# Do you trust cps' repair estimates?



## Marsu42 (Apr 14, 2015)

I dropped my 70-300L (new: €1100 w/ 2 year warranty). Optics are fine, just the af ring only moved max. half way to infinity (though it did still move). By now I had a feeling what my local cps (Foto März Berlin / Germany) would say: It's €70 parts and €250 labor - the latter seems to be an average standard fee for anything lens-related. But it's still a third of the lens' cost, and a lot of money to me :-\

_Disclaimer first: I'm ok-ish with this as I've been using the lens a lot for 3 years and it was somewhat worn down, so I even though about getting it serviced before the unfortunate accident occurred. And I'm a big fan of fair wages._

*But:* After some experiences (personal or reported) I've grown a bit critical of what they say and I get the nagging feeling that probably tightening some screw might have had the same effect w/o servicing the whole lens inside out, replacing everything that isn't in mint condition. Alas, that's the way they do it.

Case 1: A friend of mine tried to get this 5d2 serviced that had af problems. He got it back in a broken state and as "unrepairable" b/c of €800 estimated costs (moisture damage). He then sold it on, and the next guy repaired it himself for a couple of bucks.

Case 2: My old 100 non-L macro broke down twice due to alleged moisture. Imho the second time was rather questionable, but they refused to do it on warranty even though it was the same part that broke. Essentially, the 2nd €250 repair for a €500 lens made me upgrade to the sealed L version.

*Questions...*

_1. Do you find cps' repair estimates too high (either due to very high tech' labor costs, or b/c they simply replace everything in sight when in doubt)? Did you ever try to argue the case (outside warranty)?

2. Did you ever get a free warranty repair on a part that was previously replaced? That's because the repair does have a warranty, but my feeling is that whatever happens is always the user's fault unless you happen to be able to prove differently. If so, buying a new lens w/ complete warranty seems more attractive if the difference isn't large.
_
Thanks for any experiences, I do feel kind of frustrated with these repair costs right now. They do know their customer's feeling and by now want €20 cold, hard cash up front before even doing a repair estimate, no matter if you turn in a €1000+ lens and are a returning customer, cps and all :-\


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## expatinasia (Apr 15, 2015)

*Re: POLL: Do you trust cps' repair estimates?*

Sorry to hear about your 70-300L.

I only have good things to say about CPS, but then I have never had to get anything repaired - just cleaned occasionally.

Do you get a CPS discount on the repairs? At least with that you are getting it cheaper than a regular Canon customer.

What is the difference in repair costs between CPS and a normal camera shop? I would probably, rightly or wrongly, be happier to get CPS to do the repair even if it cost a premium over the local camera shop.

Anyway, I am sure others with more experience can help. Hope you get it sorted.


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## Marsu42 (Apr 15, 2015)

*Re: POLL: Do you trust cps' repair estimates?*



expatinasia said:


> Sorry to hear about your 70-300L.



Thanks, some condolences are always good in these cases :-o



expatinasia said:


> Do you get a CPS discount on the repairs? At least with that you are getting it cheaper than a regular Canon customer.



I'm in the EU which has a other cps system then elsewhere - membership is free and just tied to the amount / "class" of Canon gear you've registered. That's why you don't get any discounts, it's mostly about the repair time and gear loan (platinum level).



expatinasia said:


> What is the difference in repair costs between CPS and a normal camera shop? I would probably, rightly or wrongly, be happier to get CPS to do the repair even if it cost a premium over the local camera shop.



Me too, usually ... question is how large the difference is, if it's €30 vs €300 that would make me think. That's why I'm asking around for experiences with your repairs and if you find the prices are blown out of proportion. Of course, this may vary a lot worldwide, but I'm asking even in an international forum to get a comparison.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 15, 2015)

*Re: POLL: Do you trust cps' repair estimates?*

The poll does not compute, because the repair centers in different locations have different policies. The votes may be biased towards Canon USA, but Canon Canada is different as is Australia, UK, European locations and all the others.

As a suggestion:

Consider adding location info to your poll. That may provide some insight as to the differences depending on country. Do a little research and pick out 8 or 9 international Canon repair centers. We have lots of users from USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, China, India, France, etc. Ask if they are happy with results for each center. I have seen complaints from Germany as well as from some of the Nordic Countries in much higher proportion than I see in the USA. I don't recall seeing a complaint from Japan.


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## Eldar (Apr 15, 2015)

*Re: POLL: Do you trust cps' repair estimates?*

In Norway the CPS centre was changed from one service company to another. My only repair experience is with the previous one, in an attempt to fix my 135/2L after being dropped on a rock. They charged a minor sum (don´t remember how much) to come up with a diagnosis and give a repair estimate. In this particular case, they did quite a bit of work, trying to fix it, including ordering some parts. But in the end it turned out to be beyond repair. They only charged me for the diagnosis cost.

My only other experience with CPS (both the new and the old) is a warranty repair on my 1DX and the occasional sensor cleaning, done while I was waiting or on the same day.

In Norway there are no special discounts for CPS members, but you get priority and access to loan equipment during repair.

Even though I have been grumping over their sensor performance lately, I can certainly vouch for their quality. Having owned countless cameras and lenses over the last 40 years, skipping a few accidents caused by my own clumsiness, I have never had to send anything in for repair and pay for it. The first warranty repair I had was actually that with the 1DX.


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## Maximilian (Apr 15, 2015)

*Re: POLL: Do you trust cps' repair estimates?*

Hi Marsu! 

