Not writing this thread to complain about smith & wesson or anything, I am happy in the end but it could have went either way. Just wanted to share my experience. I ordered a used m&p40c from budsguns and everything looked ok when I picked it up from the FFL, the condition looked excellent but i didn't remove the slide and really inspect it like I probably should have. So i get home and upon cleaning it I notice the crack, its identical to the crack that hickok45 shows in his m&p40c review video. I guess its happened to a few guys, here is a pic of another m&p but its the same crack that mine had.

I called s&w to see what theyd say and gave them my info, they said send it in. They didn't ask if I was the original owner, they didn't verify my warranty. I wasn't thinking about the warranty either, I guess i figured they covered the gun for life like high point, sccy, keltec, springfield, many others do. They sent me the shipping label and I dropped it off at fedex, A month goes by and I get a letter saying they want something like $220 to replace the slide. I called and asked why it wasn't covered and they said because I wasn't the original owner, and the gun had been sent in before by the previous owner for a different reason. Since the gun would still function and I didn't want to invest more into it, I asked if theyd just return it. They tell me its $45 for return shipping. I didn't want to pay it, so I told them I wasn't going to. Another month goes by, with me calling about once a week asking for my gun back and getting the same response. Then one day I get a call saying they are returning my gun. I said great thanks, I was happy just to get it back. A few weeks later I got the tracking info, and the gun showed up a couple days later with a new slide. I'm very happy to have it back, they didnt have to replace the slide, I would have been happy just to not have to pay the $45 to get it back. Although I feel they should have a transferable warranty or at least cover obvious defects in the product or materials, I understand that they did not have to do it. Maybe it was a liability for them to return it cracked, or they had already done the work. I'm not sure, but I will be sure to verify my warranty is valid before I send something in next time, and I hope S&W starts checking the warranty before they take in warranty returns too. Overall I am a happy s&w customer, who will buy more of their products in the future.

I'm glad you're happy, but that sounds like piss poor customer service to me.

Sweet! Did they just replace the slide or was it the whole thing? Barrel, spring, etc?

dealing with customer service was pretty bad, depending on who you got on the other end. but they finally got it right.

as far as what they replaced, that was another weird issue. they sent me a work order that had a list of parts and repairs that they would check off the parts used or repairs done, and the entire sheet was blank\unmarked, so i have no idea what all they did. the frame is mine, same serial#, but the slide and barrel are new. not sure about the springs\extractor\striker or the sights, although the sights i think are new as well. the original letter i got where they wanted $220 for a new slide stated that they would replace the slide and install all the interals and sights from my old slide onto the new one, but that doesnt appear to be what they did, the barrel is definitely new.

Years back my 3rd owner 25yr 669 old cracked on the rails on lower. Sent it in,called me a month later,no parts available to fix it.
So they replaced it with a MP,I chose a full size.No charge.
Glad it worked out for you,Smith&Wesson usually comes through

years ago, S&W had excellent customer service.

....now they act like fucking AT&T employees.  


seeing way too many threads like this

Glad it's back and repaired. I have within the last couple months read a couple threads between here and SW Forum that they have stood the test and have been doing a fantastic job on Warranty.
Who knows in your case but, I suspect the rep you were talking to was following protocol. I would imagine they get hammered with bullshit stories daily, like most gun manufacturers.
I recently went through a similar incident with a internally cracked receiver on a Super Black Eagle II that I have owned since new. These days I guess they have to use sharp discretion and weed through the dirtbags as warranty will kill the bottom line of any company.
Again, congrats.

Yea, I'm sure they get a lot of people trying to take advantage of the warranty. Had my gun had a lot of wear or use I wouldn't have been surprised that they denied the warranty. The cracked slides tho, looks like a quality issue they should be covering, it seems to be easy to find cases of it happening online. I even watched the hickok45 video before I ordered mine and thought how rare thats gota be, then I get the same thing. Hickok also states in his video that he isnt the original owner, and they replaced his slide. I guess the whole original owner thing really means first person who sends the gun in. The main thing that bothered me is that they could've told me upfront that I wasn't covered by the warranty, and they could have told me they might want money to return it. Had I known that I never would have sent it. One rep I spoke to even told me that if I didn't pay the $45 they would eventually send the gun to the ATF because it would be unclaimed. I am glad I was patient and waited.

It is a scarey thought to think that the ATF might have a wharehouse full of unclaimed guns.  With our governments track record I can imagine all kinds of weird scenarios.

I think this is a little unfair to point the blame at S&W and in fact should be applauded for going above and beyond after being strong armed...  While it could be a quality issue with the slide; I think since it was used blame should solely rest on the vendor selling the firearm and the purchaser.

I think S&W should of denied any warranty service and required any work to be paid for.  As there warranty clearly says on their website, the warranty is only for the original owner.

1. Lifetime Service Policy
We will repair any defect in material or workmanship without charge to the original purchaser for as long as you own the handgun.

