I have a customer who bought a new SOLO 4 years ago at another store. It was a "jamomatic" from day one apparently and the dealer that sold it to him told him to take it up with Kimber.
so, he threw it in a drawer and went back to carrying his Shield.

Fast forward 4 years, we are doing some business on other firearms and the SOLO comes up. I sad I would look at it and in 2 trips to the range and 100 rounds I could not get it to fire more than 2 rounds without a stovepipe, double feed or failure to strip off a round.

So, I offered to send it back to Kimber for him, even if I didn't sell it to him he is still MY customer, right? I get an RMA number from them and back it goes.

2 weeks go by and I hear nothing, so I called Customer Service to make sure it at least showed up safely.
Sarah Poe tells me its "in the que" and that it needs : An ejector, an extractor spring and a recoil spring.
And since its past the 1 year warranty the bill is $121.45 !!!

I said $121.45??
On an $800 pistol that has had less than 300 rounds thru it and has never been carried???
She said " it is old.."
I said I realize its past the warranty but it's only 4 years old?
She says " like I said, it's old, that will be $121.45"

So I asked what was the warranty on the repairs?
She says " the warranty period is 1 year from the original purchase"
I said I know the original warranty is expired, I mean how long is the warranty on the repairs? I mean what happens if we get it back and it still doesn't run?
She repeats"The warranty period is 1 year from the original purchase", Which I take as there is NO WARRANTY on the repairs!!

As a 35 year FFL I have returned firearms to most manufacturers at one time or another and NEVER had one do anything but bend over backwards to make the customer happy, even when things were clearly not "manufacturing defects" ( a TC Contender .44 with the latch hooks broken off by heavy loads in competition comes to mind. Not only did they repair it free of charge, they modified it and said to keep using the heavy loads with their blessing!! Way to go TC!!)

And I know there is no legal obligation on Kimbers part (Sarah made that more than clear) and I don't really have a dog in this fight am I wrong to be so offended?
I mean even a KelTec has a lifetime warranty to the original owner?

And this was an $800 pistol!!!

Rant over, what does the hive think?

You’re asking “the hive” but you posted this in tech so I doubt you’ll get many responses.

My opinion, I’ve always heard Kimber CS is one of the worst in the business so I’ll never buy one. It seems your story only reinforces that perspective.

interesting you brought up KelTec.  My experience with their lifetime warranty is you can send it back many times and still get a ill-functioning gun back (PF-9 and PMR-30).  So even if there is a warranty on repairs, don't count on it being worth anything.  KelTec for me, and maybe Kimber for you and your customer, has shut off the potential for future purchases with inferior CS

Had a real similar experience with Kimber the two time I had to work customer guns.  I can't recommend the company due to their customer service policy and actions.

This is why I tell people not to buy Kimber.  If you do make sure you know how to work on them and have access to parts.  They have hotly quality and ever since series 2 guns came out they have been riding the name not a proven record.  Both my stainless target and grand raptor needed work to run.  The price people pay for Kimber hey could at least use a steel main spring housing on their pistol.  My stainless target the MSH pin worked its way loose, both needed feed ramp work, and extractor work.  Neighbors had one of the smaller carry models that could not make it through a full mag without locking open on partially empty mags, stovepipe, double feed, or FTE.  My stainless target will not run without Wilson ETM or 47D mags the metal follower mags I have make it choke but work 100% in my SA pistols.  F Kimber and yes their CS is a joke.

You realize how fucked up a gun would need to be, for the mainspring housing pin to work loose? Considering they have a groove in the center of them that acts as a detent keeping the pin in place, it's damn near impossible for one to work loose. You have to actually drive them out with force. They would have had to forget parts, or use the wrong parts upon building it.



I don't know what to say OP. Kimber used to be good stuff back in the early days, but my newest one is a 2006 vintage Gold Match I bought to replace the original Super Match I bought. The only issues I have ever had with a Kimber pistol, was them not staking their grip bushings.

Sarah probably catches alot of hell, all day long with all the interweb shit posted about Kimbers. I have zero experience with Kimber CS but can only imagine what she hears on the phone, all day long.

