Howdy,

I keep hearing the word "CLA" when people talk about Leica's. What exactly is a "CLA"?

I hear it like "How much does a CLA cost?", "Do I really need a CLA?"

Please enlighten me!

See ya!

-- Mike Foster (mike567@acgecorp.com), April 06, 2001

Answers

Cleaned, Lubed, Adjusted

-- Jim Shields (jim.shields@tasis.ch), April 06, 2001.

My 3F stopped functioning at the tail end of a trip to India. I had it CLA'ed by Stephen Gandy at Camera Quest. The initial quote was $175.00. I sent the camera as the price seemed reasonable. I received an assessment that the camera was full of rust (?) and that to fix it would cost another $175.00. I forked the money over as I love that old girl although I thought rightly or wrongly that I was being gouged. The camera came back in tip-top shape. They did a top-notch job and it only took 3 weeks. I'm still a bit sore about the $350.00 but a comparable 3F in that condition would set me back a lot more.

CLA's by competent repair people are not cheap, but if you compare the cost to that of a new or used Leica, no matter what its pedigree, IMHO, they are worth it.

Jean-David

-- Jean-David Borges (jdborges@home.com), April 06, 2001.

CLA means that because the Leica is (C)herished, (L)oved, and (A) ppreciated, we send it to be (C)leaned, (L)ubricated, and (A)djusted.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), April 06, 2001.

Thanks! I know it now!

Nice one, Bob.

-- Mike Foster (mike567@acgecorp.com), April 06, 2001.