Walther PPK price check.

[dahermit]

I came across a used stainless steel Walther PPK (not PPK(S)) in a local gun store today. The listed price was $489.00 (plus taxes).

Is that a reasonable price for the gun?

[jar]

Maybe. Who made it? What condition is it in?

[Ibmikey]

Many of the stainless Interarms pistols had serious functioning problems make sure they guarantee it is a reliablE shooter. Price is not unreasonable for excellent condition , reliable functioning shooter with two mags.

[dahermit]

Originally Posted by jar

Maybe. Who made it? What condition is it in?

"Walther" is on the slide. It appears to be in excellent condition.

[Ibmikey]

Walther did not make it if it is stainless steel, either Interarms or S&W under license from Walther and in both cases I would want to be sure it functioned properly.

[dahermit]

Originally Posted by Ibmikey

Walther did not make it if it is stainless steel, either Interarms or S&W under license from Walther and in both cases I would want to be sure it functioned properly.

Or I could just buy it and if it did not function properly, I could fix it. When some auto does not function properly, it is not magic...a malfunction has a mechanical cause.

In any event, I do not think the store has anywhere where a person can fire their guns and I have no reason to believe they would allow me to do it anyway...of all the used guns I have bought, not one store provided me the opportunity to fire the weapon.

[1MoreFord]

Originally Posted by dahermit

Or I could just buy it and if it did not function properly, I could fix it. When some auto does not function properly, it is not magic...a malfunction has a mechanical cause.

In any event, I do not think the store has anywhere where a person can fire their guns and I have no reason to believe they would allow me to do it anyway...of all the used guns I have bought, not one store provided me the opportunity to fire the weapon.

IMO you're being an optimist in the first paragraph and a pessimist in the second paragraph but it's your money.

Edit, one more time. There are 1911's found in the wild that look OK to those who do not know 1911's, and maybe to some who do, that have been Bubba'd to where they would cost more to fix than buying a new 1911. Are you sure this PPK is not of the same ilk? Ask for a money back guaranty and walk if you don't get one. Just my $0.02

[JDBerg]

If the model you’re looking at is an S&W PPK it will have a smooth face trigger. and a smooth transition where the feed ramp meets the fixed barrel. These things were subject to recall for a long time. When you decocked the gun with a chambered round, some of these were notorious for going off, due to a defective firing pin block. Apparently the ones that were fixed were stamped with a little punch mark right on the inside of the beavertail.

Of course if somebody talks you out of one of these and into a Sig P232 which is similar looking but which doesn’t go bang when you decock it with a chambered round, you might be better off anyway!

[dahermit]

IMO you're being an optimist in the first paragraph and a pessimist in the second paragraph but it's your money.

non sequitur

Edit, one more time. There are 1911's found in the wild that look OK to those who do not know 1911's, and maybe to some who do, that have been Bubba'd to where they would cost more to fix than buying a new 1911. Are you sure this PPK is not of the same ilk? Ask for a money back guaranty and walk if you don't get one. Just my $0.02

You must visit very different gun stores than I do. Asking to function test (fire the gun on site), asking for a money back guaranty, etc., would likely be the impetus for the clerks in my area gun stores telling me that, "...take it or leave it...if you don't buy it (at the listed price), someone else will."

Nevertheless, I am going to pass on that PPK inasmuch as it is not exactly the nostalgic Bond PPK (stainless steel, some changes in the firing pin block, etc.), and I would also have to get a mold to cast bullets for it, dies, Dillion conversion unit, etc. Just too much money involved for a purely emotional acquisition...it is not like I have a desire to use it as a carry gun.

[Americanpatriot]

I had an interarms Walther PPK many moons ago. Didn't keep it long and purchased a Sig 230. The Sig is a much better firearm.

[1MoreFord]

Originally Posted by dahermit

non sequitur

You must visit very different gun stores than I do. Asking to function test (fire the gun on site), asking for a money back guaranty, etc., would likely be the impetus for the clerks in my area gun stores telling me that, "...take it or leave it...if you don't buy it (at the listed price), someone else will."

