Sig Sauer Customer Service - Not Very Good

[Frag]

We bought a NEW carry P239. The barrel had, what I consider, too much "smile" for a brand new gun. The slide had unfinished spots on the inside where you can see the machine marks from production. I called Sig's customer service and a guy named John answered the phone, I explained what happened and he said to send him some photos of it. Unfortunately the cell phone dropped the call, he took my number down but never called me back. 30min later I got the pictures taken and called back and another guy answered the phone. I had to explain everything again and right of the bat he starts with "finish is not a warranty issue" then he adds "we are not going to bring the gun here and re-finish it for you". All I heard for the next 7min was what they are NOT going to do for me. I tried to explain that the finish is missing not only in the two spots where the robot grips onto the slide as it applies the finish but also in another larger area. He went right back to "finish is not a warranty issue" and “does not affect function or accuracy” and on and on with what they are not going to do for me. This conversation was very discouraging since we paid top dollar for this pistol.

I personally do not think a pistol should be sold with missing finish on it and that many marks on the barrel. I've owned plenty of pistols and none were missing finish because "...the robot has to grab the slide as it applies the finish..." They need to get a new robot. Have a look at these pictures and let me know if you think this is the way a New Gun should look? Especially one that is in the $800 category.

I ask this because the guys at Sig Sauer customer service are trying to pass this all as normal. Maybe I’m asking too much out of a brand new 800 dollar gun from Sig Sauer.

http://xs233.xs.to/xs233/08455/sig.p239.01799.jpg

http://xs233.xs.to/xs233/08455/sig.p239.02387.jpg

http://xs233.xs.to/xs233/08455/sig.p239.03617.jpg

http://xs233.xs.to/xs233/08455/sig.p239.07669.jpg

http://xs233.xs.to/xs233/08455/sig.p239.08402.jpg

[f.2]

That SIG barrel should not be sold as new. Maybe as a certified pre-owned (CPO). Next time you call, ask to speak with a supervisor.

[HAMMERDROP]

What did the dealer say who you bought it from ? He may have a more kosher relationship with SIG if in fact you want them to go over it again.
I hate to see SIG get slagged. But a fact is a fact I went and got my wifes outta her nightstand and broke it down for you, I purchased it for her in 4-2007.
In .40 cal she has about 400 rounds thru it and the barrel is not nearly as worn in appearance as yours is. The finish it still 100% the rails have no tool marks.
Especially your pic in the top of your slide. That slide has seen more than just a 'Test Fire'. In my humble opinion.
I'd call SIG back with a different angle try to see if any warranty info exists as this being 'Pre-Certified' or at least get a manufacture date so you can determined they did n't make it 6 years ago and send around the country. Then if you have to wage war with the guy you got it from you have 'Good Reason' to be irate and he might consider his reputation especially if he was selling it as 'brand new'.


Michael

[Rinspeed]

I only have 500 or 600 rounds through mine and if I think of it I will post some pics of the barrel tomorrow. The finish on the slide wouldn't bother me a bit but the barrel would bug me a little seeing it certainly looks used.

[ralph]

I've got a P-220 with about 1500rnds on it, and the barrel dosen't look nearly as bad as that one does.The marks on mine are minor to say the least...

[ST911]

Lots of lessons to be learned here.

Careful inspection of the gun before it leaves the store helps. This would've been caught with field stripping.

Sig didn't sell you the gun, a dealer did. Looks like he sold you a used one marked as new. What'd he say? What'd he do for you? Vetted dealer?

I wouldn't have worried about internal finish flaws like those on the slide, even on a new gun, but the barrel is obviously problematic. A batch of P226s in 40SW didn't look that bad after ~1500 rounds.


I called Sig's customer service and a guy named John answered the phone, I explained what happened and he said to send him some photos of it. Unfortunately the cell phone dropped the call, he took my number down but never called me back. 30min later I got the pictures taken and called back and another guy answered the phone. I had to explain everything again

Did you ask for John?

I've always found that CS at Sigarms does no worse than meeting my minimum expectations. Most often, they're helpful to very helpful.

Keep trying, but I think the dealer might be worthy of more scrutiny.

[ToddG]

The slide marks are normal, and considered acceptable by the company. You can be disappointed and upset, but you're not going to get satisfaction unless someone at SIG decides to be very magnanimous.

The barrel wear is absolutely not normal for a new gun. Unless something has changed very recently, SIG hasn't even been test-firing commercial (non-LE, non-mil) guns for a few years now.

There are a few possibilities that come to mind:

Your dealer sold you a used gun but claimed it was new, as Skintop911 indicated. Did the gun come in a blue box or a red box? Do the serial numbers on the gun and the box match? If it's a blue-box gun and the serials match, you at least know it left SIG as a "new" gun. Next step is to track down when it was built (SIG can do this for you based on serial number) and figure out if the gun has been in circulation a while before it got to you.
SIG used this gun for spot "high volume" test firing. They did that with LE/mil guns for a while, and other manufacturers do it with all their guns. It's usually 500 rounds or so and those guns are generally sold as new afterwards since they've never been fired outside of the factory.
SIG stripped some used or broken guns and recycled the usable parts when building some new guns.

There are other marks on the slide which you didn't point out that suggest to me this gun has been fired quite a bit. That could mean 500 rounds or 5,000 rounds, but the gun (or at least the slide and barrel) have definitely seen some use.

[HK45]

Declining quality control and customer service is why I won't buy Sigs any more after years of being a big fan of Sig pistols.

[St.Michael]

I would bitch up a storm with the fella who sold it to you till he replaced it or gave you your money back. That is some BS that it looks like that. we got a CZ that had some wear like this but it wasn't even as bad as the one you got and I copped a bitch fit till they gave me my money back.

[Race]

There are a few possibilities that come to mind:
...
SIG stripped some used or broken guns and recycled the usable parts when building some new guns.

I believe this last possibility is illegal, if that were the case.

[variablebinary]

The slide marks are somewhat normal. I've seen that same blemish many times

Marks on the barrel, even on new SIG's seems to be more common than you might think. The last few I've seen NIB had horrid wear marks

I wont even consider SIG products anymore. For what you get they just arent worth it. Then there is shoddy QC you need to worry about.

[f.2]

For the most part, I try to stick with the older SIGs; W.German stamped carbon steel slide blued models. Pre-MIM, pre-beaver tail, pre-SIG_bling, etc. The original black plastic checkered grips are still the second best grip for your SIG.

[ToddG]

I believe this last possibility is illegal, if that were the case.

There's nothing illegal about it, and it happens a lot more frequently then you might want to believe. If a part is judged 100% functional, it's 100% functional.

I'm not saying it's right or a good thing, but it's not illegal.

[mario]

Comparing that to other Sig barrels I've seen, I guesstimate it has at least 500 rounds thru it.

[ToddG]

It's hard to judge, actually. There have been many different finishes used on both the barrel and slide over the past ten years. Some are harder than others, some are more abrasion resistant than others. For a while, SIG was using a finish that was so hard, a little burr on the slide could literally gouge metal out of the barrel.

Regardless of the finish, though, that barrel clearly has seen more than just a few rounds through it.