Personally the 710 I had was finished as well if not better than most savages out there for comparison. I only use them for comparisonbecause alot of people buy them and they are not that glamorous of a rifle.If you dont get the stainless or the top of the line model the finish on them is not to be desired. Looks like they were investmentcast then never finished. Rough edges everywhere, and the barrel nutis frightening.Even the stainlesshas a rough appearance.I know of one Savage rifle that cracked behind the recoil lug on the synthetic stock and the pin that holds the bolthead assembly on broke into.The stock on the 710 doesnt look cheap as the synthetic on the savage i saw.One guy at the range couldnt figure out why his rifle wouldnt go forward and lock up tofire and it was because the nut on the back of the bolt had backed off and the bushing in front of it was out of alignment. Why does savage have to have so many parts on their bolts anyhow. Its just one more part they can sell for replaement I guess.You know when rifle companies put out something that is cheaper in price they have to cut corners. All the manufacturers have to. The nicest rifle Savage has put out in awhile is the new Classic line, but look at the price also. I know they are accurate but so it the 710. I havent had bad luck with it. I know there are some savage owners out there with problems also. All rifle companies have problems every once in awhile. I was just saying in my original post the newer remington is not that bad, but really it looked even better than the first one I had. Where else can you get a rifle with a detatchable magazine, crowned muzzle, in magnum calibers,a short bolt throw due to abolt with three lugs not two that locks up with the button rifledbarrel, scope and mounts,and if im not mistaken it does have the R3 recoil pad. The .300 win mag was just 329.99 I saw. Its not a bad deal.I can only imagine what the Stevens rifles look like if they are theeconomical line for Savage. I know the resale value on the 710 is low, but the resale value on just aboutany of the newerusedSavage bolt rifles is terrible and I see alot for sale out there for next to nothing. If you dont like the 710 the that is your choice. Ifyou have never usedoneyou are only basing an opinion from others that have and thentheymay havebeen that one in a thousand for gettinga riflewith problems.