David Benzick Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 In June of '02 I contacted SV to build me a new limited blaster. Got a price quote and they told me they'd get back to me. In August I decided to go with a different top end and they said "no problem" as they hadn't started on the gun yet. Got a revised quote and was told to wait. Finally got the call that they were ready to start and needed a credit card number. They called a few weeks later and said the nuimber was no good. I asked them to try again and guess what, it worked just fine. Just cost me three more weeks. Made the final payment by credit card and received the finished product December 31st. They had a fiber optic front sight when I had ordered a .090" plain front sight. No big deal, simple mistake. The trigger pull varied from 2lb to 4.5lb on my RCBS trigger weight scale. After a bit of dry fire it settled in at 3.5lb. The thumb safety was three position, engaged, still engaged, and disengaged with a noticable stop in each place. The thumb safety couldn't be disengaged with the right side lever of the ambi safety. First question is how does a $2200 + pistol get sent out that way. What do they think the first thing the new owner is going to check? Sight picture, trigger pull and thumb safety. They were responsive and said they would pay for return shipping. I sent it off the next day. The bill arrives and I find they have added $100 dollars for a California certification fee and $68 for using a credit card. I wasn't told of either charge going into the deal. When I questioned the charge I was told the Cal Cert Fee was built into the price of the pistol and sorry we forgot to mention the credit card fee. The funny thing is the final price was $170 greater than the revised quote so the $100 fee was not built in until after they had my business. To wrap up this wonderful tale, I called them yesterday, two weeks after sending the pistol back to them. I was told the guy who built the gun has been away at his mothers funeral and might be back Friday and then will have to get caught up on his backlogged work. No promise of a delivery date. So the bottom line is the same bum who did a crappy job on the fire control assembly the first time around will be working on it again when he's damn good and ready. In the mean time, the fine folks a SV/Infinity will be enjoying the use of my hard earned dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Merricks Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 Nothing like quality control. Sorry your having so many problems. Call and try to talk to the man himself. Or email Matt B. maybe he can make a call for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus The Bum Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 I've gotten the same vibe from a number of "big-time" gunsmiths. What's one customer when they have hundreds of others? I use only one gunsmith who has been very good to me and helped me out when I was in a jam. I have to send my gun off to him, but it's a small price to pay for repeated excellent service. I'm talking about Benny Hill at Triangle Shooting Sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakal Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 LOL, I was going to say the same thing. My wife ordered her Open gun from Benny and it was in her grabby paws less than two weeks later. Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liota Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Benny is awesome. Customer service is top notch. Not to mention, my gun is still the prettiest! Liota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bulm5 Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Ditto on Benny Hill. Send my gun ( A para) for repairs, was back after 2 wks in time to shoot a state match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Benzick Posted January 26, 2003 Author Share Posted January 26, 2003 Benny would have built this latest gun for me if not for the senseless CA gun laws. Good to have you on board Mr. Hill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 I have had similar, although lesser, exp with SVI. It's too bad, they make the nicest thing out there, but there is something up with their management style. STI has always done a better job supporting the sport, they just aren't as pretty as the SV's. Hey, I have and Inifnity and LOVE it, I just wish they would get things together, give us more of a "warm fuzzy" about dealing with them. Reminds me of Springfield and Kimber; Kimber gets all the press, builds the prettiest, arguably the best and admittedly US built pistol, but they don't give action shooters the time of day. I'm not talking about lip service I"m talking about sponsorship, donations, REAL discounts. Springfield? The gunstore commandos give them a hard time for using foriegn forgings, but they are always a real $100 less than "Brand K" and you will be HARD pressed to find any company more deeply in support of our sport. Just my ramblings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus The Bum Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 I talked with someone at bogh Kimber and Colt recently about contributing somthing to our prize table and was basically told, "were not interested" So take that for what it's worth, I support those who support my sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Merricks Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 How much do you think Kimber pays for the whole back page of FS? I'm sure that helps the mag somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Benzick Posted January 30, 2003 Author Share Posted January 30, 2003 I got the pistol back Tuesday and today I took it to the range with 100 rounds of case gaged ammo. The results: 27 failures to extract 6 failures to go into battery The slide locks open with one round remaining every time. The slide lock problem is understandable and easily fixed. The chambering problem willl probably be solved with a little pollishing. The extraction problem is inexcusable with a brand new $2300 pistol which has been back to the shop once already. Extractor tension is so fundamental. I'll work on all three problems tonight and if she runs well tomorrow, I'll be my usual happy self. SV quality control sucks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2alpha Posted January 31, 2003 Share Posted January 31, 2003 Hate to hear about your problems. It's easy to think that you'll get a superior product when you go to a factory gun but it's not really true. Anything built on a assembly line won't be as good as a product turned out by a craftsman that loves what he's doing. Another troubling point is that you gave as much or more than you would have from a good custom gunsmith. Hope things work out for you. Maybe Beenie will jump in