Ben Z
Veteran
I just noticed that. I don't know how many insurance companies there are in the Netherlands or how they are interrelated. But based on what I know of insurance companies in N. America, the idea that exactly one 4-figure claim paid by one insurer would result in a country-wide exclusion of any M8 from insurability is unbelievable. Too bad JaapV is on vacation, because I know he has his insured and would know the answer to that. As it stands however, that statement does weaken my inclination to accept the rest of the story at face value.
That said, I recall reading where someone had the bottom ridge of their M8 crack off at the lock tab and Leica (in Solms) initially told them it wasn't covered under warranty because--allegedly--the M8 should not be used vertically on a tripod 😱 Eventually I believe Stefan Daniel intervened and repaired it under warranty, and issued a statement that others would have it done under warranty also. Here again, there were at least a few of the same failures, not just one. But it does point out that as with most companies (car companies too), the repair department is sometimes a bit over-eager to deny warranty claims. But frequently, if the consumer can find the right ear to bend (or has a dealer who will go to bat for him in that regard), someone higher-up and/or in customer service, will see to it that an exception is made.
I can certainly commiserate with the O.P.'s frustration. I can't really blame him for taking his plight to the court of public opinion, which in the case of Leica, are the forums. I might do the same if I were in his shoes. Nonetheless, the fact remains that if the M8 were so poorly sealed that a few raindrops spelled its inevitable demise, we would surely have been hearing of more cases. People have never been shy about trumpeting their M8 problems in the forums. So, I think there are two separate issues.
One is, is it possible the O.P.'s M8 was defectively assembled such that it allowed much easier and/or greater ingress of moisture than others. Certainly that is a possibility, and if so, it should have been fixed under warranty. Personally I think unless Leica found seaweed inside the camera, they should have just bit their tongue and fixed it free or given him a replacement, with a smile, and wrote it off to goodwill. Or at least offered some kind of compromise solution like only charging him for parts or labor, not both. Anything to show goodwill. You know the old business addage "If a customer likes you he'll tell a friend, but if he doesn't like you he'll tell ten friends."
The second and separate issue is, is the M8 as a design, so poorly sealed that minor moisture will kill it. I think the numbers answer that with a "no".
