I purchased a Taurus 650 CIA and ran less than 100 rounds through it. The pin that holds the firing pin assembly in vibrated out while shooting, and the firing pin assembly fell out when I went to reload. I didn't see it fall out and the only part I was able to find was the pin that holds the assembly in. I called Taurus and the customer service girl I spoke with asked if I was mechanically inclined. I told her I was and could put the firing pin back in myself so she said they would send the parts. Two weeks went by and no parts. I called Taurus customer service back and the lady I talked to said there was no record of my ever having called. She said she would get the parts out to me in a week to ten days. The parts arrived and were not the correct ones. I called Taurus again and explained the problem, was put on hold for a while and was told they had gotten the correct part numbers and would send the parts out, and I would have them in a week to ten days. I received the second order and it was exactly the same parts as the first order. Both of the invoices stated what guns they were for and mine was not one of them. I called again and a customer service rep said he would have to go out in the "shop" and get with a gunsmith to make sure I got the right parts and would call me back. I waited two days - never got a call back. Called them back again and the customer service rep said the replacement parts that came up in the computer were evidently wrong. At that point I said don't bother looking anything else up, I will just ship the gun back to you for warranty repair.
I shipped the gun back to Taurus FedEx Priority overnight. It was received by them on June 22nd. Two weeks later I received a letter from Taurus stating they received my gun on June 29th. They did not - it was there the week before, I have the FedEx tracking and signature proof. The letter also stated "processing" (their word - why didn"t they say repair?) would take approximately 5-6 weeks from time of receipt. Really since my gun had already been there for a week before they officially "received" it, it is 6-7 weeks for the repair. I waited a month trying to get the correct parts sent, and the gun has been at their repair facility now for about a month.
At no time were any of the customer service people that I dealt with rude, they seemed like they wanted to help, but I got the impression they were all stressed. I didn't have the heart to give any of them grief over this - it's not the end of the world and not my only firearm. It is my only Taurus though. Any company that manufactures a product can have a defect slip through. The measure of how good the manufacturer is is in how well they take care of thier mistakes (and their customers). Taurus is very disappointing in this instance. I really liked the feel, exterior finish and accuracy of this little snubbie for the few rounds I put through it before it broke. My brother in law has two Taurus revolvers that have been jewels - no problems.
Either Taurus has a flood of defective guns in to repair right now, or not enough gunsmiths to handle their warranty work, or both. I am still undecided as to whether to keep it when I get it back, or trade it in on another Smith and just write my purchasing this Taurus off as a mistake.
I shipped the gun back to Taurus FedEx Priority overnight. It was received by them on June 22nd. Two weeks later I received a letter from Taurus stating they received my gun on June 29th. They did not - it was there the week before, I have the FedEx tracking and signature proof. The letter also stated "processing" (their word - why didn"t they say repair?) would take approximately 5-6 weeks from time of receipt. Really since my gun had already been there for a week before they officially "received" it, it is 6-7 weeks for the repair. I waited a month trying to get the correct parts sent, and the gun has been at their repair facility now for about a month.
At no time were any of the customer service people that I dealt with rude, they seemed like they wanted to help, but I got the impression they were all stressed. I didn't have the heart to give any of them grief over this - it's not the end of the world and not my only firearm. It is my only Taurus though. Any company that manufactures a product can have a defect slip through. The measure of how good the manufacturer is is in how well they take care of thier mistakes (and their customers). Taurus is very disappointing in this instance. I really liked the feel, exterior finish and accuracy of this little snubbie for the few rounds I put through it before it broke. My brother in law has two Taurus revolvers that have been jewels - no problems.
Either Taurus has a flood of defective guns in to repair right now, or not enough gunsmiths to handle their warranty work, or both. I am still undecided as to whether to keep it when I get it back, or trade it in on another Smith and just write my purchasing this Taurus off as a mistake.
