PARA-ORDNANCE and North-Sylva poor warranty service

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soldat52000

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I purchased a pistol PARA model 1911, 16-40 LTD, 40S&W calibre on the internet from Ellwood Epps Ontario Canada and paid $1500 for it. Got a very good service from Ellwoods. I took it to the range to try it out. First round fires and the ambi-safety kicks in on its own. So I inspect the pistol closely to find out that the ambi-safety profile is improperly shaped, it’s sitting on top of the grip and touching the slide at the same time. So, in other terms it’s sandwiched between the grip and the slide. So it’s impossible to fire this pistol without it kicking into lock position every time because of the hard rubbing on the slide. So I informed North-Sylva from Toronto Ontario, they are the warranty centre for PARA in Canada. They took my complaint and contacted PARA USA. It took close to 5 months before I got permission to send my gun in for repair at North-Sylva. My request was for them to install the proper ambi-safety to fit this pistol. The ambi-safety on my pistol, when I purchased it, was not the same than the pistol shown on the PARA internet site. The profile of mine was bent down way to much. Mr George Wedge from PARA USA admitted that some pistol left the factory with a wrong match between the grips and the ambi-safety. Anyway, I get my gun back from North-Sylva 3 weeks later and all what they did is shave off a couple of millimetres from the top of the rubber grips and grinded a notch in the ambi-safety so that the safety plunger would hold it better to prevent it from kicking up when the pistol was fired. So the ambi-safety is still sandwiched between the grip and the slide and the pisol is still not working properly. It’s a $1500 pistol, it’s been close to six months now that I purchased it. I was told by North-Sylva that they didn’t have a spare ambi-safety. I really don’t know what to think, this story is really discouraging.
On their internet site PARA USA says that their Warranty service is excellent. Personally, in don’t think so.
 
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You just got Para/NS f**cked. Not busting your balls as I also got f**cked.

I am soooo sorry you got caught up in this.

Been there done that :mad:

Para 14-45 Limited, nothing but problems. Owned for just under 1 year.
Months were spent gong back and forth with North Silva and Para USA.

It was eventually fixed and I sold it at a loss of 50% just to get rid of it :mad:

It would sit at North Silva forever, then I would phone, complain, and ask WTF was going on and get excuse after excuse.
Oh, we can't get a hold of the factory warranty smith, but it's not our fault.... we're trying ;)

Turns out the factory smith for Para/North Silva was a member at my club (I won't print the name) I had to contact him personally through another member after multiple DIRECT contacts with Para USA.
NOTHING would have happened if I'd not contacted Para on multiple occasions and raised a FOOT!

Incompetence by North Silva AND Para USA! How can a company source out it's factory warranty repair to a company it obviously doesn't do any QA on. (Quality Assurance)

End story, pistol was fixed at my range in person and it was sold a week after.

Plus, when I picked up the pistol on multiple occasions it was lifted out of a metal drawer with no protection! I had multiple scratches on the slide from their "Factory Service"

It boggled my mind :eek:

I have a Glock now and have never looked back.

Maybe a coincidence but NS does not deal with Glock (at that time), I was told they did not like dealing with Glock (no SH**T!!!!)

They could come out right this instance with an apology thread and I wouldn't bat an eyelid! Both these companies will NEVER deal with me again....EVER!

And I will continue to warn people (when possible) of my and others experiences in a hope that one day they will be OUT OF BUSINESS!

A word from me: Get out. Chalk it up to what it is....an a**s pounding and move on. Spread the word and never do business again.

Sorry you had to join the club :mad:

Where is DILLIGAF?
 
Sorry to hear about your troubles. I hear so much negativity about Para but in my Para 14.45 is one of the best shooters I have owned. Shes is an old girl made in Canada. Has the quality really gone down that much these days?
 
Wow, Sounds like North Sylva really dropped the ball on this one (and so did Para, by putting on the wrong parts).

I jumped on the Para bandwagon way back, when everything use to be in Scarborough (Toronto) and I've never had any problems with my P14-45 Limited. I bought it new in 1998. Serial prefix of "TJ"

From what I've heard/read; the "Made in Canada" are of decent quality/fit/finish (and I can attest to that). The early model PXT and anything made during the Canada to USA move is pretty much garbage. Once the move to the USA, QC is hit or miss and the consistency has no rhyme or reason. Sometimes you get something good, sometimes not.

With the exception of my own Para, I cannot validate what I wrote above about Para's quality control, I tend to believe it, since it's a reoccurring theme on CGN and other forums.

Here is a link, where you can sort of figure out the manufacture date of your pistol
htt p://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=331114
 
As a Canadian shooter I think you have to accept the fact that once you buy a gun you're stick with dealing with any problem(s) that may arise...
On a $1500 gun you shouldn't expect any problems, but.. If you do I think you're better off fixing it yourself...
I know one guy who's bought a couple of pistols that I'm sure we're in the EE because the owner(s) thought they gun had problems... On the contrary, it would seem the owners had little knowledge of how the pistol works...
A little dremel here and there or the swapping of a simple part fixes the bug and buddy ends up with a perfectly functioning pistol for cheap..
 
I don't know how para stays in business.

My first and only experience with a .40 para was during a probationary shoot. FTE twice in 10 rounds. It consistently did the same for every other person that was there doing probationary. The gun was only a year old. Junk junk junk.
 
FastFord58 said:
I don't know how para stays in business.

My first and only experience with a .40 para was during a probationary shoot. FTE twice in 10 rounds. It consistently did the same for every other person that was there doing probationary. The gun was only a year old. Junk junk junk.
Click to expand...

what....the mag didn't fall out everytime you fired?....you sure it was a Para you were shooting :p
 
I had a piece of s**t problem Para too! Couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Hated the fact that they called themselves PARA USA when they were a Canadian manufacturer at that time. I was glad to see them go down south. Good riddance.
 
I've had warranty issues with North Sylva as well!

They were no help at all and took several months before I had any resolution.

If at all possible I will never buy anything coming through them again! Your better off buying used!
 
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