Will Nikon Canada repair D3 not bought from Canada?

[viclauyyc]

I know the official answer is no.

But what if I am wiling to pay for it?

I got my D3 from HK for $4478CAD and not tax/duty. By the way, Hong Kong is the second cheapest place on earth to get a D3, after Japan. I first order mine from Henry's for $5200+tax. However, they can't send me one even I pre-order it ages ago. Also, I read the news about only pro's and NPS will get a D3 in Canada in the beginning and I need one for my HK trip. So I got one from Hong Kong.

Now, my D3 is working fine. But one day (maybe after the 5 years), if I need service. Can I send my D3 to Nikon Canada and I pay for the repair? After all, Nikon Canada only offer 1 year warranty for D3. Will that work?

Any D2 owner has similar experience? I got my F4E from Hong Kong also, Nikon Canada has no problem to fix it as long as I pay.

someone? thanks ahead

--
Vic Lau at Calgary

 

[Visionsbydavid]

Nikon Canada's warranty is 2 years for camera bodies not 1 year.

I have had a my Nikon F5 bought in Singapore worked on by Nikon Canada but that was over 10 years ago.

I have heard rumors to the effect that Nikon will not touch even for money gray market cameras.

The solution to that would be to use an independent camera repair persons/shops.

I did that a couple of years ago when I dropped my Canon 20D and 580EX flash and I got the repairs done for 2/3 of what Canon Canada wanted to charge.

 

[hmac]

The solution to that would be to use an independent camera repair
persons/shops.

I did that a couple of years ago when I dropped my Canon 20D and
580EX flash and I got the repairs done for 2/3 of what Canon Canada
wanted to charge.

That assumes that independent Nikon authorized service centers have the parts, training and manuals to work on dSLRs. In the USA, anyway, it's been stated that they do not - only Nikon Factory Service has that stuff necessary to work on cameras like the D3 and VR lenses.

--
H McCollister

 

[PerfectPoms]

David, please stop spreading this commonly held misinformation. The D3 DOES NOT have a 2 year warranty in Canada !

NONE of the Nikon professional series camera bodies have 2 year warranties !

Go to this page and click on the link in the upper right corner and read the fine print: http://www.nikon.ca/en/Slr.aspx

The only DSLR's that are covered by the 2 year warranty are:
D40, D40x, D50, D70, D70s, D80, D200 and D300

So it follows that the following cameras do NOT have a 2 year warranty:
D3, D2x, D2xs, D2h, D2hs !

They have 1 year warranties.

--
Bill,

http://www.pbase.com/billmcintyre

 

[Nick Wong]

no text.

Nikon Canada's warranty is 2 years for camera bodies not 1 year.

I have had a my Nikon F5 bought in Singapore worked on by Nikon
Canada but that was over 10 years ago.

I have heard rumors to the effect that Nikon will not touch even for
money gray market cameras.

The solution to that would be to use an independent camera repair
persons/shops.

I did that a couple of years ago when I dropped my Canon 20D and
580EX flash and I got the repairs done for 2/3 of what Canon Canada
wanted to charge.

--
Nick Wong

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
d#, d@)), d&)ir, !).%, !@-@$, !&-%%, %), %, &)-@))
fm@, fm#a, @), @ , #%, %), %), %, ! )

http://photos.nickwong.net

 

[hmac]

David, please stop spreading this commonly held misinformation. The
D3 DOES NOT have a 2 year warranty in Canada !

NONE of the Nikon professional series camera bodies have 2 year
warranties !

Go to this page and click on the link in the upper right corner and
read the fine print: http://www.nikon.ca/en/Slr.aspx

The only DSLR's that are covered by the 2 year warranty are:
D40, D40x, D50, D70, D70s, D80, D200 and D300

So it follows that the following cameras do NOT have a 2 year warranty:
D3, D2x, D2xs, D2h, D2hs !

They have 1 year warranties.

Don't know about Canada, but Nikon Europe apparently has a two-year warranty.

--
H McCollister

 

[PerfectPoms]

Hi Vic.

You are right that the "official" line and many of the stories you hear are that Nikon won't even touch a "grey" camera, but I would guess that you don't have much to worry about.

The reason I say this is because, in your case especially, you should explain to Nikon that you tried to buy in Canada and you were not able to. My impression is that Nikon should be understanding in this case.

Keep your receipt from HK and tell Nikon that you tried to buy the D3 at Henry's and tell them how long you waited and explain that you couldn't get the camera before your holiday and I suspect Nikon will treat you fairly.

But, Vic, I don't think you need to worry for a long time about needing repairs to your D3. I have now taken over 1 million shots with my D2hs and have only had my shutter replaced once. My original shutter lasted over 637,000 shots. And the D3 is rated for a much longer lifespan than the D2 cameras, so odds are you won't need service for many years. I would say the odds are 99 % that you will want to replace your D3 with Nikon's newest camera long before you need a repair on your D3.

If you would like, Vic, I will ask the Nikon repair desk in Mississauga specifically about this issue for you (if I remember - my memory is getting REALLY bad) when I go there soon. I am planning to drop by Nikon Canada's head office soon to take in my D2hs and 70-200 for repair.

