How long to wait?...

[ebogaerts]

Dear all,

 

I've had a Nikon FA in a camera repair shop now for nearly 4

months. I originally picked up the camera in July (strange

viewfinder meter readings) and it went back a few days later for what

turns out to be an intermittent failure.

 

Back then, I was told by a few photographers that an IF is a tough

repair for a repair shop to deal with. I called once around a month

ago and they told me that they thought they had isolated the cause of

the failure, but that the camera re-failed.

 

It's been at least a month since then. My question is: How long

is a reasonable time to wait for something like this? After a

certain point in time, is it unreasonable to ask for a refund on the

repairs?

 

I only ask this because as I have been told, most camera repair

shops just do a CLA on cameras such as the FA, and that in 99% of

cases this takes care of the problem. I only bring this up because

if the camera was really unrepairable from the start, I feel that I

really should be offered a refund on this repair. Any opinions on

this would be really helpful. Thanks!

[art_haykin]

The FA was made from '83 to '89 and is obsolete by contemporary standards. Strictly mechanical repairs are a better prospect than electronic ones, in my experience, so you MAY be in for a ride. I hope I'm mistaken.

[ebogaerts]

Well, this is a shop with a strong rep (been in the biz for 50 years) they're an "authorized Nikon repair facility" (if that even matters)and I actually talked with and have had email exchanges with the owner.

 

Of course, as a business they aren't in it to give refunds. But the amount of time they've taken is suspect. Has anyone here ever had to wait a long time for an "electrically related" repair for their camera?

[ebogaerts]

Well, I actually got a call from the repair shop today, and the camera does indeed have a bad flex circuit. They were honorable enough to give me a refund for the price.