Jimenez and Budget Guns In General:

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Husqvarn

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Over the years I have read the many negative comments made about Jimenez, Hi-Point and other budget guns, particularly the hate letters on Jimenez Guns. Haveing just gone through a battle with a mail order Company with the help of the Better Buisness Baurou, I checked up on Jimenez Arms and found the Company has an accredited rating of A+ with 0 complaints.
Amazing considering the hundreds if not tousands of complaints I´v seen on various forums and Youtube comments! so this leave me too wonder "just who are these complainers"? If a customer is not happy with their purchase the normal procedure is to Contact the Company, if that is not forth comming then you go too the www.bbb.org to resolve the problem.
Can the Jimenez Budget Gun Bashers please explain why their complaints only show up on Youtubes and forums and not with the Better Buisness Buaruo?
 
I believe the BBB is like the United Nations, virtually useless for resolving disputes. The various forums tend to have more of a global and direct connect with consumers.
 
The BBB is worthless. They don't resolve any problems, all they do is forward your complaint to the company you are complaining about. The company responds to the BBB, and they forward the company's answer back to you.

They do not mediate, nor do they resolve anything. They also tend to give higher ratings to those businesses who are their members(read: give them money), and give lower ratings to those who don't.

Do not use the BBB as a measure of if a company does quality work or not.

As for people having issues with hi points or Jimenez, well that's their personal experience. There are some who will look down their noses at things that are inexpensive or don't have a big name. There are also some legitimate complaints I've heard. Those guns tend to lack the quality control other manufacturers have. This allows poorly made guns to slip into consumers hands(more so than most other companies), and where a lot of the issues lay. That being said, I've heard Hi Points actually have a really awesome warranty and are actually pretty tough guns.

I don't know much about Jimenez do I won't comment on them.
 
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The BBB

As I mentioned I´v just gotten through a battle with a mail order Company. The BBB can medeate and register, they can also guide you to the Attorney Generals Office of Consumer Protection who will come down hard on a Company who are not dealing fairly with their customers.

The Point of the BBB is that you can check with them if a Company is on the leavle, backing their Products and knowing what kind of complaints have been issued. The BBB can be a valuable tool with todays On Line Shopping.

I do not see it as being fair to anyone if a dissaisfied customer is not reporting that they are having trouble with a Company.....and this is what is exactly happening with the Jimenez Guns and some of the other Budget Guns, Forum and Youtube statements of poor quality - unreliable - even blowing up!! yet there are no Official Reports.

Jimenez has a Life Time Warrenty! even if a Budget Gun for $200 I would seek satisfaction if the gun was not working properly and from what i have Heard the Jimenez Co. has been faithfull to their customers ever replaceing worn out ones from extended use for free.
So I really do not see where the critics are comming from? unless they are refering to an illigal weapon that cannot be sent back too the Company for fear of being traced.
 
Allot of it has to do with unreasonable expectations.
I have purchased both high priced guns and also Hi-point guns.
I have purchased LEE reloading equipment and RCBS reloading equipment.

Truth is I have had just about the same junk from both. RCBS I have had unfinished dies. New Ruger that the ejection port is too small for the caliber.

Have had a Hi-Point 45 carbine that went to heck.
Sent it back to Hi- Point. Two weeks latter a brand new carbine showed up.

The reality is. The cheap stuff is getting better and the costly stuff is getting worse.
The low cost producer already knows how to make stuff cheap and their tools are getting better and better.

The high buck guys have no idea what to do. They try to cut cost and just muck it up.

Thats my take any way, worth exactly what you paid for it.
 
peggysue

Not yet, got hunting rifle and shotgun. Been doing research for a decent Self Defense piece that fits my bank roll from $100 - $300, that covers Jimenez, Hi-Point, Kel-Tec, SCCY (that I like) and a couple of others + the Armscor .38 revolver.
No big demands, just a working straight shooter. Difficult too justify buying a $500+ S D weapon that may never see more action than the occasinal target range too affirm I can still hit the target and if lost, stolen or empounded thanks to the Anti-Gun crowd theres no big finacial loose.
 
Your going to find good and bad with anything. Pay your money. Take your chances. When I worked at Gun Stores I never sent a High Point back for repair. The Jimenez didn't sell to well so the owner wouldn't stock them. I guess if you don't have the Money, the cheaper brand will save your life. Maybe I'm a Gun Snob but the lowest I would go is Charter Arms or Taurus. Used is an option especially, if you can shoot it first.
 
Not yet, got hunting rifle and shotgun. Been doing research for a decent Self Defense piece that fits my bank roll from $100 - $300, that covers Jimenez, Hi-Point, Kel-Tec, SCCY (that I like) and a couple of others + the Armscor .38 revolver.
No big demands, just a working straight shooter. Difficult too justify buying a $500+ S D weapon that may never see more action than the occasinal target range too affirm I can still hit the target and if lost, stolen or empounded thanks to the Anti-Gun crowd theres no big finacial loose.
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I have bought several "budget" handguns but could never get the nerve to get a Jimenez. My first handgun was a 9mm Hi-Point C9. It was a tough, durable accurate gun well worth the $125 I paid for it. I then bought a Phoenix HP-22 for $149 and it has been an excellent performer. I also bought a $199 Heritage Rough Rider "cowboy" revolver which has done well. I also have a $199 Taurus TCP that I like a lot. My only "brand name" handgun is a S&W SD9VE I paid $289.99 for (it is the size and weight of a Glock 19 and is almost identical). There is no reason to spend $500 for a dependable SD gun.

All of my guns are dependable and all but the Rough Rider have a lifetime warranty.
 
