Gun Shop Snafu

Status
Not open for further replies.
BigN

BigN

Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2010
Messages
761
Location
Adirondack Mountains, Waaay Upstate New York
I was in my LGS yesterday, interested in a 4" barrel revolver in 44 mag. I was interested in the Taurus Tracker. He didn't have one in stock but he did have a Taurus, black finish, 44, 4" w/ported barrel. The price was $200 less than a new Tracker. He claimed the gun was fairly new and a Model 44. The gun was in great shape, looked nice, and appeared to be taken care of well. The $200 cheaper deal was what turned me toward the used one. I purchased it and then took the info to get it onto my permit. For kicks and grins, I ran the serial# at the Taurus website...the gun is 17 years old...manufactured in 1994. It also wasn't a model 44, but a Model 2-440041. I cancelled the sale and ordered the new Tracker in stainless. My other revolvers are stainless so I think I'll be happier with it. I don't think he intentionally tried to mislead me but my point here is, always check for yourself since others can be mistaken, even your gun guy...
 
That is a Model 44 Taurus Tracker and would have been advertised as a Model 44 17 years ago or whatever. Good luck with your stainless one.

If you buy a Colt Diamondback, you will notice that different variations have different model reference numbers such as D5140 (4" blue 22LR), but they are all Diamondbacks.
 
Last edited:
Sorry, BigN, you're making a big deal about nothing. I have a Taurus Model 85. I'm sure it has some obscure 6 to 8 digit number identifying it as a 3" ported stainless model, but it's still a Model 85.

It's kind of like you're complaining that you went to the used car lot and complained that a salesman tried to sell you a Chevy Silverado, when in fact, it's a Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT Z71.
 
My only .44 is the one you canceled on.

They are actually pretty good, mine having been unmolested and mostly unfired.

The porting actually works as intended, and the finish is a beauty.

I shake my head and laugh when my "pretty" gun is actually a taurus.
 
Techbrute, I am not sure about that 17 years old is not a pretty much new firearm if you are buying a modern firearm.

17 years is a lot of time to run some rounds through it and wear out some components. Granted the OP said it looked in good working order and appeared to be well taken care of, but I think I would have been put out by the age too.

Given the ease at which you can look up most firearms serials and age online, you'd think the store would have done that.

It is not a huge deal, I would not be in there turning over desks and crap but I probably would have taken it back. Course the way I am, if I go in looking for something and settle for something less, I am not going to be happy.

Sounds like it worked out well though, the OP brought it back and got what he wanted. The LGS still made a sale.
 
I've made it a practice in life to buy older used things in excellent condition; apart from my NAA mini, my youngest gun is 40 years old.

It would be helpful if the seller had correct information, but instead of cancelling the sale I probably would have tried to negotiate a better price.

I'm glad you were able to work out the deal to get the new gun. It sounds like you're working with an honest (albeit not fully informed) seller.
 
Maybe I'm misunderstanding. It seemed he returned it based on "being misled". I was making the point that he was not misled, but instead, that he doesn't understand naming conventions. My Taurus was purchased around the same time, and my point had nothing to do with the age of a firearm.
 
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, most used .44 magnum revolvers, not all, but most that I have looked at have relatively low round counts through them. There was a period of time when everybody just had to have a .44 and they bought them. Then they shot them and didn't like them. I remember the dirty harry craze years ago, a few years after there was a flood of nice like new used S&W model 29's on the market.
 
I was making the point that he was not misled, but instead, that he doesn't understand naming conventions.
Click to expand...

*And* the seller clearly didn't understand naming conventions, either, which appears to have resulted in the buyer being misled by the seller. The gun was represented to be "fairly new"; I suppose that gets back to the point of what one considers a "new" gun.

In my business if we misrepresent something and the customer made the purchasing decision based on that misrepresentation, we make it right. Our competitors are happy to take the business of any of our unhappy customers otherwise!
 
My humble opinion is that it was the OP who made the mistake, not the gun dealer. The Model 2-440041 is a Tracker:

http://www.taurususa.com/pdf.cfm?id=226

Order #: 2-440041TKR Model: 44TRACKER4B UPC: 7-25327-35123-8
Click to expand...

Taurus has a lifetime warranty to include any subsequent purchasers of their firearms, so the 17 years old isn't as issue.

To me, "fairly new" means the condition of the gun, not necessarily the age, especially on a gun that has a lifetime warranty. If I buy a gun, especially as a dealer, and never take it out of the box, 20 years later would it be misleading to sell the gun as new in box condition?

