M-body for under $1k = fantasy?

If it needs a CLA they will just say send it in for their technician to work on it. They won't cover the cost if you bring it to someone else. I checked into this with the first one I bought (and returned) from them.

$950 for that camera from that dealer is over priced. I bought this M3 from the same dealer 6 weeks ago for $100 more.

They tend to price all of their M3s right around 950 to 1100 no matter what the condition is.

Just wait for a nicer one but jump when the post it. They are usually gone within a day.

Shawn

I would expect to have to send it back to the dealer to have their tech service it. I wouldn't expect them to let me send them a bill. Typically how warranty works. Kind of amazing anyone would warranty a 60 year old camera in the first place really.
 
Maybe an M1. Most I see on the sale market (usually Ebay) at least here in Australia, tend to be nearly mint and can usually be picked up for less than A $1,000 with (sometimes) spare change to spend on lenses.

Given what the Leica purists may well see as a limitation in focussing (this wouldn't greatly bother me as I own several clip-on rangefinders, all German made and very precise) they were never as popular as the other Ms. Most I reckon were probably purchased as backup cameras and very rarely used, hence the pristine state they can often be found in.

Add a few Voigtlander lenses and either an adjustable Leitz viewfinder or smaller ones manufactured by Leitz and others, and you will have an eminently usable and quite surprisingly affordable (probably all told less than A$3,000) for a two lens kit with all the bits and pieces) for much less than the price of an M2-M3-M4 etc.

Worth thinking about. As a budget-conscious pensioner, this is the way I would go - a Leica camera and Voigtlander glass at much less cost.
 
I bought an M2 last year in great condition, box and papers included, for $900. It just needed new vulcanite, which I did myself. Haven't had any issues with it.
 
Horatio, Your black paint M4 is up for sale in the classifieds.....
 
KEH just listed a bargain single stroke M3 with preview lever for $1138 and an ugly double stroke for $623. Double stroke is already gone.

Shawn
 
In the early days of digital, I never paid near 1k for any of my Leica film cameras. A few years ago people were dropping them like flies, same could be said for Hasselblad, to pick up on digital equipment.

Seems like those days are gone now as prices seem to be rising.
 
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