Well my friend works in the NY area, so this would have probably been the Melville service area.

I am thinking that this thread ought to be about the individuals local repair center because I have had perfect service at mine, yet NSX is not impressed etc. If 80% here said they got great service, that doesn't mean yours may not be rubbish!

C'mon, name names!

Mine was the Richmond, Surrey, UK Repair Centre. They may have sent it off to a workshop elsewhere, but they managed it.

I have not had any Nikon repair experience- knock on wood though.

However, I have had a friend have repair experience.

I think one of my friend's co-workers had dropped a 14-24 2.8 into water. The issue was that I think it was heavily repaired before that and it had gotten a new serial number. The thing is, Nikon did not track serial numbers, they just repair them for you so the warranty does not transfer that time.

I'm not sure if they track serial numbers now, but I know Sony does do that for the PS3. They knew that my PS3 had been repaired once before under warranty and knew about it the next time they fixed it. Not sure why Nikon didn't keep track of their serial numbers.

I don't remember if my friend got the zoom fixed, I'll e-mail him about how the story ended. But this happened about 2 years ago.

But the thing is, Nikon doesn't exactly have a stellar repair customer service track record.

Sorry, i have no nikon repair service experience, but i have nikon d3100 camera. I like my camera and i also my a fashion <LINK REMOVED> bag

rschnaible said:
I have used Nikons repair service in Southern California and they were pretty quick, less than 2 weeks including the shipping via UPS. One item was warranty, the other I paid for what I considered a resonable price for a dropped lens that required lots of parts to be replaced.

As for shipping, wrap in bubble wrap and use the popcorn foam and you should be good to go...

Where Nikon gets off track is answering direct questions about when something is out of stock when they expect shipments or when there are recall issues and such, they really need to be a bit more transparent in dealing with the public on these things... I have written to the President of Nikon USA a couple of times and then things get going. To be candid, I think part of the disconect is generational. Often times I find the younger generation does not answer the entire question, only part of a multi part question or they simply do not know and don't want to find out....

Off my soap box now....

Glad to read somebody else goes after better service. Regarding replies, I find it is a widespread problem. I communicate the questions in as clear and structured way as possible and receive back a muddle to try to understand. and always have to ask again for the missing answers whereupon the replies often get snippy. Maybe lack of knowledge as you say.

One point I must disagree on, never use any type of granular fillers to surround heavy objects as they swim though and end up against the side of the box. Crumpled thick paper is best or lots of crumpled thinner paper is better that any granular filler.

@Proudgeek: My experience of my local Nikon Repair Center is good. I sent a lens off for an out of warranty repair, gave them a maximum price to go ahead with and tracked its progress through repairs while I waited. I got it back inside two weeks and it was free. Can't beat that!

I have used Nikons repair service in Southern California and they were pretty quick, less than 2 weeks including the shipping via UPS. One item was warranty, the other I paid for what I considered a resonable price for a dropped lens that required lots of parts to be replaced.

As for shipping, wrap in bubble wrap and use the popcorn foam and you should be good to go...

Where Nikon gets off track is answering direct questions about when something is out of stock when they expect shipments or when there are recall issues and such, they really need to be a bit more transparent in dealing with the public on these things... I have written to the President of Nikon USA a couple of times and then things get going. To be candid, I think part of the disconect is generational. Often times I find the younger generation does not answer the entire question, only part of a multi part question or they simply do not know and don't want to find out....

Off my soap box now....

My experience (in Canada) was much better. Also non-NPS, I dropped of a 14-24mm which was left-right-out-of-whack after an airport security checker dropped it out of my camera case. By the time I arrived back in the office, the email was already in the in-box, declaring this a warranty issue. They phoned next day that my lens was ready to be picked up. Focus is now perfect again. I could not be more pleased with the service! A real delightful experience...

oy

In my experience (two repairs) non NPS lens repairs can take a anything from 3 weeks to 4 months. Yeah, it can be that slow.

This seemed to be the best thread on which to piggyback. Quick synopsis: Bought a used 24-70 in great external condition (with a 3-year warranty) recently. However, after using it (on a D90) for a few weeks and doing some careful analysis, I noticed that it was really soft along the right side (when shot horizontally). Brought it back to the dealer where I got it, and he boxed it up and sent it back to Nikon, no questions asked. The shots I showed him showed a pretty obvious issue. He also did a few test shots of his own to confirm.
So here's my question: What, in general, has been your collective experience on the turnaround for such repairs? I know a lot will depend on the nature of the repairs, but I'm just curious.

I'm not sure if there's anything to see in the offices, but I'd think the service dept would be interesting to look round. Ask to have a look at the D4 while you're there! :-)

Thanks for the advice!

I always pass by the exit for Melville anyway, when I'm free I'll call ahead and see what services they offer (if anything at all).

Maybe I can get a tour of the headquarters? :D

NSXType-R said:
I was just wondering- Nikon has a headquarters in Melville right?

Since I'm in the NY area, is it possible to just drop my camera there and have it looked over, serviced, etc?

Or do I still need to ship it out to them?

And what is the procedure on a CLA (Clean, Lube, Allignment)? Ship the lens off too? I checked their website, doesn't seem to be too clear on that.

