Although Remington bought Marlin in 2007 there were still Marlin made parts being used to assemble guns in the Remington factory through 2010. Presumably by untrained employees. The Marlins (Remlins) that were most faulty, or at least has the most cosmetic issues, were the ones assembled from 2008-2010. By 2012 for sure Remington was putting out much better quality Marlins.

I've come across several worthy Marlins since the takeover. In fact, check out Victoria All Sports. I saw a 1894c and a 1894CSBL there several weeks ago and held them. They seemed up to par.

What you really want to look for as best you can at a gun counter is straight sights (there were some I've seen at Academy that were ridiculously out of whack), good smooth surfaces on the bolt and chamber (there was terrible machining during the Remlin takeover that left metal shavings and rough spots on the chamber opening) and good unscratched screw heads and areas around the screws (I've seen tang screws that look like someone on 10 redbulls did the work)
Open the lever and just make sure nothing is terribly loose. Wiggle the butt stock and forend and make sure they don't rock or twist. Best o luck to ya.