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Leica cosmetic damage (1 Viewer)

Dialyt

Dialyt

The Definitive Binocular
I am annoyed because, after looking after my Leica Ultravid 8x32BR for many years, a few days ago, whilst attempting to climb a gate, my binocular swung forward and bashed off the top bar of the metal tube farm gate. The binoculars have some minor scraping on the top plastic hinge plate, and also a small cosmetic blemish on the focus knob. The scape cannot be felt really by my fingers, but you can see it if you look closely. The small blemish on the focus knob is minor; it can be felt if you directly feel it, but really, in use, it would not be noticed by touch, and even by sight, you have to look for it... I could get it fixed (replace the parts), but that could cost a lot of money... and I could have some misfortune in the future... what then?

So what I am asking is, what is Leica owner's philosophy of damage, accepting it etc... Are these blemishes badges of honour, or are you a bit neurotic as I am? I know this is definitely a 1st-world problem, what with everything that is going on in the world, but I want to know what people generally think about this sort of thing with regard to binoculars.

I used to have a pair of Leica Trinivid 8x32BA which were quite bashed up from my enthusiastic teen years, but the Ultravid I bought in 2008 has been very well cared for up until this point.
 
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Lesson learned by landowner: Make sure to electrify fences so that birders don't try to crawl over them and damage their binoculars and try to sue you for damages. :)

You never know, but since dispensing with its "Goodwill Policy," Leica is unlikely to fix self-inflected damage. I would suggest if you still want to climb fences in the future that you buy a binocular harness to keep your bins from swinging away from your body. The other solution is to sell your cosmetically blemished Leica and buy a second-hand Swaro 8x32 EL, which is much more likely to have gratis repairs or low cost repairs preformed even if the 'wounds' were self-inflected.

Leica's repair policies seem to be at the whim of the individual repair shop rather than some global policy. I've read reports on here about some repairs I thought would be covered, but weren't, and others that I thought they would charge and arm and leg for, but that were performed for free or at low cost. So the best thing is to ring them up, explain the situation (but tell them it was your son climbing the fence :), and see what they say.

Let us know how you make out. Good Luck!

Brock
 
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My Leicas are perfect, what do I know? I believe if in your shoes I would let that one slide, provided optics and function are unaffected. But the eye/optic interface should not be distracting, so if you want it cherried-out, I'm fine with that.

Ron
 
brocknroller said:
Lesson learned by landowner: Make sure to electrify fences so that birders don't try to crawl over them and damage their binoculars and try to sue you for damages. :)

You never know, but since dispensing with its "Goodwill Policy," Leica is unlikely to fix self-inflected damage. I would suggest if you still want to climb fences in the future that you buy a binocular harness to keep your bins from swinging away from your body. The other solution is to sell your cosmetically blemished Leica and buy a second-hand Swaro 8x32 EL, which is much more likely to have gratis repairs or low cost repairs preformed even if the 'wounds' were self-inflected.

Leica's repair policies seem to be at the whim of the individual repair shop rather than some global policy. I've read reports on here about some repairs I thought would be covered, but weren't, and others that I thought they would charge and arm and leg for, but that were performed for free or at low cost. So the best thing is to ring them up, explain the situation (but tell them it was your son climbing the fence :), and see what they say.

Let us know how you make out. Good Luck!

Brock
Click to expand...

Hey Brock,

Everybody here knows that something like this would be covered under Swarovsky's warranty and what is more they would include a chew bone for your dog in the return package along with the refund of your mailing costs when they returned it to you at their expense.

Leica has to get its act together for sure!

Arf! Arf!:-O:-O

Bob
 
Dialyt said:
The scape cannot be felt really by my fingers, but you can see it if you look closely. The small blemish on the focus knob is minor; it can be felt if you directly feel it, but really, in use, it would not be noticed by touch, and even by sight, you have to look for it...
Click to expand...

If selling them on ebay or BF, this description would count as "mint". I recommend you to bash them around a bit harder to get at least some credibility among fellow birders when you're seen with this pair.
 
Maybe meditation or hypnosis would help renew them as new, at least in your mind.

There are as new examples out there if you want to buy a spare to put your mind at rest.
 
If its not affecting the optics then they're badges of honour. Easy for me to say!! My 17 year old BA's are what I would describe as mint and I'd be gutted if anything marred that so I get your concern. I suppose just think yourself lucky you chose a Leica which is easily capable of surviving such an encounter.
 
Leica customer service

I was out birding when a gust of wind blew my tripod over and caused severe impact damage to my Leica 65 Scope and eye piece and scope body. The scope was 16 months old and the Leica passport warranty was out of date. I contacted Leica in Germany and they said they would like to see the extent on the damage. Then they emailed me a UPS delivery label to print off and to send the scope back. Then a week later I received an email saying that the Scope would be replaced by Leica as a goodwill gesture as the damage was so severe. Therefore it’s not all doom and gloom from Leica. The service I received was first class.
 
I'd go with badge of honor and episodic memory bookmark. I keep my equipment in better cosmetic condition than most people do, but mishaps do happen in the course of life. The frustration just after the accident (when you are likely thinking how easy it could have been avoided with a little more care) lessens in time. For example, once when I was brush-busting through a vegetation-choked marsh, a hidden root caught my foot at just the wrong moment and I fell hard, flat on my face, and my hand with my trusty Zeiss 7x42 BGATP went smashing into the end of a cut tree limb. One objective sustained a very tiny scratch in the coating (Hard to see unless you know where to look. Has zero effect on the view). At the time, I was devastated, having had them for many years without incident, just a bit of polishing on the black metal parts where they rub the inside of my jacket when tucked there on rainy days. But now I see that scratch and just think how lucky I was to have the opportunity to go birding in that place at that time, and to see all the birds I saw there. It's an honor to be able to use such good equipment, and for so long that the probability of such an incident occurring is almost assured. And it's an honor to be able to clearly remember those adventures years into the future.

--AP
 
Alexis Powell said:
I'd go with badge of honor and episodic memory bookmark. I keep my equipment in better cosmetic condition than most people do, but mishaps do happen in the course of life. The frustration just after the accident (when you are likely thinking how easy it could have been avoided with a little more care) lessens in time. For example, once when I was brush-busting through a vegetation-choked marsh, a hidden root caught my foot at just the wrong moment and I fell hard, flat on my face, and my hand with my trusty Zeiss 7x42 BGATP went smashing into the end of a cut tree limb. One objective sustained a very tiny scratch in the coating (Hard to see unless you know where to look. Has zero effect on the view). At the time, I was devastated, having had them for many years without incident, just a bit of polishing on the black metal parts where they rub the inside of my jacket when tucked there on rainy days. But now I see that scratch and just think how lucky I was to have the opportunity to go birding in that place at that time, and to see all the birds I saw there. It's an honor to be able to use such good equipment, and for so long that the probability of such an incident occurring is almost assured. And it's an honor to be able to clearly remember those adventures years into the future.

--AP
Click to expand...

Alex

You express this very nicely.

Had a similar event with my FL 8x32s while stalking otters in the Western Isles of Scotland. At the time I couldn't stop cursing myself, but now I just remember the otters (and other things) on that day and smile.

Lee
 
Thanks folks for your comments. It really annoys me as I was tired when I made the stupid mistake and would otherwise have them in the ever-ready case when hiking. It's the first time anything has happened to them and that's the most annoying part. I'm thinking if Leica don't do it as a goodwill gesture, then a new focusing knob could be expensive. Any ideas about that? My binoculars have to go to Germany to have the rubber armour replaced as it's coming away from the body, so would be a good time to fix the small cosmetic flaws too, in order to match the new armour.
 
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