Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/03/04

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Subject: Re: [Leica] New or used?
From: pcb@iac.co.jp (Paul C. Brodek)
Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 17:37:33 +0900

On Tue, 03 Mar 1998 18:17:23 +0900, Mikiro Mori <mmori-tky@umin.ac.jp>
wrote:

>A "factory fresh" body is the best.  There is a Japanese saying,=20
>"Those who buy cheap things lose money".=20

Mori-san,

Whether to buy new or used often depends on how much money the used
product will save, and how lucky you feel.  I've bought three Leica M
bodies used and never had mechanical failures with any of them, but if
I did have a problem they would not be covered by warranty and I would
have to pay for repairs.  I took the chance and (so far) have saved
money.

I've been following new/used prices in Japan, and like you've seen new
M6 bodies sell for around 200,000 yen.  The cheapest used M6 I've seen
was around 130,000 yen, but it didn't look very pretty.  Most are
around 180,000 yen.  I think a full warranty is worth at least
20-30,000 yen, so if I were buying another body today I'd buy a new
one.=20

Good luck either way, and let us know how it goes.

Regards,

PB


Paul C. Brodek
Kobe, Japan
pcb@iac.co.jp