and offer to fix it for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 I have not been very impressed with SVI. I had planned to order one last summer, but I had some questions. After all, I've never ordered a custom .45 before. The response I received was, "How could you have any questions? It's all right there in the gun builder." I'm not sure if they are arrogant or just plain condescending. Should a $2000+ pistol malfunction as many times as I've read about them doing so on this forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 FWIW - I have a factory SV I purchased from Shooters Connection. It is bone stock factory. The only problem I encountered was the ambi's weren't functioning properly from the right side, which Tony Kidd fixed for me for no charage (helluva guy). The gun was a bit finicky at the begining, but I attribute that to a tightly built gun. Once I got a ammo OAL that the gun agreed to and magazines tuned correctly, alll I can say is I could not be happier. I agree, however, that for what you pay, you should not have the problems you say you do. SVI is one of the top sponsors of our sport (IPSC) and at the race gun nat's, were the top gunsmith (according to Front Sight). They surely would not have gotton to either position by routinely producing sub par machines. However, as is the case with all businesses, there is that occasion where the product simply doesn't work the way it is supposed to. Make them make it right. You paid what you did for a reason, you wanted a quality firearm, and thats what you deserve. I'd call the owner, Sandy Strayer, directly and speak with him. From all I've heard, he is a stand up guy in every sense of the word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 I have 2 and they run perfect. 3rd one is on the way. No problems here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 BTW I think a lot of people blame thier guns for being bad when it is really poor reloads, bad spring setups, lack of proper cleaning/lube and tinkering. I once saw a guy blaming his jams on his gun and noticed that when we looked at the brass that he had super and super rimless brass, and wouldn't you know it he was bad mouthing his smith, go figure. I had problems with my Kimber feeding and they said call them back after I had a minimum of 1000 rounds through it. 1500 rounds later, it worked great and no more problems. If you buy a new custom made gun, don't expect it to function great until it is broken in 1000-2000 rounds. Custom comes with an extra cost and taking the time to break it in is just part of that cost. You will be happier in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironman Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 I tried to get to Benny's website and this address did not work http://www.triangleshootingsports.com. Is there a new one? Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakal Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 http://www.triangleshootingsports.com/ works for me... Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironman Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 It worked great this time... Go figure. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm79 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 Sorry guys just me, but when you pay in excess of 2K for a gun, it had better run! I have a SV with 6K rounds thru it and still not right. Also have an STI that has problems...... These are the premier Mfgs. of the products that we compete with. After talking with customer "NO" support I'll never deal directly with them again. I just received my latest blaster from Brazos, and it is WONDERFUL!!! Bob has been great to deal with. and yes. it has run since round #1! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfinney Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 I have to say, I've always liked SV's quality control better than STI in the past... or maybe that was just an impression. And their innovation has always led the pack. I have a SV Open gun that has worked flawlessly. Its a keeper. I love their Tri-Glide trigger systems. I have had problems getting their "frame certifcates" redeemed in a timely manner. I had a factory SV Limited gun that wouldn't run for spit. I've watched other guys trying to sort out their new titanium IMM type guns, to no avail, go back to their old guns after not getting the support they wanted. With SV, IMO it seems that its very much who you are, and who you know that contributes directly to the level of customer service you can expect. I'm shopping for a new Limited gun right now, and its going to be an STI. I can't remember a major match that I've been to that I didn't see either Skinner or a major distributor like Leck's, or Chuck at Shooter's Connection (who doesn't distribute SV guns anymore, by the way) setup representing STI. Area 4 last year, SV showed up..... for about an hour to drop off some hats. STI is always setup for the whole match, wit hparts, and guns, and someone "pressing the flesh" ( I know, I know the Infinity Open last fall had amazing SV support - but not at the major matches I've been to lately, my only basis for opinion) So yeah, for the future, I'm giving Skinner at STI my business. They are cheaper, more available, and it seems now, better (or at least equal) quality. Of course thats just my opinion, I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 4 years ago, I called STI, and SVI for catalogs and information. I received STI's package 2 days later. Never heard from SVI. I have 2 STI guns now. They have both run 100% out of the box, even with short factory .40 ammo. The first one arrived the day after I ordered it. The second one took about 3 weeks to arrive. I am very pleased with STI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriss Grube Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Never had any problems with the SVI guys but I never bought a gun either. The STI guys are great. Last year at the A8 match we were shooting a stage directly into the sun. I don't wear hats but on this stage it was a distinct advantage. I ran over to the vendors area to get one. STI was sold out of hats so Don Kemble loaned me his so I could shot the stage w/o the extra glare. First class people for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riden Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 I also had a bad experience with Infinity when I sent an SV 38 Super over to have tuned. Even though they did not charge me, it still would not run, so a waste of time and cost on freight. Likewise, sent it to Benny Hill and got it back in 2 weeks with it running superb. Plus, plenty of tips and personal assistance when requested! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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