why are Kahrs so expensive?

[JERRY]

ok, spare me the because theyre worth it. i want to know what actually makes them cost more than say a glock which is of similar design? is it simply because its what the market will bear?

i want a PM45 and was going to sell a nice 1911 i have to fund one thinking id have a nice bit of cash left over......but the pm45 price is $700.00 when you factor in taxes and all....

so what is it folks? i know the all stainless steel guns are pricey simply because theyre all stainless steel, but the poly guns are cheaper to make.

im just bitching to get it out of my system because im gun rich but dollar poor right now......maybe in time this will be a fad that i will be over, but for now im becoming a kahraholic....

[jocko]

ask kahr ,u just gonna get speculation from us. Glocks are made in Austria to, so more than likely their labor market is far less than ours.I gotta admit glocks are low n price for what u get IMO, but it is what it is... sure nuttin wrong in being akahraholic. I know some guys who are glock aholics, I consider myself a harley alcohic..

[JERRY]

im a glockaholic as well, i own 5 of them in 9mm and 10mm.....but i want a mini glockish type .45acp, the PM45 fits that bill better than the G36 but i just might have to let my PM45 idea go.....

i put my CDE for trades locally on this board figuring id get some bites but nothing....

[chrish]

I think it's a number of things. As jocko said, labor cost is possibly a factor. Not familiar w/ EU labor rates, but gotta be less than here. Some other factors that come to mind:

1. Glock has a bigger market to sell to (law enforcement, some governments, more of the population) which translates to lower cost.

2. Glock has already recouped much of their R&D and tooling costs, the design has remained largely unchanged. They've been around longer while producing more guns to work the kinks out.

3. Miniaturization - not all of the parts, but some, and the space within which they function on a Kahr is tougher to do. They invested alot of time and effort to do that and in all markets (laptops, tvs, etc), going smaller costs more. That may really be part and parcel to my #2, but a little different.

4. More mass production. Not saying it's a bad thing, it is what it is. But I'm guessing Glock, because of #1, is geared up to produce these things on a massive scale. Kahr produces less in the same period of time, cost per unit will be higher. Ford vs Ferrari (and I'm not saying a Glock is a Ford or Ford quality vs Kahr/Ferrari, or vice-versa, just saying mass produced vs not-so-much mass produced).

Just some thoughts. They may all be bunk.

[Bawanna]

im a glockaholic as well, i own 5 of them in 9mm and 10mm.....but i want a mini glockish type .45acp, the PM45 fits that bill better than the G36 but i just might have to let my PM45 idea go.....

i put my CDE for trades locally on this board figuring id get some bites but nothing....

You really limit the market when you require face to face in Auburn Alabama.
Lots of interested folks would be shut out on that alone.

[JERRY]

chrish, i hear what youre saying....but with the problems repeated here with the PM45s im not buying the higher quality mantra.....some of the problems mentioned on this site are ones that should have kept a gun in the factory instead of the sales floor...maybe Kahr hasnt worked the bugs out of their PM45 yet.....

[Longitude Zero]

Kahrs are high quality instruments and can be finicky until properly broken in. It is silly to compare a Kahr to a Glock since the tolerances on a Glock are far, far wider than a Kahr.

That is why Glocks always rattle when shaken and Kahrs rarely do.

[CJB]

The reason they are the price they are, is because the market supports that price. Its what enough people are willing to pay. Thats it. Every product is like that. Get the most you can get for it, what the folks are willing to pay. When the market does not, or no longer support the price point for the feature set, the manufacturer can either - revise the price, revise the feature set, or both. The CM series is an example of "both".

[JohnR]

Same reason 1911s are, I suppose.

[muggsy]

Ever hear of the law of supply and demand? I rest my case.

[WR Monger]

The reason they are the price they are, is because the market supports that price. Its what enough people are willing to pay. Thats it. Every product is like that. Get the most you can get for it, what the folks are willing to pay. When the market does not, or no longer support the price point for the feature set, the manufacturer can either - revise the price, revise the feature set, or both. The CM series is an example of "both".

Exactly, it's called a "price point".

[Tinman507]

[chrish]

chrish, i hear what youre saying....but with the problems repeated here with the PM45s im not buying the higher quality mantra.....some of the problems mentioned on this site are ones that should have kept a gun in the factory instead of the sales floor...maybe Kahr hasnt worked the bugs out of their PM45 yet.....

I don't think the PM45, or any Kahr .45 is good guage for Kahr quality. The sweet spot is the 9mm for them. Can't speak to .40, but there don't seem to be many problems w/ them either. Seems to be the .45 models, mostly the PM and the P380 that cause more grief that it's probably worth.

Not sure why that is. I'm not a avid gunsmith and couldn't speak to why they can be so perfect in 9 and 40 and have so much trouble (seemingly so from this forum) with .45.

[bonjorno2]

Made in the states....

[JERRY]

I don't think the PM45, or any Kahr .45 is good guage for Kahr quality. The sweet spot is the 9mm for them. Can't speak to .40, but there don't seem to be many problems w/ them either. Seems to be the .45 models, mostly the PM and the P380 that cause more grief that it's probably worth.

Not sure why that is. I'm not a avid gunsmith and couldn't speak to why they can be so perfect in 9 and 40 and have so much trouble (seemingly so from this forum) with .45.

thats what worries me. ive been bitten by the Kahr bug but dont want to get bitten by Kahr crap.

the Glock 36 is a fine pistol but is no smaller than a Glock 19. id like a really compact .45acp of quality. the P45 is no smaller than the G36 for the most part. the PM45 seemed to fit the bill......but now im having second thoughts about trading my Delta Elite for a PM45 and cash......