Repair Warranty Question USA - Comments, Suggestions Please

[ladylibertyny]

Nikon D810. I recently purchased a Nikon D810 from my local camera shop. After having the camera in my possession for several days, it developed a problem. Upon returning it to the camera store, I was expecting to return a defective product for another new camera. They opted to send it in for repair under warranty. My concern is that once it is repaired, it becomes a factory refurbished item. Refurbished cameras sell for significantly less than new on-line at the two popular sites Adorama and Bhphoto. Is my concern that it is now a factory refurbished camera worth significantly less than new value valid? I also contacted the Nikonusa website service dept. They said since it was not purchased directly from the Nikon store, they could not help me. Had I purchased it from them, they would have exchanged it with no problem.

Clearly this is a defective product and I am not happy with a repair resolution. The price of the camera alone was close to three thousand dollars.

Has anyone ever had a situation like this? If so, how was it resolved? Does anyone have any suggestions on who to contact at Nikon besides their website? Any help would be very appreciated. Thank you.

[Shadowman]

Start with store policy, usually only unopened items get exchanged. Not sure where you purchased (state, country) or type of store you purchased from but that is usually how it goes.

[Rent]

I would forget emails texts and phone calls. Put your complaint, honestly, and in plain but concise English ( Assuming that's your native language ) and don't lose your temper or be rude, into a letter and send to your Nikon head office, customer complaints department. Keep copies of all your correspondence. you could include copies of your receipt.
Roy

[Manfred M]

Honestly this is a non-issue in my view. A small percentage of new products develop a defect within the first days of use and need to be repaired. That part went back to the factory authorized repair facility and was fixed. I don't see how that affects either the life or value of the product. A factory refurbished camera is simply one that has been returned by the previous owner, been checked over to make sure it is up to spec by a Nikon camera technician and had any necessary repairs made to it. On the used market, a factory refurbished camera that is in pristine condition is going to be worth more than a heavily used one that has only had a single owner.

Secondly, now that the D850 has been released and the D810 has been discontinued, the value of the D810 has come down considerably. That is simply how electronics works; they depreciate quickly and after a generation or two the value drop very quickly. Consumer electronics lose value very quickly after purchase, that simply the way the world seems to work...

Finally the D810 is a fantastic camera so get out there and use it. I'm a D810 shooter as well and got it about 6 weeks before the D850 was announced.

[DanK]

I don't see the issue. Some stores will take back a product under these conditions, but I don't think they have any obligation to. That's the purpose of a warranty: to fix something that fails during normal use during a set period of time. As Manfred said, some products fail very quickly. In my experience, this is partly a consequence of microelectronics. Mechanical devices often fail after quite a long time, but electronic devices, if they are going to fail at all during the first several year, often do so very quickly. Given current chip architectures, this isn't surprising.

So, if your camera was fine except that it contained one piece that happened to fail, and Nikon returns it to you with that part replaced, you have the camera you wanted. It's not a refurb; it's still the new camera you purchased, with a replacement part. You know (and can tell anyone else) its complete history, which you can't do with a refurb. There is no reason to believe that anything else is defective.

On the other hand, if it continues to fail, you may have some recourse. There are laws that handle this. They vary among states, but the bottom line in many is that good-faith but unsuccessful efforts to repair a product are insufficient to meet the legal requirements for product warranties. This happens from time to time with cars. (At least in some states, the owner has to document how many times the vehicle has been in for warranty repairs and how many days it has been out of service as a result.) I have never heard of this happening with a camera or a lens.

When the time comes that you want to sell it, many purchasers will only care about it's current condition, not its repair history. I don't recall for certain, but my recollection is that KEH doesn't even ask. I have sold a fair amount of equipment in eBay, and I don't recall ever being asked about a repair history. And if you use it for a reasonable length of time after the repair, with no further issues, that is evidence that the repair put things right, and you can explain that if asked.

[Shadowman]

My take on the OPs inquiry also boils down to what information does the seller have to share with potential buyers, if you directly purchased a refurbished camera and decided to sell it years later; do you tell potential buyers or do you limit your description to #of actuations, condition of body, guarantee that you've never dropped the camera? Looking at a few of the rating systems smoke free environment was near top of list.

[rpcrowe]

This is the reason that I "almost" always opt to purchase my cameras as "factory refurbished" items.

I purchased my 6D Mkii "NEW" because I got such a good deal on the camera and I was "lucky" in that the new camera works fine.

However as far as the value of any camera - as soon as it is purchased, it becomes a "USED" item and the price is adjusted on that basis...

[pendennis]

The OP's camera is not a "refurbish" by any definition. It's a new camera that's been repaired. If the OP decides to sell the camera at a later date, he's not required to say the camera has been refurbished; only that it had "XXXX" repaired. That's being 100% up front and honest to all.

The store's policy is set somewhat by how Nikon, Canon, Fuji, etc., want to handle defective merchandise.

If the camera shop accepted the return and provided the customer with a new camera, then the defective unit could only be resold as "refurbished" by Nikon, etc. While $3K is a lot for a camera, it makes more sense to repair and return, than swap and have to sell a "refurbish" model, either on the web site, or at another dealer.

[LePetomane]

A new camera shouldn't malfunction after a few days. A reputable dealer should stand by what they sell. As a loyal customer spending hard earned cash I think they should either replace your camera with a new one or issue you a refund.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

A new camera shouldn't malfunction after a few days. A reputable dealer should stand by what they sell. As a loyal customer spending hard earned cash I think they should either replace your camera with a new one or issue you a refund.

While I'd like to think the same way PD, that just isn't how it works now days.
Frankly, I'd rather it fail sooner than later. Infantile failure happens, it's something we live with now days. By sending it back it will receive a 'human hands-on inspection', which is more than I'd think one straight off the assembly line would get. As far as I know, these aren't 'hand built' any more, so getting one fixed and checked out again by a human would give me more confidence in it working for its design lifetime.

[ladylibertyny]

A Different Twist. Having spoken with a Nikon Rep at Nikon HQ, I was informed that a rattle in the flash unit is a known issue. It is not a defect. My new D810 will be sent back to me unrepaired but will have a computer update. I am shocked. Has anyone else heard of this? I have not read in any of the reviews about a flash unit rattle. Comments please! Thank you.

[ladylibertyny]

Thank you for your response. I did just that. The Nikon Rep at Nikon HQ contacted me. A rattle in the flash unit is a known issue. It is not a defect. My new D810 will be sent back to me unrepaired but will have a computer update. I am shocked. Has anyone else heard of this? I have not read in any of the reviews about a flash unit rattle. Comments please! Thank you.

[DanK]

Being a Canon shooter, I hadn't heard about it, but I just did a google search with "flash rattle nikon 850" (without the quotes) and got 16,000 hits going back at least a year and a half. Clearly, this is a common experience.

You own what by all accounts is one of the finest DSLRs ever designed. I'd forget about the rattle, as long as it doesn't interfere with function, and go enjoy it.

[Manfred M]

This is NOT an issue. In fact, as the pop-up flash is a moving part, I would expect some level of looseness in it, otherwise it could never be able to pop up because of friction. The moment that you have a bit of looseness, some movement, which makes some sound will be inevitable.

Apparently the D800 reportedly had the issue as well. I have to shake my D810 quite hard to get the rattle, more than I would do in normal shooting situations.