor and extractor spring installed. In any case, I'm happy to have my 1076 KSP Contract back!

 

[jacksmatrixxx]

sent my 22a in for recall 10 days ago,came in yesterday and they replaced the sights,they were adjusted all the way to the right and sot left.great turn around