Technically their warranty policy relieves them of obligation to repair the pistol but I do agree that they should have been able to give you a rough idea of the costs you may encounter. $45 for shipping a pistol seems steep.  I think it was $20 to ship the last pistol I got a couple months ago. And $220 to replace a slide that appears to have a manufacturer quality control issue? I'd think a discount might not be unreasonable. $265 is a lot to add to whatever you paid when the price of a new one isn't much more. Glad they took care of you.

Yeah I agree shipping seems steep, I think the we're trying to charge the OP for both shipping to their facility and back to him.  That's proably due to him not having a warranty with S&W.  

As far as the quality issue it could go either way. It could be S&W issue or it could be the previous owner used some crazy loaded reloads... we will never know. Like was said  S&W probably ended up replacing the slide keep themselves from any liability issues of some one firing a gun with a cracked slide.

Customer service is becoming a lost art - this does not give me warm and fuzzy's toward S&W; although that's not a new feeling. There are 2 examples of the same problem in this thread; I'm betting there are more and it is a manufacturing issue or some such thing. (I know, this is just a suspicion on my part) When there is that kind of problem a manufacturer should make it right regardless of who owns it.

Agree about the quality issue. Speculation on my part simply because of multiple reports of similar issues. This could be unrelated.

I have to admit to being somewhat spoiled by customer service from most places the few times I've needed it. Seemed like it was standard procedure to go above and beyond so it surprises me for a second when I hear stories like the OPs.

I had similar dealings with S&W return/CS/  I bought a E-series 1911 from the LGS.  I askesd if it was new before purchase.  Counter guy said "the S&W rep that goes around to the local shops had been using it as a demo model, but it still qualified as a "NEW GUN"".

Got it home broke it down and cleaned it.  Took it to the range, shot like a dream.  So I started thee complete function checks.  Found the grip safety (main spring) wasn't functioning.  Brought it home cleaned it again and played around with it a bit, but didn't want to void the factory warranty.  Called S&W, they took all my info including the serial #.  Never said a word about it.  Sent me the shipping label, and I sent it off.  About two weeks later I got a call stating that I wasn't the original owner.  I explained to them that it was a dealer demo gun and sold to me "AS NEW".  They said that that was not the case.  The firearm had been registered to the dealer/sales rep from S&W.  Therefore it was considered a used gun and I would have to pay for repairs.  

I told them "thanks but no thanks" mainspring is a pretty simple fix.  I asked for it to be shipped back and I would take care of it.  They said they couldn't do that as it was a safety issue and the company would be held liable fro letting it leave the shop with a non functioning safety device.  I tried to work a deal to pay the difference on a "NEW" gun. They weren't having that either.  There was a few weeks of calling them and just telling them to send it back I wasn't going to pay for something so simple that a rookie gunsmith can do on a 1911.

Eventually they did send my firearm back, with the main spring replaced.  I guess they didn't want ANY chance at a libel suit.

End result was I was happy, but the whole process of dealing with CS was like pulling teeth.  I have dealt with S&W CS on new gun problems (M&P 15-22), they were awesome and quick turn around times.  But the second had thing (which I was unaware of) was brutal.

I did confront the LGS who sold it to me, and got some modicum of relief. Got 5 free boxes of ammo fro my trouble.

I think you and the OP stumbled on their dirty little secret- they don't want the liability of returning a defective pistol, and they likewise don't want the responsibility of storing it at their shop.  So they try to bully you into paying for the fix, and when you refuse -and they get tired of it being on their books- they fix it and return it.

their warranty service used to be the best in the business but they got a lot stingier.   However, I suppose if you have been selling guns for 150 years, you have to draw line somewhere on what you will fix for free.

I bought on of the early M&P 40s which had every issue known to man plus a few others, they replaced the barrel and sent it back it cured nothing. I will probably never buy another S&W after that gun.

Glad you got it back, but yeah I don't get a warms ms fuzzy feeling here either ... I just bought a shield, hope I don't have any problems

Meh. We have @600 m&ps that they can't get right and haven't been able to fix over the last year.   They are trying one more time this fall to fix their QC issues, we shall see.

I personally don't have a lot of faith in a handgun that requires aftermarket (Apex) parts to function at the same level as the competitions out of the box duty weapons.   And the magazine spring/follower issues for the last 7 years.   IMHO if the magazine is not reliable than the weapon is not reliable.

Original owner will be whoever sent in the registration or absent registration, whoever called or sent the gun in for repair first.

The split steel slide is a safety/liability issue to them.  Most likely it was repaired/parts replaced as an assembly before you saw the bill.

Be glad only their frames are numbered.  It all matches.

I would note nothing but the BEST and REASONABLE dealings with their CS.  They do a good job.

Try getting your third owner car with 75,000 miles repaired under a 100,000 mile drive train warranty.  Lotsa luck.

Who you gotta watch out for at S&W is the engineers if they decide they can fix a gun. In several many trips back and forth by FdEx, th only significant part of my BodyGuard .380 not modified or replaced was the plastic handle.

CS saved me from them.  (:>)

Yep I just sent in a revolver and they sent me a bill for $100 to fix it. At least they paid to ship it in to them. I cut them a check and sent it in with their invoice. I'll be happy if I get it back fixed.

Don't ever believe that a revolver is "6 for sure" - they can lock up to where you can't pull the trigger.