D3 - totally shagged....

[Bristol Pete]

So finally, after two weeks of chasing Nikon, today they tell me that some internal parts of the camera have corroded and that this does not come under the warranty. They tell me I have to pay £300.00 for the camera to be repaired. However, I do not have that kind of money. They ask me what I want to do and all I can do at the moment is nothing.

Very, very annoyed and will be writing a serious letter of complaint to Nikon about it and the way my query has been handled. No calls, no mails, no letters, just sat there with me chasing it with daily phone calls.

What really upsets me is that I sell a lot of Nikon gear and whilst I am not immature enough to stop selling it, it really peeves me off.

Also, the girl on the phone advised me that the D3 is not weather shielded, to which I reply that she is misinformed and that the camera was used in mild rain with a rain jacket on. Christ - I know people who put cameras through serious grief. Have said it before but my Canons stood up to some serious weather.......no issues.

I suspect that somehow, someway the camera may have been faulty but the condensation from the one wet gig brought the issue to the fore. Also, the fact that the machine was boxed on the shelf at Nikon may not have helped if it were/was damp.

Very upset and as ever whilst I promote cognitive thinking sometimes I really wish my luck would change. That said, in perspective, my best mate and photographic inspiration has been diagnosed with skin cancer and the fear of loosing his friendship is far greater than any damned camera.

Rant over,

Pete.

[Tobers]

Jeez Pete - that's bad news. Really sorry to hear it. Sounds like the weather sealing cant have done its job and let some water in.

Why not ask the shop to to help you out and get it fixed? Might be worth a try.

[johnaalex]

Pete, sorry to hear about the grief you're having with Nikon and your friend's illness.

My experience of Nikon's customer service has never been good; 10 years ago I swore I would never buy Nikon again after recurring problems with a flash unit. Then came the 990 and I relented and now have a D300. It took them over 4 weeks to repair my 18-200VR and it wasn't just the time, it was the totally lack of urgency on their part and the way I was felt to be an annoyance

Good luck on both fronts!

[hot-fuzz]

DAM.
£300 to get a £3K camera fixed is probably the best that can happen.

What do Nikon say about their weather sealing, do they have guidlines such as "dont take it out in the rain" ?

Im sure there are people who have used a non-sealed Nikon in worse conditions and got away with it and you have just been unlucky.

Im really sorry thats happened as from what i saw briefly in the pub and from what people have said, it is a top camera (apart from the vertical grip button ??)

[Radiohead]

That's very poor - if the items are corroded that quickly there must have been a fault with the camera. Are you NPS?

[alfienoakes]

That's outrageous. Surely some mistake as there's no doubt the D3 is supposed to be weather shielded. Hope you manage to get it sorted and tbh after that sort of service the least they could do is give you some kind of sweetener.

[Tobers]

Just been thinking about this. I'd go completely mad at them. Complain like a good-un. Ensure they know you are a highly influential sports photographer with an enthusiastic internet following. Tell them the value of the kit you sell in the shop and how you are able to recommend Canon or Nikon, and how would they like you to discuss your experiences with your customers.

Write letters, email them, get up the ladder to the top man. Tell the Nikon rep who looks after your shop, and his boss. Create merry hell.

If nothing else it will give you a way to let off steam.

[denno75uk]

Cack about the camera. Tobers advice is deffo the way to go if you've got it in you. |Esp the bit about the rep for your branch. At least then your getting paid to vent spleen.

Even cacker about your mate. Even the longest tunnels have light at the end though, so hopefully you're both on the way to seeing it.

[jmbrailsford]

Hi Pete,

that's horrendous, what about the Sale of Goods Act and the fact that something should be fit for the task it's designed for? Although I've no doubt the clever wording of Weather 'shielded' is their get out as opposed to Weather 'Sealed'.

I'd be pushing this like hell and be as Tobers said going to the top, remember these Forums are read by 1000's of people and that's a lot of potential lost sales in my opinion.

Up here is Scotland we have a paper called the Sunday Mail and this is exactly what 'the Judge' columnist tackles every week, nothing like that down your way?

Hope you get this resolved, as you must be bloody furious I know I would be, how about a delivery of a few tons of horse manure to the steps of Nikon UK headquarters? If you need a driver......

