I've had mine since 2003, and it's on my hip right now. The bluing is gone, I've repainted the sights numerous times. But, I keep it clean, and greased, and it works well. I've broken 2 of the frame pins, they sent me new ones. I've broken 1 ejector. Broken a couple slide stops, but found out that it was due to the follower in an aftermarket mag. I broke a firing pin, this was kinda funny. Was at my parents house, and I was going to show the gun to my mom. So, I unloaded it, and closed the slide briskly on an empty chamber. Front half of the firing pin fell out thru the barrel. They sent me another one, which was manufactured a lot better than the original one. I've probably put close to 4000 rounds thru this gun, most of it within 2 years of buying it. The frame to slide gap has gotten bigger as the aluminum has worn, but it still goes bang every time.
I paid $250 for mine, new, which may have been a little expensive in 2003, but, well, NY "price of doing business" and all. I have a duracoat kit to eventually redo the slide. Just need to find a couple other things to do at the same time, the kit is way more than I need for just the slide. Maybe I'll do the frame, too.