Dealers make mistakes; Davidsons Rocks!!!

[dobeman]

I purchased a Taurus PT145 new from Gun Zone at one of the Portland gunshows recently. One selling point to buying the gun, for me, was Gun Zone said the pistol was covered by Davidson's GuaranteeD lifetime replacement guarantee. So I leave with the pistol and warranty card to send in or fill out online. That day I submitted the warranty info online through the Gallery of Guns/Davidson's website. So 3 months or so have passed - I am having issues with this pistol and contact Gun Zone about possible replacement through the Davidson's warranty. Whoops - no record of the gun being covered under that warranty.... WTF? Sure, I can deal directly with Taurus, but I was told/sold the gun with this seemingly too good to be true Davidson's lifetime thing.

Just be careful!!!!

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[Drkside45]

good info,I hate that kinda crap!They sold the lifetime warrenty,they should honor it!My bro lives in portland,we were going to take a look at gun zone for a carry peice for his wife,we'll go else where.Thanks

 

[willamette valleyfirearms]

If the gun was purchased through davidsons the gun can be sent back and replaced with a new one, if there was a manufacture defect ,this gun should be taken back to gun zone and they can call there rep. At davidsons and have it replaced. If this can not be done it was not purchased through davidsons if you have any problems give me a call i can find out if this is one of there guns .robert with willamette valley firearms 503-846-1383

 

[dobeman]

If the gun was purchased through davidsons the gun can be sent back and replaced with a new one, if there was a manufacture defect ,this gun should be taken back to gun zone and they can call there rep. At davidsons and have it replaced. If this can not be done it was not purchased through davidsons if you have any problems give me a call i can find out if this is one of there guns .robert with willamette valley firearms 503-846-1383

I've already clarified directly with Davidson's that this was not one of their guns. What grinds me is that I bought it from Gun Zone at the April gun show and they sold it to me with the Davidson' GuaranteeD warranty card. I filled out the card online like I was supposed to. Now both sides say it isn't covered under Davidson's. And what grinds me, it is clearly in large type on the Gun Zone receipt that all gun problems have to go through the manufacturer directly, not through Gun Zone. so it was a selling point to me to have the Davidson's warranty - that it turns out I do not have. I would rather put the thing in a vise and put it out of its misery than deal with Taurus warranty in Miami.

 

[PhysicsGuy]

I've already clarified directly with Davidson's that this was not one of their guns. What grinds me is that I bought it from Gun Zone at the April gun show and they sold it to me with the Davidson' GuaranteeD warranty card. I filled out the card online like I was supposed to. Now both sides say it isn't covered under Davidson's. And what grinds me, it is clearly in large type on the Gun Zone receipt that all gun problems have to go through the manufacturer directly, not through Gun Zone. so it was a selling point to me to have the Davidson's warranty - that it turns out I do not have. I would rather put the thing in a vise and put it out of its misery than deal with Taurus warranty in Miami.

Well I'm sorry to hear that the gun zone lied to you about it being a davidsons gun. Davidsons is usually pretty easy to deal with, and they keep a great record of what guns went through them.

But in the end, I really can't come up with any good way to prove that the Gun Zone lied to you, other than possibly reporting their fraud to the ATF.

 

[Cougfan2]

Well I'm sorry to hear that the gun zone lied to you about it being a davidsons gun. Davidsons is usually pretty easy to deal with, and they keep a great record of what guns went through them.

But in the end, I really can't come up with any good way to prove that the Gun Zone lied to you, other than possibly reporting their fraud to the ATF.

I don't know what ATF would do for you, but I would certainly contact the Oregon Atty Generals Office as this appears to be consumer fraud, but IANAL.

 

[PhysicsGuy]

I don't know what ATF would do for you, but I would certainly contact the Oregon Atty Generals Office as this appears to be consumer fraud, but IANAL.

The ATF is who licenses them, if they receive enough complains of shady business, they may decide to audit them (which any dealer can tell you, is no fun). They can't really do anything directly for you in this situation, but it helps them know that this may be an FFL to keep an eye on.


The last time I had to deal with a dealer trying to fraud me, I threatened to contact the ATF and attorneys office, and all of a sudden he was willing to cooperate

 

[Cougfan2]

The ATF is who licenses them, if they receive enough complains of shady business, they may decide to audit them (which any dealer can tell you, is no fun). They can't really do anything directly for you in this situation, but it helps them know that this may be an FFL to keep an eye on.


The last time I had to deal with a dealer trying to fraud me, I threatened to contact the ATF and attorneys office, and all of a sudden he was willing to cooperate

Good point. I think most dealers would rather have a root canal than an ATF audit.

 

[dobeman]

well, I don't know if it's intentional fraud, or not. I bought another gun from Gun Zone at the Hillsboro gun show back in January and it came with a Davidson's warranty, which is valid. So there is the possibility at the Portland gun show Gun Zone had too many Davidson's warranty envelopes laying around and mistakenly handed me one with my purchase. Davidson's doesn't have to honor it. Gun Zone *could* honor it.

