Trading Q2 for M system - any reason to not get M11?

[Tailwagger]

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Either way, Canada or UK, I'd be concerned about the warranty being honored in the US.

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[gotium]

4 hours ago, Tailwagger said:

Either way, Canada or UK, I'd be concerned about the warranty being honored in the US.

 

On 10/25/2022 at 11:03 AM, Crem said:

Congrats! Definitely look forward to reading how it all works out. The nuances of import taxes is…. confusing. 

 

On 10/25/2022 at 10:37 AM, TheEyesHaveIt said:

I believe import taxes are supposed to be on lenses, not cameras .... There's no taxes for US buyers ...

I've purchased from the UK on three occasions to ship to the US. On two of those three occasions the items arrived defective and in both cases Leica USA would not honor the warranty - it had to go through Leica UK. 

You'll pay import duties of a few hundred dollars on lenses, which in practical terms will not be recoverable if you have to return a defective item. I've even paid import duties to get my own old lens back from repair from Europe. And if you live in CA you'll also have to pay full taxes (about 9%) on the entire purchase. 

[TheEyesHaveIt]

26 minutes ago, gotium said:

 

 

I've purchased from the UK on three occasions to ship to the US. On two of those three occasions the items arrived defective and in both cases Leica USA would not honor the warranty - it had to go through Leica UK. 

You'll pay import duties of a few hundred dollars on lenses, which in practical terms will not be recoverable if you have to return a defective item. I've even paid import duties to get my own old lens back from repair from Europe. And if you live in CA you'll also have to pay full taxes (about 9%) on the entire purchase. 

That's a bummer - sorry to hear that. I ended up paying $50 for custom duties for the M11. So far, so good in terms of the camera working properly. I would be disappointed though if I needed to service it and Leica USA didn't honor it - what happens to people that happen to buy a Leica overseas on a vacation or something?

In my case, I saved nearly $3k vs. buying it from B&H.

[Crem]

1 hour ago, gotium said:

 

 

I've purchased from the UK on three occasions to ship to the US. On two of those three occasions the items arrived defective and in both cases Leica USA would not honor the warranty - it had to go through Leica UK. 

You'll pay import duties of a few hundred dollars on lenses, which in practical terms will not be recoverable if you have to return a defective item. I've even paid import duties to get my own old lens back from repair from Europe. And if you live in CA you'll also have to pay full taxes (about 9%) on the entire purchase. 

Mind if I ask, are these recent purchases? Many years ago? I’m asking because I’m shocked to hear that Leica USA didn’t honor the warranty in the last couple years. That alone makes me concerned about ordering overseas. I thought Leica offered a global warranty, but I haven’t read up on it. 

[gotium]

45 minutes ago, TheEyesHaveIt said:

That's a bummer - sorry to hear that. I ended up paying $50 for custom duties for the M11. So far, so good in terms of the camera working properly. I would be disappointed though if I needed to service it and Leica USA didn't honor it - what happens to people that happen to buy a Leica overseas on a vacation or something?

In my case, I saved nearly $3k vs. buying it from B&H.

 

46 minutes ago, TheEyesHaveIt said:

That's a bummer - sorry to hear that. I ended up paying $50 for custom duties for the M11. So far, so good in terms of the camera working properly. I would be disappointed though if I needed to service it and Leica USA didn't honor it - what happens to people that happen to buy a Leica overseas on a vacation or something?

In my case, I saved nearly $3k vs. buying it from B&H.

 

8 minutes ago, Crem said:

Mind if I ask, are these recent purchases? Many years ago? I’m asking because I’m shocked to hear that Leica USA didn’t honor the warranty in the last couple years. That alone makes me concerned about ordering overseas. I thought Leica offered a global warranty, but I haven’t read up on it. 

Like you, I always had a reason for it - $3k is $3k. Either cost or availability, or both. 

These are purchases from both a few years ago and also a few weeks ago. Wetzlar I think will always have you covered, but then you have to deal with the issues of shipping,  duties and taxes. 

[eyeheartny]

20 hours ago, Crem said:

Mind if I ask, are these recent purchases? Many years ago? I’m asking because I’m shocked to hear that Leica USA didn’t honor the warranty in the last couple years. That alone makes me concerned about ordering overseas. I thought Leica offered a global warranty, but I haven’t read up on it. 

Leica's warranty is global. Full stop, no questions asked. How do I know? I just sent in an M11 purchased from Hong Kong and a 50 Summilux purchased from Netherlands. Both have been checked in/accepted into Leica's New Jersey service center as of this week. Leica's documentation also clearly states that their warranty is global in nature. 

[ravinj]

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3 hours ago, eyeheartny said:

Leica's warranty is global. Full stop, no questions asked. How do I know? I just sent in an M11 purchased from Hong Kong and a 50 Summilux purchased from Netherlands. Both have been checked in/accepted into Leica's New Jersey service center as of this week. Leica's documentation also clearly states that their warranty is global in nature. 

+1. Never had an issue with Leica NJ doing warranty service on my purchases from Europe.

[gotium]

8 hours ago, eyeheartny said:

Leica's warranty is global. Full stop, no questions asked. How do I know? I just sent in an M11 purchased from Hong Kong and a 50 Summilux purchased from Netherlands. Both have been checked in/accepted into Leica's New Jersey service center as of this week. Leica's documentation also clearly states that their warranty is global in nature. 

 

4 hours ago, ravinj said:

+1. Never had an issue with Leica NJ doing warranty service on my purchases from Europe.

so how do you explain my experiences?

[lct]

4 hours ago, gotium said:

so how do you explain my experiences?

Just a guess but when an importer like Leica USA is not the seller it can hardly take the risk of shipping the gear to Wetzlar. Not sure if it is insured in case of damage during transportation then. My advice is when you buy any Leica stuff in another country, just ask Wetzlar what to do in case of failure as they will probably ask you to send them the gear directly.

[eyeheartny]

9 hours ago, gotium said:

 

so how do you explain my experiences?

When did your experiences take place?

[ravinj]

On 11/3/2022 at 2:38 AM, gotium said:

 

so how do you explain my experiences?

I shared my experience. I am not you, so I can't explain your experience. Maybe you just gave up after the first try? 

Edited November 4, 2022 by ravinj

[gotium]

On 11/3/2022 at 8:44 AM, eyeheartny said:

When did your experiences take place?

One was three or four years ago, one was a few weeks ago. I think all the relevant employees were replaced in the meantime and at least the ones now are friendlier.

[gotium]

3 hours ago, ravinj said:

I shared my experience. I am not you, so I can't explain your experience. Maybe you just gave up after the first try? 

No, not all all! Many an email indeed. Methinks someone at Leica USA missed the memo.

Edited November 4, 2022 by gotium

[eyeheartny]

1 hour ago, gotium said:

One was three or four years ago, one was a few weeks ago. I think all the relevant employees were replaced in the meantime and at least the ones now are friendlier.

Perhaps it wasn’t a warranty issue, but rather a technical one. Not all issues can be solved at the NJ facility. No way to know. 

[Max EPR]

My first Leica was a Q2. It is a really great camera. I sold the Q2 and substituted it for a Summilux M 28mm for my M11. I prefer the M11 lens flexibility to the fixed Q2 28mm. If I want a stabilized and auto focus camera, I use the SL2.