Kimber Customer Service

HeavyRevy

HeavyRevy

New member
I was at the Des Moines gun show yesterday and I heard a gentleman ask a vender if he had any Kimber pistols. The vender replied,"We try not to," the guy asked him why and the vender replied," We don't carry brands that don't have good, if any, customer service." I have one Kimber rifle but have never had to use their customer service. I always thought if I purchased a large bore handgun it would be a Kimber. That statement got me thinking if anybody else has had customer service problems with Kimber. Your thoughts please?
 
In the past, Kimber "may" have had bad CS. I had to use there CS on two occasions for minor issues with new pistols and have had a GREAT experience each time.

In fact, not only did Kimber get the guns back to me FASTER than their original estimate, they went above and beyond the call both times with free "custom" work and supplies with both guns.

True... two out of three of my Kimbers did have to go back for work. However, since that time they have all run wonderfully and digest all kinds of ammo without issue. Seem to be a common thread with all high end 1911's.

All that said... YMMV.
 
My gun dealer for the past 20 years has told me the same thing, bad CS. He's one of the larger gun shops in the state of Va. and doesn't carry Kimber products.

He's never talked against their products, just the CS.
 
That has been reason enough for me not to buy one. Hit & miss on the rifles is another. A friend and volume dealer has had some blood pressure raising discussions with them.
Now they may have improved in the last couple years, but I somehow doubt it will ever be anything like Leupold.
 
i have 3 kimber rifles in my house. 2 dont shoot very well. my business partner and i bought a pair of 8400 classic selects in 300wsm in 2006. i did some load development work with them at that time without real success. the rifles went back to kimber, they said that there was nothing wrong with them and suggested that it was my shooting abilities not the gun. it was sent back to me with a test target. the test target was 3 shots making about a 1.5" group, i was not impressed. this last year i spent a bunch of time and money on developing a load for mine. after 18 different loads i still could not get better than a 5 shot 1.5" group. i contacted kimber and they said send it back. before i was going to spend another $40 to send it back i asked what their accuracy standard was, i was told 1.5" 3 shot group, 2" 5 shot group from a machine rest. i decided NOT to send the rifle back but rather just sell it and buy something else. a couple of weeks after my last email to customer service i got an unsolicited email from a higher up that was NOT in customer service. he said he would look into it. i have not heard back yet.
 
I have a kimber montana in 243 and it took some getting use to it. It has such a light barrel that when I shot kinda warm loads through it the barrel would rise a lot more than a standard gun. I had my smith put his own design muzzle brake on it and it really helped. I was getting fliers with several different bullets and loads I was using and decided to go back to square one and do a Optimum Charge Weight test on it. I finished not too long ago and I couldn't be happier. 1/2 inch 5 shot group @ 100 yards w/ Nos 55 grain bal tip @ 4100. Dropped a dog the other day and it was sweet. Carrying a light rifle is awesome.
I am in the process to redeveloping OCW loads for all my rifles & loads. It eliminates fliers.
I also have a 1911 gold combat rl 11 that I had to send in for a different trigger & barrel. They got it back to me fast. I had my smith put a clark comp on it w/ crimson trace laser and it shoots like a dream. I don't think sending a gun in is any big deal. I cannot imagine having any kind of factory gun and not having some type of work done to it.
 
Its interesting to hear that everyone has had such poor experiences with them.

A couple months back I dealt with Kimber and they were really quite enjoyable to work with and even sent me some gifts in the mail.

My .204 Ruger and .308 Win both shoot .5" groups at 100 yards, and my 1911 shoots well too.

So I wonder if I just lucked out, or did I just happen to work up a great load quickly for the rifles?

Here is a link to the groups my .308 is shooting:
http://utahwildlife.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=27004
 
Originally Posted By: 6724i have 3 kimber rifles in my house. 2 dont shoot very well. my business partner and i bought a pair of 8400 classic selects in 300wsm in 2006. i did some load development work with them at that time without real success. the rifles went back to kimber, they said that there was nothing wrong with them and suggested that it was my shooting abilities not the gun. it was sent back to me with a test target. the test target was 3 shots making about a 1.5" group, i was not impressed. this last year i spent a bunch of time and money on developing a load for mine. after 18 different loads i still could not get better than a 5 shot 1.5" group. i contacted kimber and they said send it back. before i was going to spend another $40 to send it back i asked what their accuracy standard was, i was told 1.5" 3 shot group, 2" 5 shot group from a machine rest. i decided NOT to send the rifle back but rather just sell it and buy something else. a couple of weeks after my last email to customer service i got an unsolicited email from a higher up that was NOT in customer service. he said he would look into it. i have not heard back yet.

That is really a shame. I have wanted to pick up a Kimber Montana for a couple years now. I have read several stories that are similar to yours and am very hesitant to buy one now.
 
I've had a Kimber 10mm 1911 Target model since 2004 and it initially had an extraction/ejector problem...Called Kimber, got a return authorization number and had the weapon back within 10 days (no charge) and no problems since...

Unless things have changed in the meantime, I'd have to give them an A+...
 
I have a buddy who is a dentist and his dream has always been to get a Kimber when he could afford one. He picked up one 3 months ago and it was a huge let down the accuracy was fine but it was having cycling problems and so he sent it back....needless to say he was far less than impressed with their CS and says he will never buy another Kimber again and wonders why he wasted 10 years of his life wanting a kimber one day. They may look good but I hear more negetaive than good.
 
Originally Posted By: CWeeksI have a buddy who is a dentist and his dream has always been to get a Kimber when he could afford one. He picked up one 3 months ago and it was a huge let down the accuracy was fine but it was having cycling problems and so he sent it back....needless to say he was far less than impressed with their CS and says he will never buy another Kimber again and wonders why he wasted 10 years of his life wanting a kimber one day. They may look good but I hear more negetaive than good.
Kimber 1911s are built to such tight torerances that they reccomend putting 500 rounds through them and the cycling issues go away. And thats exactly how it went with mine. Now no issues, Grizz.
 
I have had similar issues with their products. I purchased a Kimber Super Varmint in 204 and a 8400 in 270WSM. Both of these rifles shot 1.5 to 2 inch groups out of the box. I sent them both back and the 270WSM would then group .33 with Federal premiums and the 204 would go .40 with 40gr Hornadys. I purchsed a 84 in 243 and it would shoot 2 inches. I never sent it back and just sold it. I have two of their 1911's and have not had any issues. As far as their cs I thought that they did a good job on the two rifles I sent them. They did not tell me what was wrong with them but I think that it was a headspace issue. When asked, they also told me their 3 shot group was supposed to be 1.5 inches. I have vowed that if I ever bought another one that I would clean the barrel, not mount the scope, take it outside and fire three rounds then box it back up to send it to them with a note saying that it would not group. That would save time and ammo.
 
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