Kimber Custom Shop Guns....

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JG

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Does anybody find that Kimbers Custom shop guns are less prone to malfunction and quality issues or is it luck of the draw with all their guns. I know some of you gentleman have more than 1 Kimber (one from the Custom shop and one not)- what have been your experiences.

I don't think this has been discussed before, but if it has-sorry for beating a dead horse.
 
It would seem logical that any truly custom gun would be more reliable. I've got two of their Gold Match models (one .45 the other .40) and they have been perfectly relaible... but I've also got a couple of their standard guns that are equally reliable. I have not experienced any of the problems talked about on the various threads here.
 
I haven't had any problems either...and neither has anyone I have met personally in real life, or any of the Kimber Master Dealers I know.
 
I can only speak about the Classic Custom...I have two of them and they are flawless!

I have read some of the problems that some owners have with their Kimbers....I want to tell them to keep shooting them as all Kimbers seem to improve with age/shooting. I sometimes wonder what real life experience some of the posters have. (not these real life owners, but the posters with an agenda) The dozens of Kimbers that I shoot around are all flawless. Their owners all love them.

I think Colts, Springfields, POs, Glocks and others (and Kimbers) are all fine. In real life they all mess up on occasion. These flamers accomplish absolutely nothing of a positve nature.

If you hang around here long enough you will be able to determine who the real prople are...
 
I guess its like it is with any other thing. I am a machinist, and I own 5 kimbers. 3 of them needed work out of the box, but it was minor. I did it my self, it was cheeper than sending it back and gave me more satisfaction. I found my kimbers to be totally reliable, in fact I carry one. I own a g29 glock, but prefer the kimber. for accuracy, the gun is more accurate than I am. with a red dot scope, I can put all therounds in the 10 ring @ 50 yards.

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10MM Magnum.... tried the rest, now I got the best
 
I think that anyone with mechanical aptitude can make one work, my question is "For $960, the price of a Kimber Ultra Elite in my area, why should he?"

I know there are good Kimbers out there, just how does a new guy, or one with a limited supply of available guns, find one?

No flames, just wondering!

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Be mentally deliberate but muscularly fast. Aim for just above the belt buckle Wyatt Earp
45 ACP: Give 'em a new navel! BigG
"It is error alone that needs government support; truth can stand by itself." Tom Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 1785
 
How does one find a good Kimber? Buy one. The odds are at least 1000 to 1 against you getting a bad one, and probably higher than that.
 
BigG, I think Kimber is doing some of us
a big favor. Kimber incourages few of the lucky ones who seems to have a bit of a problem with Kimbers to think long and hard,
ask questions, be active, read manuals, write logical letters, learn details and even become mechanically inclided...I agree with it. I think it's kind of boring if you get something which works w/o problems right out-of-the box, it's a straight forward way to decadence...I believe that people should pay big bucks for education, otherwise, they do not appreciate the value of the knowledge,
so $960 looks just about right.

Go Kimber!
 
I studied long and hard before buying my Kimber Gold Match. I heard nothing but good reviews and the Master Dealer in my area had never had a complaint. I did contact one major dealer who was dropping the entire line, but it had nothing to do with the quality of the firearm. As near as I could tell the chances of getting a "bad" Kimber was just about the same as getting struck by lightning.

As luck would have it, I got a pistol with problems. I was posting my difficulties, but the posts were so negative that I finally just quit posting. Bad service, bad communications, just bad vibes in general. As near as I can tell, hell will freeze over before Kimber will replace a pistol. However, they will work on the original pistol as long as the customer is willing to pay the freight to get it to them.

To be honest, I think part of the problem is with Kimber’s internal set-up. Instead of tracking a pistol as it comes in for repeat service, they just assign it to whoever is available. Mine is back at the custom shop once again and the guy who is charged with repairing it either honestly doesn’t know what the problem is and what was done previously, or he is pulling my leg. These problems are compounded by the fact that the office in New York is a long way from the guy bitching at them in the Montana office. In my case, it hit the fan between the dealer, the custom shop, the regional sales manager, and myself. If I would have kept my cool a while longer (but I am not Job) and built a decent relationship with the guys in the custom shop I probably would be shooting the x-ring with it right now.

In my case the education I am getting has cost about $1400.00 so far. I am confident I will eventually have a great pistol, but I wonder if it is worth all the bother. The whole experience seems kind of unreal, but stick around and you will figure out who the real people are.
 
Ankeny,

You're right about the state of internal affairs at Kimber. Company grew too fast,
and they got themselves into the natural
mess of fast growing organization. Their
quality control dropped because of dramatically increased production. It happenes all the time IF management is not
capable to handle numerous problems associated with such situation.

I hope you'll get resolution to your satisfaction, but I honestly think that
in this particular situation you would be better off collecting your money back and
buying something less "hot". But if you
want special attention to your problem,
you just got to get real nasty with Kimber
top management...I may be wrong, but that is
the way I was able to solve a few problems
in the past. Just sharing...
 
Hey, two Qs:
I want smooth rosewood grips
I want Novak bar night sights
On a Custom stainless.
How long
How much
 
Oris:

My dealer has indicated he will not refund a penny, he told me he just sells them and it is up to Kimber to honor the warranty. Kimber isn't going to refund a dime either.

Raising hell with Kimber won't work either. That's how I got where I am at now. Management from Kimber is aware of the problems and at least one of them has reviewed the posts here on The Firingline. One division can not interfere with another division inside Kimber and if someone goes over another person's head it creates interdepartmental problems and turf wars. That is pretty normal of all organizations.

Either Kimber will eventually honor the warranty or they won't. My guess is they will get it right. If they don't, I'll go to the next step.
 
It seems to be a fact that 5% of the retail purchasing public are pains in the a!#*. No one can satisfy them no matter what.Once you are pegged as a 5%er your doomed.You may wait for a refund untill you are blue in the face.You may never get your problem solved to your satifaction. You are likely to be put on the back burner as long as possible. Just guess what is done to your food when you send it back at a restaurant.Ever think why some eating establishments don't charge you when you complain? "Misteaks" do happen.I try to be nice as long as I feel a genuine attempt to rectify the problem exists.If that is not what's happening I go right to the top.No managers, no department heads,right to the C.E.O. The top persons don't want to hear the problems that they are paying someone to take care of for them.It may get you results, unless your one of the 5%ers.A letter addressed to the C.E.O "deliver to addressee only-receipt requested" will get to the top guy.
 
Wishbone:

You hit the nail right on the head. I used to work in retail sales in a Police Equipment/Sporting Goods store. I suppose 5% is a fair estimate of the number of folks who are just disgruntled no matter what. I even suspect some just changed their mind about the purchase. I often times found the most disgruntled buyers were unhappy about accuracy issues. Unfortunately, I think I have been labeled as one of those "five percenters" by some of the parties involved and even some of the posters on TFL.

The big difference is, I have a pistol that doesn't operate properly complete with some pretty crude repairs. Since I have a tangible item that is obviously sub-standard, I am confident the problem will eventually be resolved. The interesting thing is, the last guy who called me (lectured me)from Kimber even admitted he hadn't fired the pistol.
 
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