Leica average repair time (from inspection date in Germany) for an S lens is now 9 months!

[ropo54]

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My S 35 needs repair.  It is not focusing correctly though the motor seems to be working. (Nor manually focusing either).  I sent in to New Jersey for preliminary inspection was told in needs to be inspected/repaired in Germany. 

I was told 'the average repair time  for an S lens in Germany is 9 months.  Do I want NJ to send the lens or not?'  Of course I asked that it be sent because the lens would otherwise be worthless.

That time frame seems ridiculously long!  Leica makes exceptional gear, but they should have the capacity to 'timely' deal with repairs!  (They have offered a loaner in the interim).

Just venting!

Rob

Edited August 3, 2024 by ropo54

[frame-it]

19 minutes ago, ropo54 said:

'the average repair time  for an S lens in Germany is 9 months.  Do I want NJ to send the lens or not?'  Of course I asked that it be sent because the lens would otherwise be worthless.

 

That time frame seems ridiculously long!

almost the duration of Sony's Product Cycle!

[jaapv]

1 hour ago, ropo54 said:

My S 35 needs repair.  It is not focusing correctly though the motor seems to be working. (Nor manually focusing either).  I sent in to New Jersey for preliminary inspection was told in needs to be inspected/repaired in Germany. 

I was told 'the average repair time  for an S lens in Germany is 9 months.  Do I want NJ to send the lens or not?'  Of course I asked that it be sent because the lens would otherwise be worthless.

That time frame seems ridiculously long!  Leica makes exceptional gear, but they should have the capacity to 'timely' deal with repairs!  (They have offered a loaner in the interim).

Just venting!

Rob

It is ridiculously long - everybody agrees. The key question for Leica is how to resolve this, it is doing them no good - there does not appear to be a quick and ready answer. 

[HuntingSand]

Nine months sounds about right. In 2018 my 120 APO was in Wetzlar for about that timeframe. At one point during that period I found myself in Germany. So I rented a car in Frankfurt, drove up to Wetzlar and personally inquired about my errant lens. That accelerated things somewhat. So no, there is "no quick and ready answer", especially since it means that these days precious resources and know-how has to be allocated to a system that is discontinued. From what I heard a couple years ago already, much of the old S system team has left or has been reassigned. I am guessing they only have one, maybe two technicians left who can actually do this job. It's nice to hear they offered a replacement loaner, though.

[Jon Warwick]

Not sure if the M lens repairs are quick either; I dropped off a lens with focusing probs in January, and it initially came back fairly promptly in March, but still not focusing correctly. Back it went to Germany, and not heard how it’s progressing since then, other than it’s being re-repaired under warranty. 

[Paul0303]

The S may be particularly long but reading across the other Leica systems in the forum it sounds like they are all many months...

 

[Pieter12]

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About this time last year I sent a 120 CS to Germany for repair. It came back less than 2 months later.

[ropo54]

16 minutes ago, Pieter12 said:

About this time last year I sent a 120 CS to Germany for repair. It came back less than 2 months later.

My initial post above quoted from an email from Leica NJ, that "average repair time for my S lens was 9 months" from the date that Leica Germany's completes an estimate.

[robb]

It used to be that S products were the shortest turn around time at one month which seems kind of fast given that most SL and m products are around 4 months.  Leica prioritized the S so that those shelling out and making high dollars with the system could keep rockin.  Maybe Leica has decided the SL line has taken over the same pro shooters and is trying to keep those rolling.

I hope Leica can beef up their service dept.  not sure pros can wait that long for anything… they’ll just have to get second copies of critical lenses so if one has to go away they are still covered.

Robb

 

[Pieter12]

I think Leica, like other camera repair services, is suffering from a lack of qualified technicians. As older employees and company heads retire there are no trained people to take their place. The pool is shrinking at a fast rate. Plus, parts are getting harder to source, especially older electronic ones from subcontractors.

