Warning Zeiss Scopes: Warranty

[Jpsauer88]

Hello,

I always read this forum but never posted. I hope this post is acceptable to the Rokslide community. I am not trying to rubbish a company, simply want to warn others of my experience.

I own a Zeiss Diavari 6-24x56 T* FL. This scope spent its life on a 6.5 and hasnt been impacted. It was sent to Zeiss as it was not tracking.

Zeiss found:
1. BDC defective
2. Scope not "recoil proof" objective lens loose
3. Reticle dirty (dont ask me how)
4. Parallax requires adjustment
I was quoted half the new cost of the scope to repair it.
This was then listed as a result of wear and tear. Yep, wear and tear - apparently a loose objective lens is wear and tear on a top tier scope.

Furthermore, a 10 year warranty is far below the standard around of 30yrs - lifetime. I kept thinking to myself, if this was a Razor or pretty much any other U.S. company, it would have been repaired/replaced no questions asked. One would think it embarrassing for a company of Zeiss's stature to produce a scope that has a objective lens that gets loose.

Yes the glass is excellent - but really would prefer a Razor or other scope with LIFETIME warranty. I know Schmidt from friends experiences still stand behind their scopes even after their technical warranty.

I wrote back to Zeiss asking them to stand behind their product especially that they have charged me half the price of a new Zeiss V8 for failures that show the poor quality of their top tier scope. They responded with asking me whether or not I want repairs done or whether I want it returned. This response, was inadequate as they did not address any of my concerns.

Was the glass and name worth the end result? In my opinion, definitely not. Be warned.

 

[JGRaider]

Zeiss has replaced Leica as the optics company with the worst customer service. They seem to take pride in telling their customers to stick it where the sun don't shine. Too many good products nowadays to put up with that garbage, especially at the ridiculous prices Zeiss wants for it's products.

 

[mj23polaris]

Man that’s to bad so far I have had good experience with them. My s3 I sent in for them To check out. as I found it was my rings causing zero shift after they inspected it and said it passed every test. They were super responsive and when I told them I needed it for a match coming then sent it with like 2 day shipping back for free. And I wasn’t charged anything for the inspection. They offered to fix my ocular lens bc it was scratched and it was if I member right pretty cheap to fix. I declined bc it didn’t bother me and I needed it asap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Kyguy]

Is the scope past the warranty of 10 years? If so, then it really doesn't matter what was the cause of the issue, it's out of warranty. Plain and simple. You knowingly purchased a product that was warrantied for 10 years. If it's past warranty or the issues have been determined to not be manufacturing defects, then they're not responsible for the cost. You really have no other recourse, and that it no different than any other warranty on any other product... furniture, electronics, appliances, whatever. They could well have told you that they can't/won't repair it at all. They owe you nothing in the way of further explanations or responses. Either pay the repair bill or have them send it back. 1/2 the cost of new to get a high-end optic refurbished back to like new condition is not a bad deal.

Honestly, it doesn't sound like the scope was babied, from their response. Maybe it was never "impacted" like you say, but how many rounds and how much use has it gotten? Scopes are tools, and like any other tool, when it's used a lot, it'll wear out. Optics, especially scopes, do not have an infinite life span.

 

[Dan Carey]

10 years in the scope industry is next to no warranty. Thankfully I don't own one and now never will.

 

[vonb]

If I pay premium prices for a premium scope, I would hope they would provide some type of good faith on the repair. I understand they owe me nothing per the "warranty" terms.

Having said this, I love European glass. However, the European manufacturers seem to be in shambles. Meopta assembling in China, Zeiss and S&B with poor warranties compared to Vortex, Leupold, Athlon, etc. I don't think I can give my hard earned $$$$ to Euro manufacturers any longer.

 

[JGRaider]

Swaro is the only Euro worth considering anymore. That warranty tells you what a crappy company Zeiss sport optics has become. Too many excellent products nowadays anyway.

 

[flagstaff]

In short, their “lifetime warranty” sucks, and my beloved 85MM Diascope is now nothing more than a couple thousand dollar paperweight.

