Would you pay this repair estimate? (Nikon UK)

Would you accept this estimate?

  • Yay

    Votes: 10 37.0%

  • Nay

    Votes: 17 63.0%
  • Total voters
    27
  • Poll closed .
M

Mr Kipling

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Messages
10
Edit My Images
No
The zoom ring on my 18-35mm is fairly loose, resulting in me being able to rack it back and forth with just my little finger. So I sent it off to Nikon UK and they want to charge me £113.40 to do the below:

'Dismantle lens clean and relubricate zoom action and check.'

'Although zoom action at present quite light but does not effect performance.'

I've never had to have anything fixed not under warranty before, so does anybody else think it's a lot of money to fix something that won't affect my snaps, even if it does feel a bit nasty to use?

Bear in mind the lens only set me back around £230 in the first place.

Thanks!
 
What matters more is if the lens "creeps" ie the zoom extends or retracts on its own when the camera is tilted down or up.

If thats not happening and its just a very "free" zoom ring then I wouldn't bother with the repair or with replacing it.

If its still under warranty and the lens is creeping then I would expect the repair to be done under warranty, if its not under warranty then I would replace it with a new lens rather than repair it.
 
if it bothers you when you use it, then £113 is still cheaper than a new lens.

i guess if you went to the bother of sending it in to Nikon it's something that annoys you, especially if it's starting to become unusable.

Hard call for me to make as it's not my cash, but in the grand scheme of things £113 is a fairly insignificant sum of cash.
 
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Everyone's photographic equipment budget is different and therefore there's not really a simple answer, but I can only speak personally - if I was is your position I think £113 is in rip-off territory since the lens was only £230 brand new and therefore I would live with the problem, especially since it does not effect the IQ of your images.

Save the £113 towards purchasing a new lens at some stage in the future when finances allow.
 
If it was me I'd fix it but it does sound a cheap lens at £230?
 
I voted no as it doesn't affect performance. Considering the cost of repair compared to the cost of the lens, I think it's fairly steep. I'm guessing not a lot of work involved in it either.
 
at 230 for a new one I would stick your old one on ebay you'll be surprised how much they make
and then buy a new one
 
Having just Googled the price of them new, it was either bought 2nd hand or a long time ago.
 
The new price is £478, so £113 to do a proper repair...

Then again, going rate for an EX++ seems to be around £240, so...
 
Thanks for the replies guys + guyesses. :)

I've given it some thought and I'm probably going to go with the repair. The reasons being that the somewhat elderly 18-35mm is still the only mid range full-frame ultra wide zoom that Nikon offers, and there's no way in hell I'm going to stump up the ridiculous near £500 that Wex, Amazon etc. expect people to pay for new one. If I pick one up on eBay I may just end up with the same issues too.

Also, seeing that it's my primary lens and that I bought it second-hand without knowing it's past history as well, I can kind of justify the £114 by thinking that these places seem to charge £60 odd quid just to check/calibrate the thing, so at least I'll have more peace of mind when using it.

Sods Law of course says that as soon as I agree to the repair they'll bring out an AF-S version to complement that new 24-85mm VR.. :bang:
 
I wouldn't be surprised if it came back not much different than before, the zoom ring on these is very lightly damped anyway. I've had a couple and they've both been the same. It's a 'nay' from me.
 
Nikon said:
'Although zoom action at present quite light but does not effect performance.'
Click to expand...
In other words "we ain't gonna fix it". Nay from me too.

Have you tried a laccy band on it?
 
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Rebel t3i said:
at 230 for a new one I would stick your old one on ebay you'll be surprised how much they make
and then buy a new one
Click to expand...

+1

or buy a better built lens in the end. It's like feeding pigeons
 
Seems a fair price to me. I doubt the value of the lens makes a lot of difference to Nikon.
 
Personally I wouldn't pay that to get it repaired if it is otherwise working fine. Have you considered carrying out a repair yourself? Sounds daunting but often pretty simple.
 
towershot said:
They are specialized technicians and don't work for peanuts.
Click to expand...

They may well be but how specialized is dismantling, cleaning and lubing and how long does it take?

I don't know the answer but the key to whether it is worth the charge is usually how long it takes (especially when it is a labour charge only)
 
As stated, cheapest UK price (not grey market) is £477, so £113 for a repair isn't bad. Cost me about £270 with postage to repair my 300mm f4 that needed a new iris
 
Right, I've made my mind up. I'm going to reject the quote, dump the lens on a certain auction site and then get myself a 20mm f2.8D with the cash. I've been slowly transitioning to a prime only setup anyway (50mm f1.4D + 85mm f1.8D so far), so this has been the boot up the backside to get the job finished.

The 18-35mm's iffy distortion had started to get on my t*ts as well...

Thanks all!
 
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