SMITH AND WESSON - WARRANTY - REPAIR

[johnny blaze]

I posted a thread on here a couple of weeks ago. This is a follow up to that thread.
My son purchased a 686 Smith and Wesson. He never fired it for several years. We went out to shoot it only to find out that it would only take 5 cartridges. Upon examination, we noticed a burr in one of the cylinders.
I called Smith and Wesson, and was told that the gun may or may not be covered under warranty. I was told thar I would have to send it back to them so they could check it out and determine if it was under warranty.
I thought "what kind of a deal is this?" I really questioned their service at that time.
I posted this on this site. I got some really useful information. So I called them again.
This time we were sent a postage paid shipping label. I shipped the 686 back. In a week and a half, the 686 came back completely repaired. It appears that the whole cylinder may have been replaced as it is really shiny, or else it was polished.
Smith and Wesson's warranty service is the best service that I have ever seen.
I was discouraged after the first call, as I was not offered a prepaid shipping label, or hardly any help at all.
Thanks to everyone on this form for responding to my problem. The second call to Smith and Wesson was like it should be, effecient.
My opinion of Smith and Wesson service has changed completely.
If anyone out there has contacted Smith and Wesson and has gotten nowhere, my advice is to try again. A company is only as good as it's employees, and sometimes you get one on the phone that is not efficeint.
This holds true with any company.
I will be buying more Smith and Wessons.

 

[Srigs]

Normally you get the best support in the firearms business. I'm glad you called back and had your needs resolved.

What are you going to get next?

 

[warwagon]

Johny,

Glad to hear it worked out well for you!

Good to know that S&W is treating thier customers
right!

Blair

 

[gudel]

When I bought a NIB 686 6", it had a problem with multiple lightstrike. I emailed them with my info. I got this prepaid label. I sent it in, got it back a week later. Although the service is excellent, I wished it never had to be sent back in the first place.

 

[Sheldon]

My wife's 586 (pre-lifetime warranty) has been shot a LOT. It started to spit out the sides of the cylinder noticeably when I shot hot jacketed loads. I happened to go to a local range on one of their gun manufacturors sample days and the S&W representative was there. I mentioned the problem and he told me to send it back and that they might fix it under warranty anyways. I did and they did as well. After a lot more shooting, the hammer and trigger pins sheared (I was shooting a lot of magnum loads then). They fixed that as well and re-blued the frame.....but not the cylinder. Still, I have the upmost confidence in S&W as far as warranty goes.

 

[MCgunner]

I wished it never had to be sent back in the first place.

Any manufacturer will have one get away from 'em now and then. It's the one's that back their work that are above the rest.

 

[mljdeckard]

Sigma

11 years ago, I bought the first generation Sigma in .40. (I was thinking at the time, this model would work the bugs out of a new invention like the Glock, not realizing, a Glock has no bugs.)

I had all kinds of problems with it, I had to have the feed ramp milled, the front sight was a nylon plug that fell out, and the spring on the slide stop broke. I took it to the dealer, and their gunsmith fixed it all, and billed S&W, and they covered it, no problem. I was still glad to get rid of it.

I have two friends with 686 revolvers, and they both have never had a problem with them, but they both shoot strictly factory ammo too.

 

[johnny blaze]

I am not sure what kind of Smith I will buy next. With this great service, they are the best. I kind of like their 45's.
I also just had a problem with a Firestorm 45. One of the grip screws seemed to be stripped from the factory. I sent them a letter, and they left a message on my voice mail that it would be 1.00 for the grip screw, and 3.00 shipping.
I called them back and got a different person, and they said they would send the grip screw to me at no charge. Here is another case where you have to get to the right person to get the proper service.
I am glad to hear so many members with positive experiences with Smith and Wesson. In this case, they treated me right.