The only way you can get a "while you wait service" at Nikon UK, is if you are attending one of their training seminars. The exception is when they offer a sensor clean and check up for around £20, with all proceeds going to a charity they've chosen to support. I always think that's quite a nice touch. Somehow parting with the money seems much nicer when you know it's in aid of a good cause.

I'd call the Service Center directly for this kind of stuff. I have my D7000 in El Secundo for repair and I was able to find the phone number easily online and call the receptionist there to get a better idea how the process works. i think she or the Nikon service number she gave would be able to answer this stuff for you very clearly.

I just go to a local shop and they send it to certified repair service shops. Done it over 20 times and never had a problem. It's usually cheaper and much faster than Nikon. NPS members get first dibs on everything - all others come when that work is done. For a CLA you really don't need Nikon to do it. I'm not sure if they have a repair center in Melville even if it is their US headquarters. I know they have one in CA though. The only time I have sent anything to Nikon is for warranty repairs.

CLA (Clean, Lube, Alignment) you got it. Not really much describe - just straight forward.

I was just wondering- Nikon has a headquarters in Melville right?

Since I'm in the NY area, is it possible to just drop my camera there and have it looked over, serviced, etc?

Or do I still need to ship it out to them?

And what is the procedure on a CLA (Clean, Lube, Allignment)? Ship the lens off too? I checked their website, doesn't seem to be too clear on that.

I've sent Nikon UK an 18-200 which had a broken focus motor, and a D300 which had a couple of bad hot pixels and needed a focus adjustment. Both times they did an excellent job on the repair, and I'll have every confidence in them if I need to send them anything else in future. On the technical side anyway...

...administratively they could be better. When I sent the lens in they lost the RMA form (to be fair I'd packed it in an odd place), but even though the lens was registered to me on the website, they did nothing with it until I called a week later to ask about it. When I sent the D300 in they sent me an invoice even though it was under warranty. That was sorted out with a quick phonecall, but still.

I've posted about them before in this thread: http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=2736

And because SkintBrit mentioned it, I'm not an NPS member.

On returning to professional photography last year, one of the deciding factors in camera choice was my proximity to Nikon UK HQ. They are a 20 min drive from my house. I had a look at Canon and found their website as confusingly laid out as their cameras. Still have no idea where their local service centre is. One of the benefits of being so close to Nikon is that postal concerns are done away with, and training events are easy to attend. When I have dropped things in to be repaired ( the screen on my 3s developed a line of Blue pixels right across it ), they've always done a good job. I think NPS membership helps though.

Ouch with Cord camera...I live in Indianapolis and I learned very quickly never to go there. I went there before I got my D5000 and the guy knew nothing about the cameras he was showing me and their prices are anywhere from $50 to $100 more then anywhere else. They also didn't have any better selection then Target or Best Buy. Glad to hear your experience though, I will have to use that route if I need anything done.

Welcome to the forum Maria, glad You have Your d90 back and running. Your experience only confirmed what I believe - skip all the ppl between and always service directly as it saves times and money.

Thank you for sharing Maria. I'm glad you are happy with Nikon Service and Repair. Enjoy your camera and welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum, Maria. Too bad it didn't go straight to Nikon to begin with, eh? I would have been furious during those three months without my camera!

In June 2010 I noticed that the LCD monitor of my D90 wasn't working.
I took it to a Cord Camera shop in Indianapolis in August 2010 (My biggest concern was to send the camera by mail, I wasn't sure how to pack it properly, and how any company would manage the transportation and delivery....) 5 weeks later, they sent me an estimate of 400$ for the repair and told me to wait for another 4 weeks. 3 months later, in december, they weren't able to tell me in what part of the process my camera was, why this was taking so long, and never answered any of my at least 5 emails. I decided to get my camera back without the repair and they sent it back to me 2 weeks later. They told me they had to pick the camera back from Nikon.....
After this experience I've been using the camera without the monitor for 2 months, I was scared of sending it somewhere again.
Two weeks ago, I decided to take the challenge and sent my camera to Nikon Melville through UPS. I took the camera to the UPS Shop on Friday February 11th, Nikon received it on Tuesday 15th, I approved the estimate (200$) the same day and the status changed to Shop the day after. Today, February 23rd, I got my camera delivered at my front door at 9:38 am in perfect condition.
Total time from my door to Nikon and back: 11 days, including two weekends and return shipping !
I am truly impressed!
Nikon just earned a lifelong customer. Thanks

Until recently... My d90 went in (under a full Samys warranty) and one of the repairs was to fix the bar that shows your shooting info in the viewfinder (it was jumbled and screwed up). Well it was gone for 4 weeks and when it came back they obviously didn't fix it. While it was impact damage, the warranty clearly covers it so they obviously had a lazy employee or something like that. Also I took my 17-35mm back in a stiff zoom issue and they refused to fix it under warranty (Im not paying another $400 to fix it!) as they stated it had impact damage, which it did not (the crack in the focus finder was their proof) and when it came back they screwed up the optics. It now fringes and has a softer focus than when I sent it in. When I get a little extra I'll just go out and buy one brand new and keep this one as a beater...

I've always had a good experience with the nikon center in El Segundo... They have 3 basic rates for eash item on most repairs and have a quick response with both cameras and lenses. My 17-35mm f2.8 just got repaired and wasn't under warranty and it came back in like new condition with only 2 weeks of repair time...