I really don't know, a buddy of mine used to have a Taurus revolver that worked well, and we did play with a PT1911 at the shop he traded it in at. But, he walked out with a RIA 1911, less money and rock solid. I'm not knocking the PT1911 at all though, if you like it go for it! I prefer the old school looks and feel in a 1911 myself.
A while back Ruger had some issues with the SR9's and they fixed it. How can you tell if your buying the updated/ fixed?
You'll get lots of anecdotes about how Taurus worked or did not work, sometimes from people who identify too much with their guns that they cannot see the other side's point of view. Such comments are not too helpful.
Take a look at a Taurus PT1911 and compare it to a Kimber, Springfield, RIA, Ruger, etc. Field strip the gun and compare the parts. You'll find that The Taurus parts are not made as precisely as the better brands on the list. Overall the quality of the gun is lower. Now, lower quality parts may still make for a perfectly serviceable gun, if they are reliable even overall the gun isn't as accurate, as beautiful, etc. That's why Taurus PT1911 got those nice reviews. It can do the job. (It seems that some of the $1,000+ guns really go overboard for what most people need for defense and for range fun.)
But there is a separate problem. In my view, Taurus continues to have worse quality control than some of the better gun makers. A greater percentage of their guns return to the shop. So reliability is more of a problem. Does that mean their guns are worthless? No. Does that mean their guns are "good"? Not necessarily. It depends on how much risk you want to take, and how much savings would make that risk acceptable to you. This is a personal decision, unfortunately, and we can't help you with it.
Some people will reply, "Oh yeah? I had problems with my <insert fancy gun here>." There are always some bad guns from almost any manufacturer. The better manufacturers keep them to a minimum. I know that good statistics doesn't mean much when you are the one getting shot at in a real life encounter with a bad guy. That's why you test and inspect (or have a gunsmith inspect it for you), especially if you need to rely on a gun for defense.
Da Bing
Sorta, but if people like their gun enough to defend it when its being criticized chances are likely they really do like it and it has been a great weapon for them. That is valuable imo.
On what basis do you have the ability to know that a greater percentage of Taurus guns are sent back than other brands. Im not saying its not true, but that is pure conjecture and could very well be false.