[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Why all the Kimber hate? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 2/16/2010 4:22:27 PM EDT
|
I dont get it. A few years ago it seems like there were lots of Kimber fan boys. I bought an Ultra Carry II a few years ago. My dad bought a Custom Carry CDP II a few weeks ago and his buddy got one too. All the Kimbers I have ever personally messed with have been accurate and reliable. What gives? |
The only Kimber I owned was fine but it was stolen.  Those more knowledgeable than me attribute some of the so-called "hate" to loss of quality compared to earlier models. A sharp increase in production is said to have caused a drop in QC. I have no direct knowledge that this is the "hate" cause but it makes sense that it could happen. YMMV
 |
|
I own two Kimbers. A CDP Compact (Pre Series II) and the first year of issue Eclipse Pro The main issues I have seen with mine are summed up in one word. INCONSISTENCY My CDP Compact is perfect. It is sitting on my desk even as I type this. It has never failed, is accurate, compact, and has a perfect trigger. I love this pistol. My Eclipse Pro II was the first year of issue. Out of the box we had failures to feed, failures to fire, failures to eject, etc. Got to deal with the lovely "Dennis" at Kimber how is the human equivalent of a hemmoroid....only the hemmorid is much more pleasant. I heard every excuse from Dennis. I ended up contacting one of my buddies who had an inside contact...long story short my Eclipse Pro II was found to have an off center drilled barrel as well as timing issues on the Series II safety. It works now..but I will never trust it. Kimber brought out the external extractor....which they had no clue how to set up. They also reintroduced the 1930's Schwartz safety (same one Colt dropped in the 30's). The reason they introduced this safety was for one reason...the California market. Dennis SWORE to me that Kimber would never make a NON Series II safety then. SUPRISE....they had to for the DET1 contract...as it was specified to NOT be installed. The Warrior is a direct descendent of the DET1 pistols. Kimber suffered from growing too big, too fast...and having Dennis employed there. Dennis has done more to destroy Kimber than anyone else. I wish Kimber had a better rep...but they have done this to themselves. I cherish the one I have the is 100%. The other is a $1100 paperweight |
| I work at a gun store and while i have never owned one i wouldn't trust them. In the past year we have sent 2 back OUT OF THE BOX for issues and several customers have brought back fired models that needed repair. In this same time frame i have seen no Springfields come back, even though we sell about the same number of each. Springfields seem more reasonably priced and in my opinion are a better product |
|
Quoted:
Its the internet. It only takes a few unhappy customers. I love mine and everyone I know who has one loves theirs. Some people just hate them because its the cool thing to do. I wouldn't hesitate buying one, if it breaks, ill fix it. 
WRONG. Kimber has had REAL quality control issues over the years. They also went to a crappy ejector. The "hate" is based on real world failures and a lapse in customer service. |
|
Owned one of the first run out of Oregon. It was alright except for the finish, sold a bunch of them for awhile as a Kimber Master Dealer. I was never a fanboy but what I noticed over the years is the lack of customer service. Even if theyre nice to you on the phone they cant/wont fix the pistol when you ship it back. The Custom Shop is a farce and they priced themselves out of what they were meant to be in the first place. Look at one of the "better" Kimbers run pricewise and then look at what a Les Baer costs. I wont say its a no brainer but it makes you wonder why people still buy Kimber when a few hundred more will get you a Les Baer. One more joke is the Gold Combat at 2300 bucks, the rusty barrels and 500 rounds to break it in and if it still doesnt shoot then send it to us and will look at it deal. Oh and the one year warranty. |
|
I own two pre-series II Kimbers but I wouldn't buy a new one. They should have stayed with what worked for them but they started cutting corners. You hear a lot of issues with their MIM parts, poorly fit components, finishes that just plain suck, etc. Today there are better choices for the dollar spent.
