I've lived in MI since 1991, and have bought pistols since 1994. Here's been my experience before the CCW law:
Wixom: Deal with jackass civilian at the local PD, and hope he doesn't call your wife and ask if she knows that you are buying a gun. Then listen to his "I'd rather have a ball-bat to take care of burglars" tome. Fill out aforementioned stupidity test. Come back in five *business* days. Watch said Jackass do a 30 second LEIN search, and upon passing, he fingerprints you. You walk out of the cop shop with your purchase permit and have 2 days to return with your new gun. When you do, they Safety Inspect the serial number and take down cal., capacity, and bbl. length. Then they send you home with your new gun, and tell you your registration card will be coming in the mail. Of the 4 guns I bought while living in Wixom, the shortest wait for the card was 3-1/2 weeks. The longest was almost 5. That's a defacto 1-month waiting period because they know you can't take the gun anywhere without the card. Jerks.
Southfield: Walk in, pay $5, take test, get treated respectfully but "we're going to be doing a cavity search with a Malice Green Edition Mag-Light because we don't want Southfield to become the next Detroit", come back in two days to collect permit. You have 4 days to return with your new gun, and they print you while running the numbers on the gun. Not a bad experience in all.
Roseville: Walk in, get treated Nicely. Fill out the Stoopid test, come pick up the permit in a few days. Bring the gun back for a fingerprint-free registration in 10 days.
Got CCW. Took the class, sent in the money, went to the sherrif's office, got treated with respect, appeared at the courthouse 93 days later, walked out legal to carry.
Roseville with a CCW: Walk into gun shop. Buy whatever gives you wood. Take it to the cop shop. Get treated with respect. Stick it in your pocket after they register it. Walk out a happier man.
Hope that helped. As you can see, it really varies from city to city. As far as I know, Michigan had a 5 day waiting period even before the Brady Law mandated it. Enforcement of the 5 day period was hit and miss even before 1994 though.
Dave