A little background:

I bought the Diascope brand new in 2007. Sent it back to Zeiss back in 2022 (15 years later) for cleaning and repair. It was a terse back and forth between them and I as they did not want to honor their lifetime warranty then, but they did send it back to me, repaired but not cleaned.

It broke again in 2024. I spoke to Zeiss about fixing it again, and they said they won’t. They said send the Diascope back to them, they would keep it, and they would offer me a newer model at a reduced price. I said back in 2022, they said the same thing, and the 85MM Gavia was about $1,500, and asked if that would be their offer now. He said sounds about right.

I told him when my 2001 Swarovski 15x56 SLC were damaged in 2022 by a client’s fault (they stepped away while the binos were on a tripod and the wind tipped the tripod over, breaking the objective lens), Swarovski fixed my binos for $80 for the cost of shipping.

I even offered to pay Zeiss just to fix my Diascope (beyond the cost of just shipping). They did not want to do that either.

So in my dealings with Zeiss, their business model is to sell good equipment, with their kinda worthless lifetime warranty, but if their optics have an issue, they will ask to trade in your optics and try to sell you their latest model. At whatever price offer they like, with a take it or leave it attitude.

If I would have known back in 2007 that that was their business model, I would have never bought that Diascope.

They did not divulge why they wanted me to send the Diascope back to them as part of the deal on their offer to sell their current model to me. Per their words, the Diascope is not serviceable. So why would they want it back? I suspect they want to clean and polish the lenses (as both my Diascope and the Gavia have 85MM objective lenses), and put the lenses in their latest Gavia model. No proof of my assertion, but if their Diascope is worthless, why do they want it back? But maybe they wanted my couple thousand dollar paperweight for themselves. Maybe that’s it. Insert eye roll here___.

So my message to anyone considering buying anything from Zeiss is that their business model is flawed (in my opinion) compared to other high end optics companies, so buy at your own risk.

I told him I was going to be telling people my experience with Zeiss, but they didn’t care. He said they view their full warranty as only 5 years. After that, it is something less. I told him then that Zeiss should say that, and not “lifetime warranty.” He then kinda said it is what it is. I said why would I invest $1,500 in a Gavia when Zeiss would do it to me again when I have a problem (or even cleaning) it. I told him the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again but expecting a different result.

All I was looking for was to be treated fairly by Zeiss. But I certainly feel I wasn’t. I will never ever be a customer of theirs again.

And finally, I have been selling all my Zeiss optic equipment, and have been telling my hunting clients, my friends and family how they roll.

 

[Formidilosus]

If I pay premium prices for a premium scope, I would hope they would provide some type of good faith on the repair. I understand they owe me nothing per the "warranty" terms.

S&B has a good warranty- in fact probably the best warranty overall from all angles. S&B’s warranty is different than most. If the problem was caused by them, they pay for it. If it was caused by you, they charge a very fair fee (the actual cost in my experience) to repair the item. And they guarantee to have parts for at least 20 years to repair their scopes.

That is an honest and fair deal. I just want a good product, for a fair price, and I want the company to repair as needed when something goes wrong, and to have parts to be able to repair it for a functional lifetime. I am not into throw away junk.

Having said this, I love European glass. However, the European manufacturers seem to be in shambles. Meopta assembling in China, Zeiss and S&B with poor warranties compared to Vortex, Leupold, Athlon, etc. I don't think I can give my hard earned $$$$ to Euro manufacturers any longer.

Wait what? In shambles compared to “Vortex, Leupold, Athlon, etc”? Ironic that you use three companies that on the whole specialize in producing absolute junk scopes as your “great warranty” example.

“No fault, no matter what” warranties are ludicrous, and they aren’t being given for free. You are paying for that- everyone is paying for that in every product they buy. You pay more for a less quality product, and then get to think how “nice” the company is when they replace someone’s item for “free” that they ran over, under a warranty that you paid for.

 

[Macintosh]

Lifetime no questions asked warranty=pyramid scheme

 

[Billy Goat]

A lifetime warranty is frequently what the manufacturer determines to be the product lifetime, not an individuals lifetime.