I think the solo was discontinued about 4 years ago because most of them had problems. What the problems were could be up for debate possibly.  My understanding is they need the heavy bullets to run right and everyone was using 115 target fodder with poor results = POS gun, maybe or maybe not. Could be something else also I really don't know. I have only handled used solos at high prices.

My only kimber is a stainless pro carry in 9mm and it is trouble free. Eats WWB that the internet says it won't. It also eats the 9mm hand loads that choke my Glock 17L and 26 with no problems.

Last year one guy at work bought a micro 380 new and it wouldn't function at all. He was super pissed and ready to call kimber and give them (poor Sarah) a bunch of hell.
I found the slide stop tab was not profiled and the nose of the next round would hit and engage the slide stop when cycling. The internet says Kimber CS was sending new slide stops to people who reported that. Sometimes it was the cure and sometimes it was the same unprofiled slide stop.

We dressed the one he had with the old arf approved dremel and some jewelers files. Everything works 100% now with the 3 different types of ammo he had on hand.
The assembly tech and QC let that one by, was it right? Nope. Was Sarah gonna catch hell for it? Yup.

I'm not saying you didn't handle yourself accordingly with Sarah. She is the communications funnel for everyone's screw ups, but that is also the job she signed up for.

About 10 years ago another coworker bought an ultra something (3" fancy model) that had the laser grip from the factory. Couldn't get through 1 mag without malfunctions. 3 different guys tried it including myself = zero problems. We told him to leave the stupid laser grip turned off and try it = zero malfunctions. Self correcting problem when you don't grip the pistol concentrating on a laser down range. Lots of folks would be super pissed at their new gun that doesn't work.

I'd buy a solo from somebody if they were dumping them for a couple hundred bucks because it didn't work and kimber sucks, but that's not really the case out there. These things are still being sold for the same and sometimes more than the micro 9's and EVOs. I just don't get it.

A one year warranty is a one year warranty. If the gun had gone back when the initial problems happened we wouldn’t be having this conversation. IMO it’s not a customer service issue.  I bought a 5year old car with 5k miles on it, it’s out of warranty, if the front falls off at 5100 miles it’s on me.

My dealings with Kimber:

Early 2000s my department went with Kimber for 25 TLEs for SRT. Kimber trained our armorer as part of our deal. About 8years later the department saw the light and went with Glock 9mm’s. From my understanding (I left the department early on) the Kimbers didn’t give them any issues of note and most of those officers bought their service guns after the switch.

In the 20 teens. I was working part time at a LGS. A customer comes in with one of those compact Ultra models in 45. At the time I’m under the impression that small 1911s don’t run having seen issues with Springfield EMPs, Colt Officer Models, etc etc. customer said gun wouldn’t run so he dremeled the feed ramp and messed it up. Customer new he screwed up, was embarrassed and wanted to trade for a Glock 42. Without even looking at the kimber I told him that there was no way I could give him a good deal on a non functional gun that he dremeled. Customer said he understood and only wanted $100 of the kimber. I checked the kimber with was a pretty two tone with a bull barrel and found the Aluminum frame was dremeled with a sanding drum in an attempt to “polish” the feed ramp. We made a deal and I called kimber to tell them what the deal was. I got an RMA and the gun went back.  It got a new barrel, frame and cost me $250. We had it back in the shop in 3weeks. My boss shot 3mags through it without issue and sold it days later for $600.

Couple of years later I’m in another state working at another shop that’s a kimber master dealer. I’m carrying a DW Specialist at the time with glocks in the rotation.  This is after sandy hook so we’re buying what we can get and selling faster than we can replace. Sold a kimber Solo a week for about 3months straight only had one come back and that was because of finish issues (guy carried it in his pocket next to his keys). Had a custom II come back (out of warranty) with a broke thumb safety (MiM part) our gunsmith replaced it for the cost of the part.

Generally 1911s and the like are finicky guns, kimber has tried several different variations and more models than I can remember.  They have innovated a few but they’ve never stopped trying to move forward. Spent a shit ton of money in R&D and design to try to stay relevant and push the boundaries a little. Some of it has worked some obviously didn’t. But in the last 12years they’ve remained in business during crazy times and they keep trying.

I’m going to shoot this until it stops, I’ll fix it, then shoot it more. In that process I won’t call or bitch about kimber once.

