skosh69
10-14-2011, 11:46 PM
Hello one and all. I waited until my pistol was back in my hand to tell you all about what happened and how it was dealt with by Kimber's C/S. I didn't want to give the Kimber hater's/basher's any ammo should my experience go badly and I wanted to give Kimber a chance to shine and shine they did. Sorry it's rather long, but I wanted to give as much detail as possible.
As you know, I purchased my CDP back in Jan. of this year, have put roughly 1K rds downrange and have made some subtle changes to its appearance. I started with grips, made by a member here on the forum, "dsparkie". I've tried two MSH's, a Wilson Combat V-Grip and a black Kimber poly one. I' also went with a Kimber Tactical Bump Grip Safety. And I've "blackened" the stainless small parts (mag release, slide stop and thumb safety) with Caswell's Stainless blackening kit.
Ok, here's what happened. I started to notice that the Kimpro finish was flaking off near the grip safety tangs. See picture...
http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l538/skosh1/KIMBER8003-1.jpg
While this issue was rather small, it annoyed me, but not enough to address it right away. It had been like this for a few months now.
So here's where the fun begins. I contact Kimber, around the first of Sept. and tell them of my issue. At first, they were not willing to do anything about it as they said that the finish was not warrantied. I pleaded that I was told before that it was, for at least the first year! When I thought I was at a dead end, I finally asked for a manager or supervisor. The next person I spoke with, asked me to send photos and they would make a determination based on the photos. The next response was even more disheartening, as they said that I had "customized" my gun with aftermarket parts, that it might have been whoever installed the grip safety caused the finish to start flaking. I responded that the finish has been slowly flaking over the past few months and that the G/S was new.
After a few more emails, the person finally agreed to have my gun looked at in person and instructed me to ship it to them, and they paid the shipping! 1st Bonus.
OK, after having my gun for over a week, I get a call saying that they would honor refinishing the frame, but whoever installed the G/S, did it improperly and it needed to be replaced along with the sear. I said that "I" replaced it, have not had any issues firing it and thought that it was a simple drop in procedure. Their was response was no and for my gun to function properly, the parts would need to be replaced. I figured this was just a ploy to get something in return for having paid for shipping and for refinishing the gun, so I agreed.
Get this, the person I'm dealing with is smart enough to see where it was I've been going with my "blacked out parts" that they offer to change out the plunger tube from SS to blued, for FREE. I say go for it. 2nd Bonus.
Now, a day or so goes by and I'm thinking, while they have it, why not see how much it would be to have them swap out all the small frame parts and also go single sided safety. Well, I didn't get a direct quote for the small parts but for going with a single side safety, it was going to be like a hundred bucks, so I passed. But I did ask that the sear pin be changed as you could see the SS one easily and could it be swapped out for a black one.
This last Tues, I received a call that my CDP was shipping and I'd have it by Thursday. Well, I left work early yesterday and didn't get my package until today. Ready for this, imagine my surprise when I open the case and see my baby all shiny and new looking. Something doesn't look right though. Upon closer inspection, Kimber had replace my old "home blackened" slidestop, mag release and ambi safety with NEW black ones, AT NO COST!!! 3rd and final Bonus. Can you believe that??? And who says Kimber's C/S sucks?
Here are some pics, sorry my camera sucks and even after reading Jeff Lynsh' tutorial, I still can't take decent pictures...
http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l538/skosh1/Kimber12003.jpghttp://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l538/skosh1/Kimber12004-1.jpg
So, here I sit with my baby looking like I'd always wanting her to look and praising Kimber's C/S and all it's glory. Imagine that, Kimber took a "modified" pistol and garnered the warranty and even went up and beyond what was discussed and gave the customer the pistol that they were always looking for! I can't say enough about them and how they handled "my case". Now I can't say that the next guy is going to get the same treatment, but I'd be a betting guy and say that they probably will!
GO KIMBER......
As you know, I purchased my CDP back in Jan. of this year, have put roughly 1K rds downrange and have made some subtle changes to its appearance. I started with grips, made by a member here on the forum, "dsparkie". I've tried two MSH's, a Wilson Combat V-Grip and a black Kimber poly one. I' also went with a Kimber Tactical Bump Grip Safety. And I've "blackened" the stainless small parts (mag release, slide stop and thumb safety) with Caswell's Stainless blackening kit.
Ok, here's what happened. I started to notice that the Kimpro finish was flaking off near the grip safety tangs. See picture...
http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l538/skosh1/KIMBER8003-1.jpg
While this issue was rather small, it annoyed me, but not enough to address it right away. It had been like this for a few months now.
So here's where the fun begins. I contact Kimber, around the first of Sept. and tell them of my issue. At first, they were not willing to do anything about it as they said that the finish was not warrantied. I pleaded that I was told before that it was, for at least the first year! When I thought I was at a dead end, I finally asked for a manager or supervisor. The next person I spoke with, asked me to send photos and they would make a determination based on the photos. The next response was even more disheartening, as they said that I had "customized" my gun with aftermarket parts, that it might have been whoever installed the grip safety caused the finish to start flaking. I responded that the finish has been slowly flaking over the past few months and that the G/S was new.
After a few more emails, the person finally agreed to have my gun looked at in person and instructed me to ship it to them, and they paid the shipping! 1st Bonus.
OK, after having my gun for over a week, I get a call saying that they would honor refinishing the frame, but whoever installed the G/S, did it improperly and it needed to be replaced along with the sear. I said that "I" replaced it, have not had any issues firing it and thought that it was a simple drop in procedure. Their was response was no and for my gun to function properly, the parts would need to be replaced. I figured this was just a ploy to get something in return for having paid for shipping and for refinishing the gun, so I agreed.
Get this, the person I'm dealing with is smart enough to see where it was I've been going with my "blacked out parts" that they offer to change out the plunger tube from SS to blued, for FREE. I say go for it. 2nd Bonus.
Now, a day or so goes by and I'm thinking, while they have it, why not see how much it would be to have them swap out all the small frame parts and also go single sided safety. Well, I didn't get a direct quote for the small parts but for going with a single side safety, it was going to be like a hundred bucks, so I passed. But I did ask that the sear pin be changed as you could see the SS one easily and could it be swapped out for a black one.
This last Tues, I received a call that my CDP was shipping and I'd have it by Thursday. Well, I left work early yesterday and didn't get my package until today. Ready for this, imagine my surprise when I open the case and see my baby all shiny and new looking. Something doesn't look right though. Upon closer inspection, Kimber had replace my old "home blackened" slidestop, mag release and ambi safety with NEW black ones, AT NO COST!!! 3rd and final Bonus. Can you believe that??? And who says Kimber's C/S sucks?
Here are some pics, sorry my camera sucks and even after reading Jeff Lynsh' tutorial, I still can't take decent pictures...
http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l538/skosh1/Kimber12003.jpghttp://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l538/skosh1/Kimber12004-1.jpg
So, here I sit with my baby looking like I'd always wanting her to look and praising Kimber's C/S and all it's glory. Imagine that, Kimber took a "modified" pistol and garnered the warranty and even went up and beyond what was discussed and gave the customer the pistol that they were always looking for! I can't say enough about them and how they handled "my case". Now I can't say that the next guy is going to get the same treatment, but I'd be a betting guy and say that they probably will!
GO KIMBER......