FA Repair Costs??

[alamogunr]

I just finished reading through a thread where Freedom Arms repair costs were an issue but how much those costs were was never mentioned.  I have a Premier Grade 83 in .454 with  .45 Colt and .45 ACP cylinders that I bought used.  I have had no problems with it but I would like to have it checked out and maybe have the ejector rod housing replaced.  It seems to be aluminum and whoever owned it apparently was in the habit of releasing it and letting the spring bang it back.  The front edge is peened  and looks out of place on the gun.  If the costs are too high, I can just file off the peened edges.  Anyone have a guess what they would charge?  What would shipping costs be?
John
W.TN

[Graybeard]

The way to be sure is to call and ask.

[alamogunr]

I'll probably do that.  One correction I need to make though.  The ejector rod housing is NOT aluminum.  Magnets don't stick to aluminum.  I just made a quick assumption based on the peening of the front edge of the housing where the rod hits the end of the housing.  Again, I could file down the peened metal so it doesn't look bad.
John
W.TN

[BigMuddy]

I think that "peening" is pretty normal. It is on all of mine. I think it comes from the recoil.

[alamogunr]

Thanks for that info.  I am surprised that recoil could do that with the rod "spring loaded".  Sounds like I should just leave it alone.  I need to get over focusing on these little imperfections and concentrate on my "imperfect" shooting.
John
W.TN

[Bob Baker]

alamogunr, if you aren't comfortable removing the peened edge with a small round file you can just remove the ejector tube and mail it to us.  It is a simple thing to take care of.

As far as the other thread indicating our costs are too high, you have to take it with a grain of salt.  There is much more to the story.  Think about it.  The individual states our costs are too high so he sends the gun to his "gunsmilth" who inturn sends it to us to be repaired.  If we had repaired it, we would have charged the gunsmith for the repair who inturn would have added a profit and charged the individual.  So how would the individual have saved any money?

[alamogunr]

Mr. Baker,  Thanks for the info.  I don't have an issue with repair costs other than the shipping involved.  I could get the FFL who receives a gun for me from time to time to ship it, but since he doesn't charge anything I don't like to impose on him.  He runs a hardware and lumber yard and guns are a sideline for convenience of his customers.  If I decide to send it in, it will be for a full check up in addition to the ejector rod housing.  Removing the housing is no problem.  I had to do that to clean the gun.  When I got it, it was filthy.  A can of brake cleaner got most of it out, I hope.  I kept spraying until crud didn't run out.  A good oiling and I was ready to go.  My only reservation is, if the guy (I bought it from a consignee) didn't clean his gun, what else might be wrong.  Nothing obvious, but I'm no expert.

On a separate note, I have noticed an increase in threads where manufacturers are taken to task for perceived injustices or less than expected "respect".  Not just on this board but on several that I lurk on.  When I first got the FA in question, I called to ask the best way to clean and to find out when the gun was built.  I couldn't have asked for a better response and really didn't expect the person to take as much time to answer my questions.
John
W.TN 

[MarkJ]

I thought I should throw in my $.02.
I bought a used Field Grade 83 in late 1999. It served me well but the firing pin did break and it needed the update. I thought FA made it clear from all of its publications that the Field Grade had a 1 year warranty and the Premier had a lifetime warranty to the original owner. I new I had to pay. I can't recall how much FA charged me because my recollection was it was reasonable. What put the burr in my saddle was the shipping charge. Local Law required next day there and back at $80 a trip. I will say the repair time was an unbelivably quick day or two.
Mark     

[c.r.]

On a separate note, I have noticed an increase in threads where manufacturers are taken to task for perceived injustices or less than expected "respect".  Not just on this board but on several that I lurk on.  When I first got the FA in question, I called to ask the best way to clean and to find out when the gun was built.  I couldn't have asked for a better response and really didn't expect the person to take as much time to answer my questions.
John
W.TN 

John, I agree 100% with your last sentence.  I have made two, maybe 3 phone calls to FA over the past 5/6 months.  The young lady answering the phone was able to answer my first one/two questions.  The final call she transferred me to John (i believe that is the gentleman's name).  It sounded like he was on the shop floor.  He is an extremely helpful person and polite as can be.  I was considering bidding on USED FA on an auction sit.  John took time from his job and answered my question in a friendly manner, and not just with a yes or no, but with thought and he told me what to look for.

I don't own an FA yet............but not owning one has nothing to do with "lack of customer service".  If anything my experiences have made me more comfortable with the cost and going with an FA 475L over a custom.  I haven't made my mind up 100% either way yet or if this is the right time for me to get into the big bores..

Oh and then there is the mdl 97 in 44 special.  I keep thinking I've found a custom revolver to fill that nitch, but every time I see a pic of the mdl 97, It just sticks in my head that it might in fact be the "perfect packin' pistol", and I just have get one.

~c.r.

[Lloyd Smale]

Have you brought your car or truck in for repair lately or worse yet a atv or boat. People compain when a gun cost a few dollars to repair but dont compare it to an auto repair. Also many times they dont consider the time it takes to fix a gun. Now take into account a FA gun is a handfitted gun and its not just a matter of bolting on some new parts. In all reality it should about be compared to bringing a ferrari in for repair. Look at it in that context and youll see Bob probably doesnt make squat off those repairs people are complaining about.

[WL44]

I live in South Africa and we have no FA dealers here. Anything I've ever needed to ask needed to go directly to FA.

I've always been helped with any query, ranging from the date of manufacture of my guns, to advice on scope mounts and other questions. I've also been helped with scope mount screws which a previous owner had lost at no charge (all of SA is metric, so I was struggling to get anything here that worked), I've placed several orders for screw sets and sight parts and such over the phone.

Anyhow, I'm sure you'll find the service great.

If I have a single criticism it would be that I generally needed to call to get (immediate) attention and that e-mail queries were not promptly attended to, but that was several years back and may have changed.

WL

[farscott]

Here is what I wrote in 2006 about my personal experience with FA service.

One more update on my personal FA breakage:  The day after FA received my revolver, I received a phone call from John at FA.  He told me that while he suspected someone had used a diamond hone on the surfaces of the action parts, he could not be sure.  He also told me that the wear might be consistent with a large number of rounds fired.  He did tell me that if the revolver had been smithed outside FA, the smith knew enough to get it back together properly, something which is rare in his experience.  I informed him that the seller had claimed only fifty rounds had been fired.  In any event, since he was not sure as to what happened, I would only be billed for the return shipping.  In addition, the revolver was updated with improved parts since John had it on his bench.

To say I was thrilled would be an understatement.  I was fully prepared to pay a multi-hundred dollar repair bill.  As the second owner, FA was well within their rights to charge me for the repair no matter the cause.   That is great customer service, and I really appreciate it.

If one is considering an FA revolver and concern about breakage is an issue, I would not worry too much.  FA really stands behind the product.  I will be adding more FA revolvers to my current three.