Typical price for repair of lens?

spraynpray

I know, I know, there is no such thing as a typical price for repair as so much depends on the components damaged etc. etc..  BUT, I have the chance to buy a lens from a guy for £500 that is drop-damaged.  The auto focus doesn't work and the zoom ring is tight.  I ask because it is a 14-24 f2.8 which is top of my NAS list so it is worth asking for members experiences of repairing pro lenses.

I can buy good used for £950 or new for £1250 so at £500 it needs to be £250 to a max of £300.  Does anybody here have any idea?  I asked the service centre for a very rough price bracket but they wouldn't play along.

Thanks for any help as always.

kyoshinikon

My 17-35mm cost $437ish when I repaired it (purchased used and I broke the zoom on it)... I dunno about the 14-24mm   I got mine repaired for a good $17.99 because I had a Samys warranty on it. It was dropped on wood and after bouncing like a ping pong ball the zoom locked up the Af worked great still tho...  Nikon typically has 3 service charges, a basic, mid, and heavy damage...  Call them up

spraynpray

Hi kyoshi,

So that's about £300 - do you think that was a light medium or heavy charge?  If it wasn't a heavy charge then that lens is too expensive.

kyoshinikon

It was the heavy charge....  I don't know  what qualifies as light or medium in their book. Every repair I've done is heavy

PB_PM

$400-$500 sounds about right, that is range it cost to fix my AF-S 300mm F4 when the front element, built in hood and filter thread needed to be replaced.

jonnyapple

Andrew, what you do is buy the lens and then collaborate with macsavage (now macsavageg4) to fix it for 50 quid or so. On the insane deals thread it sounded like he knows what he's doing!

spraynpray

Andrew, what you do is buy the lens and then collaborate with macsavage (now macsavageg4) to fix it for 50 quid or so. On the insane deals thread it sounded like he knows what he's doing!

I have just bought a 60mm micro with that in mind Jonny but the 14-24 is a different scale of investment so I would prefer to leave it to Nikon (now I just have to find a workshop manual for the 60mm AF-D).

Msmoto

In purchasing a damaged lens, I would suggest agreeing on a final cost with the seller, e.g., £800.  Then, pay out  £300, send to the Nikon Service Center for refurbishing, and figure the balance upon receipt of the repaired lens.  Actually, for a completely refurbished lens the price might be closer to  £1000.  But this is negotiable.  The lens is worth nothing unless repaired.    

And, make the agreement in writing.

spraynpray

That would be nice, but he will sell it to some sucker anyway.  I'm just hoping that this sucker will not get too stung with the repair afterwards.

If I could be sure it would not go above £300, I would go for it because externally the lens is perfect - all glass and external body parts are good, it is internal damage.  I would have thought (hoped) that the damaged parts would be less expensive than say, that front lens group.

spraynpray

Whoa - he wanted too much!  it worked out I would have to be sure the repair wasn't too expensive or it would have cost me more than one without the chequered history!

Oh well, it's nice to dream...

SkintBrit

There is no way I would go for a deal like this, unless it came from someone who I knew and trusted. The only way I would proceed is by offering to send it in to Nikon for a repair quote, and agreeing with him a final purchase price of.....say £100 less than you could buy a similar used example for. That way you guarantee yourself a good price, he sells a lens that is currently worthless and for a fair price also. (He may even get more for it than he was asking, if the repair is less expensive than initially thought!). This would be the only way I would proceed spraynpray. Remember "If it sounds too good to be true, it is!"

[Deleted User]

I dropped my 24-70 f/2.8 and a peace from the top was broken. When I tested it, the lens itself worked liked it did, no damage there, and the glass was o.k. I send it to Nikon service center and the price for repair is € 470. fortunately covered by insurance.

It is an expensive lens, so no cheap parts. The service center made an estimate of the repair and then you get 3 choices, let it repair, scrap it or send it back and the cost for the estimate is € 42.

 

 

 

spraynpray

That is a good rule to live by usually Skinty.

@Ton: Euros means you are from where?  If it is France, then that is no surprise as France is crazy on this sort of thing.  Maybe Germany?  That would be a little more of a surprise.  I have had lenses repaired that were out of warranty repairs but were still done free here in the UK.

Having said that, your price for such a small amount of damage is breathtakingly high!

Thanks for posting, you gave me valuable info.

[Deleted User]

@spraynpray. I am from The Netherlands. This is what they do for repair:

3 x guide rollers T=4.99
1st lens lead ring
Filter ring
Sheet unit
5th lens group unit
Bayonet replace (other lensen connect good to my D300, nothing wrong).
aline and control lensparts
labor time

Total € 369.-

shipment and administration costs. € 20,50

All exclude VAT (21% in The Netherlands)

You are right, expensive parts, but I payed € 1400.- for the lens in sept 2009. I use this lens the most on my Nikon D300. In a couple of month I buy the Nikon D600, to get the full potential out of my lenses (also the 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II).

Small note, I just bought the Nikor 50mm f/1.8g for € 160.- and I think evertbody should have one.

Glad you can use my info.

 

 

 

spraynpray

OK Thanks everybody (especially Ton) - decision made - I will buy a nice new or nearly new so it can be my baby  B-)

This was a good exercise.