Leica warranty vs. Swarovski warranty

[daniel]

I've narrowed my choic down to the Leica Trinovid and the Swarovski SLC, and the glass, weight, price are pretty much the same with each other. Now asking various owners out there, I hear Leica has 10 year warranty while swarovski has a lifetime. Can these warranties be transferred from owner to owner or does it only work for the first owner? And lastly how is each companies customer service? Easy to talk to? Prompt service?
(Note my binocular choices, no electronic[rangefinding] involved, just regular binoculars).

 

[fatrooster]

daniel, I can only answer by what I've read on this website. In many cases I have read that Leica stands by thier warranty 100% but I've also read a couple of posts where several customers were not satisfied with Leica and the warranty department. I have never read or heard anything bad about swarovski not honoring thier warranty which prompted me to go with the swaro's. I have used the warranty on one small item which was just a lens cover on a spotting scope. Warranty does not cover lost items but swarovski sent me a new one anyway. Do a search on warranties and you will get plenty of information. Just go to the top of the page and look for search and click on it. Then type in warranty in the box and pick optics for the post in which you want to conduct your search. Warranties are not transferrable on Leica's or Swarovski's. Hope this helps. fatrooster.

 

[Foreman4x4]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-06-06 AT 09:55PM (MST)[p]New Leicas from an authorized US dealer carry a lifetime Passport warranty that covers damage even if it were your fault. Gather up enough pieces with an identifiable serial number and they'll replace them. Factory authorized demo Leicas carry a 10 year warranty. This just changed as it used to be 1 year. Secondhand Leicas from an individual have no warranty as their warranty is non-transferable and they won't budge on this issue. I've heard mixed reviews of their customer service department.

Swarovski's warranty is also lifetime and is stated to only cover factory defects. Their written policy is that the warranty is only good for the original owner; however, in the real world I've never heard of anyone being denied no matter when or where the item was purchased. Swarovski's customer service department is touted as being one of the best in the business. Only Leupold gets more praise.

 

[bogey]

I ripped the eye cup off my Geovids on a tree stand that fell in the leaves and was lost. They sent me a new one next day no charge.(for the price of the Geovids I hope). The eye piece lenses in my Kahles scope came loose, they got it back to me in less then a week for free. Only input I can give, they are the only times I have called on any of the optics customer service.

 

[cbryant11]

my buddy has leica binoculars and he called warrenty service and gave them the serial number and they said to send it in and they would repair the eyecup,,, well after eveything was fixed they called and told him it would be 300 bucks because they had the german warrenty and needles to say he was not too happy,,,,cbryant

 

[782warbird]

Swarovski has the best warranty in the business

I have sent swarovski's in for warranty and have received them back in as little as 3 to 4 weeks

Leica will hold your bino's for several months before you get your's back

 

[BigPig]

I've got a pair of Ultravids. My only experience with their cust service has been very positive. My flip down lens covers kept breaking. The first time I called, they sent me a new pair. Several months later those ones broke and I called again. This time they sent me a lifetime's supply and the design is much better. All without charge and with prompt response.

 

[deerbedead]

I own both Swarovski, and Leica, and have sent them both in for warranty work. The Swarovski's were pulled out of the pickup and hit on the pavement by one of my hunting buddies, and it cracked the lense. I sent it in and within two weeks it was back and repaired free of charge.
I recently sent in a pair of 10x42 Geovid rangefinder binoculars that I took to Alaska in May on a bear hunt. They were pitched off the top bunk in a boat during a storm and landed on the eyepieces. The rangefinder quit and the glass wouldn't focus. I sent them in and they made me provide a bill of sale before they fixed them. It took about 3 weeks before I received them.
I sent in a pair of 10x42 bn Leicas at the same time that have gradually gotten tough to focus over the last year. They sent me a repair estimate of $337.00. I emailed them and received no reply. I called them and got an answering machine. After about a week I received a call from a nice guy that told me if I could produce a bill of sale, they would consider covering the binos under the warranty. I am waiting now to see if they will be covered.
To me the answer is crsytal clear. SWAROVSKI!!!!
I have owned them both, and like them both, but I'll take a no B.S. warranty any day over a questionable one.
Travis Roundy

 

[jodog]

I own a pair of Swarovski's 8.5x42 EL and for three years I've never had any trouble with them so I've never delt with the coustomer service. A friend of mine dropped a pair of 10 year old Swarovski's out of a tree stand and broke them, they told him to send them in and they replaced them. That works for me!

 

[grizzly]

The dealer at Sportsman's Warehouse convinced me when he told me about dropping his Swarovski's down a rockface on a Sheep hunt. They overnighted him a loaner pair (to Fairbanks) to use the rest of the hunt. That's going the extra mile.

 

[downsouth]

I don't have any experience with swarovski, but I just got my Televid 77 spotting scope back from Leica earlier this week. Sent it in because the coarse focus knob came loose and didn't work any more. Including shipping time I got it back in a week and a half. I did called them every few days and pester them about turning it around quick though. I also made sure that I sent in all my warranty information when I purchased it a couple years ago. Prior to shipping it back I talked to Leica and they said that as long as I had turned all my warranty information in I shouldn't have any problems. I can't really complain about Leica, but I am going to buy some 10x42 Swarovski's this year and hopefully I won't ever have to try out their warranty.

 

[littlejoe]

My dad had trouble with his Swarovski 15x56 and sent them in for repair. Got them back about a month later and the exact same problem happened again within a week. Sent them back again and this time they replaced them about 3 weeks after sending them in. My friend sent in his binocs because when you looked in the wrong end there was what appeared to be a small crack in the corner of the lens. They called him about 2 weeks after receiving them and told him until the glass actually broke they would not repair it. He paid for the glass to be repaired. He did not want to wait until it shattered during hunting season. I had to send my spotter in for repairs, something came loose inside and was rolling around. They informed me that all spotters go to Europe for repair. They sent me an old style demo to use and I did not get my spotter back for over 4 months. I have learned in dealing with them that filling your warranty card out and sending it in is invaluable. They only warranty their product to the "original" owner I was told.