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How good is Leica's warranty? (1 Viewer)

wimvdam

wimvdam

Well-known member
Over at the Zeiss subforum, people are trading war stories about how good the warranties of Swarovski and Zeiss are. For example:

Quote: Originally Posted by Alurap
I have a friend that left his Swar EL on the roof of his car, lost them on a busy highway, at rush hour! He and a friend returned at mid-night, once the traffic eased and pickup up the pieces...the barrels broken apart and the insides just shards of glass. Swarovski now has an addition to their "wall of shame", my friend has a new Swar 8.5 X 44 EL (free of charge).
​

I'm in the marker for my first alpha and I'm leaning towards Leica, so I'm wondering what your experiences are with Leica's warranty service.
 
I think the example you reproduce is not from a company's warranty but more from their particular attitude towards customer care and individual cases of claim or repair. There are also many good and bad instances from the companies you mention, though Swarovski is still considered to go that bit further when dealing with extreme cases or accidents not covered or falling within the scope of a warranty - the story you highlight is one of user error/stupidity/forgetfulness rather than a manufacturing defect. If you have time to scroll through many years of Leica warranty history postings on BF I'm sure you'll come to your own conclusion and thus a decision when choosing a pair of top price bins. Personally, the warranty would not be a key factor to me when choosing which pair to purchase - all round optical and ergonomic performance suited to your needs are paramount. Also, I'm confident that most users would also have a degree of insurance, just in case of theft, loss or similar mishaps - Leica UK have in the past run promotions eg where 2 year accidental damage was included.
 
Alexis Powell said:
Leica's warranty in the USA is superb. It is no-fault, so everything is covered as long as you can find the bit with the serial number on it.

--AP
Click to expand...

I bought a pair of Duovids about 4 years ago.
I had a problem when changing from 8 to 12x in that one of the barrels would become blurred. This was resolved by turning the focus wheel all the way to the right and then re-focussing.
This was something I couldn't do all the time as it was getting frustrating!!!!
Took them back to the shop I bought them from and they returned them to Leica.
They said they couldn't see any faults (the chap in the shop could see it as well) but sent a replacement pair back to me within 2 weeks.
 
Alexis Powell said:
Leica's warranty in the USA is superb. It is no-fault, so everything is covered as long as you can find the bit with the serial number on it.

--AP
Click to expand...

Here is Leica's warranty on the HD Ultravid. Free parts for 10 years free labor for the first 5 years. Sounds like they don't have much faith in their products.

I've read A LOT of negative stuff about their warranty repairs and customer service. The biggest thing being how much they charge you if a repair is needed even if it's not the users fault especially on older glass.

I'll stick with Swarovski where I can send my 4 pair of binoculars back every 3 years so they can check them out and make them look new again for FREE! :t: Swarovski recommends that you do this. Call Leica and ask them to do this. :-O
 
Leica do perform this service , over here now anyway .
They call it "goodwill" policy.

i recently had a pair of trinovid ba's serviced , re-armoured and oculars replaced , free of charge .
This is really good when you consider i bought them pre-owned.

the binocular now looks brand new , thank you leica .
 
From reading post here and on 24hr campfire, it is pretty obvious that Leica had a pretty black and white, almost arrogant approach to customer service that paled in comparison to Swaro's and some others CS. It was more attitude than written policy, the other alphas seems to want to go that extra mile in making happy customers where Leica seemed much more bureaucratic about it. At some point within the last year or two, somebody at Leica got it and there has been a shake up at Leica US, now there seems to be a much warmer-gentler approach with their CS. I don't believe however that they will upgrade thirty year old Leitz to like new for free, but anything with the passport warranty should be handled for free. Thats my take on it from what I have read, maybe Jeff Boulton can pipe in with more definitive Leica policy.

John
 
John M Robinson said:
. At some point within the last year or two, somebody at Leica got it and there has been a shake up at Leica US, now there seems to be a much warmer-gentler approach with their CS.

John
Click to expand...

I think John hit the nail on the head here. The problem is that it's going to take time and positive consumer experiences on forums like this one before the overall perception has changed. The good news is that Leica seems to have made all the moves internally to get the ball rolling. In my opinion, if you own a Leica product and need service, you're in good hands these days.

Ben

Ben Lizdas
Sales Manager
Eagle Optics
www.eagleoptics.com
 
Let me say a word for Leica here.

