I've been bouncing questions about rifles off someone at my club because he once operated his own firearms dealership in Sydney. He told me to stay away from anything from Savage Arms. I've yet to confirm his reasons for not liking the brand, but I've also seen positive opinions about the Savage Mark II rimfire rifles being good for their price.
I've read that some issues with the Mark II include the factory synthetic stock being unsuited for use with a scope without additional modification, and the magazines falling apart after a while.
Is there anything else that I should be aware of?