pixeljohn22 Posted July 12, 2014 Share #1 Posted July 12, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am about to dive into the Leica rangefinder world. Does anyone have any thoughts and /or experience about buying a "certified pre owned" versus a demo. Both come with a regular warranty and in this case both have return privileges. When I do make a decision is there anything that I should check out that is not obvious? Thanks!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 12, 2014 Posted July 12, 2014 Hi pixeljohn22, Take a look here Certified Pr Owned versus A Demo M240. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
epand56 Posted July 12, 2014 Share #2 Posted July 12, 2014 As a start, you can read this recent post: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m-type-240/338075-list-checks-prior-buying-new-leica.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted July 12, 2014 Share #3 Posted July 12, 2014 Are you positive they both come with a full 2-year warranty like the new ones do? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted July 13, 2014 Share #4 Posted July 13, 2014 To me the key is how much would you save with these over just buying a new one? As mentioned, keep in mind some camera warranties do not transfer. I would call Leica to verify the warranty question prior to doing anything else. If you save $600 or $700 versus buying a new one, is it really worth it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted July 13, 2014 Share #5 Posted July 13, 2014 I bought a demo from one of this site's sponsors. It looks new, even has the screen protector still on it. It has the 2 year Leica USA warranty and free LR download. Basically the same as new. It was $1000 less, including shipping. So hell yeah it was worth it to me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Barnack Posted July 13, 2014 Share #6 Posted July 13, 2014 If both come with a two year warranty and both are the same price or very close to it, I would buy whichever one is is the best cosmetic condition. If I were worried about shutter actuation count on the certified pre-owned camera, I would buy the demo model. But then, if the certified pre-owned camera has been CLAed and is has been returned to new camera specs, I wold not lose sleep over the shutter count issue. Check to verify that both cameras have the same two year warranty. Check to see if both cameras have been CLAed and returned to LNIB specs. Those are the two prime coniderations, IMHO. Cosmetics are secondary concerns to the above two issues. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted July 13, 2014 Share #7 Posted July 13, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) If I were worried about shutter actuation count on the certified pre-owned camera, I would buy the demo model. ........ quite the reverse ........ a shop demo will have had hundreds of people popping the shutter just to see what it is like ....... ...... my ex-demo 'hardly used' M9 had 6000 actuations when I got it. It had a couple of other issues and was finally swapped for a new one at no extra cost ..... so I effectively got a new M9 at a 1000 GBP discount at a time when they were almost unobtainable...... If supplied by a bona fide Leica dealer and with normal warranty you have no problem, as Leica have an excellent record of rectifying issues if you have any ....... go for it .... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted July 13, 2014 Share #8 Posted July 13, 2014 I bought a demo from one of this site's sponsors. It looks new, even has the screen protector still on it. It has the 2 year Leica USA warranty and free LR download. Basically the same as new. It was $1000 less, including shipping. So hell yeah it was worth it to me. Agree on $1k less than new is worth the it. The ones I checked on about a year ago were around $500 less than new. At that level new was the better option to me as some back then were saying that CPO had only a one year warranty which was stamped on the warranty cards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted July 13, 2014 Share #9 Posted July 13, 2014 Mine came with a red "0" stamped on the barcode sticker on the outer plain box, and another sticker above it stamped in red: Ausstellungsware: Funktionssicherheit lt. LEICA-Garantie wird gewahrleistet LEICA CAMERA AG Inside was the blank Leica-USA warranty registration card with nothing extra stamped on it to indicate it's a demo. And I was able to register it on Leica's website and down load LR. I'm still seeing pre-owned units from dealers in the $6200 range. Mine was $5995 shipping included. Since they advertise on this site I think I can say who the dealer is, but if not then mods can edit. It was Camera West. First time I bought from them, it was a very pleasant experience. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted July 14, 2014 Share #10 Posted July 14, 2014 Mine came with a red "0" stamped on the barcode sticker on the outer plain box, and another sticker above it stamped in red: Ausstellungsware: Funktionssicherheit lt. LEICA-Garantie wird gewahrleistet LEICA CAMERA AG Inside was the blank Leica-USA warranty registration card with nothing extra stamped on it to indicate it's a demo. And I was able to register it on Leica's website and down load LR. I'm still seeing pre-owned units from dealers in the $6200 range. Mine was $5995 shipping included. Since they advertise on this site I think I can say who the dealer is, but if not then mods can edit. It was Camera West. First time I bought from them, it was a very pleasant experience. Just so you know, registering any Leica item on the Leica website is not registering it in the US since they are not allowed in NJ to access that German site,period. Call Brenda at Leica NJ about registering Leica gear in the US as she is the warranty expert at Leica USA. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Barnack Posted July 14, 2014 Share #11 Posted July 14, 2014 ........ quite the reverse ........ a shop demo will have had hundreds of people popping the shutter just to see what it is like ............. my ex-demo 'hardly used' M9 had 6000 actuations when I got it. It had a couple of other issues and was finally swapped for a new one at no extra cost ..... so I effectively got a new M9 at a 1000 GBP discount at a time when they were almost unobtainable...... If supplied by a bona fide Leica dealer and with normal warranty you have no problem, as Leica have an excellent record of rectifying issues if you have any ....... go for it .... I didn't realize that a demo camera would have that high of a shutter actuation count. Thanks for pointing that out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 14, 2014 Share #12 Posted July 14, 2014 I bought a demo from one of this site's sponsors. It looks new, even has the screen protector still on it. It has the 2 year Leica USA warranty and free LR download. Basically the same as new. It was $1000 less, including shipping. So hell yeah it was worth it to me. I have done this as well. But, I only got a 1-year warrantee. What was the color of your warrantee card? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted July 14, 2014 Share #13 Posted July 14, 2014 I have done this as well. But, I only got a 1-year warrantee. What was the color of your warrantee card? It was white with black text excepting the Leica logo which was red. Standard new-product warranty card. At one time the demo registration cards used to be blue, but the last one of those I saw was with a demo MP I bought around a dozen years ago so Idk what they're doing currently. Just so you know, registering any Leica item on the Leica website is not registering it in the US since they are not allowed in NJ to access that German site,period. Call Brenda at Leica NJ about registering Leica gear in the US as she is the warranty expert at Leica USA. Yes I knew that. No need for me to pester Brenda, I sent in the warranty card and it's all set. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 14, 2014 Share #14 Posted July 14, 2014 Yes, the last one-year card I got was for a Leica refurbished rep. demo camera (M8) and it was blue. It would be great news if these refurbished cameras now come with the standard 2-year warrantee. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterTwo Posted July 14, 2014 Share #15 Posted July 14, 2014 It was white with black text excepting the Leica logo which was red. Standard new-product warranty card. At one time the demo registration cards used to be blue, but the last one of those I saw was with a demo MP I bought around a dozen years ago so Idk what they're doing currently. Yes I knew that. No need for me to pester Brenda, I sent in the warranty card and it's all set. I must have purchased from the same lot as bocaburger, as I also go the same deal from a site sponsor. I was also told that the warranty will be 2 years and it came with a standard white warranty card. As far as I could tell the camera was brand new when I opened it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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