Taurus quality control and customer support (LACK OF)

T

Terry A

New member
I've never posted a single negative word about Taurus on this or any other forum. Fact is I've always mentioned that they produce an ok handgun.

My son has a less than 2 year old M-66 as well as a 24/7. Well, the M66 acted up at the range. The cylinder, while supposedly locked, spun clockwise. Only 2 of the 7 chambers locked the cylinder into place. You could actually spin it like a single action revolver while it was in the locked position.

He contacted Taurus Customer Support and spoke with a man who he said was very difficult to understand due to his thick accent. After much discussion, my son was instructed to ship his revolver via FedEx at HIS cost, which was $79.00. He sent it out on June 12. He got it back today with a note that said it was fixed and that it was covered under their warranty. They would not, however, refund the shipping costs after he telephoned them and very politely explained the situation and asked that his shipping costs be reimbursed since it had broken due to faulty construction.

When he told me about this, I told him I'd spread the word to the fellas on the forums.

I've owned over 40 firearms in my life and only had to send one back to the factory once. My beloved Springfield XD-45 locked up. I contacted Springfield, they mailed me a pre-paid label with instructions to ship it to them via FedEx (at their cost). I did so, they fixed it and the pistol has shot happily ever after.

Do other "reputable" gun companies charge to have defective firearms shipped back? I can perfectly understand if the weapon was damaged due to neglect or mis-use. But when it malfunctions due to shabby workmanship, shouldn't the company pay the shipping as a good willed gesture?
 
If anyone should ever wonder why some people are so outspoken about some gun company's QC, then read no farther than the opening sentences of the above post. This could be you next. Good Luck TerryA.
 
I'll buy Argentinian (Bersa) all day long - but I have a tendency to shy away from Taurus.

They have some cool designs, but due to the seemingly massive amount of issues as compared to other companies, if I'm going to get a South American gun, I'll shop a bit further south than Brazil.
 
They would not, however, refund the shipping costs after he telephoned them and very politely explained the situation and asked that his shipping costs be reimbursed since it had broken due to faulty construction
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This is a valid concern, but I would also be worried if it was fixed properly.
I sent mine in and it came back not fixed with no explanation.

You realize this makes you a basher, and nothing you just said is true.;)
 
No lack of sympathy here, but, I have to point out that the shipping arrangements are the standard Taurus policy, which IS spelled out in the warranty paperwork that comes with their guns. They pay shipping BOTH ways for the first year of ownership. After that, the owner is responsible for shipping TO Miami.....Taurus always pays the return shipping.

Not defending Taurus, you understand (I have a current beef with them myself)...but those are the specified arrangements. Perhaps your son didn't read the paperwork when he got the gun.
 
As a former Taurus owner, all I can suggest is that going forward, buy all your guns from reputable makers. To me, paying a bit more up front for a quality gun backed by a quality company is worth it.

In the very least, I hope your son's gun was at least fixed correctly. Good luck.
 
A bit late for Terry A, but for future reference.

If you stay on good terms with a local dealer, you can ask him to MAIL a gun for you, which he can do for $5 or so. If you are a good customer, he probably won't even charge a fee if you do the packing and addressing.

(Of course for warranty work, it is better to buy from a company that will pay return shipping, but I suspect that some companies would have so much shipping expense they would go broke very quickly.)

Jim
 
Bersa requires that user pay for shipping to a warranty center. I had my LGS take care of process; shipping & insurance was $22.00. Warranty center had my 380 a month for broken trigger spring (during Shot Show time). Got it back repaired; spring broke again 3 weeks later. This time got a DVD on Thunder 380 (On Target Video) and the parts from Bersa and fixed it myself. My trigger had a casting bump inside cutting the spring. I like my Bersa; but it's going to be a severe warranty problem before I spend another $22.00 shipping it; it only cost $239.00 new. I feel that kind of failure in such a short time should be taken care of by manufacturer; 20% of price on shipping in the first month would be silly. On the other hand my Taurus PT92 has been flawless.
 
Ballocks. I just bought one, waiting for it to come in... I was a little leary, and this only increases that worry.
I'll be hitting the range about twice a week now, so I'll keep y'all in the loop...
 
Taurus states that they will only cover shipping during the first year of ownership of any of there firearms and after the first year the customer is responsible.
 
I'm a Taurus basher, after owning FOUR different models (M431,M94, M941, PT-22), AND gotten burned almost every time (the earlier .44 Special M431 was "ok")- as in: Three strikes & Taurus is OUT !

(OK, call it one ball, three strikes :p )

To add insult to injury, "IF" one tries to actually sell a used Taurus, they'll soon find out what a "white elephant" is, since a used Taurii is harder to sell reasonably than ice to Eskimos.

.
 
My only foray into the Taurs brand was a PT22 last January.
I bought it used, like new from a local shop.
It suffered light strikes, which is reported to be common...it would fire about half the rounds in a mag with one trigger pull, the rest would take multiple pulls.
It also suffered jams...I tried a little mag lip adjustment, but it didn't help.
Finally, worst of all, it often keyholed the bullets at the 10ft range I tried it on.
I called Taurus, and they immediately sent a fed ex truck to pick it up (the driver thought it illegal to ship a pistol, LOL).
I included a note describing the issues.
When it came back a week later, they had replaced the mag and the hammer spring. Nothing was mentioned about the keyholing.
I tested it for one or two mags to see if it fed and fired..it did.
Then I sold it and bought a nice beretta 21 Bobcat which worked perfectly and dosn't keyhole.
Last Taurus for me.
 
The early Taurus revolvers were built on the S&W lockwork. Their "engineers" have since simplified the design, cheapening it (IMO) in the process. The only way I would buy one is if it was used and very cheap and I can service it myself.

BTW, this morning my S&W Model 29 wasn't working. I hadn't touched it in two decades and wanted a big bore gun before heading into an area where the "wolves" (I think the critters reported were actually coyotes) were unafraid of man. The cylinder wouldn't open as the cylinder release was stuck and the hammer could not be cocked in the SA mode. Sometimes in the DA mode the cylinder stop didn't lock up the cylinder. After cleaning the lockwork, it was good to go and easily passed the function tests.
 
Yesterday, 07:26 PM #6
wpsdlrg
Member


Join Date: August 18, 2009
Posts: 44 No lack of sympathy here, but, I have to point out that the shipping arrangements are the standard Taurus policy, which IS spelled out in the warranty paperwork that comes with their guns. They pay shipping BOTH ways for the first year of ownership. After that, the owner is responsible for shipping TO Miami.....Taurus always pays the return shipping.

Not defending Taurus, you understand (I have a current beef with them myself)...but those are the specified arrangements. Perhaps your son didn't read the paperwork when he got the gun.
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I had my son look over these replies and after checking the "fine print", he saw what you mentioned. This is only his 5th gun purchase but it was a great lesson for him.

I really appreciate all the good input and insights from you guys. Everybody who posted in this thread had something of substance to offer. Thanks!

Also, I forgot to mention what Taurus reps said was the issue...."The headspace was undersized and the cylinder stop was broken". When we go test fire it, I told him that we're going to get some of them metal welding shields that welders were over their face before we squeeze one off.....:D
 
When we go test fire it, I told him that we're going to get some of them metal welding shields that welders were over their face before we squeeze one off.....
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Mine came back not fixed. I sure hope yours is done right.

No joke....I would consider taking the long leather welding gloves with you. might be hard to get your finger through, but you could cut the index finger down to fit it through the trigger. Especially if you're going to be testing with max pressure loads (which I would do to make sure it's reliable).

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
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