As I stated before http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=25891.msg510145#msg510145 I am quite fine with German Canon CPS repair center in Reutlingen. But luckily I only had minor issues until now (knock on wood).
I know about the lens repair mentioned in the thread above, that was charged quite fair.
I had a 70-200LII checked for the mechanics of the zoom ring within warranty. Free of charge.
I had a body cleaned. And they replaced the focusiong screen because of scratches I made and I could live with. Normal price, just for the screen (of course replacing takes just a minute) though they could have asked me before.

So about your questions (referring to CPS Germany):


Marsu42 said:


> _1. Do you find cps' repair estimates too high (either due to very high tech' labor costs, or b/c they simply replace everything in sight when in doubt)? Did you ever try to argue the case (outside warranty)?
> _


_
Maybe just a little bit but not too much. And no, I didn't argue because they seemed reasonable to me.




2. Did you ever get a free warranty repair on a part that was previously replaced? That's because the repair does have a warranty, but my feeling is that whatever happens is always the user's fault unless you happen to be able to prove differently. If so, buying a new lens w/ complete warranty seems more attractive if the difference isn't large.


Click to expand...

Didn't run in such an issue. So no experience.




Thanks for any experiences, I do feel kind of frustrated with these repair costs right now. They do know their customer's feeling and by now want €20 cold, hard cash up front before even doing a repair estimate, no matter if you turn in a €1000+ lens and are a returning customer, cps and all :-\

Click to expand...

I can understand your feelings very well, but I think you won't get any bonus as "returning customer" and they only follow their internal repair guidelines. 

Feel free to try out CPS in Reutlingen, although this means shipping and you have CPS Berlin just around the corner. 

I hope you won't need them anymore soon. Cross my fingers._


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## Marsu42 (Apr 15, 2015)

*Re: POLL: Do you trust cps' repair estimates?*



Mt Spokane Photography said:


> Consider adding location info to your poll.



Good idea, but I cannot do it now anymore, the poll doesn't let me change the # of votes a user can do. Btw it's meant more like a fun incentive for the thread, I don't expect to get valid results out of it that people can use in their repair ventures - for this, a local forum might be the better choice for once.



Eldar said:


> Even though I have been grumping over their sensor performance lately, I can certainly vouch for their quality.



Me, too - their results are excellent. Considering the tech' feels they should be absolute experts though, and another reason for them not doing botch jobs is in the poll: They seem to never "repair", but to always "replace" with a new part even if the slightest doubt occurs.



Maximilian said:


> Feel free to try out CPS in Reutlingen, although this means shipping and you have CPS Berlin just around the corner.



My alternative would to look for a non-cps repair option (private or smaller shop) first if I suspect the problem can be "repaired" and doesn't need a full lens service like cps insists to do ... that's because they're p as in "professional" and not "r" like in repair"... thus my doubt that they're not even trying.

For smaller, non expert jobs like a shutter replacement, I certainly wouldn't use cps anymore given the option as the price difference to elsewhere is so huge.


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## sanj (Apr 19, 2015)

*Re: POLL: Do you trust cps' repair estimates?*



Mt Spokane Photography said:


> The poll does not compute, because the repair centers in different locations have different policies. The votes may be biased towards Canon USA, but Canon Canada is different as is Australia, UK, European locations and all the others.
> 
> As a suggestion:
> 
> Consider adding location info to your poll. That may provide some insight as to the differences depending on country. Do a little research and pick out 8 or 9 international Canon repair centers. We have lots of users from USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, China, India, France, etc. Ask if they are happy with results for each center. I have seen complaints from Germany as well as from some of the Nordic Countries in much higher proportion than I see in the USA. I don't recall seeing a complaint from Japan.



Very true


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## Marsu42 (Apr 19, 2015)

*Re: POLL: Do you trust cps' repair estimates?*



sanj said:


> Very true



Since I couldn't change the poll, I removed it.

Btw my 70-300L is back and even tough the repair costs were not what I intended to spend the money for, I have to give it to cps: The thing is like new, save the worn down white paint ... so for 1/3rd of the lens' price, still better repairing than re-buying. Unfortunately the bill is very general, and I don't really have a clue what the exact problem was (other than a list of what they replaced).


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## Valvebounce (Apr 20, 2015)

*Re: POLL: Do you trust cps' repair estimates?*

Hi Marsu. 
So what did they replace for €320 and did they come in on quote? 
Sounds like you are happy with the service?

Cheers, Graham. 



Marsu42 said:


> sanj said:
> 
> 
> > Very true
> ...


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## Marsu42 (Apr 20, 2015)

*Re: POLL: Do you trust cps' repair estimates?*



Valvebounce said:


> So what did they replace for €320 and did they come in on quote?



They did (parts: 70€, labor: 250€)... attention, bad translation from German:

* tubus "renewed" (I don't know what this part is exactly, it's not the white metal)
* sealing "renewed" (they don't specify which)
* focus motor "repaired"
* "mechanics "repaired"" (it cannot get any fuzzier than this)



Valvebounce said:


> Sounds like you are happy with the service?



Well, so-so ... they don't give you any choice but simply go for the perfect repair, i.e. replacing everything even if it isn't directly connected to the cause of the breakdown. And the specification of what they did isn't exactly detailed.

Last not least, my appearance doesn't seem to be in sync with their expected _clientele_, I should probably switch from pets and wildlife to gloss fashion


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