Bersa nightmare

[6.8]

I always heard you could ship a pistol back to the manufacturer for repair without an FFL dealer ?

[wbw]

"I always heard you could ship a pistol back to the manufacturer for repair without an FFL dealer ? "

I did, and it cost me $82. SIG sent the gun back to me on their dime.
I think it's a good bit cheaper if you have an FFL do it.

[JasonJ]

So lets get this straight.. you sent a malfunctioning gun to the closest "gunsmith" who clearly did not function test the pistol before returning it.. and now that we can safely assume this "gunsmith" did more damage than good, you're mad at the manufacturer?

Well its good to know that if a gun has one or two problems, I should never buy that brand again.. I guess that means no Glocks, no Sigs, no Springfields, definitely no Smith & Wesson's...

I suppose all thsoe Mercedes Benz', BMW's, and Cadillac's I see in dealer service departments are a notch above junk as well.. i mean if they have more than a few problems.. you shouldn't ever buy one.

You get where I am going with this? Here's why I'm doing this... I get you're frustrated.. understandable.. but the people who are likely to be able to help you with this particular gun, are going to be offended and PO'd when you start talking the trash that you are.

I dare anyone to get on glocktalk and start ripping Gaston's pistols and NOT get the same result.

You need to call/get a hold of Colorado Gun Works.. the major and official US repair/service center for Bersa NA. Explain to them the extent of all the hassles you've been through and how it was worse after the Gander gunsmith worked on it.

[B. Lahey]

Have a gunshop ship it, they are not required to send it overnight by fancymail, and the savings should be significant.

But yes, bersas are generally pretty poor quality pistols. Some work, some do not.

[Skans]

A used Bersa .380 is basically a $250 gun, if it works ok. Even if you have to spend $80 to send it back to get it fixed right, its still worth it. When you get it back, go directly to GM and trade it for something else from a more reliable manufacturer. You'll lose about half of what you have into the gun, maybe a little more. That stinks, but you'll get over it.

I had to do this with a Taurus PT99 that shattered its locking block after only a few hundred rounds. It (like the Bersa) had an alloy frame and the steel shards gouged the frame rails making them look ugly, but not really hurting the functionality of the gun in the short run. I also had to have my Smith try several times with 2 different malformed locking blocks from Taurus to fix it. After all was said and done (over a period of about 7 months) I took the PT99 back to the place I bought it and used it in trade for a S&W 659. I still have that 659, which is rock solid.

I learned that "Lifetime Warranties" are for guns that need them - buy the gun, not the warranty. In fact, I would be far more impressed by a gun manufacturer that 1) offer's no stated warranty at all; 2) has been owned and operated by the same people for many years, and 3) relies 100% on reputation to stay in business.

[qwiksdraw]

Mumblyoe,

You are getting some bad avice and lot of opnions. The BT380 has a high level of user satifaction and customer service ratings.

Bersa is set up for warranty work to be done by their US warranty centers. It appears Gander Maountain didn't do their job. You should look into one of the other places like Reynerson's in Baton Rouge LA. Talk to them, don't yell at the person you talk to, he is not personally responsible for you gun's problems but can certainly be part of the solution. Let him kow the costs for shipping, etv and they will work with you on that as well.

I have a BT380 as my carry gun because I can trust my life with it. You should get the same results. You did your homework before buying the gun, you will find your decision was a good one from the start and end up wanting to keep the gun. I sure do wish you well and hope that this reply is more of a help to you.

[Skans]

I don't know about "bad advice" If the alloy frame of your gun has damage to it, i.e. gouges or had metal shaving rubbed off; that's not a gun you want to hang onto and rely on. It is junk. And, if Bersa doesn't replace the frame (which they've already told you they wouldn't) it will remain junk.

Just because someone has a Bersa, or any gun, that works great, that doesn't mean the one you have will ever be worth keeping. Even Jennings made a bunch of J-22's that work great. I happen to have one. The problem is there are enough J-22's that truly are junk. I'm not saying Bersa is comparable to Jennings (or Lorcin). All I'm saying is that some guns are simply made out-of-spec, or go out-of-spec due to a bad failure, and there's a good chance it will always be problematic.

[qwiksdraw]

Then we agree, one bad gun does not make a trend or pattern.

[taltyman]

Had a BP 9 CC. It had a FTL FTE at least one time out of every 10 rounds. Initially thought it was me, the ammo or cleaning. Ended up taking it back to the dealer and he had it jam on him too. He did some fluffing and buffing and I took it back home. Then not only was it still failing but now it was also failing to stay locked open after the mag emptied. I could not see myself using it as a CCW even if it was sent back to Bersa so I traded it back in towards a S&W 9mm shield and haven't looked back. I give Bersa some slack as it was a new model for them.

[michael t]

go to http://www.bersa.com/forum/ join and post . Do it with a little less attitude and I am sure some one from Eagle will help you. That is the importer board . And they watch it and respond .

http://www.reynersons.com/ does good warranty work . At present time Co Gun Works owner is in hospital last I heard. They are also now located in IN.

[6.8]

I think I was wrong about shipping it back on your own. I stand corrected. As I recall it is less cost/ hassle to have your dealer do it. Without your dealer your forced to go thru ups or fed ex and they charge a fortune. I hope you get it worked out. Sounds like they should Replace the entire Gun.

[csmsss]

I've never owned a Bersa firearm nor do I have any experience with one, so I can't really offer anything but encouragement. I do hate to read of anyone having an experience like this, however, and hope you get all of the issues related to your pistol solved quickly and to your full satisfaction.

[Skans]

Then we agree, one bad gun does not make a trend or pattern.

