Yes, I have heard of it occuring. Thankfully, not very often.

Call Beretta and talk with them about it...very nicely. :wink:

 

Yes, I have heard of it occuring. Thankfully, not very often.

Call Beretta and talk with them about it...very nicely. :wink:

This is very good advice! Give Beretta a chance to do the right thing. I am guessing they will.

 

You have to call Beretta and have then look at it.

 

Spoke real real nice, sent it in and "neila" who does not return the 1st phone call for weeks , then when she finally does, said out of warranty, nothing they would do. Sad thing is, I wanted to switch to an O/U and my first thought was a beretta.
So they passed up helping me on a couple hundred dollar barrel and change the way a man might think about the next gun he buys and from whom.
I suppose you get what you pay for,,, every gun is good until it breaks and the charachter of the manufacturer is tested.
One thing I did learn from Seamus article on endcap, is that they manufactured it poorly, so although you clean and oil it, if you don't completely dissasemble it once every now and again, you could have the same fate.
Hope this helps someone from the experience I've had.

 

Spoke real real nice, sent it in and "neila" who does not return the 1st phone call for weeks , then when she finally does, said out of warranty, nothing they would do. Sad thing is, I wanted to switch to an O/U and my first thought was a beretta.
So they passed up helping me on a couple hundred dollar barrel and change the way a man might think about the next gun he buys and from whom.
I suppose you get what you pay for,,, every gun is good until it breaks and the charachter of the manufacturer is tested.
One thing I did learn from Seamus article on endcap, is that they manufactured it poorly, so although you clean and oil it, if you don't completely dissasemble it once every now and again, you could have the same fate.
Hope this helps someone from the experience I've had.

Spoke real real nice, sent it in and "neila" who does not return the 1st phone call for weeks , then when she finally does, said out of warranty, nothing they would do. Sad thing is, I wanted to switch to an O/U and my first thought was a beretta.
So they passed up helping me on a couple hundred dollar barrel and change the way a man might think about the next gun he buys and from whom.
I suppose you get what you pay for,,, every gun is good until it breaks and the charachter of the manufacturer is tested.
One thing I did learn from Seamus article on endcap, is that they manufactured it poorly, so although you clean and oil it, if you don't completely dissasemble it once every now and again, you could have the same fate.
Hope this helps someone from the experience I've had.

It's always good to check the quality of a weapon your purchasing through trusted sources such as reviewers you find creditable. Neila Is simply a phone worker nothing more and you can't expect them to help you if your warranty is void,they have no obligation moral or legal. They may have a moral obligation for a mass recall/refund if a design flaw is present, but in the case of the individual you are not special to any very successful consumer based company, and should know this. If you want mom and pop hospitality don't go to walmart.

 

Awfully whiney for a problem with a 4 year old gun.

Would you expect your car to be fixed for free once it's out of warranty? Of course not.

 

Hell yes, i would expect them to do something about it. 4 year old barrel, so what :!:
They are supposed to last a lot longer then that.

Go ahead and whine about it if thats what you wanna call it.

 

drsfmd,

Do you propose that sarcasm can pass for intellect? If so, you must be one of the smartest guys in the world.

525 informed us of a serious problem he has with his Beretta. What was your contribution to the discussion?

"Awfully whiny for a problem with a 4 year old gun. "

Whiny? Hell, he should be pissed off big time. If one of your treasured Beretta's wore out after 4 years of normal use, you'd blow a gasket. Now this poor guy's got a busted gun from a manufacturer who won't stand behind its products and all you have to offer is sarcasm and flippancy? Would you have *****-slapped him this way if he was one of your gun shop's customers?

Here's another useful observation from you:

"Would you expect your car to be fixed for free once it's out of warranty? Of course not."

We're not talking cars here, we're talking shotguns. Besides, most cars nowadays come with 5-year, 100K mile warranties.

Any gun manufacturer worth its salt should stand behind their products and work hard to protect its reputation. In this case, Beretta made a stupid decision (IMHO) and allowed a defective workmanship/design problem piss of a customer and get broadcast around the world via forums like this one. Not a good call on their part.

