Taurus Buyer Be Warned

[skifast]

I have owned 7 Taurus' over the years. I like their design, ergonomics and price. Their customer service and quality control is awful. Taurus business executives also have very poor business judgment.

Long story, short. I owned a 24/7 OSS 9mm. The gun would not fire in double action mode. The screw holding the recoil spring on the rod was also walking off. After wasting a ton of time talking to Taurus, they finally sent me some parts to try and fix the gun. I was able to fix it. I saved Taurus at least $100, in shipping, admin and labor costs by fixing it myself and not sending it back. I saved the hassle of sending the gun to Taurus, being without the gun for months and possibly not having it fixed.

I replaced the OSS with a brand new PT809. The 809 had two major problems. First, the front sight was visibly off center. Second, the trigger would stick and not reset. I paid a gunsmith to move the sight. I fixed the trigger. There were also some other small issues. I sent Taurus emails and letters simply asking to be made whole with respect to my costs. Again, I saved Taurus at least $100 in costs.

NO RESPONSE AT ALL. I wrote Bob Morrison and the COO. NO RESPONSE.

In the past on this forum and others I have defended Taurus. No more. Taurus does not respect its customers. They do not have the common decency to respond to legitimate issues.

Taurus may be enjoying a sellers market. However, markets have a way of changing. Taurus may find that their poor business practices today will result in real financial problems in the future.

Future Taurus buyer be warned.

 

[MCgunner]

I own three, I'll buy more. If you're scared, say your scared. Are you scared?

Seriously, folks, you think Taurus is any different than Smith for QC? Get a life.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/smith-wesson_dark.htm

 

[MCgunner]

I can't address the CS issues. I've never had to deal with it. I'll cross that bridge if I ever come to it.

Chill out and have a beer and tell us when you get the gun back....

 

[Vonderek]

I have owned 7 Taurus' over the years.

I am guessing that the first five you owned were fine until these two with problems you wrote about. That's not too bad.

I have two Tauri, both revolvers. One has never given me a problem and the other one sucked. They fixed the bad one in about a month or so which I didn't think was too bad for customer service. That said, I have no interest in buying another Taurus product.

Truth is, MCGunner is right about the current state of QC. I have seen brand new S&Ws that were awful. The only revolver I would buy now NIB would be a Ruger. For semis, I think there are plenty of choices (HK, Glock, FN, etc.) for new, troublefree guns.

 

[skifast]

I am not scared, nor did I send my gun in. I fixed it.

My issue is not with the guns. It is a mechanical device, and a relatively inexpensive one. So I accept that they will have problems.

There is no excuse for poor customer service and ignoring you customers. That is my main complaint.

A beer sounds good.

 

[leadcounsel]

Well I have had personal and secondary positive Taurus customer service experience.

My PT140 would not work reliably; I sent it in and they prompty "repaired" it. Still wouldn't work.

My brother fired too hot of shot out of his Judge. Sent it in. He heard nothing from them until 6 weeks later he received a brand new one (that appeared to have some used parts like the front site).

I would definately buy another Taurus revolver, but not a semi-auto except the 92 immitation as it gets good reviews.

 

[jad0110]

There is no excuse for poor customer service and ignoring you customers. That is my main complaint.

That is my main complaint with Taurus as well. When I called to incquire about returning my NIB Model 94 to them, they seemed truly irritated and annoyed that I had even bothered contacting them about the problems I was having (cylinder binding, unacceptably rough action). And note that I did my part to be polite and understanding; everyone and every company makes mistakes, so I accept that I might get a nonconforming product from time-to-time. But I expect the individual/company in question to step up to the plate and correct the problem with professionalism and respect.

That's not what I got out of Taurus. And 6 weeks later, I got the gun back more messed up than when I had sent it (it was spitting chunks of lead in my face) with a terse little note to clean it more often (I had informed them in my phone call and in a note enclosed with the gun that I had tried giving it a full cleaning every 50 rounds :banghead. In hindsind, I suspect the cylinder pawl was out of spec, as the b/c gap was okay.

