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.