Leica Warranty / Customer service?

[TimberHunter]

Need a favor from you all. Have a guy wanting to trade me 4 year old HD-B 2000 10x42s and wanted get feed back on how Leica treats warranty / customer service for people that bought their glass used?

From what I found they’ve been good recently but age of the glass makes a difference?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[handwerk]

I know that other folks have had bad experiences in the past but my experience last year was stellar , they went above and beyond what I had asked for on some used binos that I had bought from the original owner.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Several years ago my Leica rangefinder took a dump. I contacted them and they said it was outside of the warranty period and they wouldn't even consider repairing it on my dime. I was left with a $900 paperweight and a sour feeling about it.

Their warranty on observation devices seems to be better but I've never attempted to use it.

 

[Hwcopley]

I’ve used their warranty dept 2 times for a sporting scope and once for binos. Both were used and not registered to me in any way. They repaired at no cost and it didn’t matter that I was not the original owner. Latest repair was a month ago. No experience with any of their range finding products

 

[jg1418]

I used there customer service for repairs. They were outstanding!!!

 

[PlumberED]

I had two Leica ER rifle scopes that I purchased new and registered them with Leica.
The first scope was sent in twice for repairs, 1st time was when the windage adjustment knob broke and the 2nd time it was not tracking correctly and would not RTZ, both times the scope was sent to Germany (IIRC), the first time took over a year to get it back, the second time it took 6 or 7 months
The second scope was sent in because it wasn’t tracking correctly, would not RTZ, it was sent overseas to Portugal (IIRC) and was returned in 6ish months.
Both scopes had an annoying habit of always requiring some sort of adjustments, either elevation or windage so I sold them both.
As far as Leica’s CS they were pleasant enough, they usually answered my calls and emails in a timely manner and they repaired the scopes no questions asked.

 

[VinoVino]

I believe their warranty period for electronics used to be 2 years, I believe. Checking out their current warranty info (https://leicacamerausa.com/pages/leica-sport-optics-new-usa-and-canada-warranty-program.html), looks like they cover everything up to 10 years, if it was shipped to an authorized dealer starting in 2021. Since those are 4 years old, they obviously don’t qualify. But they do mention you can call or mail them with questions about warranty coverage, if you have the S/N. I’d go to the source and see what they say.

@WeiserBucks brings up a good point about repair. I had a Leupold rangefinder that went bad. I tried to pay to refurbish it, but Leupold wouldn’t touch it. Call Leica and see if they’ll repair the HD-B 2000’s if the electronics go bad.

 

[Rd7fox]

My advice- - find yourself a Swarovski so you can quit worrying about customer service.

 

[Boarmaster]

My advice- - find yourself a Swarovski so you can quit worrying about customer service.

Great advise.

 

[sakman]

A couple months ago, Leica didn't charge me to repair a damaged Geovid HD-B that I bought used. I did pay around $175 to CLA an older Geovid BRF about 2 years ago.

 

[Spiral Horn]

My advice- - find yourself a Swarovski so you can quit worrying about customer service.

This really isn’t helpful and doesn’t reflect reality. But since this kind of SW worship is often posted here on Rokslide its is easy to understand why FNGs begin parroting this theme. Scopes/binos/spotters are all fairly complex devices with some very fragile elements and moving parts that must maintain precise alignment to operate as designed. Some also add electronics that make matters even more complex. Depending on how many, how often, and the environments one uses them in, something will eventually fail. Yes, even Swarovski.

Personally, I’ve had mixed results on repair requests submitted to the Big 3. To sum up my CS experience over the decades:

Zeiss - Overall, very good. Had riflescopes that shifted zero - repaired without issue or cost and once fixed, stayed fixed. Had an ancient Diavari Bino with a worn out main hinge. The warranty was long-expired, yet the fixed it and rebuilt the glass at no cost. Only downside was they had to send it to Germany and it took a while.

Swarovski - Extremely good or extremely bad. I bought a new/old-stock SLC binocular that obviously had an issue with the focuser. Sent to SW and they found it had a damaged hinge which was causing misalignment and binding. Under warranty, so they repaired at no cost. My mistake was honestly filling out the CS survey after the repair - the repair was fine, but communication was terrible and my inquiries were left unanswered. Was forcefully harassed by the CS manager as he did not agree and even suggested that I was “lucky” to have gotten service. Also had a SW Riflescope that failed from the very start - started by internal fogging first day at the range, then continued shifting zero. Gave me the 3rd degree and suggested it had been damaged. They fixed it, but made me pay for the repair. After repair, began shifting zero again. Gave up on it until I was having a custom rifle built and builder with a professional relationship with SW offered to send it in for repair as part of the build. They did, and it finally got fixed. But, I’m not alone in issues with SW CS and items sent in staying fixed. Just do a thorough search of the LR shooting section and SW scopes.

Leica - years ago = horrible; today = excellent. Currently, they have the most comprehensive warranty for new optics bought in the USA. That said, had my worst CS experience ever on a Trinovid that was send in during the late 1990s. Focuser broke and took a whole year to get it back. The repair was fine, but CS acted like they were doing me a favor through the entire process. However, the company has since rededicated itself to CS. Had an old CRF rangefinder that had seen a lot of miles of rough road and was long out of warranty. It finally failed and was not working at all. Sent it in and they replaced it very quickly and free of charge.

All of the above said. Rangefinders are a bit of different ballgame for optics companies, as they can repair optics completely in-house. Leica has been doing RFs the longest and I really like their CRFs. But most of the electronics are manufactured by 3rd parties. So, there is limited opportunity for electronics repair, therefore the warranties on that portion of the device is shorter. I’ve certainly seen more of them replaced than repaired. So, yes there is a bigger risk in buying a used rangefinding device than a binocular. IME Leica is no less likely to stand behind their RF product than Zeiss or Swarovski.

 

[bpurtz]

Just wanted to share a recent warranty experience with Leica. I've owned several Leica binoculars and RF binoculars (maybe 8?) and this was the first time I sent a set in for warranty/repair work.

The binoculars were a demo 8x42 Ultravid HD unit I purchased from CameralandNY back in 2018. I somehow blemished the coating on both objectives - you couldn't see the issue looking through the binoculars, but the blemish just bothered me.

I sent them to Leica to see what the cost estimate would be to polish out or replace the objective lenses. To my surprise, Leica is replacing both lenses, and performing other adjustments under warranty - no cost to me!

Pretty impressive customer service!

 

[Ross]

2017 they replaced my decade old Geovids free of charge. They would not range past 100 yds. Were used hard but taken care of. Deemed not repairable. Funny item. They asked what I did to them. Replied “we’ll I’m not bird watching with them”

 

[kpk]

I think the Vortex warranty and customer service really forced the other companies to step up their game if they were lacking. Seems a lot of the companies that had bad reputations for service are trying much harder than they used to.