Always buy the most expensive gun you can afford

I'll admit I don't often consider resale when I buy a gun. I don't because I don't like selling once I have acquired; guns, tools, and books. That isn't to say I may not sell a few at some point but if I do it'll just be to thin the herd. But I buy specific guns for specific reasons. I have a habit of building what I want so I get exactly what I want, so I get something specific to do that with.

That being said, I look at the purchase of guns and tools the same way. If you're going to use it once then you're going to use it again and you should get the best you can. If you buy a cheap, crappy tool and it breaks the first time you're trying to use it, forcing you to buy another one, by the time you buy the second one you probably could have bought a good one, once. False economy costs you more than getting something higher priced and higher quality to begin with. The lowest bidder usually gets you the lowest quality.

As long as you're careful and educate yourself on the product, you tend to get what you pay for.

I never skimp on tools, workboots, or guns.

That said, there are some things which are just not going to be in the realm of possibility for years. Thats OK. I'm patient, but sometimes a guy has to work with the best he can afford even if its not exactly what he wants.

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Originally Posted by Graves

Well if you don't have the scratch you're going to have to wait a while. I've found not wanting house apes to be very helpful in achieving your goals a little quicker. [Tooth]

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If I understand your coded message it's to late. Kids, house, wife, pets, lot's of hobbies.

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Originally Posted by Wulf202

Well i've literally drug my glock through the dirt and it still worked. I doubt any 1911 could do the same, no matter how much money you throw at it.

This isn't real estate investment for me, it's security. I've never contemplated resale when buying a carry gun. If a reliable gun costs more then its money well spent, but if your multi thousand dollar pistol cant handle minor abuse then it isn't reliable.

You're family members advice seems like the equivalent of saying a jaguar is what you should buy, however a honda will get you to and from just fine.

Guns are tools and if you need protection, you need reliability. If your competing you'd do better with a nicely running race gun. If your broke and need protection then you get the best thing you can afford. Pick the tool for the job.

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Completely agree that picking the tool for the job is important and the amount the buyer can afford is a huge limiting factor, especially if you are purchasing your one and only pistol to carry. The needs are different at that point.

I would disagree about the 1911/Glock comparison though. I have hundreds of thousands of rounds through both designs, and seen both designs puke for various reasons. I would put them both very high in the reliability chart, but not one over the other. Shootability is another story though.

I don't think the 1911 could have survived at least two wars if it couldn't handle a little dirt.

/arnie voice on


Between your $1500 Kimber, and my Glock nine milimeter, I take my Glock.

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Originally Posted by Stuart

I don't think the 1911 could have survived at least two wars if it couldn't handle a little dirt.

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robotacpony boy has a point!

If the 1911 wasn't an awesome design we wouldn't have more manufacturers than at any time in its near-100 year history making the design today!

But the Glock is an excellent design as well; I have more than one of each.

Disagree strongly.

You shouldn't be purchasing a firearm you intend to use on the basis of resale value.

Actually, in my experience, high end custom guns tend to depreciate heavier. Especially when viewed proportionally with your purchase price, high end stuff undergoes *brutal* resale value reduction. The market at that level isn't as liquid, and your "customizations" are not likely to align well with another person's. Especially at that pricepoint, people will pay a little more to just get it made new and truly be custom. If you do manage to find someone, it will, as you noted, take much much longer to sell. Painfully long. Keep an eye on our very own sale boards - expensive shit just doesn't sell, and when it does, it's only after 30-50% reductions. It's painful to see.

A commodity gun like a Glock or an XD or an M&P will lose some value, but there is a definite floor. The market is also far more liquid, and you'll get done much faster. The powerplay there is to buy used and (if you need to) sell used. The difference in price between a mildy used Glock and a fairly severely used Glock is not great. They preserve value very well.

Moreover, it's a bad idea to have any sort of attachment to a tool; the far majority of people cannot bring themselves to use and abuse an expensive firearm as the tool it is. There's at least one school (Thunder Ranch?) that has students throw and kick their guns on the ground at the very start of the course. Some people refuse, understandably. When you're worried about beauty and resale value instead of using your gun, your priorities in a weapon have been inverted.

Sidenote on financial planning and custom guns: If you should need to barter or sell your gun in a time of difficulty, it's easier to detach yourself from something like a Glock or an XD than it is your finest mother-of-pearl, gold-engraved custom 1911. I've seen people one paycheck (or one gun's proceeds) away from having a financial buffer that could drastically improve their lives. Many simply won't part with a sentimental firearm. Then, because they don't have that buffer, they end up in a financial spiral that forces them to sell the gun, and everything else they have. It's a scenario that's actually alarmingly common, especially among people professing to own only the "best". Usually blue collar types are the most prone to this trap - I think it's the "papa said buy once cry once" mentality. I've bought some very nice guns at very steep (75%+) discount from these types.

The smart man always examines value over price.

PS: My observation on 1911s - they belong in year 1911. Don't drag them to this century with all that shit on them. If they're stock, they shoot reliably and are terrific fighting guns. Custom 1911s never improve function, but do increase weight, cost, and gaudiness.

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Originally Posted by Wulf202

Well i've literally drug my glock through the dirt and it still worked. I doubt any 1911 could do the same, no matter how much money you throw at it.

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You lost me after this.

Glocks are great and all but I have an old Baer TRS that I'd put against any Glock. Started out as a duty/range gun that had about 12k on it before my old man bought it, 10k rds, one busted extractor, and a couple sets of springs later I picked it up from him and I've had it in the snow and mud with no problems to report. I've ran about 1k a month for the past year and a half and I've only swapped out the springs a few months back so you do the math.

There's a big difference between "cheap" guns and "inexpensive" ones ... and that difference is true on the other end of prices too.

I own a couple Steyr pistols ... paid quite a bit less than what comparable Glocks would have cost and I believe I have guns every bit as good as Glocks (and in some ways better).

Another example: an EAA Witness in 10mm is easily a quarter the cost of a Bren Ten ... and is a better gun.

I still contend that while they're pretty, have wonderful triggers and will hold their value, Colt Pythons are grossly over priced when compared to a comparable S&W or even Ruger or for that matter the Dan Wesson I recently bought (but I understand how supply/demand economics runs).

So I don't agree with the blanket statement that you should buy the most expensive gun you can afford in that I don't think high price = quality and that low price automatically = poor quality.

Its just not that simple (but thank God for teh internets ... you can do so much more research than back in the stone ages like the 80s)