Can't see anything wrong with getting a new one.
Wonder what the OP bought?
I do like an old RKW finished magnum 1100.
Good wood and they came with a decent recoil pad.
What's not to like?
When the geese are coming in and you drop 3 in one pass..........an auto is a pretty nice thing
I babied my first Magnum, killed a few turkeys with it too.
But got tired of taping it up.
So I run a beater 1100 SP I gunkoted. Had funny stains in parkerizing.
Its matte black now.
Remington goes by barrel code IIRC for date of manufacture (there is a model history on Remington Society so you can see when certain offerings came to be).
Since bbls easily swap out.........might be hard to tell when an 870/1100 was made.
Just checked on web, guess serial number prefix letter can help w date.
Looked at my dove gun, L prefix, says '68.
Didn't think it that old, got it used. Had new bolt and trigger group in it...........guy dumped it at LGS.
Was a single shot............due to missing interruptor latch snap ring.
Runs great, cost me 8 bucks to fix it IIRC.
Have an 1100 SP, those came out in the 80's IIRC.