What's your experience with Q series service after expired warranty?

[SimonV]

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I'm looking at a used Q3 that's a little over a 1000 bucks cheaper than a new one, it's from a reputable local shop but has only a 30 day warranty. It feels a bit risky if something goes wrong, since often you might wait several months for the camera to come back from repairs, as well as a potentially expensive repair depending on the problem.

What experiences do you have with repairs in situations like this? Is there any difference between a newer model like the Q3 or if you were to for instance service a Q 116 or even older Leicas? With other brands like Nikon or Canon I'd be more at ease seeing as they have repair centers in most places, but Leica is different in this regard. Is there any point getting a discounted used Q3 for a little under 5000 bucks or just take the hit and get a new one for 6000 bucks with the full 2 year warranty?

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[jdlaing]

You pays your money and you takes your chances. It’s that simple.

[F-train]

You now run the risk of hearing the five horror stories and not the 5000 succes stories ….

€1000,- is a serious sum, but you do not need it for lenses 😀.

[SimonV]

Quote

You now run the risk of hearing the five horror stories and not the 5000 succes stories ….

Indeed 😁 It's of course harder to form a reliable average since the amount of Q3s in circulation will inevitably be much smaller than most brands.

[F-train]

It can not be old, and it is mostly electronics.

If the shop is ok, camera looks good etc, the risk is not that much bigger than a new one imho. I would bargain for a 30 day money back deal iso warranty.

[bobtodrick]

We are a Leica dealer.  Now keep in mind we deal with Leica USA.  Over the years we have found that Leica repairs, whether handled by Leica USA or Germany (extensive repairs usually end up going to Germany) have been very good...though sometimes the wait times are lengthy...as in months.

What may be more helpful is as F-Train says the horror stories.

Since the Q 116 came out we have sold a couple dozen variations of the Q.  We've not had one come back needing service.

[SimonV]

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1 hour ago, bobtodrick said:

We are a Leica dealer.  Now keep in mind we deal with Leica USA.  Over the years we have found that Leica repairs, whether handled by Leica USA or Germany (extensive repairs usually end up going to Germany) have been very good...though sometimes the wait times are lengthy...as in months.

What may be more helpful is as F-Train says the horror stories.

Since the Q 116 came out we have sold a couple dozen variations of the Q.  We've not had one come back needing service.

Ok, thanks! That sounds quite reassuring.

[JNK100]

Perhaps the question to ask is why the dealer is only offering a 30 day warranty on a pretty new camera.

A dealer in London had an M11 I was interested in but it came with only a 30 day warranty Vs most dealers offering 6-12 months on all used equipment.

The dealer then offered me a six month warranty so you could ask them to increase it or explain why they cannot do so.

Out of interest, in the UK, if you register a new camera you have a three year warranty!

[ravinj]

10 hours ago, SimonV said:

I'm looking at a used Q3 that's a little over a 1000 bucks cheaper than a new one, it's from a reputable local shop but has only a 30 day warranty. It feels a bit risky if something goes wrong, since often you might wait several months for the camera to come back from repairs, as well as a potentially expensive repair depending on the problem.

What experiences do you have with repairs in situations like this? Is there any difference between a newer model like the Q3 or if you were to for instance service a Q 116 or even older Leicas? With other brands like Nikon or Canon I'd be more at ease seeing as they have repair centers in most places, but Leica is different in this regard. Is there any point getting a discounted used Q3 for a little under 5000 bucks or just take the hit and get a new one for 6000 bucks with the full 2 year warranty?

You ask about cost and time to repair. This may help with decision making re cost: You can adjust the numbers, but I think what I have here is reasonably sufficient:

https://g.co/gemini/share/3f3118e04e85

Edit: Personally I have bought (and sold) over 6 different flavors of the Q, including the Original Q, Q2, Q3, Q3 43. Some of them bought, sold and bought again as I missed having them. Not one issue. So the 30% chance in my calculation covers extreme cases.

I did send a Q2 to Leica NJ to clean the EVF as I found a black speck in it. I had bought it used and it was already there. Leica cleaned it at no cost. 

Edited August 13 by ravinj

[DenverSteve]

You can check out the camera for a couple of weeks. If it seems solid, keep it and with some of the $1000 saved, buy yourself an extended warranty.  The camera has already survived the original warranty.  Even if you had purchased it new, it would be off warranty. 

[SimonV]

17 hours ago, DenverSteve said:

The camera has already survived the original warranty.  

That's a good point actually. Thanks for the reminder!

[Cogito]

On 8/12/2025 at 7:26 PM, ravinj said:

Edit: Personally I have bought (and sold) over 6 different flavors of the Q, including the Original Q, Q2, Q3, Q3 43. Some of them bought, sold and bought again as I missed having them.

 

May I ask where you do your Leica trading? FB, FM, EB, Craigslist, this forum? 

Thanks,

-Craig

[ravinj]

10 hours ago, Cogito said:

May I ask where you do your Leica trading? FB, FM, EB, Craigslist, this forum? 

Thanks,

-Craig

FM is the best in my experience. I had some success with FB as well. EB : not recently, but I have sold substantial number of SL APO and M lenses there.