My "be careful" warning in the opening post was intended as a caution for people to watch out for before signing and paying - make sure the gun is indeed covered by the Davidson's warranty if that is an important selling point for you. Make them prove it.

 

[Medic!]

Find out if they are a member of the better business bureau. If they are then call them and tell them you will be reporting them. This has worked well for me in the past. Allso ask befor you do business with a place if they are a member of the BBB. Only deal with places who are. Not being a member is a red flag. Good luck.

 

[ZachS]

well, I don't know if it's intentional fraud, or not. I bought another gun from Gun Zone at the Hillsboro gun show back in January and it came with a Davidson's warranty, which is valid. So there is the possibility at the Portland gun show Gun Zone had too many Davidson's warranty envelopes laying around and mistakenly handed me one with my purchase. Davidson's doesn't have to honor it. Gun Zone *could* honor it.

Forget about intent. They made a promise, they need to stand behind it.

 

[dobeman]

Forget about intent. They made a promise, they need to stand behind it.

They are not. I get to deal with Taurus directly, on my own. Woo hoo.

 

[deen_ad]

Find out if they are a member of the better business bureau. If they are then call them and tell them you will be reporting them. This has worked well for me in the past. Allso ask befor you do business with a place if they are a member of the BBB. Only deal with places who are. Not being a member is a red flag. Good luck.

Did that with problems we had with our over $200,000 motorhome, The BBB sided with the dealer, luckily the AG's office didn't!! The AG's office determined that the dealer was not following contract law.
On the same MH we had parts stolen while on the dealers gated, locked yard. Again the BBB did nothing.
Another time I contaced the BBB about a buyer, they said he had a good record. I lost about $800, then I found the the buyer had opened business after business, milked them dry and filed bankruptcy each time (seven times). Guy was "buying" memory chips for resale but never paying those he was buying from.

Deen
NRA Benefactor/Recruiter
WAC member
SWWAC member

 

[Drkside45]

I feel for anyone having to go through taurus warrenty.They'll generally take care of the problem,but in more than one case I was without my "peice" for 6 monthes or more.

 

[dobeman]

I feel for anyone having to go through taurus warrenty.They'll generally take care of the problem,but in more than one case I was without my "peice" for 6 monthes or more.

That's what makes the Davidson's Warranty so nice. They replace the gun and they deal with Taurus. Too bad my Davidson's Warranty card was a whoopsie "honest mistake". I think I will take the advise Davidson's gave me "if you want to be sure to get our warranty, buy through our website (gallery of guns)". Good advise

 

[cbzdel]

I had a very similar problem.. I went to a dealer and was there was a display about the whole GuaranteeD thing, so I asked about it and I picked out a gun and said this one is included. I bought the gun.. Had a problem new of the box, and called, it was NOT a gun that was bought though Davidson. The dealer told me it was, but it was not..

What do you do??

I got the gun fixed through the MFG but still it really pissed me off.

 

[ZachS]

I had a very similar problem.. I went to a dealer and was there was a display about the whole GuaranteeD thing, so I asked about it and I picked out a gun and said this one is included. I bought the gun.. Had a problem new of the box, and called, it was NOT a gun that was bought though Davidson. The dealer told me it was, but it was not..

What do you do??

I can think of a couple of options:

1. Report it to the AG's consumer protection department, which probably won't accomplish anything (they'd wait for a ton of complaints before taking action.)

2. Waste a little money and time to take them to small claims court. If you won, you'd likely just get to return it for a refund (minus loss in value if it was no longer in new condition).


That is to say, there's pretty much nothing you can do that would make a difference except telling your friends to avoid that shop.

 

[bcp]

Was Davidson's asked about their participating dealers using Davidson's guarantee to sell non-Davidson's guns?

Bruce

 

[dobeman]

Was Davidson's asked about their participating dealers using Davidson's guarantee to sell non-Davidson's guns?

Bruce

oh yes indeedy.

from the nice Davidson's lady:
"well, I'm sure the dealer made an honest mistake and I'm sure they will make it right". NOT.

 

[dobeman]

I can think of a couple of options:

1. Report it to the AG's consumer protection department, which probably won't accomplish anything (they'd wait for a ton of complaints before taking action.)

2. Waste a little money and time to take them to small claims court. If you won, you'd likely just get to return it for a refund (minus loss in value if it was no longer in new condition).


That is to say, there's pretty much nothing you can do that would make a difference except telling your friends to avoid that shop.

Yeah - its not worth dragging through claims. I chalk it up to experience and warning my friends on NWFA to be careful in these type of deals. If something is too good to be true, sometimes it is.

And if I don't get this Taurus issue worked out, I will take great joy in making a youtube video of me crushing the thing in a vise as my version of Taurus warranty repair.

and, I will never buy another Taurus gun again.