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Where do I go for a broken shutter repair?

NorthWestDork

New member
Where do I go for a broken M8 shutter repair?

I recently bought a used M8 from a forum member here who I will not name. After personally owning the M8 for 2 weeks to this day, the shutter broke.

Where do I go to get the shutter repaired? Is Leica the only place to send the M8? Are there 3rd party places that do good repair work? Im just a bit lost for words im not sure really where to turn to for this.

Is something like this worth asking the seller to take the camera back or ask about getting refunded to get the M8 repaired? Ive never abused/dropped/mishandled the camera in the 2 weeks Ive owned it.

Any advise is much appreciated.
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
M8 shutters are known to self destruct occasionally and it does not seem to be connected with age, actuations, abuse or lack thereof.
As far as I know, Leica is the only place that does shutters although it might be worth an inquiry to DAG, or Precision Camera Repair.
-bob
 

David K

Workshop Member
Re: Where do I go for a broken M8 shutter repair?

Is something like this worth asking the seller to take the camera back or ask about getting refunded to get the M8 repaired? Ive never abused/dropped/mishandled the camera in the 2 weeks Ive owned it.

Any advise is much appreciated.
That's a tough one but I think the answer is... it depends. I recently sold some gear to a friend at the same price the dealer was willing to take it in on trade. There are no issues with any of the gear that I know of. If something were to go wrong in two weeks I'd have to say the repair is on his dime. On the other hand, no legitimate seller wants an unhappy buyer. If I were the seller I'd probably make some contribution to the repair... more for goodwill reasons than out of a sense of legal responsibility. I'd suggest contacting the seller to see how he feels.
 
You've had terrible luck, but I don't see why the seller would be responsible.

Leica, however, has been lenient about fixing M8 shutters & also the M8 sensors that develop vertical lines, even after the warranty period. I would send it to them & see what they say about fixing it. (No need to mention that you just bought it?)

The 1/4000 shutter that came on M8.2 (&M9) is a better shutter. Apparently they changed because the 1/8000 shutter was under too much tension & they had to replace too many of them under warranty.

Even if you had to replace the shutter at your own expense, that's not too bad a fate. Lots of M8 shutters were upgraded to M8.2 at the owners' expense. I know you didn't want to spend the $$ – but many of us did so by choice, lest the darned thing fail at some point like yours did. And when they do major repairs, they give the whole camera a new 1-year warranty.

Kirk
 

NorthWestDork

New member
The original owner is being very lenient about it. He's a repeat buyer of Leica products and he says he'll contact some of his Leica Dealer friends first. Hopefully he can get either a free repair, or possibly a reduced cost repair. If anything, he graciously offered to help with some of the repair costs. I figure with Leica, it doesnt hurt to ask. I'll take what I can get.

On another note, anyone know if I would be able to buy a Mack warranty on the currently out of warranty M8 if I get a new shutter (I believe a new shutter comes with a new warranty, right?). Though maybe I have my facts wrongs.
 

monza

Active member
Yes, there are Mack warranties for new cameras (still under warranty) and used cameras (those out of warranty.) In either case on an M8, Mack will send the camera to Leica for the actual work.
 

jaapv

Subscriber Member
In my experience the best route in cases like this is to deal directly with Leica Solms. I've always found them extremely generous in guaranty matters. For instance, my M8 with upgraded shutter came down with shutter fault with the guaranty expired for more than a year - Leica Solms repaired it free of charge and with a one week turnaround. Having said that I have read good things about Leica USA as well lately.
 

JimCollum

Member
i had the same thing happen to my M8 back in April. Didn't send it in til a month ago, and had the shutter upgraded w. framelines.. Now it's acting as my backup camera to the M9... But the framelines were a lot more accurate.
 
E

Eisemann

Guest
Speak with Dave Elwell at Leica N.J. He is most accommodating in all matters of this sort.
 

woodleica

Member
Sorry about the bad luck. I discovered I had a vertical line problem less than 2 weeks after my M8 warranty expired. I sent it in to Leica and they honored the warranty. Perhaps you can contact the original seller to help you deal with Leica to honor this under warranty ( if the original seller was a warrantied buyer ).
 

jev

New member
I had two shutters replaced on my M8 one under warranty one after
It will cost 500-600 USD

My advice would be not to use C mode on M8 once it's replaced
 

thrice

Active member
If there is a direct correlation between shutter failures and a particular setting on the camera, at least in Australia you would be getting a) free repair b) be able to return the camera for a refund for a known manufacturing fault any time during ~10yrs.
 

NorthWestDork

New member
Anyone know how long it takes Leica to respond to a service/repair? I mailed my M8 into their NJ service center 2 weeks ago, should have been delivered last week. Havent heard a peep from them since. I even shot them an email a few days ago. But then again, maybe I should call them (hard for me since I dont get off work until after normal business hours).

Though I did find it odd that my USPS Priority Mail tracking number only says "at NJ sort facility" since Jan 7th, with no confirmation of delivery. I did fully insure the M8, so maybe it got lost?
 

DavidE

Active member
Anyone know how long it takes Leica to respond to a service/repair? I mailed my M8 into their NJ service center 2 weeks ago, should have been delivered last week. Havent heard a peep from them since.
The New Jersey service center was closed from December 24 through January 3, which probably added to the repair backlog. They may have been affected by snow over the past two weeks, as well.

I'm about to send in a viewfinder for a part replacement. Just heard yesterday that they now have the part in stock.
 

ShiroKuro

New member
According to my phone call $750 to replace the shutter .... My camera has been in NJ for so long I would pay anything to get it back at this point .... good luck with your M8
 

NorthWestDork

New member
Just a quick update. Leica gave me a "courtesy" discount with help of the previous/original owner. Definetely wasnt free, but helped ease the sting a bit.

With that said, does anyone know if theres a extended warranty available from Mack. Im essentially looking for the longest coverage I can find.
 
R

Ronan

Guest
Just a quick update. Leica gave me a "courtesy" discount with help of the previous/original owner. Definetely wasnt free, but helped ease the sting a bit.

With that said, does anyone know if theres a extended warranty available from Mack. Im essentially looking for the longest coverage I can find.
Better than nothing, you are a lot nicer than I am.

If i would buy a product and it falls apart on me after 2 weeks of light usage... they would be hearing from me.
 
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