This is just my hypothesis, but as someone said earlier, Kimber will tell you over the phone that they won't look at any reliability-related issues unless you've put what amounts to $200-250 of .45 ammo (500 rounds) through the gun.
Generally I agree with this practice, litterally, and other companies (such as S&W for example) have also said it to customers, and to me personally on the phone.
I will say the only times I have heard Kimber saying that to customers was with the fumbled release of the gen 1 Solo's which I can say openly admit were terrible. However a lot of companies recomend shooting a decent number of rounds through a gun to see if it will work out, or if its faulty ammo or mags.
My boss and your friend sound similar in the sense they take the approach of (if you bought it here, bring it back we will help) which is the sole purpose of my job. The gunsmiths are generally swamped, so I deal with the paper chasing and factory warranties. I can write a 50 page term paper on the in's and outs of all the brands warranties and repairs, but I can say personally we move A LOT of Kimbers, and I have a lot of first name basis customers. I carry a Kimber (on ocassion) , and would not recomend them if I had bad experiences.
At this stage I have seen EVERYTHING break / fail / come messed up. I have had guns come in where chambers weren't even reamed out of the barrel yet. I had a Glock where the slide wouldn't even go onto the frame rails. I have had a Taurus judge brand new that looked like someone used a claw hammer to fit the cylinder, and sent it back to them 6 times.
While I agree with the sentiment it sucks having a round requirement... I also see the benefits of it. It makes my life easier, and it makes the repair centers easier, because a lot of times things do smooth out and fix themselves, or people learn its a bad mag or the crap ammo they got at the gun show last month ect ect. YES IT DOES SADDEN me that its not the old days (for which I was a child) where manufactures went over every detail with their hands. This day in age, production made guns I don't care if its Colt HK Sig Glock Kimber, whomever you want to put on the pedestal, its more about staying alive and keeping profits high. Things are automated, things are MIM things are Cast, ect ect.
The issue lies in MIM IS AND CAN be GOOD, when done properly. Casting as proved by Ruger, can also be VERY GOOD when done properly. Does Kimber make mistakes, YUP. Does Colt.... you bet. Ruger does casting so well they also do it outside the firearms industry and in fields such as the medical industry. Obviously our SP101 and GP100 is thicker and heavier than comparable S&W's because casting requires more material for strength than forged.
Do we all wish our guns were all hands on and made perfect... sure... but not a lot of us want to spend WC, Les Baer, or Nighthawk prices for that. My STI set me back near $2000.
That being said, I don't doubt people have problems, and I don't doubt I don't see all those problems, however I think it is more prevelent on the internet. The guys who enjoy theirs are out shooting them, the guys who had trouble... are understandbly mad and most likely to post their opinion. I can't take that away from them, I have been in their shoes. I had a SA Loaded that would not feed ANYTHING, no matter what mags I tried, the internals looked like someone chewed on them. I bought another loaded later on, it worked great, but the slide stop was fitted too loose and would walk out and seize the gun. I got so fed up with it, I replaced the detent spring with a longer one, and had our gunsmith dimple the slide stop so the detent sat firmly into it. Solved the issue... but it shouldn't of had to be done. I had a Colt series 80 that would not cycle hollowpoints at all, and would jam often with ball ammo.
I don't go around bashing Colt or SA, I have owned amazing guns from both. I see the bad and ugly guns all day, I know they exist and its part of the buisness. Kimber has always been good to me, and my customers, maybe your friend has different luck.
I see you have four Pythons.... and I don't know their shape or condition, but for being so sought after, the two I owned, and the 1 Andaconda I owned had about the worst revolver triggers I ever felt....
Doesn't mean they are junk guns.