Warning Zeiss Scopes: Warranty

[PredatorSlayer]

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

Glass quality - not overall scope reliability, just high quality glass. They leverage their reputation with binos and spotters to sell expensive aiming devices. S&B is the exception - I am thinking more along the lines of Swaro and Zeiss scopes.

 

[elkguide]

Welcome to the forum. Great introduction. Hope to see you again soon.

 

[Formidilosus]

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

Majority of European scopes? You get excellent image quality and name. But I didn’t say anything positive about the majority of European scopes- I singled out S&B because you wrote it initially. S&B is very different than Zeiss, Swarovski, Leica, etc.
S&B what you get is in general: very solid and durable scopes, that also have excellent to world class image quality, and a product that is designed to last several decades. That’s all I was trying to get across.

 

[Webby307]

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.

As far as I can tell Swaro has the same warranty as Zeiss for anything manufactured after 2007.

As others have stayed I don't think it's very realistic to use a scope in the field for a decade or two and not expect to pay a fair price for parts or labor. I think most companies copied the Vortex model in order to compete and sell more products.

At the end of the day I would rather pay a little to get a optic fixed than pay for a whole new optic.

 

[204_ruger]

Is Zeiss closing their doors soon?

 

[JGRaider]

As far as I can tell Swaro has the same warranty as Zeiss for anything manufactured after 2007.

As others have stayed I don't think it's very realistic to use a scope in the field for a decade or two and not expect to pay a fair price for parts or labor. I think most companies copied the Vortex model in order to compete and sell more products.

At the end of the day I would rather pay a little to get a optic fixed than pay for a whole new optic.

Swarovski and Zeiss shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence together when it comes to warranty and customer service. I've never heard the stories from Swaro's CS that you hear from Zeiss fairly often.

 

[tony]

Is Zeiss closing their doors soon?

Thought I heard that as well?

Sig is offering a "no fault no questions asked warranty" on electronics now. Not sure if it includes scopes, etc.

So, what's the price to fix it vs. buying a new model? Maybe get it fixed and sell it on ebay ?

 

[Webby307]

Swarovski and Zeiss shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence together when it comes to warranty and customer service. I've never heard the stories from Swaro's CS that you hear from Zeiss fairly often.

I can't say anything about Swarovskis CS since I've never used it. I've used Zeiss once on a pair of Binos I bought used and they were great. But I also understand that others can have different experiences.

The point I'm making is that you can't expect a better warranty on Swaro vs Zeiss on any of their newer products. Swaro may go above and beyond on what their policy is but that's not a guarantee. It sounds like Swarovski reputation is better in this aspect however.

 

[Kyguy]

Zeiss isn't closing. It's moving ALL of its production to Asia. No more German made products.

 

[JGRaider]

First Meopta, now Zeiss.......which Euro is next?

 

[1000yards]

I heard that European manufacturers kept their warranties to 10 years because of stricter warranty laws over there.

 

[SPINDRIFT1047]

I feel like this is worth speaking up about for sure. I just got a 6-36 S3 and love it. I prefer it over my Razor G3. But man, I hope I never have to pull the warranty card. I have sent probably 5 different optics back to Vortex, no questions asked and never dropped a dime. Some were even full replacements. Pick your poison I guess!

 

[Bugger]

I have sent probably 5 different optics back to Vortex

….yeah. And that’s acceptable?

 

[Jpsauer88]

Just wanted to provide an update - not much of an update.

Wrote back asking how the glass became loose, if its something I should expect soon after a repair, If there's any

1. Which lens is loose?
2. What is the BDC? How is it defective?
3. What does "not recoil proof" mean practically? Doesn't hold zero?
4. How much warranty comes with these repairs?

Response - if you don't want it repaired that is okay we will have it sent back.

Thats it No answers, no further information.

Besides not standing by their product, in what line of business is this okay?

To those putting all euro scopes in same bag - just want to state I have had excellent service by S&B in past and also friends have had excellent service by Swaro. I actually don't think I have ever been totally ignored when inquiring about anything from any business, ever.

 

[Kyguy]

Man, this is going to seem like I'm coming at you, but truly, I'm not. Again, you bought a product, knowingly, that had a limited warranty. And you're complaining because they won't back it up with a full lifetime warranty. You don't have any right to fuss about what that. They didn't trick you into buying it. Like others have said, it is what it is and you surely can't go buy another similar scope for what they're wanting to charge you to repair that one. They've told you what they have found, what needs to be corrected, and how much it would cost. They don't owe you a technical explanation of anything. It's either a yes or no answer from you. To me it sounds like it's a situation where obviously they have to disassemble the scope, so they're going to go ahead and correct other possible issues while they're in there. That's their way of covering their ass, if all they did was repair the tracking issue and they send it back and other stuff comes up, well then you're mad at them about that too.

Lifetime warranty is sort of a misnomer nowadays. Many items are a limited lifetime warranty, and there is a difference in the terminology. Lifetime warranty usually means for the life of the owner. Limited lifetime warranty means for the life of the product, and that is set by the manufacturer. Some states do have regulations regarding what a limited lifetime warranty is. For example, I work in the furniture industry, and in some states, items with a limited lifetime warranty, that is a period of 7 years.

You can compare all you want to the American companies that offer a lifetime warranty. Like Form said, it's built into the retail cost to the consumer. That alone should tell you what the markup margin really is on those optics.

I'm not saying the situation doesn't suck and that I wouldn't be upset if I was in your shoes. But again, you went into that situation knowingly when you purchased the scope.

 

[JGRaider]

Man, this is going to seem like I'm coming at you, but truly, I'm not. Again, you bought a product, knowingly, that had a limited warranty. And you're complaining because they won't back it up with a full lifetime warranty. You don't have any right to fuss about what that. They didn't trick you into buying it. Like others have said, it is what it is and you surely can't go buy another similar scope for what they're wanting to charge you to repair that one. They've told you what they have found, what needs to be corrected, and how much it would cost. They don't owe you a technical explanation of anything. It's either a yes or no answer from you. To me it sounds like it's a situation where obviously they have to disassemble the scope, so they're going to go ahead and correct other possible issues while they're in there. That's their way of covering their ass, if all they did was repair the tracking issue and they send it back and other stuff comes up, well then you're mad at them about that too.

Lifetime warranty is sort of a misnomer nowadays. Many items are a limited lifetime warranty, and there is a difference in the terminology. Lifetime warranty usually means for the life of the owner. Limited lifetime warranty means for the life of the product, and that is set by the manufacturer. Some states do have regulations regarding what a limited lifetime warranty is. For example, I work in the furniture industry, and in some states, items with a limited lifetime warranty, that is a period of 7 years.

You can compare all you want to the American companies that offer a lifetime warranty. Like Form said, it's built into the retail cost to the consumer. That alone should tell you what the markup margin really is on those optics.

I'm not saying the situation doesn't suck and that I wouldn't be upset if I was in your shoes. But again, you went into that situation knowingly when you purchased the scope.

That's all well and good, but the fact that Zeiss refused to "waste their time" addressing his questions is bush league at best, and has nothing at all to do with this "you pay for lifetime warranties upfront" garbage. Even you should realize that. Once again, legit companies like Swaro would fix 'em for free, and if not, a small fee. My buddy upgraded his 25 yr old Swaro 8x30 SLC's for $100 last year (new HD lenses, coatings, and armor) and he wasn't even the first owner.

This is a perfect example why Zeiss' euro manufacturing and commanding very high prices for their products has failed miserably, especially their spotters and binoculars.