Kimber Solo questions

[CANNONMAN]

I am sure that the finicky Solo has been posted here. I am currently in the middle of trying to get some relief from Kimber for my Wife's Solo. What I'm wondering is has any of you had a positive experience with Kimber that was a result of how you approached them? Here's why I say that. I know that insurance agents are trained to deny claims. It is said that one should try at least seven times for a claim. I know that Kimber knows that the Solo has issues that are a result of manufacturing and not ammo, cleanliness or shooting ability. However, upon initial contact with Kimber they almost immediately began to badger me that there are four reasons for weapons to fail. As listed above. They went on and on about ammo, cleanliness and shooting ability but would never consider manufacturing. Here they would make the claim that anything mechanical can be fixed or replaced. NEVER that there may be a design flaw. We met with a repair specialist at the NRA show in Indianapolis. He seemed genuinely sincere. I want to be cautious as to how to approach him and here I would like to hear from any of you who may have been at this same stage and have advice for me. BTW. There has never been harsh words, raised voices, disparaging remarks or insults of any sorts. A lot of innuendo by Kimber that my Wife can't shoot though. Also, the problems with the Solo are the same. They started when the gun was new. They continued through all of Kimber's suggestions, cleaning, ammo, shooting etc. and began where they left off after Kimber sent the gun back. The ammo has been very costly and is the Kimber recommendations. My Wife has been shooting for some 35 years and has won numerous awards. She has plenty of small, medium and large frame revolvers and autos. It's not her, her ammo or cleanliness. It is however, the only gun that continues to jam. It was to be her PDW. Not so much now.

 

[bikerdoc]

For what it is worth

Since I retired I work part time in a gun store.
After the introduction of the solo and the initial round of complaints we stopped selling them.

 

[Texas10mm]

I am sure that the finicky Solo has been posted here. I am currently in the middle of trying to get some relief from Kimber for my Wife's Solo. What I'm wondering is has any of you had a positive experience with Kimber that was a result of how you approached them? Here's why I say that. I know that insurance agents are trained to deny claims. It is said that one should try at least seven times for a claim. I know that Kimber knows that the Solo has issues that are a result of manufacturing and not ammo, cleanliness or shooting ability. However, upon initial contact with Kimber they almost immediately began to badger me that there are four reasons for weapons to fail. As listed above. They went on and on about ammo, cleanliness and shooting ability but would never consider manufacturing. Here they would make the claim that anything mechanical can be fixed or replaced. NEVER that there may be a design flaw. We met with a repair specialist at the NRA show in Indianapolis. He seemed genuinely sincere. I want to be cautious as to how to approach him and here I would like to hear from any of you who may have been at this same stage and have advice for me. BTW. There has never been harsh words, raised voices, disparaging remarks or insults of any sorts. A lot of innuendo by Kimber that my Wife can't shoot though. Also, the problems with the Solo are the same. They started when the gun was new. They continued through all of Kimber's suggestions, cleaning, ammo, shooting etc. and began where they left off after Kimber sent the gun back. The ammo has been very costly and is the Kimber recommendations. My Wife has been shooting for some 35 years and has won numerous awards. She has plenty of small, medium and large frame revolvers and autos. It's not her, her ammo or cleanliness. It is however, the only gun that continues to jam. It was to be her PDW. Not so much now.

Paragraphs please. Old eyes have a big problem with large blocks of text.

 

[George P]

If you can't get them to fix it right, ask for you money back, or sell it at a loss (with disclosure) and move onto something else

 

[John_R]

Is there a reason your wife isn't the one handling the claim? Wives often tend to get better results from customer service than husbands.

 

[SwampWolf]

If you can't get them to fix it right, ask for you money back, or sell it at a loss (with disclosure) and move onto something else

My advice, exactly. Life is too short to have to spend much time stewing over something you can't change.

 

[tarosean]

Always wanted one. However, way too much bad news surrounding them.

Course Kimber dropped them after a couple years. Sucks they couldn't make it work.

The bigger version EVO SP even has long time haters singing a different tune.

 

[CANNONMAN]

I have to smile and agree with the way Women get around men and get things done. I put a new starter on her car and twisted of a nut. I think if I had returned it I'd still own it. My Wife took it back and the counter guy smiled at her and said, "I can't believe a little thing like you could have done that!" Then he happily gave her a new one.

But this was a Christmas present. I got and gave it to her. I believe its my responsibility to make this work. But thanks for the smile!

 

[Dustbowl]

I’ve never been a big fan of Kimber because they MIM major parts like extractors. (I’ve replaced enough of the external style ones.)

But I understand your pain. I had a first year special edition Sig p238 (Diamond Plate Slide!) that I wanted to love in the worst kind of way but I couldn’t get it through a mag without a problem. After 500 rounds and multiple calls to Sig (they were eerily similar to yours) I traded it for a J frame smith and never looked back. I loved the way that gun looked but hated it’s reliability.

 

[Eugen]

I wonder if even Kimber wished their orphaned child would go away and be forgotten. Kimber makes very good firearms... and then there's the Solo.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Being firm but polite is always a good idea when dealing with any company.

It’s my general mode of operation for life. Stonewalling can get you a long ways if done properly, but doesn’t need to be done rudely.

When a member of the public approaches me politely, I try to help. If they are rude or accusatory, I intentionally ignore them.

 

[whatnickname]

Dump it at a gun show and go get yourself an M&P Shield, G43x, Kahr and move on. These things never worked reliably and Kimber darn well knows it.