Your customer with the ultra: PSA - only dremel on the cheap easy to replace parts

I would say yes you are overreacting. I would also say it's a shit policy from Kimber. I have run into similar issues. On new guns with problems the best way is to pressure the manufacturer immediately. Eventually you get to a point where it's been too long and it's hard to pressure them to do anything.

Little guns usually have more issues than bigger guns so they need to be sorted out right away. It's also a great reason to point your customers towards companies with people customer service and warranties.

Thats a load of horseshit O.P., the solo's never ran worth a damn and that is why they were ultimately discontinued. Keep in mind they moved customer service / repair / and assembly operations to Alabama within the past two years. You arent likely to receive decent customer service any longer with the crew they have now.

Should have sent it back four years ago.

The customer had a full year to address the issues.  Completely and totally the customers fault for failing to follow through.  I think it is clear that Kimber's business model is to sell new pistols and back their products warranty.  They are not interested in repair work on older items.  Kimber is not the only choice for a repair service and if you don't like their terms you should go elsewhere.

We have a Solo CDP that required a little magazine tweaking but runs like a champ now.  Pre magazine tweak it would occasionally stovepipe.  Since the mag work we haven't been able to make it malfunction.  I would bet that most of the Solo issues are magazine related.  My sister researched the issue for a long time (it's her gun and she loves it) and finally came up with a mag fix that worked.

Kimber knew they were faulty and cut their losses by dropping the Solo instead of putting in the work of fixing the mag design and then having to replace all the bad ones.

Once I'm 100% sure it's going to be reliable, I'm at about 90% now, it'll go into carry use.  They are fantastic carry guns if they run reliably.  If her mag fix works as well as it seems to I may buy a used Solo myself.  The prices have dropped a lot because of the reliability reputation.

I last posted in the thread directly below this one, I was not happy with my brand new Kimber 1911 in 10mm, BUT I was pleasantly surprised by Kimber customer service.  I called them, explained the issues, they sent out an RMA, they got it on Monday, fixed it, shipped it out on Wed, and I just got it today on Friday.  I called them back to see what was done to the pistol, and the guy on the phone walked me through everything they did to fix it.  Honestly, I couldn't ask for better service, and the turn around time was great.  

I'll post an update in the other thread after I shoot it again.

You, Charlie Brown, are a Good Man.

Kimber, for a gun company, is shiest for CS.

MOST companies will consider the number of rounds fired, overall condition, the defects found, damage user caused, modifications, and decide easily if it was FUBAR from day one or not.  

To enforce a one year warranty is BS if you desire to keep customers.

Maybe people only buy Kimbers because of things like in this thread:  The only gun in the counter display.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/Handguns/Un-Helpable-Newbee-Kimber-Micro-9/4-196564/

Maybe this is why I do not even know their models studiously avoiding what is known as a schlock company with over priced products.  When I hear Kimber, I cringe wondering which company in what state.

You guys remember Dennis in Kimber CS about 20 years ago????
I had to deal with Kimber CS several times about 20 years ago and it's one of the reasons I stopped buying Kimber pistols.  I currently have 4 Kimbers 1911 style pistols and I doubt I'll buy another.

Back in 1999 I purchased a stainless Kimber Custom Target model.  Within few weeks the rear sight broke so I call CS and they had me send the slide in to get it replaced.  It took 2 weeks and I get it back.  Few months later same problem...rear sight broke so I called CS and they had me send it in again.  Few months later it breaks again so I called CS and Dennis started asking me what I'm doing to the pistol go break the rear sight again!?!?!?  I told him I didn't do anything except to shoot it.  He then started asking me about ammo I was using etc.  I told him it was nothing special, just Winchester 230 gr FMJ ammo and that the reason the rear sight kept breaking is that their sights sucked because it was made from cheap material.  Anyway, they replaced the sights again.  Few months later the sights break again.  I called Dennis at CS again and he said this would be the last time they'll replace the sight for free as the pistol is out of warranty.  That sight lasted few months and I got sick of replacing it so I just ordered a Bomar adjustable sights and installed it.  Now almost 20 years and about 15k rounds later that Bomar sight still works great.