So, a couple a months ago I pull out my Beretta Tomcat Alleycat to give it a lube and cleaning. I haven't shot it in a while because I don't reload .32 ACP and ammo is expensive. To tell the truth, I haven't shot it much at all since I bought it years ago, and when I did, it was with Walley World white box ammo.
Well, while I have the gun out, I decide to do a search on the internet about Tomcats and it led me to a thread here, which led me to one on berettaforum.net that discusses cracked frames and is complete with pictures. Guess what - my gun's frame was cracked in exactly the same place as everyone elses. I guess that explains the FTFs I was having on my last outing...
The recommendation on the forum was to call Beretta Customer Service, so I give them a call. I finally reach someone and his responce was - you got to send the gun in to Beretta. I mention that this appears to be a common problem and the Customer Service guy is non-committal, but repeats - just send the gun in. Will Beretta send me a shipper? - no they do not provide that service.
So, it's off to FedEx where it costs me almost $50 to send the gun via overnight delivery. I get a letter several weeks later from Beretta letting me know they received my gun along with info about Beretta's warrenty being one year and you will be charged a $70 evaluation fee plus additional charges for repairs if your gun is out of warrenty. Yes - it would have been nice if the Customer Service guy mentioned some of this when I was on the phone with him....
I get a call last week from Beretta and the person tells me my gun is no longer serviceable because of the cracked frame and it has also been discontinued, so no replacement parts are avaialble. But they would be able to send me an INOX Tomcat for $178. I ask a few questions:
Is there, or will there be a recall on the blued discontinued on the Tomcats do to the problem with cracked frames?
No.
Why did Beretta discontinue the model then?
I don't know.
The INOX Tomcat is bigger and heavier than the blued one. It's really a little too big for a pocket gun. Besides, I no longer have confidence in this model, can I get a discount on another gun instead?
No. This offer is only being extended on the INOX Tomcat. Your gun is out of warrenty, but Beretta is still extending this offer to you.
I told the Customer Service Rep that I would have to think about what I will do. She also said I can get my gun back if I sign some kind of document that says I agree the gun is no longer safe to shoot. Still haven't called them back yet, as I am not sure I want to spend another $180 on a gun that is going to remind me of this whole experience. I guess I can always buy it and turn around and sell it to recoup some of my losses....
If you happen to have a blued Tomcat, I have the following suggestions:
Do not count on this gun in a life or death situation. The frames are prone to cracking, rendering the gun unserviceable, even using standard pressure ball ammo.
Pull off the slide and look at the top of the frame. The crack appears on the right side, through to a small hole in the frame. There is a pic or two at berettaforum.net.
If you do have a cracked frame, Call Beretta and insist they send you a shipper - offer to pay for it. It's got to be much less expensive than FedEx. Beretta does not care how much it costs you to send a gun to them.
If your gun is less than 1 year old they will probably send you an INOX Tomcat for free. If your gun is more than 1 year old or you bought it used you may get the same offer I did. If you don't want to spend $180 plus shipping costs to Beretta, take your gun to a gun buy back program and get what you can for it.
If anyone knows how to get Beretta to replace an older gun for free - please share it with the rest of us. I've always been a fan of Beretta (especially their shotguns), but my experience with this Tomcat has really put a damper on my enthusiasm. It's going to be a long time before I even think about buying another Beretta.
Thanks,
clang
Well, while I have the gun out, I decide to do a search on the internet about Tomcats and it led me to a thread here, which led me to one on berettaforum.net that discusses cracked frames and is complete with pictures. Guess what - my gun's frame was cracked in exactly the same place as everyone elses. I guess that explains the FTFs I was having on my last outing...
The recommendation on the forum was to call Beretta Customer Service, so I give them a call. I finally reach someone and his responce was - you got to send the gun in to Beretta. I mention that this appears to be a common problem and the Customer Service guy is non-committal, but repeats - just send the gun in. Will Beretta send me a shipper? - no they do not provide that service.
So, it's off to FedEx where it costs me almost $50 to send the gun via overnight delivery. I get a letter several weeks later from Beretta letting me know they received my gun along with info about Beretta's warrenty being one year and you will be charged a $70 evaluation fee plus additional charges for repairs if your gun is out of warrenty. Yes - it would have been nice if the Customer Service guy mentioned some of this when I was on the phone with him....
I get a call last week from Beretta and the person tells me my gun is no longer serviceable because of the cracked frame and it has also been discontinued, so no replacement parts are avaialble. But they would be able to send me an INOX Tomcat for $178. I ask a few questions:
Is there, or will there be a recall on the blued discontinued on the Tomcats do to the problem with cracked frames?
No.
Why did Beretta discontinue the model then?
I don't know.
The INOX Tomcat is bigger and heavier than the blued one. It's really a little too big for a pocket gun. Besides, I no longer have confidence in this model, can I get a discount on another gun instead?
No. This offer is only being extended on the INOX Tomcat. Your gun is out of warrenty, but Beretta is still extending this offer to you.
I told the Customer Service Rep that I would have to think about what I will do. She also said I can get my gun back if I sign some kind of document that says I agree the gun is no longer safe to shoot. Still haven't called them back yet, as I am not sure I want to spend another $180 on a gun that is going to remind me of this whole experience. I guess I can always buy it and turn around and sell it to recoup some of my losses....
If you happen to have a blued Tomcat, I have the following suggestions:
Do not count on this gun in a life or death situation. The frames are prone to cracking, rendering the gun unserviceable, even using standard pressure ball ammo.
Pull off the slide and look at the top of the frame. The crack appears on the right side, through to a small hole in the frame. There is a pic or two at berettaforum.net.
If you do have a cracked frame, Call Beretta and insist they send you a shipper - offer to pay for it. It's got to be much less expensive than FedEx. Beretta does not care how much it costs you to send a gun to them.
If your gun is less than 1 year old they will probably send you an INOX Tomcat for free. If your gun is more than 1 year old or you bought it used you may get the same offer I did. If you don't want to spend $180 plus shipping costs to Beretta, take your gun to a gun buy back program and get what you can for it.
If anyone knows how to get Beretta to replace an older gun for free - please share it with the rest of us. I've always been a fan of Beretta (especially their shotguns), but my experience with this Tomcat has really put a damper on my enthusiasm. It's going to be a long time before I even think about buying another Beretta.
Thanks,
clang