doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Kimber Valier Problems(Long Story)

Kimber is located in downtown Yonkers, NY. I stopped by the facility last year to see about a problem I was having with a gun they made but they wouldn't even look at it. Seems the name has been sold a few times and they said it wasn't their gun.

Unless they brought a gunsmith over from Turkey where the gun was made, I have a feeling they'll be lost about regulating the barrels. Jim's opinion is similar to mine, tell them you want another gun, one that patterns and operates correctly.

Or get your money back from the dealer ASAP. For $5K you can get any nuber of new SxS's, the Poli's from Rich cole would be one choice, I'm sure Rich know's what's what with those guns.

I think Kimber will be flying blind.

I think a new gun is the answer to this issue too and have lobbyed for that the whole time. This whole matter is complicated by the fact that this gun is a present. Needless to say this present means alot to me and I want a gun that I can keep. The POI thing really, really bothers me and makes me want to part with the gun. No doubt I would loose a grand or more in the process but I don't want or need a gun that doesn't hit where I point. The gun may pattern better with different shells but I don't know since I did not want to fire the gun with it already giving problems. I wonder if this were a Poli, Grulla, Aya, etc., would they replace the gun or try to fix it? Its a moot point I guess but I wonder how this is normally dealt with in the industry since I am sure that anyone can produce a gun that gives trouble.

Recoil Rob,
"Seems the name has been sold a few times and they said it wasn't their gun"
Just a tangential bit of info: Leslie Edelman bought the Kimber name out of bankruptcy, set up in Yonkers, and got their highly profitable/successful 1911 biz going.

Bulldawg - Get a replacement gun if possible.

You've been given a lot of good advice already but your last post makes me wonder what is really going on here. Who are you "lobbying" with for a new gun? Your wife? Surely the gift is the same whether this gun is replaced or not. "She called the factory rep."(in Turkey?) The gun was misplaced on the shelf at the factory? Is it in Turkey now? Kimber is just the importer, not the factory. You seem to be awfully eager to excuse Kimber for this mess, to me.
I'm puzzled.
I would insist on your(wife's) money back and buy a gun of similar value with a well established reputation, and remember to thank her every time you use the new gun.
JL

JL ,"lobbying" was a poor choice of words. They have a person assigned to the sales and service on this model and he is who I am dealing with. He is clear that I want a new gun. They have communicated with me throughout this matter but keep telling me they will fix the gun if possible instead of just replacing it. I don't believe that it can be fixed satisfactorily. They know that. The frustration is that it seems you have to resort to some form of litigation to get any service on problems these days. Trust me, I would be glad to have my money back at this point but would still be happy with a different "functional" gun of the same model. This is not unreasonable.

You returned the gun, NIB and unfired, why should you loose $1000?

You want a new gun or your money back or file a small claims action. Most states allow up to $5000 in small calims court.

Did you pay cash or credit card? If credit card, get them involved.

If it was a Poli, Grulla, AYA I think they're better setup to have the gun repaired. As Yeti said, Kimber knows ACP's.

I'm curious now about the current Kimber Company. Do they actually have a Kimber factory where their rifles and pistols are made, or they little more than an importer.

Where is your gun now? Is it in the Kimber "factory" or in Turkey? I don't believe for a minute that Kimber has anyone capable of re-regulating barrels on a SxS shotgun at whatever place of business Kimber has in Yonkers.

I believe Kimber's Valier shotguns are made by Huglu in Turkey, and merely imported by Kimber. Normally I'm a big supporter of Huglu SG's (I have 2 and love them!), but it appears a lemon slipped through the cracks.

I think I'd call the rep and tell him I want it settled TODAY - Either ship a new gun or refund my $$$. If you really want the refund, and bought with a CC, ask them to charge it back; after you explain you've returned the product, they should support your request.

As an example of how this could be handled - Yildiz (another Turkish imported SG) had a similar problem; several (about 6 that I've heard of) shotguns were sold with the bottom barrel WAY out of regulation. Yildiz (or Academy Sporting Goods) had contracted with Briley to perform warranty work. The guns were shipped to Briley, fitted with new barrels, and returned to satisified owners. And this is on a $400 gun!

There are two gun dealers in my area who will not do business with Kimber because of their dealings with them on 1911 guns. Resolving issues with defective guns was the sore point. Coincidentally, I had this discussion an hour ago with a small dealer who will no longer even order one if you ask him to.

No offense to Kimber but to "loose" a firearm for roughly a month when the customer's been in regular contact with them sounds just like a story that happened to me when I was in the ski business years ago. A customer had returned a pair of xc skis that had delamed and after getting a r.a. I sent them back to the company. after checking back several times the rep got a bit short because the problem had to be that I made a mistake since the skis were clearly not there. After getting the tracking info from ups I called and talked to the same rep who had the same attitude... That is until I pointed out that not only were the skis at the company for the time that they couldn't find them but that the rep I was talking to was the person who had signed for the skis.

They may not know how to deal with the problem and are stalling until they can either find a way to get the shotgun repaired or replaced.

Parris