Just the feeling I am getting is the OP was torn between getting the gun he really wanted and waiting, or getting a gun now on the spur of the moment, and he didn't like the decision he made so now he is trying to put it back on the dealer. I don't see where the dealer did any misleading at all, accidental or on purpose.
 
Yeah, it just sounds like a case of misunderstanding the naming convention... but he wanted a stainless one anyways and will probably be happier that he didn't settle for the blued one.
 
and if course I think the most notable part of the snafu was, the LGS did not give him grief, they let him return it and get what he wanted. I find it hard to fault the LGS when they owned up to and corrected the error. Whatever anyone considers new/old or anything else it is about keeping the customer happy and this LGS seems to have that covered.
 
I would have been put off seeing it's old. Granted the naming convention is the OPs mistake. Call it priority but the OP mentioned the age issue first then the model number...

He was misled if the LGS said it was "fairly new" Sorry, it's being sold as a USED gun... Not a "new, old stock" not a "LIKE New in Box" (which would be how you would sell a used gun that has been in the hands of another consumer even if it was put into a safe for 17yrs.) to sell it as New in Box condition would be fraudulent.

If the LGS was saying "fairly new" as in great condition... wait why not say great shape, great condition...

Chances are the LGS assumed it was fairly new because it looked to be in great shape. Not because he actually knew the age of the gun.

Whether intentionally misled or not, you were misled.... sounds like you're getting what you really wanted though so all worked out ok.
 
I've probably paid more for a +20 yr old used s&w revolver than an equivalant NIB model :D So don't be so quick to age discriminate, there's lots of fine classics out there still worth shooting!
 
Easy guys...I don't feel I was mislead at all, as I stated in my original post. I wasn't angry at all, that's just not me. I didn't like the fact that it was a very old gun and actually was relieved as someone mentioned, that I had an excuse to get a stainless model. This LGS is very upfront with any info it has as to conditions, ages, etc, of all guns it sells. As far as I can see, they're trustworthy and honest and I've gotten a lot of guns there and plan to continue to do so. The whole point I was trying to make is trust, yet verify for yourself, that's all. As far as I'm concerned, this was not even a small problem.
 
I didn't like the fact that it was a very old gun
Click to expand...
Sorry, I had to laugh at that. 17 years is old for a gun? :D I don't mean any disrespect, but I have Glocks that I bought new that are older than that. "Old" is relative... :D

But, I wouldn't refer to it as "new", either.
 
I have a Smith and Wesson revolver made in the late 50's and 5 made in the 60's and I have no qualms about shooting or depending upon any of them. They have been shot, but not excessively. IMO they are in excellent condition.

But maybe for a Taurus revolver 17 years is old.
 
My parents have a revolver that's pretty near 20 years old by now. Is it worn out? Not hardly, it's probably had two boxes of .38Spcl run through it in all that time.

Age is a poor way to estimate wear on a firearm.
 
To clarify some points that are beside the point, it appears he never left the store with the gun. I saw the word "return" used by a couple of posters, which implies that he had it and brought it back. Apparently you pay for the gun, take the serial number, model, whatever, go to the cop shop or somewhere and get a permit to buy it, and then go back with the permit and pick up your gun. When he left the store without the gun, he did some checking, I suspect was hit by some buyers remorse, and decided to change his mind and cancel that purchase in favor of stainless. Is that more or less the situation? I like stainless too, and if you have a gun for 40 or 50 years, you might as well get what you want.
 
My S&W Safety Hammerless was made in 1898, but is in great condition. I will bet that I have put more rounds through it than all the previous owners combined.

A 17 year old gun is a baby.
 
Many of my guns are 15 or 20 years old. Heck, my Garand is about in the middle of the pack in age. The oldest being he Colt Police Positive and Colt Vest Pocket
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

J
  • Locked
Good Prices out the store for a couple of guns
Replies
4
Views
410
JP from Phoenix
J
L
  • Locked
Father in law finally showed me his handguns
Replies
13
Views
1K
chrlefxtrt
C
BigN
  • Locked
What's the Dealer's responsibility?
2
Replies
35
Views
2K
Sam1911
S
S
  • Locked
Taurus .44 options and differences.
Replies
5
Views
3K
hexidismal
hexidismal
il.bill
  • Locked
Taurus 44 or Taurus Tracker in .44 Magnum ?
Replies
19
Views
12K
Mark 40
Mark 40
Back
Top