NFA Warranties

[niftyfifty]

This is something I'm sure a lot of people don't think about. I never did. On March 28th 2018 I bought a new Colt 9mm SBR(LE6991) from grabagun. My form 4 came back on May 21st 2019(13 months) I took the gun out the next day and ran 700 rds thru it. After the 1st magazine, the bolt would not lock open. Minor inconvenience. The bolt stop lever was bound so tight in the lower I had to use a wooden dowel and a hammer to free it. Every time I pushed in the release button it bound like this. A week later I took it out again After about 500 rds the barrel nut came loose. The 9 has no gas tube, so if I kept turning I could have removed the barrel. More than a minor inconvenience. I contacted Colt. They sent me a shipping label and I shipped it back to them on June 10th. On the 20th they sent me a letter(snail mail) explaining that the warranty had lapsed. But, they would repair it for no charge as a "goodwill gesture". It has been over 4 months. Just got a tracking number from FedEx yesterday(10/16). In the 18 months since I bought the gun it has been in my possession for 3 weeks. Calling Colts' customer service line is a real test of patience too. If they're even taking calls. Wait time is 30 to 45 minutes. They have 1 person answering the phone. Dealing with Colt has been the single worst customer service experience of my life. I've written the NRA, Dillon, and CTDs' blog asking them to get some clarification from some of the manufacturers about NFA warranties. With current wait times up to 13 months your SBR, SBS, or suppressor could be out of warranty before you ever get it. In case you're unaware of this. Colts' quality and customer service ain't what it used to be.

 

[YNOTAZ]

Maybe that’s why Colt is focusing on military sales. Meet a mil spec, go 10 times the price, sell millions of copies and little chance of warranty claims. Even the manufacturers of some of the crapiest firearms have lifetime warranties for civilian use.

Even Hi-Point has a lifetime warranty.

 

[DRTDIVR]

Sorry to hear about your trouble but with a little research you can see Colt has been like this for years and their quality has not been the same since their inventory was depleted within a year of Newtown incident. Anyone I know who has bought Colt since then has traded them in for something better/more reliable.

For NFA stuff, go with a company that will back their product up 100% and even go out of their way in the name of customer service.

I will say, Daniel Defense has become my go to among AR manufacturers. Both my NFA and non NFA stuff from them has been fantastic. There customer service is so good that I complained about the gas port on my MK18 being excessive and how for years and thousands of rounds I just dealt with it but one day at the range I shot a newer MK18 from a friend with a smaller gas port and realized what I was living with. I emailed Daniel Defense asking if I could pay for just the barrel and them to swap it out. They emailed me back with an RMA number and I mailed my upper out. I awaited a call for payment on the barrel. 2 weeks go by and it shows back up at my door with a letter thanking me for giving them the opportunity to address my concerns and that a brand new barrel was installed per my request and test fired before leaving the plant at no charge.

 

[Elk34]

I know you like your warranties and I know they need to fix their f#ck ups. With that said. A barrel nut can be fixed in 10 mins. A bolt catch can be fixed in 15 mins. For the time it took to get your SBR maybe next time for those small inconveniences , look to fix it here in town in one day.

 

[QuietM4]

I know you like your warranties and I know they need to fix their f#ck ups. With that said. A barrel nut can be fixed in 10 mins. A bolt catch can be fixed in 15 mins. For the time it took to get your SBR maybe next time for those small inconveniences , look to fix it here in town in one day.

Exactly. Any gunsmith in town could have fixed this for a very minimal charge.

You should have the tools to do the repairs yourself. The tools required would cost about the same or less as a gunsmith.

 

[niftyfifty]

I could have done that. If I knew it would be 4 months I would have. I've returned guns to ruger gsg and dan wesson over the years. Usually a couple weeks. With me it was the principal. I guess with colt it's screw your principals. I will never buy another new colt. I would advise others the same.

 

[338lapua]

I learned to work on my own many years ago. After a famous 1911 douchebag in north phoenix had my gun for 18 months on a build he promised in 6 I finally had enough pf gunsmiths. Took me another year to get my parts back from this ahole as he used them on other customers guns. f*** gunsmiths, become your own.

Burned through some parts learning how to fit them but believe me if a gunsmith can do this so can damn near everyone else.

2009 I bought a Colt 6450 from Shooters Vault and a Colt 6920 and 6940 from US Autoweapons. Both the 6450 and the 6920 had loose barrels. These days I just fix them myself.

 

[Gunslinger55]

yup