Paid $450 for a CLA on my Nikon F2 and it came back worse

Sent my Nikon F2 to a shop in Chicago for a standard CLA and they returned it with shutter capping at 1/1000 and oil on the blades. Took three calls to get them to even look at it again. Has anyone else dealt with a repair shop that clearly rushed through the job?

2 comments

2 Comments

james5331mo ago

Man that's rough but honestly not surprising these days. Had almost the same thing happen with a shop in Portland a few years back paid 350 for a CLA on my F3 and got it back with the self timer stuck and a shutter that dragged at low speeds. You gotta get on the phone and ask them specifically to run a shutter test in front of you or send a video. Most places will do that if you push a little. Also check the seals yourself next time before you even open the box - if they didn't bother with those the whole job was a hack job. For 450 bucks they should have cleaned every single contact point and lubed the right spots not just dumped oil where it doesn't go. Take photos of the oil on the blades right now and email them before you send it back so they can't say you did it. If they give you more hassle name drop the shop here so we all know to avoid it.

paige_martin1mo ago

450 bucks and it comes back with oil on the blades? That's insane. I'd be livid. Sounds like they handed it off to someone who doesn't know what they're doing, maybe a new tech who just wanted to get it out the door. Shutter capping at 1/1000 is a sign they didn't even run a basic test, just slapped it together and called it done. You'd think for that price they'd at least look at it through a loupe before sending it back. They probably figured most people wouldn't notice until they shot a roll, which is a pretty scummy way to run a business.