I would rather pickup a lightly used top tier 1911 from the likes of Wilson, Baer, or Ed Brown than get a new over-priced Kimber. |
|
I had two Kimbers, both broke under 500 rds, both went back, my TLE went back two times to fix FTF's and FTE's and a loose safety, my CDP went back twice also, for the same damn broken ambi safety, I swear they took the original out, super glued it back together and sent it back, broke just swinging the safety off, it went back. I lost confidence in them so I sold them both, actually I had Covert Pro, also and sold it before it could break. Bought more Springers
ETA, both times they took about 3-4 months to get them back to me. They actually had them longer than I did. |
|
Quoted:
im wondering the same thing....two years ago Kimber was all the rage. Not so any more Just a guess. As sales become more popular, the possibility of problems increase as well as the reports of such. Or, like most fads, they die away. Before I bought my first 1911 I looked at Kimber first because everyone and their mother(some grandmothers too) has one...I chose a Springfield Milspec instead due to the style/features, or specifically there lack of... I think it's just 1911 Koo-aid. They have some good values, but so do many other 1911 makers. If I were going to spend $1500+ I would get a full custom anything, not a Kimber. |
|
Quoted:
Kimber builds fine pistols, but other manufacturers provide a superior product with a superior warranty for the same money. If Kimber had a lifetime warranty and they stood behind it like Springfield does they would be better off. That said no hate here I have a Stainless Target II and a Grand Raptor II and both are kick ass pistols. |
|
Happy with my Custom II. Never had a problem with it personally although a couple of friends that shot it had FTE problems. Either they were the unlucky bastards that were holding the gun on the two occassions where there was a problem or it was them to start with
|
|
This picture has been used a million times...the gun continued to function correctly after the issue and Kimber replaced the hammer under warranty. |
|
Quoted:
This picture has been used a million times...the gun continued to function correctly after the issue and Kimber replaced the hammer under warranty. I just usually ignore that picture. But I am not going to start a pissing match over MIM parts either. |
|
A buddy with a Kimber compact loves it, says it is more accurate than his full size.
When I pick up a gun the look matters some but more importantly, feel it. Every time I picked up a Kimber I put it right back down, it did not feel right to me. You can say I am silly but my S&W's, Colts and Springfield feel right. |
|
Several reasons IMO.
1) They let quality and QC lapse in favor of playing the "gun of the week" game. You can hardly pick up a gun rag anymore without some ad for a brand new Kimber model staring back at you. Some of their MIM parts were inconsistently done and gave Kimber the reputation of being stuffed with crappy parts. 2) Their ill-fated foray into the external extractor adventure caused a lot of problems on otherwise reliable guns. Fortunately they have seen that it was a mistake, and are back to the 1911 extractor. 3) Their warranty repair department leaves something to be desired. They seem to blame the shooter more than is reasonable, and when they do actually undertake repairs, they are apparently unable to achieve resolution as frequently as other manufacturers. 4) They have a firing pin safety that is distasteful to 1911 purists. I would also offer the personal opinion that they don't offer a very good value proposition with their higher-priced products, which for all intents and purposes seem to be nothing more than the same gun they make across the board but with more geegaws stuck to them. These do not compare favorably to 1911s turned out by dedicated semi-custom shops. |
|
The father of my best friend had a Kimber. He loved it except that it kept breaking down on him (my friend told me that it was in at the smith being worked on a lot). He sold it because he needed some money, but he plans on buying another after his tax return. |
| b In my opinion the problems with Kimber are internet based-blown out of proportion. A guy has a bad one, combined with poor service and posts all over the internet and before you know it..Kimbers..the actual guns..are crap..and that is not the case. I own a Custom II and I also own Spingfields,Colts and Rocks. My Kimber is just as reliable as the rest and ive never had a single problem. the slide to frame fit and action are as good as ive ever felt. It looks like their problem is with customer service, and this has led to people trashing the guns and thats a pity. Kimber should take notice and look to Springfields CS for a model. |
|
Like I seen an expert once say, 1911's always need tweaking to make them right... I think alot of people buy them and have a problem and they get on here and bitch and send it back.... I just got a Dan Wesson Bobtail and it kept jamming, friends says send it back, I kept shooting it, at around 500 round mark it is Now RELIABLE>>>>>> It was mostly with reloads, now it eats them!!!! the Dam gun is SO TIGHT. My friends Taurus Eats anything, so it must be a better gun than the DW or Kimber?????? NOT.......
