Be aware of Canon repairs....

For those who don't know about Canon factory repair services...

1. They don't always fix the problem the first time. Sometimes they do something that seems like a shuffle and send it back with the same problem. Happened to my purchased-new 24L recently and 24-70L not-so recently (4 times I returned the 24-70L before they finally fixed it).

2. Strict on the warranty policy duration. 6 months is the duration of the repair warranty for same-problem repairs after something has been fixed, BUT their reps can and will tell you that the warranty is only for 90 days. Hold your ground and send proof of the 6-month warranty if necessary. Keep your paperwork! The 24L I sent in is exactly 1 month out of the repair warranty policy limit of 6 months and they are not honoring it, so they want to charge me to fix it.

3. Repairing a simple backfocus issue can cost $175 or more! Either get your repairs under warranty or expect to pay out the rear for something that can probably be fixed with 30 seconds of screwdriver effort by a Canon repair rep. It feels exactly like being bent over a desk by a person wearing a Canon ski mask and a dirty grin.

4. Sometimes fast, sometimes very SLOW service.

5. Consider Canon professional services (CPS) to knock off a percentage of the repair costs. Anything helps since they gouge so much.

I think this may vary by location. NJ center, never had any of those issues. I have interacted with them about a dozen times. All good.

Not everyone who has ever posted about them has that to say about NJ, though. I have no evidence that my positive experience is not the exception.

form - which repair center did you use?

Irvine.

form wrote in post #13194772
Irvine.

Darn. I take it Irvine is the only Canon repair center on the west coast?

form wrote in post #13194564
For those who don't know about Canon factory repair services...

1. They don't always fix the problem the first time. Sometimes they do something that seems like a shuffle and send it back with the same problem. Happened to my purchased-new 24L recently and 24-70L not-so recently (4 times I returned the 24-70L before they finally fixed it).

2. Strict on the warranty policy duration. 6 months is the duration of the repair warranty for same-problem repairs after something has been fixed, BUT their reps can and will tell you that the warranty is only for 90 days. Hold your ground and send proof of the 6-month warranty if necessary. Keep your paperwork! The 24L I sent in is exactly 1 month out of the repair warranty policy limit of 6 months and they are not honoring it, so they want to charge me to fix it.

3. Repairing a simple backfocus issue can cost $175 or more! Either get your repairs under warranty or expect to pay out the rear for something that can probably be fixed with 30 seconds of screwdriver effort by a Canon repair rep. It feels exactly like being bent over a desk by a person wearing a Canon ski mask and a dirty grin.

4. Sometimes fast, sometimes very SLOW service.

5. Consider Canon professional services (CPS) to knock off a percentage of the repair costs. Anything helps since they gouge so much.

do you work for canon? because we have tons of "pro" gear they have asked me several times if i want to pay more for their service . i have sent alot of stuff to canon over the years. in fact i sent a 1ds mark III and 24-105L to Irvine the other day. my stuff is always repaired quickly and usually back to me in less than a week. sure, i had complaints in the past but nothing major considering all the excellent and courteous service i have received.

ed rader

S.Horton wrote in post #13194635
I think this may vary by location. NJ center, never had any of those issues. I have interacted with them about a dozen times. All good.

Not everyone who has ever posted about them has that to say about NJ, though. I have no evidence that my positive experience is not the exception.

i think it may vary from person to person. canon irvine has serviced lenses for me on a couple of occasions for free that were clearly out of the warranty period.

ed rader

I always had good service from Irvine center. Don't compalin about $180 as it is standard price Canon charges for touching anything. Everybody knows that. I send stuff and usually it is back to me before the online status updates. No problems at all here. So many folks I know who routinelyhave good experiences with Irvine facility. Your seems exception to me than the norm.

I have had nothing but the best service from Canon AT their NEW JERSEY facility.

form wrote in post #13194564
Happened to my purchased-new 24L recently and 24-70L not-so recently (4 times I returned the 24-70L before they finally fixed it).

Out of curiosity, did you send it to the same Canon facility all 4 times?

form wrote in post #13194564
Happened to my purchased-new 24L recently and 24-70L not-so recently (4 times I returned the 24-70L before they finally fixed it).

2. The 24L I sent in is exactly 1 month out of the repair warranty policy limit of 6 months and they are not honoring it, so they want to charge me to fix it.

After all it is OUT OF WARRANTY, but I can tell you this Canon has repaired things beyond the warranty period by a few days or even a week and covered it in many cases. Depends on circumstances. I was on vacation when a camera body failed and the warranty was due to run out, when I explained the situation and why it got to them after warranty was out they covered it.

form wrote in post #13194564
3. Repairing a simple backfocus issue can cost $175 or more! Either get your repairs under warranty or expect to pay out the rear for something that can probably be fixed with 30 seconds of screwdriver effort by a Canon repair rep. It feels exactly like being bent over a desk by a person wearing a Canon ski mask and a dirty grin.

Canon has 'flat rate' fees for many repairs/services. I cannot think of any lens internal repair or camera internal repair or adjustment that can be done in 30 seconds.

Your advice holds true for anything you buy ... computers, cars, tv's. Out Of Warranty repair is an OUT OF POCKET expense.


But I will say I have heard of people having issues with Canon Service at CERTAIN Canon repair centers.

What center did you send yours to??????

harcosparky wrote in post #13196028
What center did you send yours to??????

He sent to Irvine facility which has better reputation (from what I hear) than their NJ facility.

Irvine was great to me.

The repair is done by humans (as far as I can tell) and so there will be cases where things don't go as they should. I had an issue with a repair to a dropped lens. They fixed most of the issues but didn't replace the front element which was scratched.

I called and they provided free shipping both ways for the re-repair. I would have prefered that I didn't have to send the lens in a second time but not the end of the world.

Very few manufacturers will repair something for free when it's out of warranty. Expecting them to isn't reasonable. Did you pay via credit card? You could check to see if your card doubles the length or warranty.

form wrote in post #13194772
Irvine.

Yep, my exact experience. Fast repair - they just send lens back accompanied with some vague repair description without even looking at it. If it takes longer (usually happens on 3rd or 4th time) they either fix it or totally screw up.
Will try NJ next time, just sick and tired dealing with them.

beware or be aware?

Andrew_WOT wrote in post #13205433
Will try NJ next time, just sick and tired dealing with them.

Good luck with that--one of my bodies under warranty went back four time before it would meter correctly.