Nevertheless, I am going to pass on that PPK inasmuch as it is not exactly the nostalgic Bond PPK (stainless steel, some changes in the firing pin block, etc.), and I would also have to get a mold to cast bullets for it, dies, Dillion conversion unit, etc. Just too much money involved for a purely emotional acquisition...it is not like I have a desire to use it as a carry gun.

Yeah, apparently I frequent more honest gun stores or am a better negotiator.

Both my father and I have returned guns that upon closer inspection failed to live up to expectations and received either another gun or refund. I've also known several others who have done so.

I've been a purchasing agent for over 30 years and my word has always been my bond. I expect the same from my vendors. If they don't work that way they never get my business again. YMMV!

[dahermit]

Originally Posted by 1MoreFord

Yeah, apparently I frequent more honest gun stores or am a better negotiator.

Both my father and I have returned guns that upon closer inspection failed to live up to expectations and received either another gun or refund. I've also known several others who have done so.

I've been a purchasing agent for over 30 years and my word has always been my bond. I expect the same from my vendors. If they don't work that way they never get my business again. YMMV!

Walther PPK, the saga continues:
I went back to that gun store today to further investigate the stainless PPK. It had the prick-punch mark on the beavertinal indicating that the factory changed-out the firing pin block (or a previous owner wanted it to look so.). It only came with one, non-finger extension magazine. The overall finish was excellent.

When I told the clerk that gun forums did not think that, that PPK (without extra mag and the model history as to functionality was troublesome), and that I wanted to know if he would negotiate the price, he said, "Just how much do you want to spend?" To which I said, "I don't want to spend anything...I just want to know your rock-bottom price." At that point, he went to the computer with the gun and spent about ten minutes researching. He returned and said, "The lowest selling price for this gun on the internet is $508.00, so I will not go lower than the $489.00 as marked. I can sell it on the internet for more than that."

At that point I asked him, "If I buy the gun and it does not function correctly, can I bring it back?" (I already knew the answer to that question.) To which he replied, "There is no returns on guns." I already knew that inasmuch as a new gun returned is a "used" gun, and a used gun returned could have damage done to it by the person who bought it. In short, other than a mom and pop place that sells a lot of guns to a particular customer, tales of being able to "return a gun" are like a fairy tales no matter how adament the teller...or was confused with some other transaction: "How much you be want'in for them thar chickens?"

So, I told him I was not interested and told him he may as well sell it on the internet.

So, if anyone else is interested it is as of today, still sitting on the shelf at the Gander Outdoor Store in Coldwater, MI. Go try your "negotiation skills".

[stinkeypete]

Off topic but the Bersa Thunder is nearly the same thing but a much better shooter. I've had both the Walther and the Bersa- I sold both. 15 years later I bought back a brand new Bersa Thunder for about $285 at Cabelas. It's got a much better trigger and sights.

If you want to own a Walther, go for a real German one. Just my opinion. Even so, the Bersa outshoots it.

[T. O'Heir]

It's "reasonable" if you think it's reasonable. Prices vary from place to place according to supply and demand.
Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore is listing a used Walther SS PPK at $499.99. They go way up from there on Gunbroker.
Walther wants $42 for a PPK mag. Aftermarket mags are $10 to $20 less.

[dahermit]

Originally Posted by stinkeypete

Off topic but the Bersa Thunder is nearly the same thing but a much better shooter. I've had both the Walther and the Bersa- I sold both. 15 years later I bought back a brand new Bersa Thunder for about $285 at Cabelas. It's got a much better trigger and sights.

If you want to own a Walther, go for a real German one. Just my opinion. Even so, the Bersa outshoots it.

I am really not interested in geting a .380 to get a .380 shooter...it was more of an interest in getting, examining, shooting (but NOT carrying it.). To be honest, it is/was more of a 007 thing.

