I have a GunVault safe. Multi-Deluxe.

A few nights ago it failed to open.

That’s not good.

Press the buttons, whirring noise, door doesn’t open. There’s even an FAQ on their website about it that says to contact tech support. So I called, left a phone message. Since then I use the key to open it and also kinda forgot about the issue because I’ve had other things distracting me.

I just got a callback. They know the problem. There’s a little steel cable inside the mechanism. Press the buttons, motor activates, pulls the cable which undoes the latch, and viola. Cable broke. I could see the cable. Google searching after the original phone call turned up a lot of this. It also turned up a lot of mixed reactions to how their customer service handled it.

Well, mine was OK. They said that some mechanisms can be repaired, some cannot. Something about some older ones being made by someone else that’s now out of business and they took all the schematics with them. Don’t hold me to that… phone call was a little bit ago and I’m distracted by other things right now. But I told the rep my serial number, he took my address, and a replacement will be shipped to me. Said when it gets here, there’ll be an RMA in the box, just box up the old unit and send it back. That was no fuss no muss! Well, one small fuss… the particular unit is backordered and it could be up to 4 weeks before I see it. So… I guess if I don’t see it by the end of February I’ll contact them again.

But hey, that’s good customer service.

But it also concerns me.

What if I needed access into the safe right then and there? Whirring is the last sound I want to hear. Failure to provide access when needed, that’s not even the last thing I want — that’s something I never want. That really bothers me. While I appreciate the customer service, I want to see what the replacement mechanism looks like. I hope it’s more robust, more stable, and not prone to such failure. Yeah sure all mechanical things fail, but this bugs me.

I’ve been looking at V-Line stuff for a while. I like it because it’s simple mechanical, no batteries, no electricity. I never liked how the GunVault’s pads worked… they are “squishy” feeling, and on more than enough occasions I hit them incorrectly because they are just sensitive. All ways to fumble and fail. I don’t like that, given the purpose and intent. The bummer with the V-Line tho is I really like how the GunVault accesses things… through a “side panel”. The V-Line has some “under the desk” stuff but it’s not the same nor as roomy. Heck, Karl’s a V-Line dealer.

Anyways, I’ll reserve making a decision until after I get the replacement unit.