Can the Jimenez Budget Gun Bashers please explain why their complaints only show up on Youtubes and forums and not with the Better Buisness Buaruo?
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Frankly, most people are unaware of the Better Business Bureau. As others have mentioned, the organization simply doesn't do much of anything. In an age when consumers can register their displeasure instantly through Facebook and Yelp, the BBB isn't all that relevant.

I just don't see a lack of complaints on the BBB website being a very good metric of quality.
 
OP - It can be really tough to weed through the crap and get to the truth. Some people are haters, and they are gonna hate a gun no matter what. Others are fanboys, and they are gonna love a gun no matter what. Of course, there are many levels between those extremes.

From your follow up post, it seems that the point here is to find a reasonable and reliable SD gun in a low price range. With a top end of $300, you actually have a few options that are decent guns. I have put a few links below. You may notice that 3 out of 6 are from Taurus. I'm not trying to push you that direction, that's just where a lot of the low prices are. I do have the Taurus PT111 G2, and it is a great gun - weighs half a pound less than the Hi-Point you are looking at, and gives you 50% more capacity at the same time. That being said, my step dad has a Hi-Point C9 that he carries, and it has never given him a bit of trouble. I just didn't want to strap a brick on my belt, so I paid a little more for something that met my needs better.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...d/59326/Taurus+738SS+738+TCP+6+1+380ACP+2.84"

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...THUN380MLT+Thunder+380+Series+7+1+380ACP+3.5"

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...ucts_id/54585/Ruger+LCP+3701+6+1+380ACP+2.75"

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...s_id/77958/Taurus+709FS+PT709+Slim+7+1+9mm+3"

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...111039G2-12+PT111+Millennium+G2+12+1+9mm+3.2"

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...Smith+&+Wesson/S/W SD40VE 10+1 40S/W 4/quot;/
 
Probably going to catch some flack with this one, but personally, id likely buy a hi point before buying a taurus.

Both have a lifetime warranty, but in the last 5 yrs or so, ive seen it used on taurus guns a lot, on hi points, maybe once or twice. I dont know how many taurus guns have come in the shop on the last several years and had to go straight back, because they didnt work out of the box, parts falling off, not finished, etc. Its been a lot, to the point the shop owner had called taurus enough times he got a call back from some ceo type.
If it werent for models and price, and that they still sell, we wouldnt carry them.

Jiminez, no. We dont even work on jiminez, davis, raven, bryco, etc anymore.
 
"Been doing research for a decent Self Defense piece that fits my bank roll from $100 - $300..."

You should be able to find fine used examples of these from $200-300.

Autos: Ruger LCP, Kel-Tec P-32, and P-3AT

Revolvers: Charter Arms Undercover

Derringers: don't waste your time or money
 
I just don't see a lack of complaints on the BBB website being a very good metric of quality.
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Well said.

I have never owned or even shot a Hi Point, but the complaints against them seem to be of two sorts:

Folks who complain that they are ugly and heavy. If those matter to you, you can choose something else, but if it doesn't matter to you it doesn't matter to me. Heck, I own a Beretta Neos!:D

Folks who complain about their reliability and/or longevity. My observation that these are mostly folks who don't own one and assume that because of the cost, materials, or whatever that they either won't work or won't last. The folks who actually own them seem to be satisfied.

My conclusion - arrived at only as an observer of these conversations, mind you - is that Hi Point firearms are a probably a legitimate choice for folks needing a functioning firearm at a low price point. There are certainly more elegant and attractive guns out there, but I look at Hi Point as the purveyor of a sort of democratization of firearm ownership.

The difference I see is that Jiminez and their related companies generate complaints from owners about breakage and failure.
 
I own a Jennings J-22 and a Lorcin .380. (Same guns as made by Jimenez). I bought the J-22 in the late '80's. Have fired many rounds through it. It still looks "good" (relatively speaking) and works great as long as you keep the chamber clean. This means squirting it down with cleaner and scrubbing the bore after every 20 rounds or so. This is an earlier chrome model with wood grips and the STEEL safety switch (yes earlier ones had a steel safety). I got my $80 out of this gun time and time again. You do have to watch out for slide-bite!!!

Someone gave me the Lorcin .380. The extractor is weak and prone to breaking. The extractor spring is also weak. On this particular gun, the PO (sent back to the factory) replaced the extractor 3 times. Basically, its a POS that can be made to work reliably if you want to put in the time and effort. Presently, it is in working condition, but I rarely shoot it.

I would not buy a Jimenez today. I have no reason or want to do so. I bought the J-22 because it was the smallest handgun I could easily carry when I traveled cross-country on a motorcycle. But, the J-22 served its purpose and I do still shoot it on occasion. If someone tried to give me a Lorcin .380 today, I'd turn it down. I may part the one I have out someday and then melt the frame down - for the $50 or so I could get for the gun, it just isn't worth the worry.
 
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Hi Point has actually got a good reputation for reliability and durability. They're bug, ugly, and uncomfortable to hold, but most gun people at least respect their reliability.

Jiminez, though... not so much. Didn't they lose a massive lawsuit a while back because of out-of-battery firing? Or am I getting it mixed up with another company?
 
I have said before that those guns have a decent design and if made of proper materials and with good quality control, they would be good guns.

Jiminez claims to have solved the QC problems (by hiring competent workers?) and improved the materials used. We shall see.

But if they do improve the product, their main problem will be to overcome the poor reputation of the guns made by their predecessors, Jennings, Lorcin, and who knows who else. Every time someone mentions Jiminez, folks bring up problems with the older guns, often those with no connection at all to the current company. Some reported problems with Spanish pistols dating to the 1920's, blaming Jiminez for producing "that junk".

Other folks seem to be turned off by the name, associating any Hispanic name with illegal activities by some Hispanics; that is simply ridiculous.

Jim
 
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