Should I buy this 1989 9mm W German Sig P226?

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dave2

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I live in Dallas, TX
Greetings to all at The High Road. I found a 1989 W German 9mm P226 for sale in my area. I am inclined to buy it for it being a W German pistol as well as I've wanted a 226 9mm for a while. I wanted to run it by the good folks at The High Road first - I need opinions and advice please.

The seller says he wants $625, he has had the night sights replaced about 10 years ago, and that mechanically the condition is 9 of 10 but the finish is a 6 or 7 of 10 with it showing holster wear. He purchased the pistol in 1998, and has 3 Sig mags and 5 aftermarket mags but does not have the original box. In the pictures the gun looks pretty good and I will get to see it but not fire it on Sunday night.

First: is this too much to pay for this pistol?
Second: are there any negatives that I should look for or be aware of when I examine the gun on Sunday?

Thanks in advance.

Dave
 
It sounds priced a little high to me.

LE trade-in SIG 226s go for $400-$450 locally with 3 mags. The maker of the other mags will have a large bearing on what they add to the price. They could add $O (Promag) to $100 (factory) to the price

The useful life of night sights is about 10 years.

The important thing when looking at a used SIG is to inspect the frame rails. If the anodizing is worn through on the rails, I'd walk away
 
Good info 9mmepiphany. I will inspect the rails for sure. They should look black right... not shiny.
He didn't know the maker of the 5 extra mags. 3 are Sig and 5 are not. I will not buy ProMag mags... they are junk.

So for a W German 9mm P226 - you think $400 to $450 is fair?
 
I think $500-550 would be fair if it is in good condition internally and the mags are MecGar (who makes, or at least used to, OEM mags for SIG) As has been mentioned, the night sights are about at the end of their life--the half-life of tritium is about 12 years.
 
If the current owner replaced the night sights 10 years ago then they are almost gone.

Did Mec-Gar make the mags for the W German P series pistols back then?
 
If the rails are sound, and the extra mags are factory or mec gar, I'd go up to 585, but not more...check out gunbroker...
 
The 'mud rails' were an issue in guns made around 1986 and 1987. Serial numbers U137xxx --- U157xxx I believe. This gun is after they revamped the rails.
 
Which years where the "mud rail" Sigs? Mid 80's I think.
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I believe it was '86 - '88.

I also think $625 is a little high, even with the extra mags. It's my feeling that the price of a gun should include 2, or maybe 3 (especially if it was a LE gun), mags. I'm thinking the gun with 3 mags is $450-$525 with the extra non-SIG mags worth maybe $10-$15 each.
 
So that puts your P226 at about $450 or so. That seems to be a good price for one used with holster wear but not too many rounds (police trade in type gun).
 
I believe the SIG mags back then were made by SIG. If they are then they will have dovetail or zipper backs. I guess that is something to check.

I did win an auction on GunBroker at $601 about a year ago for a '90 P226 with almost no external wear and very few rounds with the original box, manual, test target, and two mags. I thought it was a very good deal so you can use that as a data point, but the seller backed out of the deal.

I personally don't give much value for extra mags unless they are the SIG dovetail or zipper back ones, or are hard to find like P220 9mm ones.
 
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wgsigs said:
I believe the SIG mags back then were made by SIG. If they are then they will have dovetail or zipper backs. I guess that is something to check.

I did win an auction on GunBroker about a year ago for a '90 P226 with almost no external wear and very few rounds with the original box, manual, test target, and two mags. I thought it was a very good deal so you can use that as a data point, but the seller backed out of the deal.

I personally don't give much value for extra mags unless they are the SIG dovetail or zipper back ones, or are hard to find like P220 9mm ones.
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wgsigs: What was the winning price for the 'P226? Your description of that gun sounds like what I'm looking for with perhaps a bit more external wear from being carried.

Dave
 
wgsigs: What was the winning price for the 'P226? Your description of that gun sounds like what I'm looking for with perhaps a bit more external wear from being carried.
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My winning bid was $601 (I didn't realize I had left the winning bid off of my previous post), which is why I thought it was a great deal, and may have been why the seller backed out. But while I thought it was worth $650-$675, I personally wouldn't have gone that high. I think my bid for a gun in the same condition but with more external wear would have been fair.

Of course, all of these numbers are my personal opinion, and my goal is always to get a good deal (even if it means passing or losing out), never paying what I think they are worth, that is, what I perceive the market price to be. I think the key is patience and some luck. I finally got a very nice P226, but it is a '96 (no W) Germany with a SIG plastic case, test target, NO manual, and two 10 round mags for $535.

I should qualify my remarks about not paying what a gun is worth to refer to GunBroker auctions, not face to face transactions. With a face to face transaction a mutually agreed price is what I would think was fair.
 
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I think $500 would be a very good price and $550 a fair price for a gun with 3 mags...you'd have to figure what the extra magazines are worth to you
 
I will keep thinking about the pistol today. But I am on the verge of backing out of it and looking for a nicer one with fewer mags and around $500.

Thanks to everybody for their thoughts. You may have saved me some money.

Dave
 
I think it wouldn't hurt to at least look at the gun. All of the SIGs I have bought from GunBroker have looked better than the photos (knock on wood!) - unless you are like me and really like having the original case/box and paperwork.
 
I backed out of the deal without looking at it. I do want the original box, etc and a nicer P226 so I'll keep looking. I will look at some of the gun shows and local ads for Dallas. They are out there right.
 
Seller is about $275 too high for the stated condition.
Box?
Spare magazines?
Original manual & test target?
 
CDNN has used West German 226's for about $550.

They don't have a rail.

I bought a new 226 from Gunbroker for $650. Nice pistol and the quality is great but the prices just reflect the cost of labor in Germany which is astronomical.
 
Onmilo said:
Seller is about $275 too high for the stated condition.
Box?
Spare magazines?
Original manual & test target?
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Onmilo: he does not have the original box (a negative to me) or manual or test target but has 5 aftermarket mags (brand unknown but they work he says). I figured originally that the mags had about $100 value... but that could be high. ProMag brand gets a $0 value from me.

I will keep on the lookout for a W German P226 that I like preferably in a shop or show rather than on the internet.
 
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