Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/01/20

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Tri Elmar Repair
From: "Kit McChesney | Acmefoto" <kitmc@acmefoto.com>
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 11:53:25 -0700

Okay folks, I've got the scoop from the director of warranty registrations
at Leica USA. This supports everything I've already mentioned here. You can
believe it, or not believe it, that's your choice, but this is how the USA
warranty works:

1) Leica USA warranties its products intended and registered for the U.S.
market. They are identifiable by serial number, and always come in a Leica
box with the seal that reads "Officially Distributed by Leica Camera, Inc."
This means that it was officially distributed through Leica USA, out of New
Jersey. If they are M or R cameras or lenses, they automatically carry the
USA Passport Protection Plan. If they are sport optics (other than the laser
rangefinders and Geovids) they are covered by the Lifetime Sport Optics
Protection Plan.

2) Leica USA considers any product not bought in the USA and warrantied
under their USA warranties to be gray market, for purposes of warranty
service. In essence, it does not matter whether you bought the non-U.S.
Leica product from a dealer in Germany, or from a dealer in the U.S.
(whether authorized or not), if the product was not imported and registered
through Leica USA, it's gray market. Period. Always ask if the product you
are purchasing is a U.S. product, if that's what you want.

3) If you have a U.S. product, and during the warranty period it fails (or
is damaged under the conditions covered by the USA Passport Protection
Plan), the product will be repaired by Leica USA. It will have to be sent to
New Jersey for repair. If you are outside the country, sometimes a non-U.S.
facility will agree to repair it, if they feel they can be reimbursed by
Leica USA, but in most cases, they will not. They will, however, forward it
on to Leica USA for you, and in such a case, that will save you the costs of
shipping to New Jersey yourself. You can do either; ship yourself, or have
an authorized dealer ship it for you.

4) If you have a non-U.S. product (bought outside the U.S., or not a U.S.
product) Leica USA may, at its discretion, repair on site. In most cases,
though, Leica USA will forward the non-U.S. product to Germany for repairs,
because the international warranties are serviced by Leica AG, in Germany.

5) Leica USA has more than a dozen skilled and certified technicians who
work out of its New Jersey location. Anything that requires repair can be
done in the U.S. Most of the technical staff are from Germany. So this
notion that the repairs can't be done here because the personnel are not
experienced, or lack the training, is nonsense.

So there you go.

KM

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www.acmefoto.com | kitmc@acmefoto.com
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