I know you've read my recent experience with my Weatherby Athena on other threads, so I'll keep it short.

Gun purchased used in early 90's. Stopped firing. Sent back to Weatherby. Broken hammer. Replaced. No charge.

This is how Beretta should have treated 525.

My advice to 525, keep whining your butt off. Take your complaints all the way up the line to Beretta's president, if that's what it takes. It's your gun,your money, but their reputation.. Good luck!

 

A warranty is the expressed period in which a manufacturer will fix a problem at no charge to the consumer. This was beyond the warranty. Beretta will certainly fix his barrel if it's fixable, or sell him a replacement... but that's not what he wants. He wants it for free, and that's not the way the world works.

My car analogy is perfect, it's just not convenient for you to acknowledge that, so you bash it.

 

A warranty is the expressed period in which a manufacturer will fix a problem at no charge to the consumer. This was beyond the warranty. Beretta will certainly fix his barrel if it's fixable, or sell him a replacement... but that's not what he wants. He wants it for free, and that's not the way the world works.

My car analogy is perfect, it's just not convenient for you to acknowledge that, so you bash it.

I never said I wanted it free and mentioned the same in the PM sent to you. Not sure why you feel the need to attack?
If you read the entire post, clearly it was sent on the recommendation of fellow posters. It ws also sent with berettas knowledge it was out of warranty, yet they said send it anyway. Plz stick to the point!
I noticed it was mentioned you have gun shops? Perhaps your relationship is better for just that reason, or perhaps you sell this brand and do not want negative publicity.
Warranty is the guarantee of said repair / replacement, but beyond that shows the charachter of the company. If indeed you own gun shops, I can only imagine the service is poor as well
Either way, please stop attacking,,, which is what you are doing when you offer no help and make up things like he wants it for free.

 

Failure to maintain the forend cap is not really the cause of the cylinder separation - the underlying cause is a poor solder joint. However, the risk of the faulty joint actually failing could be reduced by careful maintenance of the forend cap. Some might fail even with careful maintenance, and many will hold properly with no maintenance, but good maintenance will reduce the risk.

IMHO, Beretta may not have any obligation to replace the barrel, but if they would do things like that in the interest of customer service, they would make more money in the long run by having a better reputation.

 

Failure to maintain the forend cap is not really the [b]cause[/b] of the cylinder separation - the underlying cause is a poor solder joint. However, the risk of the faulty joint actually failing could be reduced by careful maintenance of the forend cap. Some might fail even with careful maintenance, and many will hold properly with no maintenance, but good maintenance will reduce the risk.

IMHO, Beretta may not have any obligation to replace the barrel, but if they would do things like that in the interest of customer service, they would make more money in the long run by having a better reputation.

I wish I had you on the phone as I pleaded with them, and then was made to feel as though it was my fault an politely told nothing we can do! Warranty or not, a weld should not come apart, on a gun with minimal use(1000 rounds) after a couple years and then sat in a closet as I was disgusted with the sitiuation
Thank you for all the great info Seamus

 

My old eyes must be playing tricks on me? I see a barrel crack, not a cylinder separation.

 

Some Beretta shooters have had this very same issue. I agree with Seamus' evaluation of the true problem...and handling customer service with a long-term perspective.
I will add...
IMO, a further contributing problem is over tightening the forend cap prior to shooting. A hot barrel expands a little and a poorly operating (or plain seized up) forend cap doesn't help matters.

 

I would write Beretta a letter. I think they have a potential product liability issue if the barrel should fail. In that case the gun would be inspected by experts and the estimated amount of use would be determined. If the use is reasonable for the age of the gun then they would have a problem, assuming someone was injured. In this day of extreme litigation most manufacturers try to get defective product off the street. Remember, there is no statute of limitations on product liability in this country.

 

I'd want to inspect that area under high magnification and possibly magnaflux if there was a question of crack depth.
Just wondering if you noticed it showing through to the interior? Not likely, but I'm curious.

I've seen and correct plenty of defects, but that one is not the usual unusual problem.

If nothing happens at the conclusion of factory-directed rants, let me know.