Sadly, the auto focus on my D2hs has pretty much stopped working at 1,015,000 shots taken with that camera, and now that my 70-200 VR lens has taken about a million photos it really needs a good cleaning and going over. (It still works - but the zoom ring is starting to feel gravelly. I think it needs some oil.)

--
Bill,

http://www.pbase.com/billmcintyre

 

[PerfectPoms]

Yes, Europe has stronger laws to protect the consumer.

--
Bill,

http://www.pbase.com/billmcintyre

 

[Rich H]

The normal definition of a gray market item is something that is imported to the US or another country by someone other than Nikon's subsidiary or distributor.

I have purchased Nikon gear in other countries and sent it for repair in the US (not under warranty though). If you have the receipt that shows you purchased it in another country then you should be fine.

I'm not sure why Nikon cares. They make money on their service business and it helps to offset their warranty costs.

Rich H

 

[Lost Horizon]

The normal definition of a gray market item is something that is
imported to the US or another country by someone other than Nikon's
subsidiary or distributor.

I have purchased Nikon gear in other countries and sent it for repair
in the US (not under warranty though). If you have the receipt that
shows you purchased it in another country then you should be fine.

I'm not sure why Nikon cares. They make money on their service
business and it helps to offset their warranty costs.

I doubt Nikon themselves actually care, but outfits like Nikon USA or Nikon Canada get a cut of every piece of equipment sold that isn't "imported".

Rich H

 

[BRJR]

viclauyyc:

1. You, need to contact Nikon Canada; but, the link below, pretty much says what their policy is concerning product such as yours (and, I don't even live in Canada):

http://help.nikon.ca/cgi-bin/nikoncanada.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=5546&p_created=1034187768&p_sid=PPphbP3j&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9ODAyLDgwMiZwX3Byb2RzPTAmcF9jYXRzPTAmcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PWdyZXkgY2FtZXJhcw**&p_li=&p_topview=1

2. If, you're lucky, they will repair your camera under the standard warranty provisions all Nikon cameras have; or, you could be required to send it to the merchant where you purchased it from, for Nikon repair service, as, Nikon Canada has the right to simply ignore it.

--
BRJR ....(LOL, some of us are quite satisfied as Hobbyists ..)

I know the official answer is no.

But what if I am wiling to pay for it?

I got my D3 from HK for $4478CAD and not tax/duty. By the way, Hong
Kong is the second cheapest place on earth to get a D3, after Japan.
I first order mine from Henry's for $5200+tax. However, they can't
send me one even I pre-order it ages ago. Also, I read the news about
only pro's and NPS will get a D3 in Canada in the beginning and I
need one for my HK trip. So I got one from Hong Kong.

Now, my D3 is working fine. But one day (maybe after the 5 years), if
I need service. Can I send my D3 to Nikon Canada and I pay for the
repair? After all, Nikon Canada only offer 1 year warranty for D3.
Will that work?

Any D2 owner has similar experience? I got my F4E from Hong Kong
also, Nikon Canada has no problem to fix it as long as I pay.

someone? thanks ahead

--
Vic Lau at Calgary

 

[viclauyyc]

thanks Bill, it wil be very helpful if you can post Nikon's answer here. So we will know what to do next time.

Also, could you please they what if I don't have the bill of sales and warranty card. Let say I got a used D3 off eBay. Will they fix camera/lens without these? Will try trace the serial number to see if the nikon gear was from an authorize Canadian retailer or elsewhere?

thanks ahead

--
Vic Lau at Calgary

 

[Visionsbydavid]

David, please stop spreading this commonly held misinformation. The
D3 DOES NOT have a 2 year warranty in Canada !

NONE of the Nikon professional series camera bodies have 2 year
warranties !

Go to this page and click on the link in the upper right corner and
read the fine print: http://www.nikon.ca/en/Slr.aspx

The only DSLR's that are covered by the 2 year warranty are:
D40, D40x, D50, D70, D70s, D80, D200 and D300

So it follows that the following cameras do NOT have a 2 year warranty:
D3, D2x, D2xs, D2h, D2hs !

They have 1 year warranties.

--
Bill,

Duh! My bad...don't you just love the asterisk* and the fine print?

My dealer told me that I had 2 year warranty and sold me a 4 year extended warranty ie 2 + 2 yrs.

I guess now the warranty is one year from Nikon plus 3 years aftermarket warranty which makes the pain of paying for the extended warranty less painful.

David

 

[BRJR]

On some things, and this is such an example, I tend to contact the source (Nikon, in this case) directly for resolution of a problem; afterwards, one can post the conclusion here ------------- and, we will have the facts, as they pertain to the specific issue at hand,

--
BRJR ....(LOL, some of us are quite satisfied as Hobbyists ..)

thanks Bill, it wil be very helpful if you can post Nikon's answer
here. So we will know what to do next time.

Also, could you please they what if I don't have the bill of sales
and warranty card. Let say I got a used D3 off eBay. Will they fix
camera/lens without these? Will try trace the serial number to see if
the nikon gear was from an authorize Canadian retailer or elsewhere?

thanks ahead

--
Vic Lau at Calgary