Anyone currently waiting for Leica service?

[peter_n]

No they are not. I think the only forum that Leica employees pay attention to is the German Leica Users Forum: http://www.leica-camera-user.com/

Try Robert Fisk at Leica. I have found him to be helpful: robertDOTfiskATleicacamerausaDOTcom

 

[Berliner]

Funny, I have said this before here, but Solms returns e-mail within 12 hours usually... never more than 24 hours...I swear they work around the clock ober there...
Thanks for Robert's info!

 

[x-ray]

Very unprofessional service. Fortunately I've never sent anything to them for repairs or even had a warranty repair. This is one of the reasons i went from Nikon digital to Canon, one of the reasons. NPS service was supposed to be 3 days and a week max but it would normally take three weeks and come back with other issues. This happened a number of times. The repairs under CPS with my Canons has taken 3 days including shipping and only once more that a week and during that time they loaned me a new 1Ds at no charge. Leica will never regain their pro base with this kind of service.

 

[Berliner]

Good news. I received an e-mail from NJ yesterday. My M6 is with a tech, and I should have it mid-next week.

 

[peter_n]

Good news. I think that Leica don't deal with too many professionals any more. I'm certainly not a pro and I was lucky enough to have a back up camera but I missed the M7 more than I would have thought. Interestingly my ticket was given the status "Priority" because I specifically asked for it to be done quickly. You wonder how long a "regular" status would take...

 

[Berliner]

This was a priority also, I think it's because I've purchased two new bodies & two new lenses in the last 18 months...If I get it mid-next week, It will be just over 6 weeks; and though I am somewhat ashamed admitting, I miss my M6 terribly...

 

[jakedouglas]

I just shipped my M6 & lenses to Sherry Krauter for rangefinder issue & CLA. I didn't even consider sending my equipment to Leica, as I have never heard anything but bad reports of their service. Long wait, expensive, poor communication, equipment returns with original problem solved but a new problem created. I suppose it makes decent sense if you're still under warranty - and I haven't heard of any independant techs working on M8 yet. but to be without my equipment for that long is undesireable. I understand that Sherry is pretty fast, I hope she lives up to her reputation - I miss my stuff already! 🙂

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

When I needed a simple repair recently:

Leica Germany said 'send the camera and we'll give you an estimate'

Leica Britain said 'it might be very expensive'

Leica Lisbon said '€150, and we'll do it same day'

I sent the camera to Lisbon (I live in Portugal) and they did the repair for €150 the day they received it and had the camera back to me within a week.

It was a Leica Minilux with an E02 shutter circuit fault.

 

[peter_n]

This was a priority also, I think it's because I've purchased two new bodies & two new lenses in the last 18 months...

You know what? I'm thinking they may stamp all tickets "Priority" just to make the customer feel good when they get the estimate.

If a part is out of warranty I wouldn't send it to Leica, I'd send it to DAG. There was a post yesterday on the German Leica User's Forum that a lens CLA was costing US $283 from Solms 😱 - he thought it was reasonable! We should be happy that there are some very good (and comparatively inexpensive) Leica technicians here in the US but I do wonder about the future; are we ultimately going to have to rely on the manufacturer for service?

 

[Berliner]

It's back! Exactaly 6 weeks turn around. Fresh new finder makes a BIG difference.

 

[peter_n]

Congrats! Quicker than mine. The squeaky wheel gets the grease... 😉