Need advice on potential trade for EAA Witness

[John Wayne]

I've got a S&W 640 (no dash) and I've found someone that wants to trade an EAA Witness .45 for it. Here are the specs on the guns:

S&W 640 (no dash), .38 SPL
original wood grips
approx 85% condition
S&W box (not original to the gun)

EAA Witness full size .45
SS "wonder" finish
1 mag & original box/case
rubber panel grips
also approx 85% condition

I already have an S&W 442 in .38, so I was thinking of trading for this gun. I also reload for .45. Don't have much experience with the Witness platform though. The Witness feels good in my hands, and I like the idea of caliber conversions, but here are some concerns I have:

-Witness does not have a decocker, so there is no way to carry it in DA mode with a round chambered unless you thumb the hammer down (which is dangerous)

-DA trigger is pretty bad with lots of stacking toward the end

-The EAA is a cheaper gun to start with, so I'm not sure if it will hold its value as well. Currently both guns list for about the same in the Blue Book (used), but S&Ws seem to be much more desirable as they age.

What do you think about the trade? Is it a good deal?

 

[jmr40]

No way I'd trade. The EAA's are spotty in regards to reliability. Some guys get good ones and love em. But they do seem to have more than their fair share of lemons.

 

[hemiram]

I had a Witness, identical to the one you're thinking about trading for. I loved it, and only sold it for financial reasons. It was totally reliable and felt great in my hand. I have a "Mossad" marked Tanfoglio compact 9mm (Just an older Witness without the name) and it's great. A friend of mine has two Witness .45's, both fullsized, one is the older non railed version, the other has the rail. Both have been perfect so far.

 

[John Wayne]

I've heard mixed reviews too...is there any way to tell if an EAA is any good or not? Like a serial number or special feature? It seems the compacts have more problems than the full sized models.

 

[rellascout]

No a used EAA is not in the same league as the SW 640. If that EAA is a lemon you will never get service out of Witness. IHMO

Stick with what you know. If you want a Witness save up buy one new then you at least have a chance to get it serviced under warranty.

 

[John Wayne]

No a used EAA is not in the same league as the SW 640. If that EAA is a lemon you will never get service out of Witness. IHMO

Thing is, I don't buy a whole lot of guns...I usually trade. I picked up the S&W 640 for a good price, but it doesn't do anything that my 442 won't do. My concern is getting stuck with a lemon, like you mentioned.

*edit*
And having owned a Glock that didn't work 100% of the time, my luck seems to suggest the EAA might be a risky bet!

 

[dfariswheel]

You can get a lemon in ANY brand or quality of gun.
The only way to determine what you have is to actually shoot it.
Most EAA Witness guns give no trouble at all.
EAA's service department has a reputation of being grumpy and less than helpful, but they DO repair guns as needed.
Some people have had bad experiences, but so do people with other companies.

The Witness guns are considered to be a "best buy" due to the price versus quality.
Most owners are quite satisfied, I am.
I own a somewhat rare, limited production actual stainless steel Witness .45. Only the slide and frame are true stainless, everything else is carbon steel.
It's accurate, reliable, and a better sized gun than the huge CZ-97B in .45.
I've never had a stoppage or any other problem with it.

Whether this is a "good trade" is something only you can decide.

Here's mine.

 

[floydster]

Beautiful gun dfariswheel, and good post-- I am glad people don't really know how good the witness pistols are, keeps the price down

 

[DT Guy]

I've had three Witnesses, and they've been a mixed bag. They include an old small frame 9mm (MISS that gun!) and a more recent .45, which both ran like tops.

Unfortunately, the third (and last, for certain) was a .38 super that could not be induced to feed with more than 5-7 rounds in the stock magazine, in a Mec-Gar magazine, in a tweaked magazine or through anything else. Very frustrating, and EAA was no help whatsoever.

They can be nice guns, but life is too short, and there are too many guns that are a better bet-

Larry

 

[rattletrap1970]

All this lemon talk from folks that mostly never owned one. I've had two myseld and shoot matches with the .40 S&W match. I have never had a problem. They did have some problems with some guns, and they had some issues with customer service for a while. S&W is no different. There is no way I would ever call one them lemons over a few bad ones.

 

[tunnug]

If you don't have any need for the S&W go ahead and trade, just keep in mind that a 80/90%+- used witness will run around $300, new ones around here go for $380/$400, with that said;
I presently own 3 (my 4th went to my son as a present) 2 small frame older ones, 9mm/ 40s&w compact, and one full size with 38super, .45, .40, 10mm uppers (you can say I'm a fan), guess I'm lucky because they all work perfectly, I've heard of lemons just haven't seen one.

 

[devildave31]

If you are just talking about doing a trade with another person, will they let you fire/dissamble/inspect the EAA? I have had my eye on these for a while myself. If you do the trade, you might post your thoughts on the EAA after you get a chance to play with it.

 

[John Wayne]

Unfortunately the trade is at a local store, so I can't fire the gun beforehand. Dry firing and inspecting it is about as close as I can come to that. FWIW their asking price is $375, and I have never seen an EAA for sale new in a store around here.

Does anyone know EAA's warranty policies? Would I have to pay if the gun needed to be sent in? Their customer service already has a horrible reputation; it'd be terrible if I had to pay them on top of that.

If I get the gun I will definately post a review and range report. I'm interested in getting 10mm and .22LR slides for the gun too.

 

[millertyme]

I've only heard good things about the steel-framed Witness's but I voted for the extra cash so that in the event you need to get some work done on it you can pay a local gunsmith instead of dealing with EAA's lack of customer service. EAA's warranty policy only covers the original purchaser and yes, you would have to foot the bill to get it to them.

 

[PabloJ]

Not to take away from the EAA Witness but S&W revolver will hold it's value better and will also be easier to sell. I would not make the trade.

 

[atblis]

EAA's service department has a reputation of being grumpy and less than helpful, but they DO repair guns as needed.
Some people have had bad experiences, but so do people with other companies.

No they don't. They set the standard for crappy CS in the gun world.

 

[B J Elliott]

I would trade, you already have a 38 and the 45 is good and reliable, at least mine is, I bought one new, fired it about 30 times with no problems, of course I bought it as a pp gun for the car. Do it.

 

[migkillertwo]

Eh, I might pass on that one. I mean, there are a lot of really good EAA witness guns out there, but I've heard that on the guns besides the 9mm, slide cracks are an issue when the recoil spring is not replaced.

 

[John Wayne]

I think I'm going to pass too. Not that I don't like the EAA, I really do--but this doesn't seem like a great deal. I can get a new one for about the same money.