My NIB Colt, is not so NIB

Did your dealer see the condition?
If I paid for a NIB gun, I wouldn't keep anything less. It's not like it's old, rare, or historical.

+1 on jonnyc. You paid for a NIB, unused rifle. Take it back, and they should deal with it.

The_Next_Generation... I'm just going to start calling you Tang. Lol.

Ship it back. No reason to pay NIB prices for something that looks PTT (poor too touch).

Handling marks happen...

M

Some would say if it has no effect on function they wouldnt care. i am not really in that camp. 1000 bux is a lot of money to me.

I wouldn't accept it if it was me, depending on how bad the scratches were. On the other hand none of my personal guns are scratch/nick free.

If I was buying it for a collectors piece I would be more picky than a user.

I will say that if you did accept it already and choose to return it, please let us know the response of the dealer. Especially if he didn't notice the condition!

If he returns it and it's a fairly smooth process, you got a darn good dealer!!!! You need to show your appreciation and do more business there.

It's hard to return a car once it's left the lot due to a scratch.

These things happen, you need to decide if the hassle, time, and money to send it back is worth getting another example. When we buy something from a retailer we're not always the first to touch it, think about clothes that have been tried on, cars have been test driven, or in some cases items have been returned and resold.

Only you can decide what's acceptable to you. Without pictures theres no chance that we could tell if its a quality control issue or handle marks from sitting in a gunshop before being shipped to your ffl. If it were me, assuming just light small nicks, I don't think its worth sending back. They're going to happen and theres no guarantee the one you get in return will be any better. Good luck, hopefully you are happy with your purchase whatever you choose to do.

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Sux - but are they imperfections you would have inflicted anyhow? If so, why hassle with it, the wait and the paperwork?

On the other hand, I do understand your disappointment.

I am OCD in a bad way about a lot of aspects except a carry gun. Because of the facts that I will never be carrying an ar to scratch it up or get wear marks then I would send it back. If my spikes came in like that i would have a fit. If i pay for quality that's what I want right down to the finishes.

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If you buy any new gun in person from a dealer it is always a good idea to take it out of the box and examine it before leaving the store. This is not the first story I have seen along similar lines.

I wouldn't be taking that rifle home. I never do without a thorough inspection, new or used. Once the paperwork is done, it becomes my problem.

I agree with some of the above. If you left the dealership with it then it's your rifle. Cosmetic blemishes can be seen with a basic inspection. It's a little different if there is a mchanical flaw that only manifests itself after a range session.

You would be surprised how many guns come from the factory with minor finish flaws. Taurus may be the worst offender I have ever seen. We have actually had a customer call back and accuse us of selling him a used pistol because his Judge was so beat up.

I would call Colt. You've already told the dealer you were satisfied with the condition of the rifle when you laid down your money and filled out a 4473z

The problem is a lot more difficult to deal with once you take delivery of the rifle. You should have been asking these questions before you did the transfer.

I agree with those who say you should have checked the cosmetics before you left the shop.

Cosmetics aren't warrantied, and there's no way to prove that you didn't make them yourself after leaving the shop.

I doubt you'll be able to trade the gun in for another without taking a big hit (unfired or not, you have a used gun). Hope you learn a lesson from this experience.

Return and demand a nicer piece. Again, be nice and say explicitly what you expect by spending $1000 plus. They should get the scoop...

nathan said:

Return and demand a nicer piece. Again, be nice and say explicitly what you expect by spending $1000 plus. They should get the scoop...

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Walk in our shop with that argument and you'll be told you shouldn't have left with the gun in the first place. Once you walk out the door, you've agreed to accept the cosmetics of the gun, and it's not our problem.

If you are truly insistent, we'll offer you a trade in value on the gun, but you won't like it.

Now, before you all get crazy and say that we're screwing the guy, we aren't. We couldn't send the gun back to a distributor or manufacturer after it's left our shop, and if we give the buyer back what he paid for the gun and put it back out on the shelf as a new gun, we're screwing the next guy by getting him to buy a used gun that we're calling new... that's unethical.

Pics of the "blemishes"?

Colts have milspec type finishes, and I've never seen one from any make of this type that had a really "perfect" finish. I have two NIB Colts, both have finishes you could nitpick if you really wanted to. Same with BCM, LMT, Bushmaster, DSA. They are meant to be shooters. For a perfect finish you should have it refinished in something better looking.

It's an AR not a museum piece. Unless you were going to leave it in the box and never use it, get over it. The $1000 might be a lot to you, but it is near the bottom of what an AR will sell for.

This is very common. I had a customer pick up a new Smith & Wesson revolver yesterday. His first words were, Do they shoot an entire cylinder out of their guns? He was really asking, Do they all look used from the factory?

It must have been good enough to leave the store with, so shot it, put some more scratches of your own on it, and have fun.

Call Colt customer service.

When firearms fail at the function test they get sent back for rework. Then they get shipped back to the firing range. Can happen several times.

Employees, they are only concerned about getting the thing fixed and off their table, so firearms take on wear and scratches.

That is my guess, and Colt should fix it.

The last few Colt AR's I have had at the shop have been "rough" to say the least. They have all had nicks and dings through the finish near the pins, and some casting marks. These were current production, within the past 6 months or so. Functionality still seems fine, but fit and finish has fallen a bit, it would appear.

Duracoat it? I keed!

Seriously, I'd send it back as well. A grand is not chump change and Colt is now depending on us private citizens for their bread & butter.

I wouldn't mind scratches but that's if I bought a used gun or I did the scratches myself. If I buy a pre-scratched NIB gun then I won't be too happy.

Considering the high demand right now for AR-type rifles you're lucky to have received one in a reasonable amount of time at all.

As for the blemishes in the finish... Colt's QC is not what it used to be. You could very well return it and get one back that's worse.