My friend has a Commander for sale that he got free from his aunte.  The pistol had been sitting in her basement wrapped up in a towel.  The finish is fair to good.  The bore is bright and shiney.  We took it out to the range and it was kicking shells up in are faces.  He took it to a pistol smith and he fixed the extracter.  He has since then taken it to some guy at a gun show that is suposed to be a wiz with the 1911.  The man did a trigger job and some other things.  He had some problems with the guys work and had to take back to him.  The man made the trigger heavier.  He took it out shooting again he had several failures to feed.  So he wants to get rid of it.  The gun was made in the 60's.  He wants 250.00 that is what he has in it.  He also has 3 clips and a holster.  Is this gun worth this.  The guy who did the work on it said the commanders are pront to problems.  What do you guys think?

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Besides at $250 I think your pulling our legs.

And your freind was told BS about problems with the comanders!!!
Officers yes; Comanders NO!!!

So are you BS'ing us???

On the surface, the price seems like a steal, but I'd be concerned about what mods the gunshow gunsmith actually did.  I've seen several completely messed up 1911's where a garage gunsmith went to work with a dremel tool.

Also keep in mind that even if the gunsmith's mods are reversible and the problems can be fixed, you are likely to put in an extra $200-$300 in the process.  Granted that might only take you to $550 for a good gun, but the work will take time and the results will depend, in part, on the ability of your gunsmith.  If you choose to send it away to one of the higher end places, the cost could be higher.

FWIW, I've been down that road where I picked up someone else's "project" and it cost me far more money than I wanted to spend to get it to function reliably.  I had thought, that the expensive mods had been done and it had an excellent trigger so all I'd have to do is change out the MSH and grip safety.  Unfortunately, it was a jam-master and the fix was not inexpensive.  After a few hundred dollars, the gun runs perfectly and can chamber a spent shell casing.  In the end it worked out well, but had I known at the outset what I was in for, I never would've bought the gun.

Commanders usually weren't a problem.

I'm ALWAYS in for a challenge.  If your friend has to get rid of it and you don't want it, just IM me.  

As stated, it's hard to say what any individual did on the innards.  It might take a few parts replacements and tunings to get things back to a proper working state.  Unless you can examine it by yourself and know what to look for it's hard ot tell what it may need.

I'm pissed.  I talked to my pal today and he sold it to a guy at his work.  I told him earlier this week I wanted it but I did not have the funds.  He told me he did not want to sale it to me because of the problems he was having with it.  We have been friends since middle school.  I told him I did not care I have been wanting a 1911 for a while.  This would fit my budget even if I had to put a coule hundred in it to me it is still worth it.  To make a long story short the wife gave me to ok to take money out of savings to buy it.  So I was looking foward to getting it.  He finaly returned my phone call this afternoon and told me it was sold.  I got mad at first because I told him I wanted it.  He kept saying he would not feel right, ripping off a friend.  I told him I knew what I was getting into and I can make up my own mind.  I kind of understand his point, but hell that was a sweet deal.
This is no bull shit.
Looks like I'm going to have to save up and buy new.  Help me make my mind up.  I want a single stack govt model.  Should I go with Para, Colt, Kimber, Springfield, S&W.  I don't care about all the bells and whistles. I just want goos sights and a reliable and accurate gun

I guess it's all about if you want to buy a complete finished gun and never touch it (add or swap out parts) or if you want to get something that you can shoot and then buy other parts for it as you see fit.

If you want to get something to shoot soon and add as you go, you may want to look at a SA 1911 GI .45.  Most get a hankering that they will want to replace the sights on them but it's a shooter  from the word go.  

Sorry to hear your friend off-loaded it on ya.

Bummer.

Quoted: I guess it's all about if you want to buy a complete finished gun and never touch it (add or swap out parts) or if you want to get something that you can shoot and then buy other parts for it as you see fit.

I agree with that.  Honestly, missing the Commander is probably for the best especially since you say you want a single stack Government Model.  Instead of hopping on something that was not in the configuration you ultimately wanted, you now get a chance to really explore your options and get what fits your preference.  I know you said you don't care about all those bells and whistles, but 1911's are like Harley's in the sense that you almost never see a commercial 1911 in its bare bones stock configuration.  You likely will want certain mods.  As was stated, sights are one of the things that people frequently swap out on handguns.

Of the brands you mentioned (Para, Colt, Kimber, Springfield, and S&W), I'd only cut out Para as a reliable gun and that has more to do with the mags than anything else.  If you stick with 1911's from Colt, Kimber, Springfield, and S&W, I'm sure you'll do okay.  I haven't really shopped the prices, but I seem to recall Springfield's GI model as being a very affordable, good quality 1911.  However, before you race out and buy one take a look at what else is out there.  Certain people will not shoot a 1911 without a beavertail grip safety.  Others insist on a flat Main Spring Housing.  Still others want one that is arched.  Some who intend to carry their 1911's want the grip bobbed.  Take your time and really think through what you want.  If you rely on the preferences of others, you'll end up with a gun that will suit others but may not suit you.

I paid $399 for my new springer GI a few months back.   It's well over 1500 rounds of everything including wolf without a single hiccup of any sort.   It's my 2nd favorite 1911 and it'll stay bone stock.