WARNING Check Kimber Quality Before you Buy

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dannyair

dannyair

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Just a warning to the 1911 guys out there that if you are considering a Kimber 1911, check to make sure you are getting quality. I recently bought a Kimber 1911 and had to have Kimber ship me a new MSP, ambi-safety, catch assembly, hammer and sear. The MSP was broken, the grip safety was bashed in with a mallet to make it fit and the mag catch had huge gaps around it. I didn’t realize it until I took it to my gunsmith to lighten the trigger pull. He pointed out that all of these parts are Metal Injection Molded (except for the MSP - it's plastic) and are very cheap to make and therefore can have quality issues as did mine. Kimber customer service sent me all new parts but the new MSP they sent me was totally wrong and wouldn't fit into any 1911 (see last picture). They are sending me another one. Talk about a run around. The gun is brand new and still has not been fired and now going on 1.5 months old. They requested that I send them the old parts back. I asked them to give me a free set of rubber grips that retail for $17.00 to compensate me for the troubles I have had including the cost for my gunsmith to re and re the parts as well as to cover my shipping the original parts back to them for their benefit and they refused. At least they are sending me the parts. I would never have gotten away as easy as they did in my business. They wouldn't even send the parts on a fast service. Not many people give a s**t in this business when it comes to excellent customer service and that gets passed on to the consumer. Maybe I was just unlucky but this experience sucked and you all should be aware of it for when it's time to go shopping for a Kimber 1911. My other Kimber 1911 didn’t have any of these problems. Did I mention that this is a "Custom Shop" Kimber? Check the pics:

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I read your earlier thread on your Kimber issues and I decided to stay away from guns with MIM parts so I bucked up and have a Les Baer Thunder Ranch 1911 coming :)

I hope you can get yours up and running. If not Questar can do a third party import on a better 1911 :)
 
ponts said:
I read your earlier thread on your Kimber issues and I decided to stay away from guns with MIM parts so I bucked up and have a Les Baer Thunder Ranch 1911 coming :)

I hope you can get yours up and running. If not Questar can do a third party import on a better 1911 :)
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Hmmmm, that's on my list of wants. Did you see the Monolith? That looks deadly.
 
dannyair said:
Hmmmm, that's on my list of wants. Did you see the Monolith? That looks deadly.
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Yeah the Monolith looks AWESOME!! I would be happy to own any Les Baer that is for sure. I figured for the price of the Thunder Ranch and it's no non-sense approach to a Fighting 1911 it would serve me well.
 
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Must have been made on a Friday afternoon.....
Pretty sad though on your part that you didn't pick up on it until your smith pointed it out. MIM is in pretty much every 1911 these days unless you buy a $300 nork or a $3000 Wilson. Same with the plastic MSH (not MSP BTW), pretty common on most stock entry/mid range 1911's. Do 5 minutes research before you plunk down $1200 next time.....:)
 
Hitzy said:
Must have been made on a Friday afternoon.....
Pretty sad though on your part that you didn't pick up on it until your smith pointed it out. MIM is in pretty much every 1911 these days unless you buy a $300 nork or a $3000 Wilson. Same with the plastic MSH (not MSP BTW), pretty common on most stock entry/mid range 1911's. Do 5 minutes research before you plunk down $1200 next time.....:)
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You're right about being made on a Friday afternoon and thank you for the correction on the MSH. It wasn't the MIM parts that get me or the price. If it was then I would own several Norcs' but I don't and I won't. I have several 1911's including another Kimber that have MIM parts that are fitted correctly without any issues. Well I may not be as technical and picky about materials as a gunsmith, I'll ask you when was the last time you stripped out a firearms internals when making a purchase? I'm not just talking field stripping although many shops don't even allow that but that's another topic. I'm talking yanking the MSH, inspecting the angles of the sear, pulling the ambi-safety and hammer. Granted I did miss the mag catch fit. You're also assuming that one is able to inspect it before buying and not having it shipped as this is not always the case on special or out-of-town orders. Sometimes that is a luxury.