Kirby

 

Stress riser, (concentrator), right at the end of the mounting foot!

Something that should not be happening here, (or else all barrels should do the same thing!)

Excess stress with this particular gun, (for whatever reason), or out of spec barrel material or deffect.

In any case, Beretta would be smart if they asked for it to be sent in for inspection!

 

I never said I wanted it free and mentioned the same in the PM sent to you.

First, your PM came long after that post.

Secondly, *THIS* statement sure sounds like trying to get it for free to me:

suggestion on how to get beretta to replace it.

I agree wholeheartedly that this SHOULDN'T happen, but it did, and the way to deal with it is to get out the credit card, and call Beretta (actually, Brownell's, who is the official agent for Beretta parts) and drop $500 on a new barrel. You can start at this link: http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=0/si ... ika_Teknys

 

I strongly disagree with "your perspective "on the way to handle it drsfmd!
However, thats what this board is about, opinions and helping others.
Interesting how most who have replied, have been more than kind, supportive and understanding and offer supportive suggestions instead of an undertone of anger towards my situation.
To all others, thank you, and the answer is yes, it was a crack as the thread is titled and I inadvertantly mentioned lug seperation somewhere in the thread because Beretta told me it was due to the end cap being froze that it cracked. which when I searched Seamus post it showed a lug seperation. And yes, it went all the way thru. And it was used by my wife with normal to light loads and very little at that.
I think the frustration is this gun /barrel, should last much longer given the light use, and regardless of the short warranty, a defect is a defect and you would expect to be treated better by a reputable company.
However, none of knows how good a company is until you have a problem and although I have been a big beretta fan, as is obvious of drsfmd, I wouldn't wish the same fate on him or anyone else.
So the sole purpose of this post was to get help, and know to inform, not debate with gunshop owners.
Marketing is a great thing for companys, beretta has alot of money to market, and loyal customers(who may not have had to deal with cust. service). I can tell you this, you should NEVER leave a message, then 7 days later leave another and have 7 more pass before finally caling again to get someone to answer!!!
I called Caesar Guerini yesterday as was recommended, and they are sending a cut down stock to a local dealer, for my wife to try an O/U
Now thats customer service!!!
UPDATE- Been a month and Caesar never returned call, so I suspect they will not send cut down as woman said she would. So, I guess customer service for all, is just not what it used to be.Thanks for the heads up on ruger customer service too from friendly poster.

 

I strongly disagree with "your perspective "on the way to handle it drsfmd!

It's my way, or ask for a free one after your warranty has expired... and you've already said that's not what you are seeking.

Don't get me wrong, Beretta customer service sucks, and the warranty isn't great either, but you accepted the terms of that warranty when you bought the gun...

EDIT: The OP sent me a PM saying that I'm a sad and angry person. Apparently showing him how he's wrong in seeking free post warranty work makes me sad and angry. :lol: :lol:

 

plz remove

 

Hell of a way for a company to treat customers, especially when both of these certainly appear to be manufacturing, material or design defects in the first place!

Warranty, or no!

 

My faith in Beretta has been sagging for a while now but seeing things like this makes me want to write them off totally which stinks since they fit me better than any other off the shelf but they screwed me over on a 1.5' to the left shooting Xtrema stating it "meets spec." every time I sent it back and to see they continue to have little respect for the customer once the deal is done... I am done with them. I just was thinking about a new 687 but it will now be a Zoli or Browning most likely.

Kurt

 

I would give them another chance to make it right. It sounds as though your only communication has been one phone conversation with a customer service lady. There is no way that she could determine misuse or abuse over the phone. It might be reasonable for you to ship them the barrel and have them talk to you after they have inspected the defect. At that time I would think (if they don't offer to replace it), that they should at least offer to replace it at cost.

 

I would do what Highrib wrote, give them a chance to inspect the barrel.

 

Spoke real real nice, sent it in and "neila" who does not return the 1st phone call for weeks , then when she finally does, said out of warranty, nothing they would do.

I'm not getting this-- it reads to me that the barrel WAS sent to Beretta and that this is crack, not a brazing separation.