Wow Warren...That is a nightmare record. Thanks for taking the time to recount your experiences. I figure the "why" of the dissatisfied experiences could be useful to Nikon - should they want to remedy the situation.
Roger, in your case, a link to your vent post would probably be better than re-living it. I imagine you could fill an entire thread by yourself.
RCicala wrote:
I'm a dissatisfied one, too, but because I've recently vented in another thread I felt that repeating myself would be one of those "talking about a problem over and over" people.
On the other hand, some of the people marking satisfied apparently are talking about repairs from 3 or more years ago, back when Nikon repair service was the best. I don't think anyone's claiming that Nikon has never been good, only that they've deteriorated recently.
I haven't sent anything to Nikon for a couple of years. I had a 17-35 that went back to Torrance repeatedly for focus issues until I sold it. All my other repairs have been turned around in 2-3 weeks. I've got a D800E and 14-24 that are going in right now after getting hit by a car, hopefully the drivers insurance will cover it.
Just curious, is everyone sending their work in as a consumer or are they going through NPS? Does anyone know if internally at Nikon if NPS repairs are handled any differently (i.e. more experienced techs, different facilities, etc) or is it simply a priority service.
Sent Nikon a body and 2 lenses for CLA, all of which were packed stoutly for the trip to Melville. Melville sent eveything back in a box with a couple of air pillows and some foam peanuts -- not nearly enough material to keep the contents from being knocked around. One of the lenses arrived home in much worse shape than when it was sent, so it was back to Nikon for round 2.
At least they fixed it with no whining about impact damage.
What's most alarming about this poll is the number of people who have had no issues. My experience was that of frustration. Although everything was fixed on all my equipment the length of time for 3 repairs on three different pieces of equipment equaled 9 months total time.
I think that NPS gear is just a time-priority gain, I don't think they could afford to have dedicated techs just for NPS stuff. It's possible that NPS gear gets the best techs, and I've heard that there are different levels of techs. Not sure I'd want someone good at fixing Coolpix to be wrenching on my D4!!
My complaint would be related to turnaround time which is a big hassel to me. A D700 body needed 4 months to repair, I had to buy another body to fill the gap and resell it at a loss.
I get a new D600 with oil spots on the sensor. I removed most of the spots, but few stay. Send it to Nikon, get it back in record 10 days, but with the same spots. Send it back again and now camera sitting In-Shop from 3/04/13
When I call they just follow the phone script and assure me that camera will be fixed soon
Nikon replaced my D800E the fourth time I sent it in for the same problem. Terrible experience, and why I bought a 5D3.
Dropped lens repair and camera grip replacement went fine.
Nikon wouldn't fix the electronic viewfinder eye sensor on my V1 because there was unrelated cosmetic damage to the case; repair estimate was over $300 when a new camera with kit lens was under $400.
My 28-105 lens came back unrepairable due to lack of parts. They took it apart and put it back together exchanging a soft corner for something catching briefly inside the lens when I zoom past 35mm. Net gain, I suppose.
Nikon in NZ, excellent service. AF recalibration of my D3 done in two days. 24-70 serverely damaged lens back in three weeks, which included sending it to NIkon in Japan.
Not sure where mine was sent to - it was sent from St. Louis. I have a D7000 and the shutter blade jammed. Sent it in. It took 3 weeks and $225 to repair. When I got it back they had also "Calibrated AF / Meter / Shutter Speeds" and "Cleaned Image Sensor".
WOW!!!! I actually had just bought a new lens because I was sure my current telephoto was somehow "soft". I was not pleased with the detail in my photos. I get the camera back and WOW did it make a difference. Same lens, pictures are sharp sharp sharp all the way from the short end 120mm to the long end 300mm. I was very pleased with the service.
Now I hope it doesn't reoccur, but I am a happy repair customer.
I've attached two of the better photos I took last week (before) and today (after) the repairs. Both we taken from about the same distance. Notice the clarity in the after photo.
I realize the after photo is not an awesome action photo. Rather I posted it because I COULD READ THE INSIDE OF THE GLOVE without doing any major post processing.
Mixed experience. 24-70 sent in 3 weeks after purchase needed a new AF motor. It is now my sharpest AF lens. 14-24 sent in because it simple didn't focus right (never tack-sharp or accurate despite adjustments), returned as 'functioning within spec'.
I needed Nikon repair services twice. The first time a few years ago with a 17-35 which needed a new AF motor (known problem). The second time was last October when I dropped my D800E + 200-400 in the sand (Safari). Both times were handled without any problems (though costly )
My 500mm and TC are on the way back from LA. I can only hope it is repaired. It has been most frustrating trying to get information about much of anything. Hopefully there will be paperwork that states what was done.
I requested 2 day air return , at my expense. Was told , no problem. I should have know better , as they shipped ground . That is just a continuation of the issues. Very frustrating.
I sent an email to Nikon USA 2 days ago asking about the issue with my 300 /2.8 refusing to focus to infinity (and freezing at MFD) which I had explained in some detail .... they replied saying "we are sorry to hear about the problem with your camera, please send us photos WTF !!
This pathetic response came from Melissa S. @ Nikon Customer Support.
I sent my camera in a week ago for calibrations and crossing my fingers. I took it to a local authorized dealer to ship it off. In hindsight, this was a very big mistake. I recommend people calling Nikon and having them send you a prepaid box. Since I gave it to the local dealer to ship it off, I cannot access Nikon's repair status page. Oh well, I am sure it will be fine.
