how reliable,accurate are they?looking at possible trade

The early models had feeding issues. They made some changes and now they supposedly work better. However, the word is that they are very Ammo sensitive. They are a well made gun and retail for more than most small 9s.

The reputation is so bad they stopped making the Solo in favor of the Micro, which looks like a copy of the Sig 938. I have a 938 and it is an excellent pistol.

Kimber supposedly got the bugs worked out, then discontinued them. The Solo had such a bad reputation they couldn’t sell them. I understand that if you have one with problems they’ll fix it so it works, but I wouldn’t count on having much luck trading it off. Nobody wants them.

I wouldn’t take one in trade.

They named it right.

quote:

Originally posted by tireman:
how reliable,accurate are they?looking at possible trade

I had one, it was a very accurate single shot pistol. Couldn't get more than a few rounds (124 gr factory ammo as suggested) off until would jam. Took it apart to clean and locking lugs in slide had "peened" until metal sticking out enough to jam and scratch barrel chamber. Knocked off the chuck of "peened" metal on slide, removed edges of the deep scratch on chamber and attempted to shoot again. Did the same thing, jammed and locking lug peening.
Called Kimber, "send it in, we've never heard of anything like this". Reading on forums later revealed this was a common problem.
Sent Solo in, they replied back that it would need a new slide and barrel as I had altered the barrel and slide, cost would be $350.00. I argued that I did not "alter" the slide and barrel, only knocked off peened metal to get barrel out and re assemble. I request to talk to gunsmith working on pistol, they refused. I asked, and kept getting bumped up the chain of command (supposedly) with no luck.
We'll ship it back to you as is, but will be listed in our books as "inoperable", "not safe to fire", etc.
Go ahead and ship it back, I will not sign for it and it will come right back to you.
We"ll send you a form to sign giving us permission to keep and destroy.
Nope, will not do. Anyway after weeks of this BS I sent them the $350.00 and they shipped it back to me. However, after receiving it, I notice pistol is scratched up, finish missing in several areas, like they clamped it in the shooting vise with a pair of unpadded vice grips. I call back and they more or less called me a liar and stated "we take photos when we receive, just in case guys like you claim we scratched it". I say go ahead and check, they did and photos showed flawless finish, so again I ship it back and they refinished the frame.
A customer service nightmare for sure.

For the record, I'm not knocking Kimber firearms in general, my daily carry for the past 10 years is a Kimber Raptor 45ACP. I think the Solo got a bad reputation before they got the kinks worked out and apparently my customer service experience wasn't the best ever.

moved to Pistols.

The Solo is a spiffy-looking pistol that had so many problems that Kimber just couldn't deal with any further. Classic example of letting the earlier adopters be the beta testers, and boy did they find the problems. A certain SIG Sauer boss came out of that ecosystem, if I recall. Stovepiping, slide and barel peening, short parts life...these were the primary issues surrounding way too many examples of the model. Thanks to the internet the word got around and sales tanked. Later production Solos supposedly addressed most of the issues (at least we heard less about them), but I don't think they ever completely went away. Besides, was the lack of internet noise a result of it really being fixed, or just due to the crash of its sales and consequently a smaller user base to cry over it?

We sold a late production example not that long ago. It was one of the last to come in from Kimber before they announce the Solo's discontinuation, and even that one has cycling problems according to its unfortunate owner. We tried to warn him off the gun since he's been a good customer for us, but he "always wanted one" and was willing to take the chance on it. He lost. A scratch lottery ticket would've been a better buy, I think. Last I heard the gun was back from Kimber, but no further range reports. I think he's fuming a bit that we didn't try HARDER to talk him out of it. But some folks won't be denied, no matter how hard we try. And yet we still will get the blame...

I bought one use for a very good price. Right at home cleaned it up and took it to the range. I shot 115, 124 and 147 with no issues at all. Like all my guns I just make sure I keep them clean and oil and they seem to perform well. It is very much like my 938, it’s just a good back up around the house or one I use at the range.

I bought one recently enough for $400. It ran fine it was used. I traded it in for the same $400 towards something else. It was ok but there are better options. I wouldn’t value it more than $400-450 in your trade.

I have a SOLO. Bought around 6 years ago. Marked "Custom Shop". Kimber recommends Shooters Choice as preferred lube and I agree. I find Ammo length is critical for clear ejection. Feeding and ejection with Kimber extended round magazine is questionable.

Smoothest trigger pull, IMO.

I would prefer a Ruger LC9S as a cheaper, more reliable CCW pistol.

Avoid it. Several local shops won't even make you an offer if you want to trade one in.

Range Safety Officer here and when they were in full production most were very ammo sensitive and overall not very reliable. Kimber took many back sometimes two or three times before they stopped manufacturing them. Some returned guns became very reliable and the rest I suspect, lie in the back of their owners safes waiting the day they will be traded for something that works.
Personally, I feel they make a very classy paperweight.