S&W M&P22 warranty - Worst experience ever! Buyer beware! I've bought a lemon...

saphta

saphta

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S&W M&P22 warranty - Worst experience ever! Buyer beware! I've bought a lemon...

Hello all,

I've reached my patience limit with the M&P22... Bought it at the end of November 2015, got it in December shot it for the first time in January 2016. Out of the box it was shooting high and to the left. Tried all ammo I could find, asked my buddies to try it...same results. So I've contacted Murray Charlton Enterprises and send it in somewhere in April 2016. They confirmed the accuracy problems and since then the gun collects dust on the shelf since S&W couldn't care less about it.
The guys from Murray Charlton are very responsive, great support but their hands are tight since S&W is saying they know about this problem and a custom pair of sights will solve the problem (IMHO it will only solve the elevation issues not the windage). M.C. guys also requested for a replacement but it was denied by S&W on grounds that the gun is repairable.
At least once a month I get an update from MC, they are waiting for the sights but the S&W rep can't tell for sure when they'll be coming. Months passed by, same answer.
I started to get anxious and started calling S&W directly. Well, they don't deal with Canada, my gun is not even in their system. They referred me to Walther since S&W doesn't manufacture the gun, they just rebrand it. I go, WTF it has your logo on it, it says S&W on it, the bill of sale says S&W, the registration certificate says S&W. I was told, sorry we can't help you.
I contact Walther, tell them what happened. Two weeks later I receive an email saying that they will have to contact S&W and ask me to have a little patience. Still waiting for a resolution...
Bottom line, 10 months later, the gun is still a lemon, S&W / Walther couldn't care less and I lost my patience.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Saphta.
 
Buy some vaseline, and get used to the shaft us Canadians get for firearms warranty. I've had to go out of pocket to re-barrel a weatherby and CZ because the companies don't give a hoot about delivering a quality product, or the service centers here don't care to spend their time helping a customer with a claim. The Lilja I got for my CZ turned out to be a dud too! I know your frustration all to well. Lilja is at least willing to take the barrel back and look at it, but the cross boarder import/export permit thing is a logistical nightmare :( (it will cost about $400 in permit fees and shipping)
 
Canada's population is less than the state of California. While we are a vast country, we really aren't that big. We offer the amount of business that a single state offers, and they have more than 50 others to deal with. The Canadian government and its laws, etc. are the real problem, its just too expensive and too much red tape, and at times, just not possible due to import/export restrictions. You may be able to contact a registered Canadian distributer that has a contract to service your pistol.

I have the same pistol, and to be honest, I love the thing. Its light, easy to shoot, feels about 90% the same as my 9mm in the hand, and is fun for introducing new shooters to the sport for its modern look and ease of use as well as the negligible recoil. It has replacement sites on it, and it works just great.

I'm sorry you had trouble with yours, and that our leadership isn't 'civilian gun friendly'.
 
I went thru a similar experience, my gun was away for over a year and a half.
I think I still have the SW contacts but sounds like have gone that way already.
I basically told them I would never buy another SW product.....I have not.
Good luck to you.
saphta said:
Hello all,

I've reached my patience limit with the M&P22... Bought it at the end of November 2015, got it in December shot it for the first time in January 2016. Out of the box it was shooting high and to the left. Tried all ammo I could find, asked my buddies to try it...same results. So I've contacted Murray Charlton Enterprises and send it in somewhere in April 2016. They confirmed the accuracy problems and since then the gun collects dust on the shelf since S&W couldn't care less about it.
The guys from Murray Charlton are very responsive, great support but their hands are tight since S&W is saying they know about this problem and a custom pair of sights will solve the problem (IMHO it will only solve the elevation issues not the windage). M.C. guys also requested for a replacement but it was denied by S&W on grounds that the gun is repairable.
At least once a month I get an update from MC, they are waiting for the sights but the S&W rep can't tell for sure when they'll be coming. Months passed by, same answer.
I started to get anxious and started calling S&W directly. Well, they don't deal with Canada, my gun is not even in their system. They referred me to Walther since S&W doesn't manufacture the gun, they just rebrand it. I go, WTF it has your logo on it, it says S&W on it, the bill of sale says S&W, the registration certificate says S&W. I was told, sorry we can't help you.
I contact Walther, tell them what happened. Two weeks later I receive an email saying that they will have to contact S&W and ask me to have a little patience. Still waiting for a resolution...
Bottom line, 10 months later, the gun is still a lemon, S&W / Walther couldn't care less and I lost my patience.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Saphta.
Click to expand...
 
Unfortunately its not just Smith & Wesson. My shotgun is currently at a Browning warranty centre. It has been there since summer waiting on a part. No idea when it will get here. It's an issue here in Canada with pretty much all manufacturers.

It's the small price we have to pay for living in the best country in the world.
 
686 Shooter said:
Unfortunately its not just Smith & Wesson. My shotgun is currently at a Browning warranty centre. It has been there since summer waiting on a part. No idea when it will get here. It's an issue here in Canada with pretty much all manufacturers.

It's the small price we have to pay for living in the best country in the world.
Click to expand...