 

[vonb]

S&B has a good warranty- in fact probably the best warranty overall from all angles. S&B’s warranty is different than most. If the problem was caused by them, they pay for it. If it was caused by you, they charge a very fair fee (the actual cost in my experience) to repair the item. And they guarantee to have parts for at least 20 years to repair their scopes.

That is an honest and fair deal. I just want a good product, for a fair price, and I want the company to repair as needed when something goes wrong, and to have parts to be able to repair it for a functional lifetime. I am not into throw away junk.




Wait what? In shambles compared to “Vortex, Leupold, Athlon, etc”? Ironic that you use three companies that on the whole specialize in producing absolute junk scopes as your “great warranty” example.

“No fault, no matter what” warranties are ludicrous, and they aren’t being given for free. You are paying for that- everyone is paying for that in every product they buy. You pay more for a less quality product, and then get to think how “nice” the company is when they replace someone’s item for “free” that they ran over, under a warranty that you paid for.

I own several brands of scopes (S&B, Meopta, Zeiss, Nightforce, Tract, Nikon, Burris, Leupold, Vortex to the Chinese flavor of the day (Athlon, Arken). I'm not advocating that Chinese scopes have it right. However, how does Tract, Leupold, Burris, Nightforce, Vortex, etc. offer lifetime warranties when the European manufacturers are prematurely time-boxed? What exactly am I paying for again? Premium prices don't seem to be offering a more reliable scope. I would prefer to have European...Warranty policies sent me a different direction.

 

[vonb]

A lifetime warranty is frequently what the manufacturer determines to be the product lifetime, not an individuals lifetime.

That's a good point. What is that for each brand? Sig states that their electro optics is 5 years I believe.

 

[Formidilosus]

However, how does Tract, Leupold, Burris, Nightforce, Vortex, etc. offer lifetime warranties when the European manufacturers are prematurely time-boxed?

Because the “lifetime no fault” warranties are built into the price- you are paying for them.

What exactly am I paying for again? Premium prices don't seem to be offering a more reliable scope. I would prefer to have European...Warranty policies sent me a different direction.

In the case of S&B, their scopes are on the whole way more reliable than than Vortex, Leupold, Athlon. Zeiss and Swarovski- no. Swaro does not make durable aiming devices, and the best scope Zeiss “makes” is made at LOW in Japan.

 

[Billy Goat]

That's a good point. What is that for each brand? Sig states that their electro optics is 5 years I believe.

That would be information you need to get from the manufacturer.

And it likely varies based on the product.


It's just wording that is used to sell, but doesn't really mean what you interpret when you read it.

You would think a spotting scope should have a lifetime expectancy of 30 years if not more, but its likely not the case.

 

[vonb]

Because the “lifetime no fault” warranties are built into the price- you are paying for them.





In the case of S&B, their scopes are on the whole way more reliable than than Vortex, Leupold, Athlon. Zeiss and Swarovski- no. Swaro does not make durable aiming devices, and the best scope Zeiss “makes” is made at LOW in Japan.

You just made my point. What are you paying for when you pay premium prices on the majority of European scope?

 

[Woodman22]

That’s unfortunate they provided such awful product support.

 

[Kyguy]

You just made my point. What are you paying for when you pay premium prices on the majority of European scope?

You're paying for the privilege of owning a product with their name on it. And that's all you're paying for.

 

[JGRaider]

You're paying for the privilege of owning a product with their name on it. And that's all you're paying for.

Absolutely. The Euro's rely on the false premise that they build superior optical products, when in fact they don't, at least anymore. They also want you to believe their "euro" optics do not contain any Asian parts, which is also false. The day I need a $2800+ scope to kill game is the day I go back to an open sight Marlin 336.

Brain washed Euro lovers need to google the Vortex/Liberty Optics fiasco. There's not another optics company on the planet, especially the overpriced Euro brands, that would have taken care of their customers the way Vortex did. Nobody, period. I say kudos to them for taking the high road.