RE: Kimber or Colt 1911
You can also put Springfield Armory, and my personal favorite, Para-Ordnance on that list. Colts are great but you're going to pay for the name. Kimber offers some of the finest pistols at production prices. para-Ordnance offers double stack magazines for capacity of up to 14+1 rounds of .45acp. There's something about having 15 rounds of .45acp on tap, such as Para Ordnances offer. Springfields also enjoy GOOD quality control. What you need to do is write down EXACTLY the variation you want, complete with details such as length, sites, finish, etc. That way when you go to compare, the choices will be greatly simplified. Recently, I bought a Taurus PT1911 for 500$ NIB with nite sites. it's proven to be utterly reliable but you cannot install adjustable rear site very easy due to the oddball dovetail size. What I usually do is install adjustable sites (or buy that way) on any pistol I own, sight them in to hit dead exact to point of aim, then purposely forget they're adjustable.