What bothers me as much or more then the internal parts problem is the level of customer commitment and how a product from the "Custom Shop" makes its way into the end user's hands in the first place. Sure I guess I could see how this can happen but then sending out a MSH that wouldn't fit into any 1911? One would hope that they would inspect the replacement parts before sending them out considering the nature of the initial problem. That would be a commitment to the customer and a service. That's not going beyond by any means. It then becomes a simple situation of making things right when they go wrong in the utmost convenient way for a customer that is supporting their business. If that goes then tell me what a company has left to offer? Can't be quality and we know it's not exceptional service and support.
 
IMHO this example would be the exception to the rule with Kimber. I still think that they are doing it better than the next guy when it comes to entry/mid 1911's.
 
Hitzy said:
Must have been made on a Friday afternoon.....
Pretty sad though on your part that you didn't pick up on it until your smith pointed it out. MIM is in pretty much every 1911 these days unless you buy a $300 nork or a $3000 Wilson. Same with the plastic MSH (not MSP BTW), pretty common on most stock entry/mid range 1911's. Do 5 minutes research before you plunk down $1200 next time.....:)
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Les Baer = NO MIM parts
 
Hmmm......This is a little disheartening considering how long Ive lusted after the Kimber Custom Covert II. I know of one used that I was thinking of picking up, but now im not sure. Maybe an STI is a better choice?
 
ottawaguy said:
IMHO this example would be the exception to the rule with Kimber. I still think that they are doing it better than the next guy when it comes to entry/mid 1911's.
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Agreed. Kimber makes and sells thousands of 1911s annually. There are bound to be a couple of lemons in the bunch.

My SIS Custom RL is flawless in every way.
 
I disagree that, in order to avoid MIM you have to go either with a $300 Norc or a $3000 Wilson.

Last year, me and two friends each bought brand new Dan Wessons (2 bobtails and a Pointman 7). Each gun cost less than $1200 total (incl. tax and shipping).

None of these guns have any MIM and are extremely well made, especially considering the price. In fact, several of the parts used are actual Ed Brown parts. On the bobtail, the mainspring housing, slide stop, thumb safety and grip safety are genuine Brown parts.

I did lots of homework before buying, and I was determined to avoid MIM, which most gun makers are using, some for a couple of parts, some for most of their parts (even ones taking lots of stress and wear). Moreover, many makers are slipping in polymer parts here and there where you would not normally expect them, including guide rods, mainspring housings and triggers.

I had come across so many horror stories about Kimber, like yours and worse, that I wrote that company off my list. I have a pretty high standard and a pretty low BS tolerance which I apply to all areas of my life...why would I compromise when it comes to something as important as a pistol?

I think it is important for us, as consumers, to make the most informed and purposed buying decisions because gun companies exist for one primary reason only - to make money...and if we don't try to keep them on their toes they'll end up selling us total garbage with crappy follow-up service to boot.

If we do our homework and reward a gunmaker for selling a truly good gun value to us, then we'll see more of the same. My extensive research showed me that the 1911 pistol world is rife with guns that are being sold for easily twice what they are really worth. With the Wesson I bought, I can honestly say that I paid about half of what it is really worth - and THAT'S a truly good gun buy.
 
I don't say there are no lemons even on the big market names...right?
I had and still have Kimber 1911's and NEVER had a problem !
I've owned also Colts, Springs, Paras and Thompson/Kahr ...Kimber stay on the first place regarding quality, very tight made and accurate.
IMO one of the best 1911 pistol in the $1000-1500 price range
hey, of course you can buy a Wilson or Les for double figures, but finally in front of the paper target you'll shoot same thing...a good aimed bullet!
 
THOR74 said:
Last year, me and two friends each bought brand new Dan Wessons (2 bobtails and a Pointman 7). Each gun cost less than $1200 total (incl. tax and shipping).
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The DW is definitely on my short list. Did you buy off a site sponsor? I dont think ive heared one bad thing about DW. Thanks for your imput.
 
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