Friend has a COLT Special Combat and a Commander XSE, that has had to Have WORK as well... them Wilsons, Ed Browns and other high ends are guns that have more hands on attention and have ALOT of rounds thru them and tweaked before they are sold.. Maybe Kimber got a bad rap with the E-extractor, I dont know but I have had kimbers and know people with them and they love them. I really think there are more happy people with thier kimbers then ones that have problems... |
|
Quoted:
Like I seen an expert once say, 1911's always need tweaking to make them right... I think alot of people buy them and have a problem and they get on here and bitch and send it back.... I just got a Dan Wesson Bobtail and it kept jamming, friends says send it back, I kept shooting it, at around 500 round mark it is Now RELIABLE>>>>>> It was mostly with reloads, now it eats them!!!! the Dam gun is SO TIGHT. My friends Taurus Eats anything, so it must be a better gun than the DW or Kimber?????? NOT....... Friend has a COLT Special Combat and a Commander XSE, that has had to Have WORK as well... them Wilsons, Ed Browns and other high ends are guns that have more hands on attention and have ALOT of rounds thru them and tweaked before they are sold.. Maybe Kimber got a bad rap with the E-extractor, I dont know but I have had kimbers and know people with them and they love them. I really think there are more happy people with thier kimbers then ones that have problems... I'm not bitching, I sent mine back, problem solved, if asked though I will tell you why. One had a two safetys break, actually it broke within 500 rounds, I sent it back, the new one broke just putting it on safe  .
The other one would continulusly ftf and fte, it went back and when it came back they had replaced everything inside it, it still did somewhat, I think they just threw parts at it hopeing that cure it. My other bitch with Kimber is rusted, pitted barrels, common 1000.00 for a barrel whose out side looks like shit? |
|
I have had 2 Kimbers and both are gone now. The Ultra Carry I had was a sweet gun, and I'm not sure why I got rid of it..... The CDP Pro I had was and still is a great looking POS! It's on it's third owner now, and has the same issues after Kimber has already worked on it twice. It has FTF and FTE issues, and Kimber said it was a mag issue. I tried Wilson, Chip McCormick ect and still the same every time. The current owner is sending it back in, as Kimber said they will fix it. I am remaining hopeful for the current owner, but as far as my past experience with Kimber I think he will be as disapointed as I was. We shall see.
As far as performing mods and tweeks to get the 1911 to "run right" I think is a bit overplayed. Yes, I sent my Loaded in to Springfield to have it made to the same specs as the FBI model. That was by choice and it is what I wanted the pistol to do, it ran flawlessly without the changes. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
They want a lot of money for MIM parts. If it isn't a true "custom" good bet it has MIM parts in it, including Colt. 2 vs everything but the frame, slide and barrel... and the Colt is less money. Hmm, tough choice. you're right, it isn't a tough choice, which is why I have 2 Kimbers and 0 Colt 1911's these days.
|
|
I find them to be overly tight and unreliable, in general. I've personally fired about 5 Kimbers and none of them worked properly.
They leave carbon steel barrels unfinished. This is technically inferior in every way. They do it for LOOKS. It reminds me of a riced out car. That said, I'm positive there exist fine guns with the name Kimber on them. I just haven't held one. |
|
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: They want a lot of money for MIM parts. If it isn't a true "custom" good bet it has MIM parts in it, including Colt. 2 vs everything but the frame, slide and barrel... and the Colt is less money. Hmm, tough choice. you're right, it isn't a tough choice, which is why I have 2 Kimbers and 0 Colt 1911's these days. Sucks for you. |
|
internet posts by OWNERS complaining on how their gun was a POS and had to be sent back x number of times after dealing shitty customer servce; shitty customer service leaves a sour taste in an owners mouth.
springfield owners all claim great customer service even if they have to send the gun in x times. colt owners don't care, because they own a colt 
ETA shitty customer service leads to customers doing everything they can to get others not to buy a product; good customer service leads customers to recommend a product, because a company stands behind their product and does what it can to make the customer happy. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Its the internet. It only takes a few unhappy customers. I love mine and everyone I know who has one loves theirs. Some people just hate them because its the cool thing to do. I wouldn't hesitate buying one, if it breaks, ill fix it.
WRONG. Kimber has had REAL quality control issues over the years. They also went to a crappy ejector. The "hate" is based on real world failures and a lapse in customer service. I said some and thats true. I am aware of Kimbers problems, I dont need a lesson. If every one's hate was based on a personal real world failure, Kimber would not have as bad a rep as they do. Word gets around and changes peoples OPINIONS not experiences. |
|
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: It seems to me the most common beefs were the External Extractor, and the Schwartz safety. And MIM parts. If Colt made a 1911 out of jello you would still defend it. No, not really. If Colt made a piece of shit with an external extractor, the Schwartz safety they tried in the 1920s and found unreliable, and every part MIM I wouldn't buy it either. |