Has the Kohler Cimarron gotten better in the last year?

Kohler Cimarron vs. American Standard Cadet 3

see update further down...

We got a Kohler Cimarron at lowes today (see my other thread) https://terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19852

and based my entire decision on what the guy at Lowes said. I had no idea a "new" toilet that was highly rated could have so many problems. I do computer stuff so I know hardware normally gets continual revisions. Is this true with the Kohler Cimarron? We have Model K-11465-0 (Comfort Height Complete Solution).

I'm pretty freaked out now (especially if it leaks up or leaves terrible streaks in the bowl). We have it all unpacked and I was about to put the wax ring on.

I guess I might be able to take it back to Lowes yet - but I'd need tog et another one there because I don't have the energy to go shopping all over. The other toilet he was suggesting was a Jacuzzi toilet? All in one kit. This Kohler was $228, and the Jacuzzi toilet was $128.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Oh... and we don't have a toilet right now since we threw the old one in the backyard. I know - not smart.

If you bring it back get an American Standard Cadet 3, it will work well for you...they have it in an elongated, comfort height if you like that better.

I had a Kohler Cimarron in the upstairs bathroom and got rid of it because of the streaking and horrible bowl wash. It was replaced with a Toto Drake, which is working on 2.5 years without a clog!

I recently spruced up my first floor half bath, removed the 7-gallon antique (water rates were raised last year), patched the walls, painted, and installed an American Standard Cadet 3.

I can vouch for both the Drake and the Cadet 3 as excellent flushers and rinsers. By all means, return the Cimarron and get the Cadet 3.

achutch

Oh good gawd!

If you thought Kohler quality was bad going to Am. Std. is like jumping out of the pan and into the fire! The Central American Standard is not any greaming tower of quality control for sure!

Jacuzzi is nothing more than a chinese made toilet that on a different day might have said Glacier Bay or, Crane.

Can I interest you in a Toto yet?

Yes, Redwood, you could interest me in another Toto. There is no question in my mind that they are the best. I would have loved to have had an Aquia or one of the new Double Cyclones. However, and I am looking at the invoice for my Drake (without Sanigloss) dated 10-22-2005, with prices of everything going through the roof and my modest wages not rising accordingly, I did not feel that I could afford $546.18 (and would be more today most likely) for another Drake. So I settled for something that I know (and I do know) works, but would be less expensive -- there were other things that I did in that room that cost $$$, that I wouldn't have been able to do had I spent over $500 for the toilet. And YES, you are absolutely right about quality issues, and I will address those when I write my review of the Cadet 3, but not right now. Suffice it to say that the Cadet 3 in my bathroom works perfectly and isn't warped or out of shape, else it wouldn't be there right now.

achutch

To get Toto quality you don't always have to break the bank.
The CST715 - Carusoe lists at $200 yet MaP tests at 650
Its no slouch in performance!

We took it back and got an American Standard Cadet 3. The person working at Lowe's tonight was much nicer and more honest/knowledgable than the person yesterday. The person yesterday tried to convince me Jacuzzi was as good as any competitor, but the Kohler woujld save me $50 a year in water bill (for 2 people) because it only supposedly only needed to use 1.2 gallons per flush vs. 1.6

Now the person tonight was great, and told me don't get anything excet Toto or Kohler. He installed the Kohler's at many places included his place and his parents. In fact - he'd even done fund raising for our local branch of the CF Foundation. Pretty awesome.

Well, he really liked the Kohler over the American Standard Cadet 3, but didn't try to push me to get Kohler. He was floored with the defects in the toilet though and also surprised Kohler didn't want the serial number. But he felt the Kohler would be better for flushing our large waste. In the end however the tipping point was cleanliness - and we wanted something that flushed completely even if it had a little less power. I wish I'd been able to plan ahead, as I would have gotten a Toto Drake if I'd had time and energy to have planned/researched ahead of time.

Well, I guess I'd better try to actually install this thing now.

jpinard said:

The person working at Lowe's tonight was much nicer and more honest/knowledgable than the person yesterday. The person yesterday tried to convince me Jacuzzi was as good as any competitor, but the Kohler woujld save me $50 a year in water bill (for 2 people) because it only supposedly only needed to use 1.2 gallons per flush vs. 1.6

Now the person tonight was great, and told me don't get anything excet Toto or Kohler. He installed the Kohler's at many places included his place and his parents. In fact - he'd even done fund raising for our local branch of the CF Foundation. Pretty awesome.

Well, he really liked the Kohler over the American Standard Cadet 3, but didn't try to push me to get Kohler. He was floored with the defects in the toilet though and also surprised Kohler didn't want the serial number. But he felt the Kohler would be better for flushing our large waste.

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Forgive me for being the skeptic but did this guy once sell used cars...
I mean did you actually see him at the CF Foundation or,
did you mention CF to him and he took off with it!
This guy sounds like he can sell ice to eskimos!

He knew some specific fund-raisers and would have only known about the details if he'd participated. But I feel good that I got the Cadet... and I'm still procrastinating. I'm afraid of messing up our bathroom!

I installed 4 of the "central" American standard 3 toilets this year. They look good and flush anything that might fit through an intestine. The tanks were domestic, the bases were Mexico, and I saw no warping or twisting in the porcelin.

I installed 4 of the "central" American standard 3 toilets this year. They look good and flush anything that might fit through an intestine. The tanks were domestic, the bases were Mexico, and I saw no warping or twisting in the porcelin.

Click to expand...

I just return an American Standard Cadet 3 that was finished badly. You could see where the baked on material did not cover the top of the front of the tank with the lid in place.

I just need a decent toliet for a small garage bathroom and I'm not looking to get a Toto for this application.