CLA / repairs in UK: quick turnaround and high quality?

SimonPJ

SimonPJ

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Apr 10, 2005
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I have a number of CLA and repair jobs that I have held off having done because of previous bad experiences with excessively long turnaround times for repairs. (One very well known UK technician had one of my cameras for two and a half years, and another for two years.)

I have contacted CRR of Luton several times, but always found the waiting and turnaround times to be longer than six months. My last experience with Solms was for repairs and upgrades to my M8, which involved being without the camera for five months.

Do you know of any high quality Leica CLA and repair services in the UK which have more reasonable turnaround times? Do any of the UK Leica dealers offer such a service?

Or would it be better to ship to one of the US repairers? Back in the 90's I sent repairs to Sherry Krauter from the UK, with quick turnaround. Does anyone know what Sherry's waiting / turnaround time is now?

Many thanks,

Simon
 
I haven't tried Red Dot Cameras here in London yet, but i'll be sending an M2 to them in the future as they're within cycling distance for me and quote freely.

Anyone used their repair service?
 
I'm waiting for my M6 to come back back from Red Dot - should be ready Monday which will be 3 weeks. Can't vouch for the quality yet. I know that Ourmanintangiers has used and recommends Red Dot. They quote 2 to 4 weeks turnaround.
 
I've thought about who to use in the UK too. My contact with a regularly [highly] recommended UK repairman didn't go well; my conclusion was that in future I would use Will van Manen in the Netherlands :

http://www.kamera-service.info/

But I understand the issues of fully insured cross border postage with camera gear. I know I haven't specifically answered your question, but I hope I have given you a useful alternative.

............ Chris
 
Thanks

Thanks

I'll contact Red Dot and give them a try. At least they're local and I can drop in and ask them about the repairs. I've almost gone crazy in the past having to keep phoning technicians to find out whether the repair is done - months, and sometimes years beyond the date they originally promised.

Cheers,

Simon
 
Careful, it's Friday afternoon and people often look at this forum in the evenings...

By Monday - if you can wait - you should have more choices and opinions.

Regards, David
 
Well I'm not sure which "well-known" person you've used, but Malcolm Taylor did 3 Ms for me and a couple of lens in about 3 weeks time. 2 CLA, one complete rebuilt, and I find calling him helps speed things up.
 
On a side note, Malcolm is very old school, no email, just phone or snail mail. And he's not cheap ;) Top notch work though, and his house is worth a visit, it's a Leica museum!
 
You could try Graham Playford near Tower Bridge (020 7394 5060) - he's not exclusively a Leica repairer but I got to know him through one of the Leica specialists in central London, and have always been happy with the work he's done for me in the past. He's also quite quick - usually turning most jobs around in a week or two. I think he charges around £140 for a Leica-M CLA.
 
Another vote for Malcolm Taylor. I have a IIIf that he did a full overhaul on and it is a dream to use, everything is so accurate and smooth.

Steve
 
Yes, Malcolm Taylor for me too. He CLA'd my M2 and a couple of lenses. Superb work, but not cheap, but he is very experienced. For those that can remember Hove Camera Co, he was their on-site technician 40 odd years ago and is still going strong. He can make some parts as well as general servicing. Sometimes his waiting list can be a month+, but I take that as an endorsement of his workmanship.

Ray
 
Another vote for Malcolm Taylor and newton Ellis and Co who have worked wonder on various Leicas & bits and pieces for me including a 1933-ish Leicameter...

Regards, David
 
Red Dot did an M3 for me. Their repairer is called Sprockets or something. Quick, excellent, good price.

CRR in my experience is always much quicker once you've persuaded him to accept the package, and have sent a cheque along. I think he can't resist cashing the cheque, so he feels he has to do the work :D Darn, I've let my secret out!
 
I have only had an excellent and fast service from Peter at CRR - a service on my M2 took just 2 weeks and it was simlar a while back with a IIIG. Don't email though he often doesn't look at them, phoning up seems to work best.

Chris
 
Hmm. Peter has just turned my M3 round in about ten days, and it needed a bit of repairing (the winder ratchet was broken) as well as a service.

The camera had previously been returned to the retailer (you guess) to fix a shutter fault under warranty. As well as failing to fix the fault, which was completely unaffected by any repair they might have attempted, the camera was awash with oil. This isn't a criticism of the retailer, who have otherwise sold me good stuff, but of their repairer.

So - use CRR, but phone first and negotiate when your job can be fitted in.
 
I've never used CRR, but I've never heard anything bad about them either -- unlike some of the other repairers (not necessarily UK) who are more or less praised on RFF (not necessarily in this thread). The trouble is, there's always a natural reluctance to say, "Well, not everyone I know has had good experiences with _________." The usual complaints are flooding with oil [EDIT: see Rogerzilla's post], and skimped 'mucking out', compensated for by cranking up spring tensions.

The simple truth is that it's quite hard to screw up a working camera that doesn't need an overhaul, which is the case with an awful lot off "CLAs", so some repairers get a free ride from customers who are buying reassurance rather than a repair.

Why not give names? Well, for a start, it's hearsay, and secondly, both the repairers and their fans get REALLY angry if you say it. But really, I'd attach very different weights to the opinions of different people, according to how long they've been using various repairers and what they've had done.

Cheers,

R.
 
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OK - since 2002 I've had the following done by CRR:

IIIa CLA
IIf CLA*
Summar CLA
Elmar red scale CLA and rear doublet split and recemented
Summicron collapsible CLA
M3 CLA
Small adjustment to a Summaron 35/3.5, which Peter said didn't need cleaning when he saw it as the "dust" was probably pinholes in the coating.


*this had to go back 8 years later to fix a lazy shutter, but that was almost certainly my fault for leaving the camera unused for 5 years. Peter charged me a minimal sum for the new repair.
 
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