Leica a la Carte is a la Dead

Ko.Fe. said:
Volvo makes real trucks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_Trucks
Ford makes pickup trucks and cargo vans.

We are looking for our next car to be electrical.

Leica... I can't afford any new one...
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Yeah, me, too... saving up for the new VW Microbus (The I.D. Buzz... it is set to have 369 horsepower:eek:). But, the Leica a la carte is cheaper....

I would hate to see history changed at Leica... a la carte is such a signature product for a fine camera.
 
The Leica a la carte still allows you to configure an a la carte camera, although after configuration I didn't try to place an order because it's out of my price range. Didn't see anything on their web site saying the program is dead.

Best,
-Tim
 
It's Worse Than That

It's Worse Than That

dave lackey said:
...

Mercedes dropped its vintage/classic/older car customers years ago. Try getting them to work on a 1995 W124... the techs don't know how, according to the service advisors.

...
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Not exactly, Mercedes will deliver parts for any car... even pre-WW II cars. Of course, the cost is extremely high. So will BMW and Porsche.

Mercedes doesn't spend money to train techs on cars that are a tiny percentage of their service repair business. You wouldn't either. Independent specialty mechanics do this. When I owned a 1971 911 and used an independent shop that specialized in vintage Porsches. Most of the mechanics owned or worked on amateur vintage race cars. The shop worked on road cars to pay the bills. The Porsche dealer wouldn't even acknowledge my car existed unless I only wanted to order OEM factory parts.

But wait, it gets much worse.

Mercedes and Porsche are now offering subscription services. The customer pays a heft monthly fee and can switch cars models ever 60 days or so. Obviously this trend is Adobe's fault. I hope no one's head explodes.
 
willie_901 said:
Not exactly, Mercedes will deliver parts for any car... even pre-WW II cars. Of course, the cost is extremely high. So will BMW and Porsche.

Mercedes doesn't spend money to train techs on cars that are a tiny percentage of their service repair business. You wouldn't either. Independent specialty mechanics do this. When I owned a 1971 911 and used an independent shop that specialized in vintage Porsches. Most of the mechanics owned or worked on amateur vintage race cars. The shop worked on road cars to pay the bills. The Porsche dealer wouldn't even acknowledge my car existed unless I only wanted to order OEM factory parts.

But wait, it gets much worse.

Mercedes and Porsche are now offering subscription services. The customer pays a heft monthly fee and can switch cars models ever 60 days or so. Obviously this trend is Adobe's fault. I hope no one's head explodes.
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I hear ya!

Eight years ago, anyone could call Road Assistance, have MB cars serviced, order parts, and even be treated a bit nice no matter if one had a vintage or simply an older sedan. No more. Our service tech will not schedule work for us any longer because MB does not have parts for my wife's 1995 sedan. We are referred to Indie shops and they actually know what they are doing... but there is nothing special with that marque any longer and I speak from over a million miles over the years in their products.

Winds of change indeed.

We are lucky to have Leica with parts and service availability even though their products can be sketchy (sensors) and their service sucks (with half a year sometimes being required to fix a camera). Leica still treats customers as special... even charging extraordinary prices!:):):) just kidding... But the a la carte program is unique and I sure would hate to see that go away.
 
Hmm. My Mercedes-Benz SLK280 is a dozen years old, still going strong, and my indie Merc mechanic is a delight to work with—keeps it running like new. The dealership doesn't even want to look at me when I walk in the door, but what do I care? They were always xxxx in my opinion anyway.

The cars are—or rather, my car is—excellent, love it. I paid a pittance for it in 2016 and it should last me another decade or so.



Admittedly, it's not a 1995, but eh? Time will continue on. :D
 
Snooze.
These aren't the droids you're looking for.
Leica alienated me as a working photographer years ago with their unreliable gear, inordinately long repair times and obfuscatory customer service. I guess I just didn't spend enough money, even though a new M9 was a lot of money to me. Not enough to be treated well.
When Leica finally swirls down the drain, I won't be sad.

Phil Forrest
 
Phil_F_NM said:
Snooze.
These aren't the droids you're looking for.
Leica alienated me as a working photographer years ago with their unreliable gear, inordinately long repair times and obfuscatory customer service. I guess I just didn't spend enough money, even though a new M9 was a lot of money to me. Not enough to be treated well.
When Leica finally swirls down the drain, I won't be sad.

Phil Forrest
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I didn't want to say this but my alacarte M7 was the last Leica I bought. Brand new custom made for me and there were various issues that had this thing in the shop more than I shot it. The MP I had previous same thing. Both cameras jammed--the M7 twice. DAG told me they use some cheap part in the advance mechanism but he fixed that for me. At that point I lost confidence in the camera and sold it. The one Leica M I had that was reliable I sold and regret it a bit, but I'm glad move on. I like the R bodies I have currently, so I'm still using Leica I guess--someone said they were actually Minolta--haha... Well, at least the 35 Elmarit-R is a bonafide Leica :rolleyes:
 
The only a la carte option that affects shooting is viewfinder magnification. The rest is just cosmetics. Who cares? Does the world really need a custom Leica ostrich strap at a $160 premium? Will that make your images any better? Now, if they offered an optional 42MP BIS sensor, maybe.
 
CameraQuest said:
Alas, the Leica a la carte program
where you would pretty much build your own custom Leica body
(for a price)
has apparently been cut off life support.

If you were about to make such an order, get it in quickly!

Hopefully the upset will be great enough
for Leica to affirm the close to dead program will be continued.
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Seriously? No source?
 
Godfrey said:
Hmm. My Mercedes-Benz SLK280 is a dozen years old, still going strong, and my indie Merc mechanic is a delight to work with—keeps it running like new. The dealership doesn't even want to look at me when I walk in the door, but what do I care? They were always assholes in my opinion anyway.

The cars are—or rather, my car is—excellent, love it. I paid a pittance for it in 2016 and it should last me another decade or so.



Admittedly, it's not a 1995, but eh? Time will continue on. :D
Click to expand...

Our cars (1995 and 1999) together are pushing a half million miles. Love that and they will easily last as long as I want to drive. I tend to agree about the dealers...:):):) the cars are remarkable, the marque has lost a lot of the positives, starting with their dealers, though.

Could not have more reliable, cheaper and enjoyable transportation. Have done the math consistently over the last few decades and they are a joy.

I will admit to dreaming of a 2005/6 SLK. I would love to have one and they are not only cheap but the engine is bullet-proof... same as my wife's 99ML with 300k miles. Just can't get rid of the ones she has... they are that good...:(I think I could sell both for maybe half of what a new Leica would cost!

Leica... I love them but can't begin to afford new ones or put up with the service issues.:)

So, I will keep shooting the X1, it has been quite reliable except for a few minor problems not requiring service. I use every single day. Something I wish I could do with an MP a la carte.
 
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