I did have an interesting .380 many years ago, in the sixties. It was a Beretta M1932. I really liked the looks of that gun however, the first time I shot it at a tree about 10 ft. away, I thought that the bullet strikes were entering the bark in a way that I could not detect them. That was until I saw some bark chip-off at where the tree met the earth. I took the gun into some sand dunes and confirmed that the gun was so inaccurate that the bullets seem only to be going in a general direction of where the bun was pointing.

That Beretta 1932 was an odd design also. It was a single action only...no double action for the first shot, but if I remember correctly (someone correct me if I am wrong), it had a hammer drop instead of a safety, so that one had to either cock the hammer with a round in the chamber, or rack the slide to chamber a round before it could be shot...a seemingly very unsophisticated design. Nevertheless, the gun was a "looker" (the design).

If I had wanted a .380 to shoot, when I saw the PPK, there was a Ruger .380 next to the PPK for $137.00. For those so inclined, there was also a Colt .32 Auto on the other side of the PPK.

[1MoreFord]

dahermit, I see your problem. You're confusing Gander Mountain with a gun shop. Bass Pro is not a gun shop either.

[wild cat mccane]

The P99 was always a better 007 thing anyways.

[JDBerg]

Originally Posted by dahermit:

...Gander Outdoor Store in Coldwater, MI...

I think the Gander Mountain stores that they didn’t close down altogether were rebranded as Gander Outdoor. You might be better off walking away from that deal anyway.

[blchandl2]

If you can find an Astra Constable II they are good shooters. Looks of the PPK, 1/2 the price and good shooters. I have both and prefer the Astra. It was my first carry gun.

[dahermit]

Originally Posted by blchandl2

If you can find an Astra Constable II they are good shooters. Looks of the PPK, 1/2 the price and good shooters. I have both and prefer the Astra. It was my first carry gun.

I am not interested in anything but a Walther PPK. I am not looking for a "good shooter".

[dahermit]

Originally Posted by JDBerg

I think the Gander Mountain stores that they didn’t close down altogether were rebranded as Gander Outdoor. You might be better off walking away from that deal anyway.

Yup...walked away.

[cocojo]

You should have purchased the gun. If it has a punch mark on beavertail its made by S&W, which are very reliable. Price was about right. That gun will be gone asap. By the way Walther has a lifetime guarantee on their pistols. I had a problem with a PPK and they sent me a brand new PPK. An original PPK German gun is about $2000.00 dollars. Importation was stopped on the German PPK in 1968. Hence the PPK/s which is not to my liking. Nothing wrong with wanting the PPK over the PPK/s model. $489.00 was not a bad price for that pistol even though it had one magazine. CDNN has magazines for PPK but look it up under MecGar Mags. MecGar made Walther's magazines for them. I own a German PPK/s, an Interarms PPK in 32 and two S&W PPK 380 pistols. I don't care for the long grip tang, so I redesigned the grip tang to original spec and my stainless PPK looks amazing and shoots a whole lot better. By the way if that PPK was in 32 acp you better run back and buy it. They are at a premium in 32 acp and 489.00 would have been a gift. The new Walther PPK/s are selling for about $700.00 dollars, depending on where you purchase the pistol.

[HisSoldier]

Walther did not make it if it is stainless steel,

Walther USA is making new 100% Walthers in stainless now I believe. I want one, but my bride says I have way too many guns already. I already have a S&W PPKs and a Ranger PPK, so maybe she has a point.

[highpower3006]

I want one, but my bride says I have way too many guns already.

No such thing as too many guns. Just not enough space for all those you want.

[dahermit]

Originally Posted by HisSoldier

Walther USA is making new 100% Walthers in stainless now I believe. I want one, but my bride says I have way too many guns already. I already have a S&W PPKs and a Ranger PPK, so maybe she has a point.

You don't have too many guns...you have too many brides. MY bride of many years has always told me in regard to buying a new gun, "If you can afford it, buy it."