Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/05/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]My local shop offers 90 days on all used items. If it is a consignment item and there is no warrenty, that is clearly stated on the price tag for all to see. Buyer beware. My shop is able to give a run down on past users of most all of their used pieces...meaning they don't do a bunch of buying from Joe Schmoe just in off the street from some strange little town down the road. They also encourage buyers to shoot a roll of film in the shop before buying to make certain the camera and/or lens is to their liking. Certainly they encourage buyers to shoot a roll or two immediatly after purchase to identify any troubles, should they arise. I, like you, just purchased a mint used M6...your story makes my stomach turn. And no, I would never do business with this dealer again. He failed to inform you of a critical point...no warrenty on a big dollar item like an M6 is inexcusable. His curt response to you in trying to get resolution is indication enough of his lack of care for his customer. I'd write this place off in a hurry. I believe at least you could have expected him to pay 1/2 of the repair costs...if not all. On the other hand, I know my shop tests all their used equipment for accurate shutter speeds, no torn curtains, no scratched pressure plates and all that but I don't believe they run film thru and process it. Yours is a problem that likely wouldn't have shown up in their testing, assuming they did any. So I suppose we've all learned a valuable lesson from your post.....ask specifically about warrenties before handing over any money and inform the dealer immediatley upon noticing a problem. I would also suggest getting in his face about the problem...sounds as if it may have been an out of town purchase so this may not be possible...but if it is, a personal visit is in order. And if there's any chance you paid with a credit card you may have some recourse thru them. Many offer buyer protection. Bummer. Lea gregor samsa wrote: > I recently (last days of march) purchased an M6 classic in "mint condition" > from an established, though not Leica-authorized, dealer whose name will be > VERY familiar to most American LUGnuts. After perhaps a dozen or fewer rolls > this camera started manifesting an annoying but not critical fault: when I > double-stroked the film advance, it occasionally added space between frames > (occurring perhaps once per roll on average), generally skipping about one > sprocket hole. Over the following weeks, this problem has worsened so that it > now might happen three or five or more times per roll. The problem, suffice it > to say, can no longer be ignored. Just to repeat for clarity, the camera is, > somewhat counterintuitively, ADDING space between frames. > > I called the dealer today to share this story with him and find a mutually > satisfactory solution and was surprised and appalled by his response: "I can > offer you a list of quality repair facilities and, well, good luck. We offer > no warranty on our used Leicas." He was saying, in essence if not in these > exact words, this "mint condition" camera was sold as-is and any mechanical > problem is just my tough luck. > > Now, on the other hand, remember that it's been five weeks already that I've > had the camera and also that I neglected to call him as soon as the problem > started manifesting. (In my defense, and I'm no Clarence Darrow, I've been > swamped with projects lately and also, what is clearly a problem today I > rationalized as little hiccups originally). > > So my question to one and all is: what do you think is a fair resolution here? > And, to help concentrate the mind, would you do business with this dealer, > knowing what you know now? > > Thanks for any cool-headed responses. > > Gregor > > ____________________________________________________________________ > Get free email and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1 - -- Lea Murphy Whiny Dog Press 816-333-9111 Home: http://www.whinydogpress.com Newest: http://www.whinydogpress.com/new.html