Bersa nightmare

[mumblyj0e]

First of all- don't ever buy a Bersa-
I sent my brand new 380 cc in for repairs at Gander Mountain because it wouldn't go 60 rounds without jamming up. After cleaning and another 60 rounds the trigger quit actuating. I got it back yesterday (after about a month) with some of the same jamming problems and some different problems.

Now it jams on the last round of every magazine and the front part of the slide near the muzzle is scraping metal off the receiver and when I cracked it open to clean it I found the whole thing full of metal shavings.

Have any of you had any experience getting Bersa to reimburse shipping on repairs? I don't really want to send it again because I'll have spent nearly the entire purchase price of the gun again on shipping.
Bersa is telling me they'll reimburse up to $35 worth of the cost of sending it in for repairs again though. Sending it legally costs about $80. Have any of you gotten them to actually reimburse you for sending in a gun a second time for repairs? Given my experience with their product and repair process thus far I have a lot of trouble trusting them.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to try again or cut my losses, bash the thing to bits with a hammer and throw it away.

[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.

[mumblyj0e]

I tried to demand a replacement, but Bersa said the best they could do is refund $35 worth of shipping to send it in again. Their warranty is about as solid as their firearms, I'm finding out.

[valent]

First they sell you the gun with one magazine only and than this. My .380CC was flawless for now, around 300 rounds, but there has been inconsistency in quality control and lemons are in circulation. First year warranty should include free shipping for every and any firearm. You should complain on www.bersa.com as well.

[Skadoosh]

You should complain on www.bersa.com as well.

Complain at your own risk. You will be dog-piled upon mercillessly by a horde of bersafanboys.

[mumblyj0e]

Oh i'll complain loudly, wherever I can. I put the story on their facebook page to start with. I bought it because I kept hearing from so many people online and in person about how reliable they were for the price. I aim to make sure no one else makes that mistake.

[Skadoosh]

A lot of people like Bersa and swear by them. I consider them to be a notch above junk.

[shuler13]

I have owned two .380 thunder and thunder9ucpro and haven't had problems after the first range trip (first trip a couple FTEs). Sorry it didn't work out for you and it sucks to know they wouldn't just refund.

[zincwarrior]

We had severe problems with jamming and FTFs, and the firing mechanism broke as well. Took to shop, did nothing and became worse such that one round in seven was a problem. This is unacceptable in any pistol, much less one designed for CC.

[Dan-O]

Aren't you supposed to send it to their gunsmith in Colorado....can't remember the name of the shop at the moment. Pretty sure they do it on their dime too. I wouldn't let the morons at Gander Mountain touch my guns with a 10 foot pole.

[ttarp]

I've had good fortune with my Bersa, guess Im a lucky fanboy. It amuses me whenever people start threads with "Never buy (insert hated brand). I didn't know Bersa would reimburse for shipping, I thought you were on your own shipping to and they would pay shipping back. Anyway I wouldn't advise sending it to Gander Mountain in the first place, http://www.reynersons.com/ is a Bersa warranty center and has a pretty good reputation for doing things right. If you want to keep messing with it I'd suggest sending it to Reynersons, but if not hopefully you can get some of your money back out of it anyway.

[Old_Dog]

You have joined the 'You get what you paid for' club. Welcome new member.

I got Gander Mountain to refund my money once by talking to the manager. If they are not going to stand by what they sell you might as well buy the rest of your guns online because Gander Mountain is expensive as hell compared to online gun stores and even my local gun store. I have no idea why people continue to buy from them when you can buy elsewhere cheaper. I bought once and then found out that I paid $200 more for the same exact gun than my LGS was selling it for. No more going along for the ride with relatives who visit there to buy guns. I am an impulse buyer so I need to stay away from gun stores where I can get instant gratification.

[Deaf Smith]

I have no complaints with Gander... but then I've only bought one gun from them. A Beretta 1934 .380 ACP made in 1941 (yes a WWII Italian Army pistol) for $250. Works perfect and was cheaper than a Bersa.

It's a real good companion to my National Postal Meter M1 Carbine I paid $340 for about 5 years ago.) I can visualize a GI with his M1 Carbine and Italian 1934 battlefield pickup.

Deaf

[bt380]

My Bersa Thunder Dou-Tone 380 had a few jamming issues as well. I ordered a new recoil spring and bought a new Bersa mag. That took care of most of the issues. I had the last round failure as well. I ordered two new mag springs. One to replace the new gun mag spring and another one to replace the newly purchased mag spring. That took care of my firing issues. You are right in the quality control failures. For what you pay for these things, failures should not exist. The 380CC had a lot of bad press so I went w/ the duo tone. I preferred the P238 but didn't like the safety. I went w/ the Bersa because of the decocker/safety. It is now reliable but I only have a few hundred rounds. Until I get me a thousand error free rounds, I will be untrusting of this as a full magazine protection peace.

[arch308]

I've got a Thunder .380 & 45. So far no problems. Sorry to hear about yours. Even Kimber makes a lemon once in a while.

[lee n. field]

Anyway I wouldn't advise sending it to Gander Mountain in the first place, http://www.reynersons.com/ is a Bersa warranty center and has a pretty good reputation for doing things right.

Gander Mountain is specifically mentioned on Bersa's site as able to do warranty work. http://www.bersa.com/warranty. Interesting. I did not realize that.

[buffalo]

I have a Thunder Plus .380 and have had 0 issues with close to 1k rounds through it,i personally think Bersa's are great but can understand why the OP would consider them junk after his ordeal.

[buckeyedave]

Hundreds of rounds thru my BT380 with no problems at all. Mine is pushing 4 years old. I wonder if the newer models have that problem.

[qwiksdraw]

You should complain on www.bersa.com as well.

Complain at your own risk. You will be dog-piled upon mercillessly by a horde of bersafanboys.

That's hardly a fair statement. If you enter a forum asking for help, you'll get it it. If you go in looking for a fight, you'll get that too.

My experience in the Bersa forums has been to find a bunch of enthusiasts who will offer suggestions and help. Another good forum to get input is
http://www.bersachat.com/forums/forum.php

[Muskamoot]

Take it back to Gander mountain and trade it in on something else.Clean it up and as far as they know it's fine.

[mumblyj0e]

I didn't buy it at gander mountain, just took it there for warranty repair because they're closest and I didn't want to have to shell out $80 for UPS to overnight it to one of the other warranty repair places. If it wasn't for that- UPS forcing individuals without an FFL to overnight handguns- this wouldn't be anywhere near the issue that it is.

[mumblyj0e]

I thought about trying to trade it in but at this point it would take a pretty daft salesperson to miss the 2 inch gouge on the reciever that the slide has torn out of it.

[s4s4u]

bersafanboys

Would they be kin to taurusfanboys? Sounds like a familiar theme.

[bustersmaster]

GM only pays pennies on the dollar for good trade-ins. Sorry about your problem. I do have a Bersa in 22lr. So far, so good, but with the ammo shortage, it doesn't get a lot of use lately.

[Shane Tuttle]

Let's knock off the bashfest and stick to the OP's questions at hand.