CANNONMAN, I though you already bought the rifle.
Regardless, I'd pay $1,800 for a Bergara over anything from Savage every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I know of a rifle company who had a hard time keeping up with demand so looked to Savage as a possible vendor for barrels. After the first shipment of 50 first articles for inspection, the company in question decided to add capability in-house because the barrels were so bad. Sure, Bergara is a barrel company but the barrel is a critical part of the rifle. If Krieger made rifles they wouldn't be able to keep up with the orders.
It's not hard to make an accurate rifle. There are gunsmiths all over the country capable of buying a quality barrel blank, reaming a tight chamber and screwing it onto a decent action and slapping it into a decent stock for around $3,000. The challenge is making an accurate
system that not only shoots well but runs well under a variety of conditions. It needs to shoot good hot, cold, clean or dirty. Running the bolt should be smooth, easy and fast. Rounds need to feed from the magazine smoothly and quickly without causing misfeeds or damaging the bullet or case. Magazines need to be easy and fast to insert and remove. I've taken precision courses with timed drills and that really separates the wheat from the chaff when it comes to the "system". You might be surprised by how many rifles become jamomatics when you start running the bolt fast. Taking a rifle to the range, sitting it on a bench, shooting a round and then sitting there to admire your work while you wait for the barrel to cool doesn't reveal much in the way of limitations of the system. Now put five rounds down the barrel in 15 seconds or less while resting the rifle on the magazine and see what happens.