I may buy another Taurus. I had a great Model 66 once, and wouldn't mind owning another, especially a 3" model. But if I have a problem, I'll just deal with a local gunsmith I know and pass on dealing with the butts at Taurus.

As a side note, when I returned my S&W 642 to S&W, they were polite, easy to work with and I got the gun back in only a week with a new barrel installed (the b/c gap was .012") and the side to side cylinder play was fixed to perfection.

 

[arizona98tj]

My suggestion for Taurus owners with problems would be to wait until the Taurus president is on the weekly Gun Talk radio show. He shows up there fairly often and when someone calls in to complain about their Taurus, he tells them to send it in right then and get it fixed. Then the host praises the president for having such a good company.

Sounds like customer service at its best.

 

[CDW4ME]

Is this the general idea?

You paid a gunsmith to fix the gun and wanted Taurus to pay you back?

If that's the case, I wouldn't expect any fiream maker to do that.

 

[skifast]

Yes, I would like to be reimbursed. It is much less expensive for Taurus to reimburse me, $10, than the cost of shipping alone if I returned the gun. I did include the gunsmith's receipt.

Am I holding my breath no.

As a business owner, I would appreciate a customer that not only fixed a faulty product that I shipped, I would reimburse him his out of pocket costs. Further, I might throw in a magazine or two for the inconvenience.


As a business owner, I understand that my customers make or break me. If they are happy, they will recommend my product. If I earn their displeasure, they will not recommend nor speak highly of my product. This is especially true in the Internet age.

It seems to me to be very poor business to create a dissatisfied customer over a legitimate $10 issue. Taurus has already lost at least two future sales. I am buying two guns and they will not be Taurus.

 

[Gik-tal]

From what I have seen the older Taurus guns are much better than the new ones they are selling. Then newer ones I've seen folks with at the range are just not as well made or finished as the old ones. Sort of seems like around 2003 is where that cut off seems to be. Guns made prior are good after that its hit or miss on quailty.

 

[MICHAEL T]

I have bought 3. 2 didn't work 1 I sent back for warranty Returned and broke again in less than 30 rounds. I have a PT-92 that is fine and works like a champ. Other 2 are some one else problem now. I won't but any more.

Never had a problem with S&W service of course never had a S&W that broke or didn't work.

 

[poker88]

Yes, I would like to be reimbursed. It is much less expensive for Taurus to reimburse me, $10, than the cost of shipping alone if I returned the gun. I did include the gunsmith's receipt.

Let's pretend that it is Taurus's policy to reimburse customers who send in gunsmithing receipts. How many fake gunsmithing receipts do you suppose they would get for guns that were never broken?

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I don't know Taurus's policy as to allowing unauthorized service to a warranteed product but MOST manufacturers not only would not pay but would void the warranty.

 

[12131]

I don't know Taurus's policy as to allowing unauthorized service to a warranteed product but MOST manufacturers not only would not pay but would void the warrantee.

Exactly! The OP has no case here, as far as I'm concerned. You got a problem with your Taurus, you should send it back to Taurus for warranty repair, and not diy or have it done by any unauthorized gunsmiths, and then expect Taurus to pay you.

 

[danez71]

As a business owner, I would appreciate a customer that not only fixed a faulty product that I shipped, I would reimburse him his out of pocket costs. Further, I might throw in a magazine or two for the inconvenience.

So, youre saying that you as a business owner would send send out $10 PLUS another $40 in free product just because a customer said your product broke?

Please, tell me how to contact you.... I want $50 worth of stuff for free with out verification that it was your companys fault.

Wouldnt you want to evaluate your product to at least 1) make sure its your fault and 2) to see if you need to take corrective action?

How do you expect Manaufacturing and QC to improve if they dont see and evaluate their own failures?

No offense, but you're obviously not into manufacturing, QC, and process control.

You're an upset customer that has a 1 sided view and not very realisitic expectations.

Sorry for you're loss.

