Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Leica C.S. suck's

Well that just may explain a lot. And if it is the case, it is good news for Leica's current owners and future buyers. Hopefully the stories reported in these posts by Leica customers are before the change in policy. But... if not then it may still be hit or miss with them.

I know my friend that had his Ultravid's sent in (in 2010) and took over 4 1/2 months to get back, is not aware of the improved CS policies. And his were purchased in '08.

I have run lesser glass with a good warranty prior to buying my Leicas.

After two different brands, failed on two different hunts, I dropped the cash on Leica. No problems since, I will take my chances with CS. Nothing like sitting in the pouring rain, trying to defog binocs with a lighter...don't ask!

What two brands and what happened?

You very recently sent Kahles binocs to Gamo USA (as opposed to Swaro), then? The reason I ask is I've not heard any reports on Gamo's handling of Kahles products yet, since they've only been the Kahles importer for 1 year now. If that's the case, then that ain't bad to go to Austria and back for repairs in a 90 day turnaround. If this was a few years ago and it was sent to Swaro, it would have been treated the same as a Swaro product and repaired in Rhode Island.

90 days, hell. Turnaround time at Leica was less than two weeks from the time I dropped the Geovids in the mail until UPS was knocking on my door with a NIB pair.

I would be thrilled with that service!

They've been absolutely great to me the few times I've used their service and I hope it continues, knock on wood.

Yep, that's very good. With the 180-deg different reports I've heard on Leica's CS, I don't know what to think. Maybe they're starting to make positive changes. Maybe it all depends on who you talk to. I've heard similar conflicting stories on Zeiss. It would be nice if more companies had CS reputations like Swaro, Leupold, and Vortex.

I'm happy I've never needed service on any Leica optic so far... knock on wood. I've always been very happy with Leica quality and performance, and I prefer to own stuff that holds up over time and never needs repair. But we all know nothing is 100% failproof. Buying anything involves a certain leap of faith.

Although I appreciate great warranties and CS as much as the next person, I honestly don't put a huge amount of weight on that if I fundamentally like Product A better than Product B, even if Product B has much better warranty coverage. As long as Product A has a good reputation for quality, I'm willing to take certain risks. My view on that varies depending on what type of product I'm looking at, its typical expected service life, and how mechanically complex it is. For example, I'm far more concerned about warranty and CS when buying an automobile, because minor and major component failure happens at a much greater frequency than with a good optic. Plus, unlike a car, I've generally noticed that if I'm going to have a problem with an optic, I'll usually discover any hidden gremlins within the first year of ownership. Pretty much any optic I buy will be covered well beyond that. If I'm comparing 2 optics I like equally well and could go either way, then and only then does long term warranty terms and CS reputation really play a part in my decision.

But, we all value different things to different degrees.

My return in fact went through GamoUSA, and I was certain when I called that due to the change of importer that there would be a charge for the repair. NOT so... glass was 10 years old and just needed a good cleaning and refurb, which was done gratis.

Leica makes some nice products, and certainly some vids that are superior to the Kahles, but fickle freddy as they are with servicing what they sell, I'd not get into a pair.... and deals on beat to hell pairs and getting them swapped for NIB ones, ain't exactly around every corner.

Talked to my cousin earlier today who sent in an older 8x32 BA to Leica for service and had them back in five weeks completely rebuilt (new rubber armor, new eye-cups, new focus wheel, purged, and collimation checked, etc.). Only cost to him was shipping/insurance to get them to Leica.

I bought the binos secondhand several years ago and gave them to him for doing some finish work in my basement. He's used the hell outta them and it's good to know Leica continues to stand behind their products also.

for their price i would think so.

Bought mine for $1470 delivered. A lot of money, yes, but quite a deal nevertheless.

There are many comments here on Leica service, but here is one
thing to remember. Leica warranty does "not" transfer to a new
owner. It is only for the original owner. Check the website,
and I was looking at purchasing a previously owned Leica and called Leica service and they confirmed it.

Swarovski and Zeiss do transfer to the new owner. Also Nikon
will cover your optic for 25 years.

Keep that in mind when buying preowned.

My PERSONAL experiences with Leica tells me otherwise.

I started this thread so I thought that I should give an up-date.

I was disappointed with Leica's customer service that it took 5 month's to repair my spotting scope and that it cost me about $80 in shipping cost's both way's.

After a couple week's having it back my opinion has changed, while not happy being without it for this length of time. I must admit that Leica made it better than it ever was.

I never complained about the detent ball missing in the eyecup, but they fixed it.

They must have replaced a lens or two also because I checked it out with some of my friend's spotter's that I have used in the past................long story short Leica held me up 5 month's to repair my spotting scope....but they did a repair job that made it better than new !!!!!!!!!!!
You could not buy this scope from me now. A bit slow but AWESOME work LEICA still has my confidence.

That's great to hear, boatanchor! I have a Televid 77 APO too, in addition to 5 other Leica optics. It's been a great spotter, and it's comforting to know that I'm not SOL if anything ever happens to it to require repairs. I hope the latest good reports I'm hearing on Leica C.S. signals big improvements in the works. They have a long way to go to match Swaro's C.S. reputation.

Enjoy your "new and improved" Televid!