The binocular in question on 24 Hour Campfire is identified there as a Leitz 10 x 40 Trinovid B. This binocular was discontinued by Leica in the early 1990's AFAIK. It used Uppendahl Roof Prisms. These prisms were used exclusively by Leica while other companies were using Schmidt-Pechan Roof Prisms for the most part and some Abbe-Koenigs. When Leica upgraded the Trinovid models (to be known now as Leica rather than Leitz) they switched to the Schmidt-Pechan prism system.

I have a Leitz 7 x 42 Trinovid BA. When I inquired by phone about getting them cleaned and generally refurbished I was given a price and also was informed that Leica had virtually no more parts for these binoculars and they would not be able to replace damaged prisms etc. Indeed, at that time, they were running low on eyecup replacements which were expensive screw on types. (I replaced them anyway.)

This binocular is completely obsolete. It was certainly the only quality binocular ever built using Uppendahl prisms. It was very expensive when it was in it's heyday and I don't think an awful lot of them were sold. It's main competition was the Zeiss binocular that used Abbe-Koenig prisms. It was also likely the best non-phase coated roof prism binocular ever built and may not have been suitable for phase coatings.

I don't think it is reasonable to expect Leica to have kept a long term inventory of replacement parts for it.

Bob
 
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John M Robinson said:
Leica had a pretty black and white, almost arrogant approach to customer service

John
Click to expand...

That, in a nutshell, has been my experience with Leica... typically Teutonic.

I've owned two Leica 8x32's... an 8x32 BN and BR, and two Swaro's, a 7x30 and 8x30 SLC. The Leica's are ahead, view-wise, but in the future I'll likely buy Swaro primarily because of their after-market service...
 
Mac308 said:
That, in a nutshell, has been my experience with Leica... typically Teutonic.

I've owned two Leica 8x32's... an 8x32 BN and BR, and two Swaro's, a 7x30 and 8x30 SLC. The Leica's are ahead, view-wise, but in the future I'll likely buy Swaro primarily because of their after-market service...
Click to expand...

We tend to forget that Warranties cost money and are built into the binoculars sale price. I learned this, ironically, from a Graphite Fly Rod I purchased that that was manufactured by a prominent Company in Twin Bridges, Mont. When I bought it in the late 80's or so, there was no mention of a Warranty with it. I returned a completed registration card to the company after I purchased it. The company was subsequently sold and thereafter I received a letter from them advising me that if I sent them $50.00 they would warrant the Rod for Life against all damages. I concluded that they were using part of this $50.00 to purchase an Insurance Policy to cover this eventuality.
Bob
 
blizdas said:
I think John hit the nail on the head here. The problem is that it's going to take time and positive consumer experiences on forums like this one before the overall perception has changed. The good news is that Leica seems to have made all the moves internally to get the ball rolling. In my opinion, if you own a Leica product and need service, you're in good hands these days.

Ben

Ben Lizdas
Sales Manager
Eagle Optics
www.eagleoptics.com
Click to expand...

Somehow I missed this input... that's quite reassuring.
 
I've just been looking at the objectives on my Leica Trinovid 10x32 BA's (purchased in September 2000) and notice that there appears to be some residue on the internal lenses.

Is cleaning them likely to be covered by the Leica warranty (I think the Laica passport ran out in 2001)?
 
gandytron said:
I've just been looking at the objectives on my Leica Trinovid 10x32 BA's (purchased in September 2000) and notice that there appears to be some residue on the internal lenses.

Is cleaning them likely to be covered by the Leica warranty (I think the Laica passport ran out in 2001)?
Click to expand...

Call them and let us know.
 
Hello,

Leica (USA) discontinued eyecups for my Leitz Binuxit in 2005, only forty years after the binocular was discontinued! On the other hand, I have had no problems with my Leica 8x32 BN, after five years.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :hi:
 
Just got my Ultravid HDs back after returning them due to armour detachment. I'll freely admit I checked the serial number to be sure they were mine! I'd only asked Leica to replace the armour [as they should - why they couldn't use decent glue I do not know], but as far as I can tell, they also replaced the focussing mechanism, both eyecups, and a barrel. Yes, a barrel, due to a small dent in the exposed metal at the hinge. I am duly impressed.
 
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