Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/01/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]If you are not interested in the USA service battle, you might want to hit delete now.... Time to remove the lurking cover and chip in my .02 here. As a previous Leica Dealer, currently in the auto business (autos from the fatherland), and afflicted with the dreaded watch illness I have some experience with products that are often brought in to the country by other then the official importer. In the case of many of these items, the importer is a business that may or may not be owned by the manufacturer but operate under the same principles, that is, they buy the item from the manufacturer, then set up their own warranty program to cover the product. If someone imports the product independently, it means no profit for the official distributor, plain and simple. Since their profits provide the warranty service, any warranty work on said object is a total loss in their eyes. My understanding with Leica in particular was, if the item was a USA item, no brainier. If it was not but the customer purchased it directly while out of the country, i.e. you buy your NOCT while in Germany from an authorized dealer, and provided receipt etc, it would be fixed under the international warranty, and Leica GMBH would be billed for the repair, no problem. If you bought it from Honest Clem's Leica and Apple Pie store and it was gray market/parallel import/whatever then it goes back to the homeland for repair, or you pay for the fix. Of course, often Clem and his cohorts have their in store warranty and will be glad to attend to it for you. Now, at least to me, from a business point of view, it is not out of line. This is not unlike expecting the Chevy dealer to fix your Ford, it will not happen. Under this policy, a visitor from Germany will get his lens/camera fixed locally and continue on his/her vacation snapping away. At the time, the Nikon, Canon, Minolta, and Olympus reps stated the same policy. Basically the only things they resented were those imported in bulk by non-authorized sellers, and those got bounced. Back in the high flying 80s, BMW and Porsche ran into folks bringing their product in to the country because even with the DOT approval, you still saved a ton of money. Since they are 'self insured' for warranty work, they flat out refused to attend to the grey cars (no matter what color they were). In fact, dealers were instructed not to even work on the cars for liability issues since many parts were not the same. Create hard feelings? You bet, mostly for the folks that assume it is ok to save money by buying from outside the box but think the folks that did not sell the item is honor bound to fix it. But, again, the way the dealer and distribution network is set up, if they are not going to make any money on the item, they do not feel compelled to service it. Like most things in life, there are rules and that is one of the rules. Lots of things are not fair, war and children starving come to mind as the TV blares in the background. GM was mentioned at one that fixed everything no matter what, but at least up to a few years ago, and I'm comfortable it still remain the same, would not honor warranties for vehicles exported to Europe by non-franchised dealers, that is, should Clem expand past Leicas and Apple Pies, and into Park Avenues, the European arm of GM would not honor the warranty. Plus, the selling dealer could be in hot water for selling to Clem if he was on the current hit list they published to tell dealers who was 'floating' cars overseas. Fair to the person in England that bought his Le Sabre from Clem, well by their standards since GM of England did not import it, they had not responsibility for it. Many items that are not gray but are not purchased from an authorized dealer have the same warranty limitations, Garmin states that if you buy your GPS unit from an unauthorized dealer, the warranty if void for example. Fair? Right? Hey, it's their sandbox. You can rant and rave all you want but that is their policy. Breitling tells you that nothing of theirs is officially sold over the internet and anything purchased that way is not covered. I know for a fact that these rules are not always strictly enforced but the fact they are stated covers them in the event they wish to act on it. Not looking to incite a riot here, just stating the facts as I understood them from a person that delt with some of the products being bantered about. sorry for the length. Clem Honest Clem's Leica, Apple Pie, and Chevette Sales - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html