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A little CLA confused...


jippiejee

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After my rewind lever broke off on my M4-P I sent it off to Solms. Before i bought the camera it had a CLA by Will van Maanen so I suspected the mechanical parts to by quite ok now. Leica fixed my lever, for about €47.50, a small and relatively cheap repair. But they also urgently told me to have the following repairs/adjustments done:

 

additional listed works.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

shutter overhaul

lean and relubr. shutter

clean shutter mechanism

adjust shutter brake

adjust film rewinding

adjust friction / winding

adjust autocollimation

clean viewfinder optic

adjust range finder

clean range finder

clean viewfinder optic as far as possibl

adjustment of all parts

Information:

There is a vulcanite cover on your camera which can get brittle in

the course of the years and lose its adhesion with the housing. In

the context of the necessary dismantling of the camera for repair

actions it cannot be ruled out therefore that parts of the

vulcanite may break off particularly at the edges.

Provided that these chiped off areas are not too big, we fill these

areas with black hard wax. Otherwise we have to fix for the

complete camera body a leatherette with a similar structure as the

vulcanite.

We ask for your understanding that we reject any liability for the

completeness of the vulcanite cover after the repair.

With the acceptance of this estimate you do also accept this

exclusion of liability.

cleaning and end control

 

 

total estimate of: €650!

 

Is this just a standard maintenance proposal on all older cameras? Or is my M4-P breaking down soon, despite the earlier cla already done? Anyone any experience with Leica repair estimates?

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Id have it check if it really went through a CLA. This is NOT normal...

 

Even if it does need a complete CLA, what they are asking is ridiculous. I would send it somewhere else.

 

It seems this is kind of a 'we are busy, but we can do it for you, for this price' kind of message.

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How long ago was the CLA performed? If within a year I would contact Will van Maanen and politely ask him to review the estimate from Solms and give his opinion, possibly taking a second look at your M4-P at the same time.

 

Old Leicas are like vintage cars, there are lots of parts that even though they may not be factory fresh can provide many years of dependable service. You can ask Solms to examine the estimate for items they deem "critical". Leica is giving you one opinion. Before spending €650 you should get a second from Will.

 

Good luck,

Stephen

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I believe you should get one thing straight, Leica do not offer a CLA as part of their services. A service will include a complete strip down which does not come with a CLA. A CLA usually does not go as far as this and only addresses immediate and obvious problems. I had an M4-2 that I had serviced at MK which I now consider did not need the depth of attention that was afforded to it. I should have sent it to Peter at CCR who offered a more realistic price, but of course he does not support the O/H structure that Leica has.

 

Best,

 

normclarke.

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Thank you all for your thoughts. I was a little shocked by the €650 estimate on a camera that worked perfectly fine for me and had a nice bright viewfinder. The CLA by Will van Maanen claimed by the previous owner was just a matter of trust. Maybe he lied about that. But as said, the camera showed no problems nor did the shutter sound problematic. Pictures at all shutter speeds came out perfectly. I'll tell Leica to just return my camera with the repaired rewind lever without the suggested repairs/adjustments.

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I recently sent to Solms (via my local dealer) three cameras: a M6, a M3 and a IIIa.

The price asked was so extravagant (more than 1.000 ear each) that I immediately asked my dealer to call back the cameras (still I will have to pay for the transport).

My impression, as long as the cameras were all in a good condition, is that either the local dealer is making a "kind of business" out of it (adding a substantial profit margin to Leica pricing) or that Leica service is extremely expensive.

As soon as i get back my cameras I'll have them sent to Kamera Service in the Netherlands for repair and CLA (price announced was very honest).

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