Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/01/19

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Tri Elmar Repair
From: "Kit McChesney | Acmefoto" <kitmc@acmefoto.com>
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 00:12:00 -0700

John--

With all due respect ... :)

Cameras, lenses, binocs, scopes, and other Leica products imported into the
United States via Leica Camera, Inc (USA) are warrantied by Leica Camera,
Inc. (USA). They all carry a special seal affixed to the package indicating
that they are warrantied by Leica USA and are officially imported by Leica
USA.

On cameras (M and R) and lenses (M and R) that are covered under the USA
Passport Protection Plan (as well as binoculars covered under the comparable
binocular Lifetime Protection Plan), the warranty explicity states that if
the camera or lens fails to perform, or is damaged under conditions outlined
in the USA Passport Warranty, that the said item will be repaired by Leica
Camera, Inc (USA) at its Northvale, New Jersey offices. This means that
wherever you are in the world at the time of the equipment failure, under
the term of the warranty, that the camera will have to be sent to the
Northvale, New Jersey, repair facility. If you're in the U.S., you'll send
it to Northvale; if you are in Tokyo, you can either send it to Northvale
yourself, or entrust it to the Leica authorized repair facility in Japan,
whereupon they will forward it on to New Jersey for you. The transit charges
should be covered by the authorized Leica repair facility.

The Passport Protection Plan isn't window dressing; it is a comprehensive
three-year warranty (as opposed to the international two-year warranty) for
all cameras imported into the United States by Leica Camera, Inc (USA).
Leica USA pays for the repairs for cameras and lenses it warranties; it
forwards cameras and lenses and other products purchased outside the U.S.,
with non-U.S. warranties, on to Germany for repairs. Leica AG will not
reimburse Leica USA for repair work to cameras and lenses that are covered
by non-U.S. warranties. The same holds true in the other direction, for
cameras purchased in the U.S. and given over to non-U.S. repair facilities.

All this may seem unfair, that somehow cameras purchased in the U.S. are not
repairable in other locales, however, there is a flip side to this coin, one
that is purposefully advantageous to the U.S. customer buying a U.S. camera.
The camera market in the U.S. is huge; the numbers of repairs that would
theoretically originate in the U.S. could be totally overwhelming to the
Germany repair facility. If John Doe in California buys a camera here in the
U.S., and it fails under warranty, he can send it to New Jersey, rather than
sending it back to Germany for repair. Leica USA is a separate corporate
entity from Leica AG. They are not the same company. Leica USA warranties
and cares for the products it imports and sells. It adds an extra year of
warranty protection to the product warranty for R and M cameras/lenses,
adding to that the other coverage (for damage done to the camera by the
owner--such as dropping, having sea water splash over the camera, or any of
a number of imaginable circumstances other than fire or loss, yes) not
provided for by the international warranty. Most people are glad to have
this USA Passport Protection Plan, as it adds more value to their cameras.
They can also add two extra years of regular warranty coverage to the camera
anytime during the valid warranty period covered by the USA Passport Plan.

Kit

- --
acmefoto | acme online sales, inc
post office box 777 | louisville, colorado 80027 usa
www.acmefoto.com | kitmc@acmefoto.com
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- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of John
Collier
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2003 11:06 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] Tri Elmar Repair


Any equipment bought from an authorized distributor anywhere in the
world can be repaired under warranty (typically two years) at any
official distributor's repair facilities. Assuming that the repair
facility has the ability to do the repairs. Equipment bought from an
authorized distributor is not grey.

Apparently the Tri-E has been very difficult to repair in the field and
now all such repairs go to Leica Germany. At least that is what Leica
USA told the owner of the lens. I see no reason to doubt them. Leica
USA has said in the past that repairs on grey equipment have to be paid
for by the customer. The customer has the option of having Leica USA
ship the equipment, at the customer's expense, to Leica Germany for
warranty repairs.

This is all extensively covered in the archives where you find a
statement from Leica USA, kindly relayed to us by Sal DiMarco, to that
effect.

Passport warranty is nothing but a glamourous insurance policy. At
times quite useful but mostly window dressing. The two most likely
causes of loss, fire and theft, are not covered.

John Collier

On Sunday, January 19, 2003, at 07:44 PM, Kit McChesney | Acmefoto
wrote:

> Mike--
>
> Because you bought the lens in Germany, and not in the U.S., your
> warranty
> must be serviced in Germany, rather than by Leica USA. All non-U.S.
> warranties are international warranties, and Leica USA does not honor
> them
> (re: pay for repairs). They will forward the camera or lens on to
> Germany
> for you, which will save you shipping costs, but they will not service
> the
> product under the warranty. If you want to pay for the service, they
> will
> undertake the repair in the U.S. There is a U.S. repair facility, and
> they
> can undertake repairs of any Leica product, but they only provide free
> or
> warranty coverage for Leica USA products.
>
> Conversely, if you bought your lens or camera in the U.S., with a full
> Leica
> USA Passport Protection Plan warranty, and were outside the U.S. and
> needed
> a warranty repair, Leica AG (Germany) would be happy to repair the
> product
> for you for a fee, but would not honor the USA warranty. Leica USA
> will not
> pay for warranty repairs on non-USA products; likewise, Leica AG will
> not
> pay for repairs on USA Passport Protection Plan warranties.
>
> This is why the USA Passport Protection Plan warranty is so valuable,
> especially for U.S. buyers, and why so many non-U.S. buyers will
> purchase a
> Leica USA product. Even with the extra shipping costs from outside the
> U.S.,
> the USA warranty makes it more than worth it.
>
> This illustrates another reason why it is always important to be sure
> that
> you haven't bought a "gray market" product in the U.S. that is not a
> genuine
> Leica USA warrantied product. The USA warranty is the best in the
> world. It
> is also more comprehensive than a standard international warranty,
> covering
> accidents like dropped equipment, etc.

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Replies: Reply from David Young <dnr@horizon.bc.ca> ([Leica] Re: Tri Elmar Repair)