the basic saiga framework is of higher quality than anything built in romania. it IS russian, afterall.

the barrel is good, the receiver stamping is good, the bolt, carrier, gas piston, gas tube, etc. are top quality.

the big question is 'who' did the pistol grip conversion and to what level of workmanship?

hesse conversions range from functional to horrible. if you are buying a hesse, demand a 3-day inspection privilage with the right to test fire the rifle and return it if it is junk.

look for the straight installation of the muzzle brake (ignore the ugly welds...that's just cosmetic) and a correct feed ramp and installtion of the feed ramp. a piece of pipe or such, used as a feed ramp, is a tip off to either a home-built conversion or a hesse.

ak-usa and marc krebs conversions are much better...and correspondinly more costly, $450-850 used.

the short of it? not a thing wrong with a saiga ak. purists avoid the saiga receiver because it lacks the magwell dimples. other that that, it's as russian as they come.