I found at local gun shop a new colt 1991a1 series 80 for $799. I expected to pay considerably more for a colt. I have always wanted a true colt but they were out of my price range. My question is does this 1991 series 80 have the quality I have always wanted and expected in a colt?

Welcome to the forum. Is the Colt a 1991 or a 1991A1?
Look at the left side of the slide, if you see 1991A1 rollmarked large it is a 1991A1
Smaller rollmarks denote a 1991.
That is a good price for a 1991 but a touch high for the 1991A1.

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From my cold dead hands.
If it ain't a Colt its a copy.

I asked myself the same question a little while ago, magazine, and I'm going to cheat and post the same summary I came up with a few weeks ago.
"I've been thinking about going with a thread about the NRM GM I just bought a month or two ago.
I saw it in a forum ad somewhere and since the guy was only a few miles away, I asked to meet.
It was brand-new and untouched. He wanted $700, and while I was thinking of negotiating a little, once we met he held firm and I dropped the seven Cs anyway.
I was pretty mad with myself, since I didn't really have the money to spend and I was chasing other things anyway. Besides, I'm more of a Commander guy and with several GM-size guns already in the safe, it wasn't time for another.
I was just going to turn around and sell it but pony-dressed guns are absolutely irresistable to me. I took it down to the club and sort of haphazardly ran a few boxes through it. It seemed to shoot real well.
Next range trip, it went again and I made a point of paying attention. It turned out I was shooting it pretty well and it sure felt nice.
Next trip, there it was again, and I poured another two hundred or so through it despite the I-frame revolvers I was also shooting. (In winter, I tend to lay off the self-loaders at the outdoor range, since I'm a brass-grabber and I hate losing any.)
I tossed in a short steel trigger and slapped on some nicer stocks to my old wood-guy's eyes and just kept throwing it in the range bag.
Somewhere along the line, I began to notice I was shooting it more accurately than any other gun except the Special Combat Government. Then, I noticed it'd gone past 2000 rounds and still had not malfunctioned in any way using even remotely decent ammunition, and plenty of it suspect.
So I tried using the lightest-loaded ammo I have, my slightly-famous puffball girl-gun (for my wife) load of a 230gr Rainier putzing along at 560fps or so. It even ran with that, around 98%, without even changing the spring or keeping it clean.
Now, you can just color me amazed. I have a number of '70s 1911s and I do agree they're more attractive by a good measure. And the 1991 does indeed have some unpleasant sharp edges, especially the bottom of the slide. It seems to try to slice the trigger finger when it's out of the guard.
But... this is one very well-made gun. It's plain, but a good plain, and it works really, really, well. I've taken it down and I really can't see anything in the way of flaws or boo-boos. A nice polish job doesn't really make it work better, so functionally, this thing is superb. I'm still waiting for the first malfunction, and that even includes accidentally using a reject, filthy, tired old magazine for several hundred rounds.
I've tended to harbor the notion that the old guns are better, like so many of us, but I work on houses for a living, especially old ones, and I have no illusions about the old ways- some things are beautiful, but the guts are not always so consistently good. These Colts fit that notion. They're fundamentally good, way down inside where it counts."
I've shot the gun some more since, and it still amazes me, and still runs perfectly, shoots accurately, and looks darn good doing it.
Bill

Sounds like it could be between 50 and 100 high for a series 80 Government NIB. But then, the best prices I see are on line and then you have to pay shipping and transfer fees (but not sales tax, in some cases). You'll have to decide if you'd rather have the one you can see or the one you can't. I don't think you'll be disappointed by the quality, I've bought 2 NIB series 80 "bottom of the line" guns and have had no problems at all with them! Good luck and happy shopping!

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Aim small, Miss small

thanks guys sounds like I will finally get my colt ! you've all helped me a lot.

Let us know when you do, oh, and post some pics if you can, we all love to see the pics!!!

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Aim small, Miss small