CZ97 a bad deal getting worse

Why should the dealer have to eat his profits on already thin margins? Most dealers I've ever known just visually inspect used trade ins. A lot just don't have the area to test fire used guns. You say it should have been tested by the dealer before they bought it. Unless they have an indoor range, how is that even feasible? They're going to spend that much time taking it to a range, checking it out, and then haggling over price with a customer to make a few bucks that they might have to eat later if the person they later sell it to claims it doesn't work right.

You'd probably want some free mags and gear from the dealer too just from having been so inconvenienced.

Again, it's that mentality that is contributing to the death of the LGS. Just about every gun store I have frequented in my state have been "all sales final" as they should be. Used or not. I've had some offer to let the customer try a gun if it was used and if they had the facility to do so. Or offer to help contact the manufacturer. But eff the attitude of just taking it back to the gun store to dump it on them.
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If it is "all sales final" than that's okay, different story. However, if I sold used I would test it, I would also expect something to work that I purchased, I'm sure you would also. Unless it is advertised as "sold as is" the OP has a sure win in small claims court against the owner if he doesn't make good on the deal.
 
It shouldn't be much of a stretch to imagine that most gun shops do, indeed, have a way to test guns.
Even if it's just a tilted barrel full of sand in the back room.
Heck, I know folks who have something similar at home to test their own guns and reloads.
 
We can talk about others as well. Open a new thread.
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I'll pass, thank you.
For a start, much like this segway, it would not be gun-related.
If you feel the need, there is PM'ing.

That said, I've expressed my concerns.
Up to you to decide if you want to take them on board or not.

Others reading this thread, where ever they reside, will decide for themselves if pigeon-holing entire swathes of a foreign continent is good form or not. Given that this is an open forum, we all act as ambassadors for gun-ownership on here as well as for our respective countries. Let's try and be good ones.
 
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jabba21 said:
Noticed the OP said he bought it from what he thought was a reputable gun dealer. So because you got a jammer, the dealer is not reputable? How is that the dealers fault? Then I see people saying take it back to the dealer. I've bought troublesome used guns before. I've bought troublesome new guns. But I've never once tried to pass the problem back to the dealer. Dealers are there to sell you stuff, not hold your hand when you can't fix a problem or be bothered to find an alternative solution.
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Most of the gun shops I've dealt with are picky about what they'll take as a trade in, and if you can get close to 60% of what you'd consider a good trade-in price you're doing well. I don't do trade-ins any more.

Very few of the LGS I know of would bother testing a gun before selling it, but most have a local gunsmith they can call upon to check things out if there is a problem. If it can be fixed by the gunsmith, they'll fix it and give it back to the buyer. A factory defect like the one cited by the OP with a USED GUN is a different type of problem -- and not frequently encountered.

jabba21 said:
OP made the decision to purchase a used gun at an agreed upon price.
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I said the same thing to him in one of the early responses -- the OP rolled the dice and lost. He agreed. But the problem he encountered is not a common one, and it's hard to know WHO to blame. He's between a rock and a hard place.

jabba21 said:
The LGS is dying in favor of big box internet retailers and it is in part because of people who want everything for nothing.
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You forgot GUN SHOWS! Great prices and great inventory (if you walk the floor.) Internet retailers (shops like Bud's) offering NEW GUNS do offer great deals. BIG BOX gun retailers, on the other hand, seem to sell to folks who are desperate for a particular gun, hot to buy something new to the market, and don't want to wait -- or impulse buyers. Neither type seems to mind paying a premium. BIG BOX and internet retailers often do have BETTER INVENTORIES!

I almost never buy new guns any more, and over the past 15 years have bought nearly all of my guns from folks on forums like this or from local (state or regional) 'net boards.

With that last type of (i.e., local) transaction, you get to know the name and the reputation of the folks you're dealing with and you can often examine the gun before money changes hands. In some cases can even test fire the gun before you buy. (With a permit or a CHP in NC or SC, you can buy from or sell to a state resident without getting an FFL Involved.) Big savings in that sort of transaction.

I wonder whether these last two type of private sales, with their better prices and lower costs and less paperwork, may play a bigger role in what's running LGSs out of business than the BIG BOX stores?

.
 
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If the LGS has a range, then the OP should has asked to test the gun before purchasing.

I have done this several times, and the LGS was kind enough to load a mag or two for test firing. It saved me one time on a used gun, which could not cycle through two mags without getting multiple FTE's.

