Kimber does not stand behind its guns

Status
Not open for further replies.
sadly, Ford will not give you a new Pinto when the old one wears out.

your pistol wore out and broke. move on.

if it wore out for a stupid reason (poor design or metallurgy), then that may influence your next purchase decision.
 
Sorry but this is one side of the story. I work as a paper pusher for our gun smiths... AKA im the guy who deals with all the warranty repairs from manufactures. Out of 100's of times I never had an issues with Kimber, so an isolated incident on what sounds like an OLD out of warranty model I would not be so rash as to go around (well a 2 post count isn't going around) blaming them for everything. I understand youre upset but something seems odd.

As others will sit here and nit pick on warranties and make statements such as Para and Taurus and Smith all have life time warranties.... I can also show you examples of Smith charging customers for certain repairs... and honestly Para and Taurus NEED life time warranties with their return and defect rate.:eek:

Taurus is a nightmare to deal with... I have sent back the same Judge Public Defender for a customer 6 times.... SIX TIMES.

A cracked frame on a 1911.... something had to have happened.

People always rag on Kimber... but having sold TONS of them (people come in and ask for Kimber by name and Kimber knows this), dealt with their warranty department... got invited to go shoot with their reps when the Solo released, and own a few of their 1911's and a few of their rifles... I can say I have had 100's of pleasant experiences with them.

I fail to believe you frame just cracked all on its own... along with an extractor... it sounds like an over pressure reload or head set back.

Noy having parts for your extractor tells me that you have an older one with an external extractor when Kimber tried it, and had issues.... way back when I believe they were switching them out for people, but that was more than 10 years ago.

FYI Smith DOES have a lifetime warranty but only until they deem its worth it.. if you read their fine print... every few years the take models that are warrantied off the list, because its not worth it to them to take up the tooling or spare parts. Model 66 is a prime example of a popular firearm by them, that is no longer under warranty.
 
Last edited:
I was one of those guys who bought into the flashy ads and the slick looking guns. Almost fell for it hook line and sinker too. That is until I started doing research... Gawd, I still remember some of my old posts where I thought Kimber was top of the line. :o

Cheapshooter
My Hi-Points have a 100%, no questions asked warranty. I've heard their customer service is excellent as well. But I wouldn't know personally, I've never had a problem with one.
Guess you don't always get what you pay for. But in some cases get much more!
Click to expand...

Hey Cheapshooter - I've never been too much of a 1911 guy and only had half a dozen through the years, but I can attest to the fact that the HP 45 is soft shooting and hence one of the most accurate 45's I've ever shot. Dang good gun for the money - never missed a beat.
 
Last edited:
This clause about handloads is bs. Most people don't handload 10 of thousands of plus p type ammo. They are likely downloading. Even if they weren't what makes handloads more detrimental to a frame then any other manufacturer high velocity load. 45 is relatively low pressure round anyway.
 
The problem with handloads is plain and simple.... they are handloads.... I have seen PLENTY of blown up firearms because Jim Bob and Bubba got lazy or tired behind the press and over charged or double charged.. used weakened brass.

Companies including the ones toting Life Time warranties... do not take kindly to reloads. I have watched SW charge people, HK charge people, SA charge people, Ruger charge people.

8-10 months ago I had a customer with a HK .45 USP come in with the whole back strap off the frame and the safety control cracked completely off the frame, magazine blown apart, extractor gone....... but he SWEARS it wasn't a bad reload..

H&K didn't buy it, and charged him for 3/4's a new gun. I think they salavaged the slide was about it.
 
Hey Cheapshooter - I've never been too much of a 1911 guy and only had half a dozen through the years, but I can attest to the fact that the HP 45 is soft shooting and hence one of the most accurate 45's I've ever shot. Dang good gun for the money - never missed a beat.
Click to expand...
Yup, that's what I found with my C9. I shot a friend's HP 45cal, and it really shot well. So when I found a used one at a good price recently, I bought it. I will have to do a head to head with my Colt 1991a1 Compact, 1927 Systema Colt, and S&W 645 like I did with the C9, and my other 9MM guns.
Bottom line, to keep on topic, fancy adds, big name, and high prices don't necessarily always result in a superior product, or company.
 
I get that but situations like that are obvious. Cracked frame, not so much.
Click to expand...

He has a cracked frame and a broken extractor... hmm... sounds like a Kaboom to me.:confused: He has not been back to answer questions so one can only assume.

I have owned tons of Kimbers with never any issues, Right now the only 1911 by them I own is my Desert Warrior and I own two rifles from them. All have been top notch.
 
I'm sorry OP. I had my heart set on a Kimber, and went to the LGS to buy one. They had none in stock. The owner explained that due to similar issues, he would not stock Kimber. I guess he had some bad experiences with them.

It's certainly not a Kimber, but my Ruger 1911 is an OK pistol. It has its issues, and I will say I did not receive a warm response from Ruger customer service when I explained that something in the geometry of the pistol would not allow it to eject a loaded round from the firing port. There are fixes for this issue, but for now I haven't attempted any of them.
 
I suspect there is more to this story than OP is indicating. He's never answered some basic questions already asked twice.
 
I've only had one dealing with Kimber customer service and it was a good one.
Wore the extractor out on my Rimfire Target and Kimber promptly mailed me a new one along with a new plunger and spring, no charge, no questions asked.
 
sadly, Ford will not give you a new Pinto when the old one wears out.

your pistol wore out and broke. move on.
Click to expand...

1-DAB, dude you forgot to mention that Ford no longer makes the Pinto, but Kimber still makes bottom-feeders. And there was no mention of the bottom feeder wearing out, by the owner.
 
I carried a tactical custom 2 for a duty weapon. For the last ten years it has behaved PERFECTLY.

Of course, it's been on the top shelf of the safe for that long. That is when I discovered there are pistols other than the 1911 worth owning. The Kimber is the only 1911 I still have. That and my FN's are going to my son eventually.
 
I'd buy a Kimber over any Colt since they lawyered up the safeties.
Click to expand...
A bit difficult to figure out exactly what you mean or are trying to say with the quoted text, but it seems to read that you are angry at Colt for the series 80/firing pin lock and would prefer Kimber for that reason? :confused:
 
The Kimber is "lawyered up" too (they just went about it differently), but Colt still offers up the series 70 repros and the ww1/ww2 repros for those that want them. Colt puts in a titanium FP and an extra power spring on those to achieve "drop safe" without the series 80 doodads.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top