And NO, Ive never owned a Taurus so dont even go there. Although the 709 slim looks tempting if it werent for the spoty reports LOL.

 

[digsigs226]

A few months ago I was looking to get a Taurus PT 1911. From research, it looked like a solid gun with great features for the price. I got my hands on a new one in the shop and upon sighting the weapon, immediately noticed the front sight was canted about 15 degrees to the left. I shook my head and slid the gun back across the counter.

 

[ar10]

I carry a little Tarus .38 snubby a lot of the time. It's never failed to fire and I've practice with it about once a month. The only other one I carry is my SA .40 sub. I like the Tarus because I can slip it into my pocket with out the hassle of strapping on the IWB holster, It's also extremely easy to use. In the 5 yrs I've owned it I've never needed to contact Tarus about anything.

 

[skifast]

I have some manufacturing background. If I owned Taurus, I would not want to incur $150 in expenses to move a dovetailed front sight. I would gladly pay a customer $10 to get it done himself. I would not need to see the gun to evaluate it for QC purposes.

I believe Sig ships out a free mag when you send in a gun for repairs.

The goodwill that a $10 mag(Taurus cost) would buy is at least 5 times the cost. Not a bad ROI.

 

[W.E.G.]

I see.

Sight adjustment is a quality control issue?

So you pay SOMEBODY ELSE to adjust your sights for you, and you want the manufacturer to reimburse you?

What planet do you live on?

 

[skifast]

The sight was 1/4 inch off center. That is not sight adjustment.

 

[earlthegoat2]

First, the front sight was visibly off center.

Why did you not inspect the gun first again?


You will find that THR is quite sick of hearing about gun companies and their poor customer service. It has been beaten more lately than 9mm v 45. There are lemons and there are QC issues. Im dealing with it by not buying any new guns.....ever.

I believe Sig ships out a free mag when you send in a gun for repairs.

Id like to see some documentation on that. Sig is notoriously stingy with their mags. Maybe for recall work.

S&W maybe though...

Nonetheless though I am not a Taurus hater but......I would never pay money for one except under exceptional circumstances this is why I am not too sypathetic with the Taurus plight of others. Just more info to put in the bag I guess.

 

[W.E.G.]

The sight was 1/4 inch off center.

Roger that.

You can fix triggers, but you are stumped on sights.

Ohhhhhh-kay.

 

[skifast]

I am not stumped on sights. I do not have a sight pusher or even a brass hammer to drift one. The smith used his mill to move the sight.

 

[danez71]

I have some manufacturing background.

1) If I owned Taurus, I would not want to incur $150 in expenses to move a dovetailed front sight. I would gladly pay a customer $10 to get it done himself. I would not need to see the gun to evaluate it for QC purposes.

2) I believe Sig ships out a free mag when you send in a gun for repairs.

3) The goodwill that a $10 mag(Taurus cost) would buy is at least 5 times the cost. Not a bad ROI.

(enumerated by danez71)

I'm not trying to berate you... honestly I'm not.

Now you're providing details.

1) True, I wouldnt either. However, mfg has ways of gleeming info from their evaluation. If they solved a problem by spending $150 in labor etc that resolves that problems on a potentially larger scale... then its well worth the $150 expense. If a hundren guns get out like that and they sent every one $10 plus two free mags, the $150 is a MUCH BETTER ROI.

2) If true, keys words there are "when you send in a gun for repair". You want Taurus to out-do Sig by sending you 1-2 mags even though you didnt send in the gun for repair. Unfortunately, you dont make their policy.

3) No arguement there. According to sales-y stats... on average, a happy customer tells 1-2 people. An unhappy customer tells 6-10. (depending on which studies you read)

Again, I'm not trying to berate you. I just think that too many people expect too much and dont even try to see things from the others perspective. And they dont get their way... they turn inflamitory as to try to gather as much support as possible. But the fact is....Its not your call... its theirs.

How would you feel if you had an customer that flamed your company when in fact they werent following your procedures and provided you no proof of your failure nor gave you a chance to make it right per your policy?