Or I tell you what if you can't afford the £300 repair it I could loan you it, or we members chip in a few £ each and get it sorted that way. Pay it back some at a time

Mike.

[johnaalex]

Pete - another option could be to threaten legal action in a small claims court. I am sure that a decent brief could argue that the top of the range Nikon camera that is advertised as being weather shielded should not have packed up so soon after purchase and that the one you had was not up to its advertised purpose and should be replaced free of charge. Just a thought...

[salubrious_k]

Sorry to hear the bad news.

Make sure you write a letter of complaint, and don't do it over the phone or by email. Letters are accountable and therefore tend to have a much greater effect.

[RobDickinson]

++ Take them to the small claims court.

A £3k pro weather sealed camera shouldt corrode in a few weeks/months due to a bit of light rain.

[senu]

I hope your friends Skin cancer diagnosis is an early one , and it is one of the less aggressive sorts
It is quite Ok to put the camera troubles in perspective in relation to that TBH
However I agree with all that has be written above
It is not unlikely your camera was going to "break" and is therefore neither fit for purpose under the sale of good act, nor is it good business on Nikons part to feel you they can fob you off , just because they feel they have a big enough user base to lose you

It is time to put your annoyance into effort
You sell the cameras, not just to earn your keep, but your very capable use of them is unpaid advertisement for Nikon
I would like to think these Forums and you being a valued member of the community also serve that purpose
£300 to repair it so soon after purchase, and used not underwater or in the tropical rain monsoon is not funny
Neither is your account of relentlessly pursuing them ..only to get this rather lukewarm reply
I think you should make you annoyance and disgust known in a very controlled manner copying as many of their top brass as possible
I don't think fixing it gratis is going to put them out of business and in future, get names of people you speak to and times so that the remark by the girl on the phone never gets repeated if Nikon put "weatherproof" on the D3 as a selling point

Short answer: As empathetic as you feel about your Pal, do your best to make anyone in Nikon reading your letter feel uncomfortable..even if it means a subtle small claims court threat.. They can ill afford the bad publicity despite thier market share in the camera world. Disposable income is not rising and thay need all the goodwill they can get TBH
Good luck

[Bristol Pete]

Well, I am not sure where to go or what to do.

However I have spoken to my local Nikon rep and asked for his assistance in this without actually using him as a patsy.

What annoys me is the dismissive attitude towards me despite the fact that in the last three months I have bought a

D3, 70-200, 24-70 nano, 85MM, 50MM and three Nikon flash guns as well as sold numerous Nikon cameras and specifically three D3's along with numerous D300's and other consumables.

I actually think that there is a downside to working in the industry as I am aware how the average consumer with issues gets treated and that is hard to take. It seems that unless you have serious kit and are classed as a 'pro' you are not looked after.

The reality of this is that if I had the money, I would without a doubt move back to Canon over this, simply as a personal statement of distaste towards the way Nikon have handled the whole thing.

I just cant believe that 'the' flagship camera, not just Nikons, but the whole industry has packed up and I am being asked to pay for something to sort it as this issue falls outside the warranty.

Having discussed the situation with other snappers, we all feel that the word corroded is very strong. What could this mean? Corrosion is a long term thing surely?

Utter crap. Here is the list of thing to be sorted -

D3 (2035831)
Equipment shows signs of liquid/corrosion damage
Fit new spare parts
Repair/adjust auto focus mechanism/circuit. Check and adjust AF accuracy.
Check, test and clean equipment
This job may be re-estimated if further faults are found during repair
Labour Billable 81.04
2.00 162.08
1B002-042 REMOTE CONNECTOR 14.37
1 14.37
1S025-021 REMOTE TERMINAL FPC 8.06
1 8.06
1S025-020 CONNECTION FPC 15.24
1 15.24
1F998-592 REAR LCD UNIT 43.98
1 43.98
1K683-597 IF COVER 16.89
1 16.89
EN-EL4 Li-ion Battery Unit ()
Check, test and clean equipment
Labour Goodwill 0.00
1.00 0.00
Estimate Total
Estimate Total
Tax Amount
Freight cost
306.23
45.61
260.62


Pete.

[salubrious_k]

It's lucky they only charged you £0.00 for the Labour Goodwill, as opposed to the £81.04 they charged you for the Labour Billable!