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Questionable, expensive repair

cehilton

Is from: Jacksonville FL, US
26 posts

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cehilton Silver Member Nikonian since 29th Mar 2010
Wed 11-Dec-19 10:53 AM
I recently sent my Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED Lens to Nikon repair in NY.

Even though I told Nikon that lens was operating properly because I said the word "dropped" they categorized it as a more expensive repair, $745, even before they received the lens, much less even saw it.

The lens hood took the impact. There was no visible damage to the lens itself. I sent it to Nikon to have them check for damage that I couldn't see.

Their "estimate" didn't change and I was charged the $745 when repair was completed.

This is what Nikon says they did:
RPL CAM RING
RPL ROLLER/GUIDE RING
RPR ZOOMING MECHANISM
ADJ AUTO FOCUS OPERATION
ADJ OPTICAL ALIGNMENT
CKD RESOLUTION
CKD COMMUNICATION
GENERAL CHECK & CLEAN

I'm questioning whether what Nikon did warranted the repair ranking/cost they assigned when I initiated the repair on the Nikon web site.

Nikon wouldn't tell me what the parts cost or how much time was spent by tech. Unlike most repairs, Nikon doesn't charge by parts and labor.

Nikon rep insisted that the cost was warranted. I'm skeptical. It's too easy for Nikon to just charge based on original quote. If customer has approved, there no motivation to charge less even if repair was miscategorized by Nikon.

In hindsight:

1. If I ever send anything else to Nikon for repair I won't say the word "dropped". My advice is be vague and let Nikon examine the item before you agree to a non-estimate estimate.

2. If Nikon "estimate" is close to cost of used item in excellent condition I will consider skipping repair, using the item and buying replacement if item really fails.

And the day after I looked into other repair options I read that Nikon will terminate agreements with repair independent shops next March which means if I keep my Nikon gear I'm stuck with accepting their customer-unfriendly repair business model.

Just as I was finally ready to buy that D850 and more expensive prime super-telephoto lens I'm wondering whether I want to be even more tightly bound to a company with less than wonderful customer service.

I'm not assuming Canon or any other photo equipment company would be any better. I do have minor experience with other photo equipment company service departments and they were all disappointing.

And then there's this unrelated decision by Nikon: https://www.diyphotography.net/nikon-launches-their-xqd-cards-in-the-usa-just-as-everybody-else-releases-cfexpress/

Really Nikon?

I'm curious as to the experience that other Nikonians have had with repairs.

Does Nikon ever complete a repair for less than their "estimate"?

Visit my Nikonians gallery

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