Service costs - Leica MP CLA - how much does it cost?

[Helge]

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vor einer Stunde schrieb Antonio Russell:

"However what really disappointed me was that YYE flatly refused to file an insurance claim nor help in any way with the shipping company. "

So, it was lost on return, not on the way to YYE?

And you do not have an own insurance?

[BradS]

...

Edited July 5, 2021 by BradS

[Huss]

On 7/1/2021 at 6:18 AM, arichter said:

My M7 repair invoice from February was $218.75 before taxes and shipping. The work included: adjust rangefinder, adjust exposure meter, clean viewfinder optic, adjust shutter times, check/adjust/clean. I assume this is their "normal" CLA work when no other issues are found. It took 9 weeks for Leica NJ. I decided to send this camera for CLA right after I bought it to have a known starting point of its working condition. Of course that was Leica USA, not sure how European prices correlate.

February 2021? $218.75 for a full service from Leica?  In this century?

[giannis]

13 hours ago, Huss said:

February 2021? $218.75 for a full service from Leica?  In this century?

While it's a good price relative to what Leica has been charging in its modern history, keep in mind that this essentially was a partial disassembly and wipedown of a fully functional camera. For instance, the M7 has an electronically controlled shutter (and meter) so there's no adjustment to be made, it either works with perfect timing across the range or fails completely. And even when it fails there's still no need for adjustment, failure is caused either by the circuit board (total replacement), or dirt in the electromagnets controlling the shutter, in which case wiping the dirt off fixes it completely.

Of course, with the prices being what they are (close to $4,000), a 5% CLA from Leica - with the assorted warranty it comes with I'm guessing - is probably worth it for the peace of mind when getting a used one.

Edited February 15, 2022 by giannis
grammar

[250swb]

But you can save a lot of money by not fixing it if it doesn't need fixing. 

[nick11218]

I bought my M6 in mid/late 2018 and got a courtesy CLA from the seller from Leica direct. They adjusted rangefinder, CLA, replaced rewind knob, etc - was about $450.

I just sent in my M6 because I was getting slightly soft focus in recent photos. I saw in the rangefinder the parallax images did not align perfectly, on the vertical axis - maybe 1cm or less off when the camera was focused. I thought it would be an easy fix.

Sent in at Leica NYC and asked for only a rangefinder alignment. They sent me back a $1,000 estimate for a ton of stuff I didn't ask for (CLA, replace rewind knob, light sealing, shutter counter, exposure meter, rangefinder cleaning + a bunch of parts). I am currently in a debate with them because they are telling me the repairs are necessary and being very vague. It is clear to me they are upselling and hoping I will just do it. It is a very frustrating experience, and makes me never want to buy Leica again. I know my camera and it has performed great in every other way. 

$1k for a cleanup, after a few years of minimal use, when I had another factory CLA and many of the same repairs done, is just infuriating and mind boggling. 

[nick11218]

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Edited March 21, 2022 by nick11218

[didier]

I had 2 mechanical M’s in Wetzlar recently. They came back completely overhauled, but I confirm prices are in the 900 - 1000 Eur (inclusive German VAT) range (ie the same range as the $900 appraisal in the last post.

Didier

[28framelines]

10 hours ago, nick11218 said:

I bought my M6 in mid/late 2018 and got a courtesy CLA from the seller from Leica direct. They adjusted rangefinder, CLA, replaced rewind knob, etc - was about $450.

I just sent in my M6 because I was getting slightly soft focus in recent photos. I saw in the rangefinder the parallax images did not align perfectly, on the vertical axis - maybe 1cm or less off when the camera was focused. I thought it would be an easy fix.

Sent in at Leica NYC and asked for only a rangefinder alignment. They sent me back a $1,000 estimate for a ton of stuff I didn't ask for (CLA, replace rewind knob, light sealing, shutter counter, exposure meter, rangefinder cleaning + a bunch of parts). I am currently in a debate with them because they are telling me the repairs are necessary and being very vague. It is clear to me they are upselling and hoping I will just do it. It is a very frustrating experience, and makes me never want to buy Leica again. I know my camera and it has performed great in every other way. 

$1k for a cleanup, after a few years of minimal use, when I had another factory CLA and many of the same repairs done, is just infuriating and mind boggling. 

I believe this is due to the fact that their policy is “replace everything or nothing”, as it retains the value of any given Leica over time (you’ll basically have a brand new M6 for this cost, which means your M6 will hold its value longer). Sucks, and I think that’s why DAG and others have been so popular.