Buddy of mine had issues with browning as well. He had a blr in 223. At 100 yds you couldnt cover a 5 shot group with a dinner plate. Tried all kinds of ammo, myself and a few other guys tried it, replaced scope and nothing helped. He sent it back to where he bought it and they sent to browning. Almost a year and a half and he was still waiting. Finally the store he bought it from ended up refunding his money. He's been an avid browning man for years and said he'd never buy another one.
 
saphta said:
@TacticalCanuck
Was there anything wrong with the original sights?
Click to expand...

No, but to be fair, I never tried to shoot mine stock.

I bought one off the EE here with fiber optics installed and all it came with for $400 shipped to my door and it shoots straight. Heck, I learned to shoot pistol last summer on that pistol.

I have shot stock models (friends bought them after trying mine and liking it, 3 of em actually) and none came 'perfect' out of the box. After a few hundred you get a good idea whats you and what is the gun. One friend had to adjust the windage a bit on the rear site, and the other just guy never said anything other than he likes it, so I guess he was good with it. both needed a good clean and proper oil before use. The 3rd is a 'range acquaintance' and nice guy. He loves his but if i recall he did say he needed to adjust the sites to get straight. His was a little high and left. The left is easy to adjust, high maybe, but 6 o'clock hold fixed that and he seemed quite pleased. The 'new' ones that i know of took a little break in period, where failure to eject, failure to feed and stove pipes happened. Clean round nose ammo like CCI should help greatly with that though.

Mine sure don't like certain hollow point brands, they fail to feed here and there, white box winchester (curse walmart for having it so cheap last year) suck bananas, but cci tactical and federal automatch work great (nod to the cci, my fav 22 ammo in all my 22s). Heck even round nose wild cats do well, but i find them to be highly inconsistent power wise.

at 10 yards if your windage is off a few inches you can correct it with site adjustments, smaller than you may think. If its off on your buddies target something sure isn't right.

I wish you luck, I have had similar experiences with other firearms (and great experiences with Hornady and their loading equipment warranty).

The problem is the red tape at our border, and that costs, and for the loss of a few people who aren't U.S citizens its an easy business decision for them. In the US these guns go for less than 300 on sale, and they don't get how its a 'big deal' to us here to get our RPALs and go shooting. It is a big deal, and we pay more for stuff, and I understand how you feel. But the reality is if you don't like it when you finally get it back, make sure you are babying it, so you can post it up on the EE and get something else (full disclosure recommended)
 
I stay away from us firearms as they give zero &;$: about Canadians when it comes to warranty. Had a similar experience with Cz usa and that was it.
 
johndoe45auto said:
You should have sent it to location snap shot , I had a m&p with a cracked slide it took Murray almost 2 years to fix it
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I don't think that would have helped. The problem is that S&W is very slow in supplying their warranty centres with parts.
 
My S&W was waiting for new parts for a year. Gina at Murray Charlton was always nice and polite but could never update or give an ETA. It was always the same; Waiting for parts to be sent from US. Then when I got my new replacement slide it came with a deep cut under the rail exposing the steel. It's hidden so I can live with it but I'll not be buying another based on the above experience. What good is a lifetime warranty if takes months or years to resolve?

Edit: One good thing is the white "Read and understand the owners manual" on the old slide isn't on the new one...
 
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It's stories like this that have kept me away from purchasing new, expensive S&W hand guns (I was eying a Model 41 for a while).
 
You hear these stories all the time with some of the US makers.....very troubling.

So far my S&W 586 and M&P 9mm have been great...hope it lasts.

It does make folks look at warranty work and small print.Guess the Cdn market is too small to give a rat`s pattooty !

TOO BAD

BB
 
Canada tail said:
I stay away from us firearms as they give zero &;$: about Canadians when it comes to warranty. Had a similar experience with Cz usa and that was it.
Click to expand...

You have to understand that there is not much a U.S based institution can do for somebody out of the country and it is not their fault... Someone else here was blaming our government's laws and that's not really accurate either because import/export can be easily navigated from the Canadian perspective. It is the American laws that are extremely restrictive and are the major roadblock to us getting parts and service. It sucks for us, but from a business perspective you can't expect a U.S business to maintain a $2500 annual export license and then pay $250 export permit fees "per item" whenever the occasional Canadian needs a $30 part....

It is bad legislation on the American side, I really think there should be an exemption clause when dealing with manufacturer warranty situations. They should accept a temporary export permit from Canada (which is no cost to obtain) to receive your warranty item, and be exempt from requiring a U.S permit to export back to you, and no Import permit is required from Canada for you to receive any non-restricted item. As you can see, no big deal on our side of it to send back and forth, it is all the U.S. ITAR bull excrement that leaves us high and dry.
 
My S&W 686 Plus started to develop hairline cracks in the cylinder forcing cones.Took it to my authorized S&W repair depot (40 minutes away) and he told me that there was a notice on this serial number.He stated that there was a hardening issue at the plant and a replacement cylinder is required.Got a call two weeks later good to go!Picked up my revolver and it's been great ever since.NO CHARGE.This was about ten years ago, and times have changed for sure, but I think it's all paperwork due to new regs.
 
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