I bought my first Kimber 1911 .45ACP stainless Ultra Carry II late last year and have been very happy with it. It was the perfect carry weapon for me until last Sunday when it failed on me at the range. I was not abusing it in any way, and was using brand new winchester FMJ ball ammo with a Wilson Combat Mag. I was half way through a mag when the hammer fell and nothing happened. At first I thought I had caught a misfire. I checked the bullet, barrel and chambered a new round with the same result. Once I removed the slide to inspect what happened, I found that the ejector was broken and the firing pin safety plunger was missing. Also from this failure the top of the frame and the bullet ramp on the back of the barrel were dented.
Now after I got over the fact that my 850+ dollar pistol with only about 200 rounds through it had just failed, I was okay. I realized after the initial anger wore off that these things sometimes happen no matter who you buy your gear from, and I felt a whole lot better after I spoke with the folks over at the Kimber office. They told me that they were a little behind on repairs at the time and told me that the turn around time could be about 3 weeks. I thought that to be a reasonable quote due to the extent of the repair, and overnighted the weapon to them that day (Monday).
So after returning from a business trip on that following Friday. I received a surprise box from Kimber. They had totally repaired, replaced bad parts, polished, tested fired, and overnighted my 45 back to me in under 3 days! I still can not believe they were able to turn it around so quickly, and without any red tape bs what so ever. I feel compelled to share my experience dealing with them and let them know that they have a supporter for life.
If any of you folks out there are on the fence about what 1911 to buy, then look no further. It will cost you a little more than other brands, but you will KNOW where that extra money went when you use it. Their quality I already knew about, and when you couple that with their outstanding service, you just can't go wrong. Thank you Kimber Mfg. you guys are a model American business in our book!
Sincerely,
SplodeTV
thanks to you shes back to her full splendor!
Horrible customer service, will never buy another Kimber. Bought an Ultra 10 II. Jammed from the start. Live rounds actually getting slammed sticking straight up out of the chamber. Frame ended up being cracked, they said they will replace it with a 7 round single stack ultra frame as they no longer make a 10 round .45 compact (why I bought the gun). Now I have to spend $50 to overnight the gun and $35 to re-register it and they refuse to offer credit to make up the difference even though I have to take a gun with a lower capacity than what I bought. I asked for an upgrade part that might cost them $50......but no go.
I'll gladly take my business somewhere else.
I have had a similar problem with my Ultra carry II. I jumped out the front door the other day to shoot a coyote on my property at about 15 yards. I dropped the hammer and nothing, then immediately racked in another round and no bang. I have read about problems with their series 80 firing pin, and the palm safety. I will be ordering a series 70 firing pin from Wilson as this is my everyday carry pistol and my intent was not to use it as a club.
I have two first Gen. CDP's and I could not be happier with them. The only time I had trouble was my fault. I installed an after market recoil buffer and it did not like it. Feed failures. I should have known better. When you have a gun that sweetly made, you don't need to add stuff to it. I too have an ultra carry. I put a set of Crimson Trace grips on it. Friggin sweet to shoot. Never had a fail. And I have put well over 1000 rounds through her and twice that out of my ProCarry. Not problems. I recommend them highly.
Leave the poor guy alone. He likes his Kimber.
If your Glock broke, you would't tell anyone.
Shoulda bought a Glock!!
-Chop
That's what ya get for buying a Kimber. I'll never own another one.