DaveMachine
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- That one place with a cowboy complex
I've been wanting a VZ58 in 5.56 for a while now, so in October I decided to order one from North Pro Sports as they had one in stock at a decent price. I sent it back to North Pro in November for a cracked bolt carrier and a gouged barrel. The crack in the bolt carrier had been revealed after some paint chipped off exposing a hole approximately 3-4mm deep into the carrier. The barrel must have been gouged at the factory when pressing on the front sight base which was then painted over. I got in touch with North Pro Sports and talked to them about warranty service - after some initial confusion, they asked me to ship the rifle back to them so they could send it to North Sylva. North Pro had asked me, that when I shipped the rifle back that I include a note as to what is wrong so I mentioned both the cracked bolt carrier and gouged barrel. #### happens but so far so good.
North Pro receives the rifle early December and sends it off to North Sylva right away. Some time goes by so I contact North Pro 15 Jan to see where my rifle is at - they agree it's been a while but they assure me the rifle has been shipped off and received by North Sylva - my rifle has been away approx. 6-7 weeks at this point. I contact them again 1 Feb to see what's up - they put me in touch with North Sylva. North Sylva informs me that the part has been ordered and as soon as it arrives they will ship the rifle back - it is 8-9 weeks at this point.
Hearing nothing, I phone North Sylva on the 23 February to inquire again. The CSA warranty rep informs me that the bolt carrier has been replaced and the gun is actually out at the range being test fired and I should have it back shortly - awesome. I noticed that nothing has been mentioned in regard to the gouged barrel so I asked if anything has been done about that. The rep told that the issue with the barrel had not been reported and as such nothing had been done. I responded by telling the rep that North Pro had asked me to include a note indicating what was wrong with the gun and that I had included a note referencing the large obvious gouge on the barrel. The rep then began to question me as to why I had not sent it in sooner in an attempt to shift blame to me and asked me to send pictures. I sent pictures via email and that concluded our exchange.
After an attempt by the North Sylva rep to make the situation somehow my fault I contacted North Pro to find out their side of the story. During my discussion with North Pro's warranty guy, he indicated to me that the rifle was both shipped in a timely manner and that he had noted the faults with the rifle and passed them on to North Sylva. He also agreed that the warranty service had been dragging on longer than it really should have so he offered to talk to the NS rep and get back to me with some options. We get in touch on 29 Feb - I'm told that nothing can be done about the barrel unless the rifle is shipped back to the CZ Repub. because it requires special jigs to press fit a new barrel in. I opted to have a a new rifle sent out. We are at 12-13 weeks (3 months) at this point.
I contacted a rep at NP (different than the one I dealt with previous) on 21 Mar and acknowledged the fact that the rep wasn't responsible for the situation but just the guy who was unlucky enough to get my phone call. I politely stated that I am starting to get fed up with the situation and that I've had $1000 dumped into a rifle I haven't been able to use and that I am getting to the point now where I would like my money back. As of the time of this post I have heard nothing back from North Pro.
We are now at the approx. 16 week point (4 months) and I'm now starting to get fed up. I've completely missed coyote season which is what I was hoping to use this rifle for. I can't recommend these rifles to anyone given the blatant QC issues (the rifle should have never left the factory looking like it did) and the absolutely terrible warranty service. I've been patient with the both the retailer and the distributor/warranty centre and given them ample chance to remedy the situation and here I am, 16 weeks later, still waiting. To be clear, I don't lay this situation at the feet of the retailer. Perhaps they could have looked into it sooner or I could have mentioned the long wait times sooner but I don't think there is much they could have done either way. What irks me the most about this is the inability of the warranty centre to fix the issue in a timely manner; their insistence on shifting blame to me; and their incompetence in not dealing with obvious issues that were pointed out to them on multiple occasions. The fact I've had to talk to the retailer and warranty centre so many times to get any action should serve as a warning to others looking to purchase one of these rifles.
I think I've given all involved ample time to address the situation yet here we are...
Thoughts?
Pictures for reference. Let me know if they don't work.
http://imgur.com/a/gXlPD
North Pro receives the rifle early December and sends it off to North Sylva right away. Some time goes by so I contact North Pro 15 Jan to see where my rifle is at - they agree it's been a while but they assure me the rifle has been shipped off and received by North Sylva - my rifle has been away approx. 6-7 weeks at this point. I contact them again 1 Feb to see what's up - they put me in touch with North Sylva. North Sylva informs me that the part has been ordered and as soon as it arrives they will ship the rifle back - it is 8-9 weeks at this point.
Hearing nothing, I phone North Sylva on the 23 February to inquire again. The CSA warranty rep informs me that the bolt carrier has been replaced and the gun is actually out at the range being test fired and I should have it back shortly - awesome. I noticed that nothing has been mentioned in regard to the gouged barrel so I asked if anything has been done about that. The rep told that the issue with the barrel had not been reported and as such nothing had been done. I responded by telling the rep that North Pro had asked me to include a note indicating what was wrong with the gun and that I had included a note referencing the large obvious gouge on the barrel. The rep then began to question me as to why I had not sent it in sooner in an attempt to shift blame to me and asked me to send pictures. I sent pictures via email and that concluded our exchange.
After an attempt by the North Sylva rep to make the situation somehow my fault I contacted North Pro to find out their side of the story. During my discussion with North Pro's warranty guy, he indicated to me that the rifle was both shipped in a timely manner and that he had noted the faults with the rifle and passed them on to North Sylva. He also agreed that the warranty service had been dragging on longer than it really should have so he offered to talk to the NS rep and get back to me with some options. We get in touch on 29 Feb - I'm told that nothing can be done about the barrel unless the rifle is shipped back to the CZ Repub. because it requires special jigs to press fit a new barrel in. I opted to have a a new rifle sent out. We are at 12-13 weeks (3 months) at this point.
I contacted a rep at NP (different than the one I dealt with previous) on 21 Mar and acknowledged the fact that the rep wasn't responsible for the situation but just the guy who was unlucky enough to get my phone call. I politely stated that I am starting to get fed up with the situation and that I've had $1000 dumped into a rifle I haven't been able to use and that I am getting to the point now where I would like my money back. As of the time of this post I have heard nothing back from North Pro.
We are now at the approx. 16 week point (4 months) and I'm now starting to get fed up. I've completely missed coyote season which is what I was hoping to use this rifle for. I can't recommend these rifles to anyone given the blatant QC issues (the rifle should have never left the factory looking like it did) and the absolutely terrible warranty service. I've been patient with the both the retailer and the distributor/warranty centre and given them ample chance to remedy the situation and here I am, 16 weeks later, still waiting. To be clear, I don't lay this situation at the feet of the retailer. Perhaps they could have looked into it sooner or I could have mentioned the long wait times sooner but I don't think there is much they could have done either way. What irks me the most about this is the inability of the warranty centre to fix the issue in a timely manner; their insistence on shifting blame to me; and their incompetence in not dealing with obvious issues that were pointed out to them on multiple occasions. The fact I've had to talk to the retailer and warranty centre so many times to get any action should serve as a warning to others looking to purchase one of these rifles.
I think I've given all involved ample time to address the situation yet here we are...
Thoughts?
Pictures for reference. Let me know if they don't work.
http://imgur.com/a/gXlPD
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