As to the Bersa .380, yes absolutely.

[Skadoosh]

Then we agree, one bad gun does not make a trend or pattern.

Does two? Because I experienced parts breakages in both of the bersa pistols that I purchased and owned for a very short time.

[deepcreek]

I think it all boils down to the fact that you bought a new gun. You did not go to the store to buy a problem. The problem should be the manufactures problem and they should fix it or replace the gun with one that works.

You should not have to pay for their bad manufacturing job.

[qwiksdraw]

Does two? Because I experienced parts breakages in both of the bersa pistols that I purchased and owned for a very short time.

I guess that would depend if you measure 2 out of 2, or 2 out of 100, or 2 out of 1,000.

I have a BT 380 & BT22 both of which have had no problems and have been accurate and consistent shooters. I know you don't, or won't believe that is possible. I do agree sometimes a gun is bad.

By the way, I'm not a fanboy. I have six 1911s , a Glock 19 and several other brands and calibers as well. I would buy another Bersa with no second thoughts.

[6.8]

^^^^^ What does Bobalouie Shoot ?

[qwiksdraw]

^^^^^ What does Bobalouie Shoot ?

LOL!

I believe this is Bobalouie's:


Now this is a nightmare!

[kahrguy]

Never go to a lgs for repairs . I would not except GM to fix anything right ,often. Or any other LGS.

Many guys have issues do to cleaning and lube or ammo or just don't have the experience to think thru a problem. Springs are allways a cheap upgrade and mag springs fix most mag problems. Polish the feed ramp once in a while to help to keep rounds feeding well.

I have bought a few handguns from disgruntled owners and so far none needed anything buy some TLC or ammo change.

We have two bersa 380CC's in the family and both I broke in with 500 rounds fired. Both of those bersa ssems to be some of the least picky about ammo choices of any handgun I have bought

Sorry Your having issues with yours but also glad it was not a new 1500 to 2000 dollar pistol that was junk out of the box as that happens more often than not today.

Contact EAGLE BERSA and let them deal with your problems. .

[TennJed]

Originally Posted by Waspinator

Can you demand a refund or replacement gun?

I'm not even going to try to tell you how to proceed. But I will say, if you decide to throw in the towel, then I would reccomend seeing if there is a buy-back program in your area. Those are usually good for $100+ in cash or gift certificates for a turned in gun. Not a great deal in the least, but a better option then a hammer.. at least you walk away with something.

I would never support a buy back program (they should be outlawed) and something tells me he could sell it without and problem for $100+

[superspirit]

Sorry to hear you had such bad luck. I have a Bersa thunder 9 hi cap that has never had a failure of any type. my wife has a thunder 380 that has had one failure to load since we've owned it and we bought it used, my brother in law has a thunder 380 and it has been flawless also, no I'm not a fanboy as I own many other fine weapons from ruger, taurus, DPMS and others. I have personally had to ship firearms back to marlin and taurus, I've had no problems shipping through fedex, and never had to pay outrageous overnight fees. IIRC it cost about $28 with $500 worth of ins. I would recommend trying to calm down and then deal with Eagle Imports in a calm manner and I'd bet things will turn around for you. best of luck and god bless.

[Schnitzjr]

Bersa's warranty is pretty simple to understand once you read it. You're supposed to send their guns back to an authorized repair center. someone mentioned Reynersons before.....they are a warranty center (took 7 weeks to examine my BP9CC). Repair centers are listed on Bersa's website.
Yes, you will have to pay to ship the gun to the warranty center but the will pay to ship it back provided its a warranted item. Since you attempted to "fix" the problem by taking it to a local gunsmith you may have voided the warranty.
Bersa recently gave me a brand new gun because they didn't have the parts needed to repair my trigger. They turned the job around in 24 hours (once Reynersons actually told Bersa what the problem with the gun is).

[jib]

First, I'm sorry you are having issues with your weapon. Bersa will make it right, if you follow the warrantee steps. Gander is not an authorized service center, btu I'll be they will still make it right if you get it to the right place.

One part of the reason Bersas are so inexpensive is the exchange rate. This also helps accounts for the price of Glock, etc. I've compared my wife's Sig P238 to my Bersa BP9cc. Yes, the Sig feels like a more solid tool. it should, as it cost twice what my Bersa did. Do they both fire every time and accurately? Yes they do. Why did she buy the Sig? It racks really easily for her weak hands. Which gun does she like to fire most? The Bersa.

Bersa is not without fault. They ship with lots of preservative, not lube and need to be cleaned well and lubircated before using. The preservative grease hardens with use. My BP9cc's was shipped with way too much dry lube, preservative, whatever in the striker channel. Once this was cleaned out and lubed properly, several hundred flawless rounds later, it has become my carry weapon.

As was mentioned above, one of the best Bersa resources on the web is www.Bersachat.com, BUT be nice and don't go in blasting their favorite weapon. Go there with a "Hey, I need some help" attitude and you will get everything you need to get that 380 back to where it should have been when you bought it.

[B.N.Real]

I bought a brand new Bersa 22 from Buds that I really wanted to really like.

Darn nice size and feeling handgun-looked like really quality made too.

1200 22 rounds,numerous cleanings and about three hundred failures to feed/eject later and I sold it.

Not a bash-just my experience with my Bersa 22.

Sometimes you just got a punt and try again.

With another brand.

[Northrider]

I would send it to the place in Colorado. If it comes back meeting your standards great. If not meeting your standards, but works, you can sell it on gunbroker or some place like that.
I have a Thunder .380 and have had no issues yet.

I meant reyersons, not Colorado. I thought that is where they are.

Good luck.