While the fix was probably easy, it was not my job to do, and since the LGS did not offer a fix, decided not to purchase.
 
If the LGS has a range, then the OP should has asked to test the gun before purchasing.

I have done this several times, and the LGS was kind enough to load a mag or two for test firing. It saved me one time on a used gun, which could not cycle through two mags without getting multiple FTE's.

While the fix was probably easy, it was not my job to do, and since the LGS did not offer a fix, decided not to purchase.
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Not every store will let you do that. I was in a pawn shop once that had a BHP practical and I asked if I could lock the slide back and then dry fire it. The owner said you do that you own it. I handed it back to him and have never set foot back in that shop.

Every store has different terms and the buyer should always beware. When you buy used to take a risk. Sometimes when you buy new you take a risk. Every single shop I have ever bought a gun from stated all sales where final. That does not mean if I got sold a dog they would not help me get rid of the fleas. ;)
 
It shouldn't be much of a stretch to imagine that most gun shops do, indeed, have a way to test guns.
Even if it's just a tilted barrel full of sand in the back room.
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Unfortunately, some towns have ordinances against discharging a firearm within city limits (indoors or out), unless it is a dedicated range,.
 
Brutus said:
The op did ask if he could try the gun out. The answer was no. New owner, new rules.
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Well, you tried to do the right things -- and the dice fell wrong.

If someone wants to test fire a gun I'm selling, and they're willing to come to where I live, or we can meet somewhere to shoot them that isn't terribly costly, I'll do it.

I wonder if the seller of your gun KNEW of the problem?

You've got a potentially great gun (if it fits your hand, and it sounds as though it might): I think if I were you, I'd bite the bullet and let CZ upgrade it. You'll like it. And almost any other option available to you is likely to be more expensive in the long run.

(Question: does CZ need the gun, or can you just buy the barrel and bushing? If you can skip shipping, so much the better.)
 
This afternoon, I was in my "favorite" LGS / LGR to shoot my P228, and they had a new CZ 97B with the screw-in bushing, the F.O. front sight, and the aluminum grips. The price I was quoted was $629.00 out the door. Their prices aren't the cheapest but they have always treated me fairly and I have bought several guns from them. My good friend who works there assured me that the feeding problems some people have experienced with the earlier 97B's have been addressed with the modifications in this latest version. This guy wouldn't B.S. me, I've known him a long time.

Based on this I'd tell the OP to take his 97B back to the LGS he bought it from and trade it for a brand new 97B, if I have to spend any additional money to get a good functional firearm, I'd want a brand new gun with a full CZ warranty.
 
they had a new CZ 97B with the screw-in bushing, the F.O. front sight, and the aluminum grips. The price I was quoted was $629.00 out the door. Their prices aren't the cheapest but they have always treated me fairly and I have bought several guns from them. My good friend who works there assured me that the feeding problems some people have experienced with the earlier 97B's have been addressed with the modifications in this latest version. This guy wouldn't B.S. me, I've known him a long time.
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My personal experience, and what I have read about others with the newer 97B bares this out. I believe the upgraded the gun in 2012. A few months ago I bought the 97B with the F.O. front sight, black aluminum grips, screw in bushing, and redesigned barrel. It is a great shooter. No failures, and very, very accurate. They got the gun right, and I would not hesitate to buy another one or have an older one upgraded by CZ.
 
Interesting thread with a lot of off topic.

$180 for a new barrel, bushing, and shipping doesn't sound bad to me. Sounds like they are eating labor and shipping. It isn't like this is a gun that is two years old and who knows what previous owners did to the thing.

But I've never once tried to pass the problem back to the dealer. Dealers are there to sell you stuff, not hold your hand when you can't fix a problem or be bothered to find an alternative solution.
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If the LGS doesn't offer me customer service why would i ever consider paying the premium they demand over an online retailer? As another said, LGS go under because business practices that wouldn't be tolerated for a week in other industries.

If they have a range and won't let me test fire a used gun i don't think I will buy from them.
 
....$180 for a new barrel, bushing, and shipping doesn't sound bad to me. Sounds like they are eating labor and shipping. It isn't like this is a gun that is two years old and who knows what previous owners did to the thing.
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OP should try to trade his "problem child" 97B back to the LGS that sold it to him in the first place, for a brand new CZ 97B. If the $ on top of the old gun to do the deal is $180.00, you're still ahead with a brand new gun in hand. You don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate for!
 
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