[GMB]

I suggest to contact Leica customer service directly by email. 9 months average repair time for S lenses does not correspond to my experience and information received from Leica.

In November 2023, I had sent the S 30-90 to Leica in Wetzlar (directly from Chile by DHL). In the receipt confirmation dated 5 December, indicated normal repair time for various cameras. The S was by far the shortest with 1 month plus shipping. For lenses, Leica only distinguished between classic lenses (7 months) and current lenses (5 month).  I received the cost estimate on 6 December, and the repair was done by 21 December and the camera shipped to my daughter. Thus actual repair time about 2 weeks.

In July this year, I personally dropped off my S007 in Wetzlar because it did not start properly. I received the cost estimate a couple of days after that. And the camera was ready in less than 2 week.

Also, for both repaired Leica did not charge anything. Total value of the cost about 1.500€.

Finally, Leica can be very flexible if needed. I had dropped my M10R. It still took photos, but the rear screen did no work (thus no way to change any setting etc.). I also dropped it off personally at Leica at the end of June. Normal repair time for digital M camera is about 5 months plus shipping. I explained that by the end of AUgust, I would again travel to South America for 10 months and would want to bring the camera with me. In the end, it was repaired within 3 weeks.

[ropo54]

1 hour ago, GMB said:

I suggest to contact Leica customer service directly by email. 9 months average repair time for S lenses does not correspond to my experience and information received from Leica.

 

I appreciate your feedback, but I did contact them by email and then spoke with them by telephone (NJ).  They apologized, but said that's the time frame and 'did I want them to send the lens back' in light of that!  

[GMB]

4 hours ago, ropo54 said:

I appreciate your feedback, but I did contact them by email and then spoke with them by telephone (NJ).  They apologized, but said that's the time frame and 'did I want them to send the lens back' in light of that!  

I mean contact Leica Wetzlar. Not New Jersey. Send an email. 

[ropo54]

My S lens is in NJ enroute to Germany I suppose.  I'm  waiting on arrival and inspection as to the problem.  Thank you for your suggestion.

Rob

[davidmknoble]

@ropo54, I do think it is less.  Mine took far less (recently, in fact).  I think the idea is to set your expectation level, and if it takes that long, expectations met, if it takes only 7 months, you feel better, even though 7 months is a long time!

I think it depends on how many are there and who is doing the work.  Fingers crossed, mine was about 90 days.

[davidmknoble]

2 hours ago, GMB said:

I mean contact Leica Wetzlar. Not New Jersey. Send an email. 

I did hear from a Leica rep that the process has changed and now just about everything goes through NJ and then to Germany.  It may delay the process some just getting through the flow from NJ to Germany instead of direct.

[BernardC]

Don't forget that a lot of German workers may be on vacation in August, so that could add a few weeks to the wait. I agree that 7 months is too long, but I've never experienced that long a wait either so it's probably a very pessimistic estimate.

[ropo54]

As of September 10, nearing now 1.5 months, still not even an estimate for lens repair from Leica Germany.

The "9 month average waiting period for  repair" which Leica advised has not yet begun to run.

So frustrating.  So disappointing.

Edited September 10, 2024 by ropo54

[irenedp]

My S3 had a major failure that required a trip to Wetzlar. It went on January 7th and came back by the end of February. The Phase One -replacement of the electronic contacts between the IQ unit and the XF camera and a general overhaul- went on July 23rd and comes back tomorrow. So pretty similar turnaround. 

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[Pieter12]

43 minutes ago, irenedp said:

My S3 had a major failure that required a trip to Wetzlar. It went on January 7th and came back by the end of February. The Phase One -replacement of the electronic contacts between the IQ unit and the XF camera and a general overhaul- went on July 23rd and comes back tomorrow. So pretty similar turnaround. 

Sorry to learn of your equipment issues. Kind of disappointing with relatively new gear (well, maybe not the S3). At least they were repairable--were they still under warrantee?