Warranty and Repairs for the Leica M8

[NazgulKing]

Strangely enough, no one has brought this up yet:

Lifetime of service... NOT - Seite 12 - Leica User Forum

hello there,
this is JJ with Leica. I am with you that Leica products ought to be serviceable as long as possible. This is easier done for lenses as for digital cameras though. We are very sorry that we are not able to meet your legitimate expectations with the M8. In that spirit, we have developed a service upgrade program allowing you to upgrade to a M9 at a premium which depends on the age of your defective M8 and even includes a free upgrade within the warranty time. This program is active, so please contact your local customer service should you encounter technical issues with your M8´s display.
The issue is specific to the M8. The M9 uses a different display for which we took care of long time availability for service replacements.
I hope this brings a bit of clarity in the matter.
Best regards from Solms, JJ

 

[Vittra]

I am interested to know if Leica Singapore is offering M8 users the same service upgrade program.

 

[nsng]

I have been following this thread in LUF. There are many unhappy campers over this issue. The M8 was launched 6 years ago but the lcd display is no longer available. Lcd display is commodity electronics, not some specialised electronic part. This does give rise to the question as to how Leica will support the M9, M10, etc.

N.S. Ng

 

[gunston]

I was about to buy M8, but it deter me after reading ...

 

[Double Negative]

There's more information on the matter, including a response from Stefan Daniel. He clarifies things a bit, but the end result is pretty much the same.

 

[NazgulKing]

There's more information on the matter, including a response from Stefan Daniel. He clarifies things a bit, but the end result is pretty much the same.

Where is the link for this response? I have been looking for it.

EDIT: Found it: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/customer-forum/252700-serviceability-m8-m8-2-displays.html

 

[Double Negative]

Here's the response:

As promised yesterday by JJ, please let me state our position about the serviceability of the M8 and M8.2 Display.

First of all, we are very sorry, that some of you encountered issues with your cameras. It remains our aim to find the very best solutions to satisfy you. Please let me give you some more information and details on the display issue.

The cameras with a display problem stay operational, image quality and the main functions are not affected.
The effect only occurs on a single production lot of displays, both built into M8 and M8.2.
The serial number of the camera doesn’t give information about the lot of the display.

The lot in question was pulled out of service stock as soon as we have recognized the issue.

Meanwhile the manufacturer of the LCD displays had stopped production, in general these parts have a very short life cycle and Leica did not have a possibility for additional production. As the display and the rest of the electronics are linked very much together, it was not possible to create a repair solution up to our quality requirements.

The display of the M9/M9-P is a different display and is sourced from another manufacturer and is therefore not affected. For the M9 as for all our products, we are taking measures that we are able to service the camera for a period of at least ten years after production will stop. In the case that (especially electronic-) parts are no longer available, we will offer an upgrade program. As you know, we have quite a history of being able to service our products for a period much longer than that!

The upgrade program will work with both a M9 or M9-P, with a slightly different premium. Please contact your local Leica Customer Care for details should you have concerns with your M8/M8.2 display.

Best regards from Solms,

Stefan Daniel, Director Product Management

 

[Riotbmx]

I have been following this thread in LUF. There are many unhappy campers over this issue. The M8 was launched 6 years ago but the lcd display is no longer available. Lcd display is commodity electronics, not some specialised electronic part. This does give rise to the question as to how Leica will support the M9, M10, etc.

N.S. Ng

With digital, there's always a very limited life. No matter how hard they try to convince you that it's built to last a lifetime, technology will catch up(for Leica's case they are already behind each time they started) and parts will be obsolete.

 

[mamypoko]

Sent in my M8 which had a mainboard problem (still shooting fine but cannot access the menu, and changing ISO required connecting to the PC) and Solms replied that it would not be economically feasible to repair i.e. they probably don't have the spare for it anymore.

They asked me to get a M9 instead...

 

[nsng]

Sent in my M8 which had a mainboard problem (still shooting fine but cannot access the menu, and changing ISO required connecting to the PC) and Solms replied that it would not be economically feasible to repair i.e. they probably don't have the spare for it anymore.

They asked me to get a M9 instead...

Did Leica offer you a discount on the M9 or do you have to pay full retail?

 

[mamypoko]

Did Leica offer you a discount on the M9 or do you have to pay full retail?

I didn't ask, discount or not its still way too much money for a camera for me.

 

[CLN2011]

I didn't ask, discount or not its still way too much money for a camera for me.

Gosh! what kind of customer service is that. Surely you shouldn't have to ask. Just let a customer walk away without a solution.
Who in their right mind would buy a M9 let alone a M10.