USA - CLA

[wontonny]

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1 hour ago, pgh said:

I’ve had to send 2 Leicas back to NJ this year. The first one was 13 weeks (a more complicated repair replacing rangefinder parts due to a drop) and the second was 7 weeks. This is now competitive or even better than the independent techs. 

While it’s still long compared to other brands at this point I won’t even look around for other techs. Leica has gotten their turnarounds to a more manageable time frame and has the most resources to fix it. They’ll still cost a bit more but the peace of mind is worth it. 

I've read they will fix other things you didn't even want and charge you for it. Is that still the case? I am trying to get my rangefinder calibrated only. 

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[trisberg]

24 minutes ago, wontonny said:

I've read they will fix other things you didn't even want and charge you for it. Is that still the case? I am trying to get my rangefinder calibrated only. 

My experience is that Leica does a complete checkup, so they might "fix" things in addition to what you requested. For rangefinder calibration I would send it to DAG.

-Thomas

 

[pgh]

2 hours ago, wontonny said:

I've read they will fix other things you didn't even want and charge you for it. Is that still the case? I am trying to get my rangefinder calibrated only. 

They don’t charge you for anything that you don’t approve on the estimate. I’ve sent stuff to them maybe six or seven times and I’ve never had that happen. I have had unexpected free service twice though. 

Leica service gets a bad rap, but honestly, I am sort of changing my tune on it. The last customer survey they sent out my only legitimate complaint I could give was the duration of time it took. And the other issue is that I’ve had to send them in as often as I have. I’ve complained plenty on the forums about the lack of reliability of the Leica’s I’ve purchased, but that does not fairly extend to the service.

When it comes to the service experience itself, I find that Leica NJ does good work, is communicative, thorough and responsive. On top of that, my experience this year says their turnaround times, while still frustrating, have shortened up considerably. 

Edited July 26 by pgh

[W_jay_p]

10 hours ago, pgh said:

They don’t charge you for anything that you don’t approve on the estimate. I’ve sent stuff to them maybe six or seven times and I’ve never had that happen. I have had unexpected free service twice though. 

Leica service gets a bad rap, but honestly, I am sort of changing my tune on it. The last customer survey they sent out my only legitimate complaint I could give was the duration of time it took. And the other issue is that I’ve had to send them in as often as I have. I’ve complained plenty on the forums about the lack of reliability of the Leica’s I’ve purchased, but that does not fairly extend to the service.

When it comes to the service experience itself, I find that Leica NJ does good work, is communicative, thorough and responsive. On top of that, my experience this year says their turnaround times, while still frustrating, have shortened up considerably. 

From what I understand they are basically a year behind on basic service as well, how long was your turn around?

[pgh]

22 hours ago, pgh said:

I’ve had to send 2 Leicas back to NJ this year. The first one was 13 weeks (a more complicated repair replacing rangefinder parts due to a drop) and the second was 7 weeks. 

@W_jay_p 

you could just call or email them and ask. But both times I asked them for time estimates, both times they overestimated. I get the sense they’re trying to under promise and over deliver. 

Edited July 27 by pgh

[Crem]

On 7/26/2025 at 6:38 AM, pgh said:

I’ve had to send 2 Leicas back to NJ this year. The first one was 13 weeks (a more complicated repair replacing rangefinder parts due to a drop) and the second was 7 weeks. This is now competitive or even better than the independent techs. 

While it’s still long compared to other brands at this point I won’t even look around for other techs. Leica has gotten their turnarounds to a more manageable time frame and has the most resources to fix it. They’ll still cost a bit more but the peace of mind is worth it. 

Were both repairs on film cameras or digital? Do you know if the repair was done in NJ or did they get forwarded to Germany? I'd love to hear that the film repairs in NJ/Germany are down to 7 (or even 13) weeks. I read they were 12+ months a while back. Both times I've worked with DAG in 2025 it has been about ~1 month turn around and the work has been perfect.

[pgh]

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5 hours ago, Crem said:

Were both repairs on film cameras or digital? Do you know if the repair was done in NJ or did they get forwarded to Germany? I'd love to hear that the film repairs in NJ/Germany are down to 7 (or even 13) weeks. I read they were 12+ months a while back. Both times I've worked with DAG in 2025 it has been about ~1 month turn around and the work has been perfect.

Digital. New Jersey. 
you can call or email and ask. 

[Don Flynn]

8 hours ago, Crem said:

Were both repairs on film cameras or digital? Do you know if the repair was done in NJ or did they get forwarded to Germany? I'd love to hear that the film repairs in NJ/Germany are down to 7 (or even 13) weeks. I read they were 12+ months a while back. Both times I've worked with DAG in 2025 it has been about ~1 month turn around and the work has been perfect.

I had DAG service all 4 of my Leica's I've bought since December this year and the longest it took was 7-8 weeks for my 2 M6 "Classic's". He even admitted he was swamped from April to May and that's what took so long.

I'm looking for another M5, when I find 1, I like I'll send it to him knowing it could take some time to get it back I'm wanting a 2nd M5 since I like the way it handles and want to get 1 as a daily carry before I retire in 2027 and go on a "fixed" income. Gotta get the toys now while I can work overtime (and I hate working Saturdays; I want to play with my Leica's and Nikon F2's 🤪) 

[TomB_tx]

1 hour ago, Don Flynn said:

before I retire in 2027 and go on a "fixed" income

It does take some adjustment and discipline - I retired in 2009, but still find a bit for toys... 

[Don Flynn]

1 hour ago, TomB_tx said:

It does take some adjustment and discipline - I retired in 2009, but still find a bit for toys... 

Hopefully I have my "plan" and will stick with it.

I do think I've found my 2nd M5. I contacted Tamarkin Leica in Chi-Town and they said they have 1 in that their sending out of a CLA now and will get back in a couple months.

Their using "DAG" so that's 1 step I won't have to do if I get it. It's an early production though, but they said DAG was doing to do his magic on it so I should be ok. I'm thinking I can use that as my "collector" M5 and my current 1 as my "shooter" M5 since mine is a later production 3 lug.

It'll be a couple months before they get it back, I'll just chill until then and use my M6 and M5 as I can 

[edstock]

When it comes to "full service" I recommend DAG. I've been using DAG since the 90s for camera and lens servicing. He has never disappointed me in all these years. When I was shooting for money I had to rely on my equipment, be it Leica or any other manufacturer. You can't tell a client that you'll undertake the assignment  because of faulty equipment. I've just recently sent DAG my M2 for a CLA, knowing Don he'll do a complete system check for any other related problem, he'll get back to me with the estimate. When he finishes I know that it will be good for another sixty years. The M2 was in production from the late 1950s to the early 1960s.