Sony repair bill $6600.00

[Dean Sensui]

Originally Posted by Mervin Langley

PMW-EX1 ,UNIT, LENS
A1363310D 2 1,964.23 3,928.46

The formatting of your quote is very hard to read. According to this, they're charging you twice for a lens unit.

[Mark OConnell]

"The formatting of your quote is very hard to read. According to this, they're charging you twice for a lens unit."

That's what it looks like to me also.

[Duncan Craig]

$135 an hour! You'd think they were brain surgeons!!

[John Peterson]

I was under the impression Sony was not allowing such authorized service centers to do EX repairs. Good news if they are.

======================

I didn't actually ask them about the EX1, maybe you are right. Worth a call though. I really like them. They repaired my VX2000.

John

[Dave Blackhurst]

Originally Posted by Mervin Langley

Here is my bill from Sony. In case anyone thinks I am making this up. I did however have the amount wrong its actually $6340.00
(in US$)
Ext. Price
(in US$)
DEPOT_LABOR 5 135.00 675.00
Depot Labor
A1539605E 1 1,001.91 1,001.91
PMW-EX1 ,UNIT, LENS
A1363310D 2 1,964.23 3,928.46
MOUNTED C.BOARD, DPR-289 COMPL
A1363020A 1 364.89 364.89
MOUNTED C.BOARD, EC-62
HANDLING 20.00
INSURANCE 19.50
Subtotal: 6,009.76
Tax: 330.55
Grand Total: 6,340.31

Is it me, or are they charging for "2" lens assemblies at 1964.23 each?? That's a $2k overcharge right there... and I see a 5 hour bench charge (5x135 = $675 labor), which seems high - a complete teardown shouldn't exceed an hour or so I'd think, once you've done it once or twice, and re-assembly about the same, plus I presume testing and calibration... but what is that 1001.91??? They should either have a flat charge, or an hourly, this looks like BOTH??

Presuming both those charges are erroneous (and I can only suspect they are), that's nearly half of the "bill", still painful, but there's $2300 in PARTS... I presume that's Sonys standard charges for those parts. Some shops do enough volume to get parts at a discount, and MAY pass that along, or there are a couple distributors that will discount a bit in small quantities if you have a qualified tech available.

I'd ask really carefully about that bill, and I'd suggest you call around with the estimate and see if any other reputable shops will do it for a better price. It's absurd IMO to ask for more than a new camera for the repair of a gently used one, especially when there are other brands out there, and it's a safe bet that a peeved customer will shop another brand first if they are offended.

[Chris Medico]

No. They aren't charging for 2 lenses. They are charging for 2 circuit board assemblies. Regardless its ridiculously expensive.

A1363310D 2 1,964.23 3,928.46
MOUNTED C.BOARD, DPR-289 COMPL

[Richard Crowley]

If you look closely at the breakdown, you will see that they are charging for TWO "PMW-EX1 ,UNIT, LENS A1363310D ". How many lenses does you camera have. Is it 3D or something? At $1,964.23 each that is $3,928.46, or roughly 2/3 of the total bill. Something is really screwed up here.

[Dave Blackhurst]

Looks like two lens assemblies and TWO "depot labor" charges... and if the 5 hour charge is correct, it's about HALF of the second "depot labor" charge... and I still have some doubts about 5 hours... 2+ hours to tear a camera down, replace components another 2+ to reassemble/calibrate/adjust?

Don't know what's going on with the "bill", but I'd squawk before even thinking about authorizing the repair.

[Marcus Durham]

Originally Posted by Chris Medico

No. They aren't charging for 2 lenses. They are charging for 2 circuit board assemblies. Regardless its ridiculously expensive.

A1363310D 2 1,964.23 3,928.46
MOUNTED C.BOARD, DPR-289 COMPL

There's a popular type of headphone used in the radio industry. One of the reasons they are so popular is because they are modular and the manufacturer sells every part as a spare. So unlike other headphones if something breaks you can just buy the spare part and carry on. Indeed I've had my pair for nearly 10 years now.

Someone on a forum priced up how much it would cost to build your own set of headphones from the parts. From memory it worked out at 3 times the price of buying a ready assembled pair.

I'd be fascinated to know how much an EX1 would cost if you bought all the parts direct from Sony. Perhaps someone with access to the price lists could work it out?