Nikon “refurbished” - yes or no?

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laurapasketphotog68

laurapasketphotog68

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I am contemplating purchasing the 70-200mm 2.8E FL ED VR and Nikon is offering it refurbished at about a $400 discount. As far as I can tell, the warranty goes from one year down to 90 days which is concerning as I will obviously not know why Nikon received my lens back and what they did to it to remedy any issues with it. Any recommendations or knowledge on buying refurbished direct from Nikon would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
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In the USA for now, new lenses have a 5 year warranty. (This could change at any time, back to the base warranty of 1 year). That said, I don't think that a $400 discount on that lens is enough to warrant the chance. We really don't know the history of refurbished. It could be a warranty return that had problems and was replaced with a new lens. It could be a "defect" that was returned to the dealer. It could be a lens that was returned to the dealer with a claimed defect so the buyer could obtain a refund. Once a lens is sold, it can't be sold as new if returned and I'd bet most dealers return these to Nikon as defective for credit. They are checked and then sold as refurbs. Many have had good buying experiences as you will likely hear. Others not so good. My first 70-200 f2.8 (the original) went back for repair 5 times under warranty until Nikon finally replaced it with a new one. I was very glad I had the 5 year warranty. Those early ones had a bad ground connection that was corrected and not an issue with the V2 or E versions.
The one thing that stays in my mind regarding refurbs is intermittent electronics. Having worked in the electronics field, the most frustrating repair is a component that drifts in and out of spec. Once you catch it, it's easy but the hard part is catching it when it's out of spec.
 
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I have looked at Nikon refurbished a number of times but I have never felt the savings justified giving up the 5 year warranty. Nikon also routinely offers 10% off refurbished lenses. It is difficult not knowing why the lens is considered refurbished and I agree with Warren D that the intermittent and difficult to diagnose issues would be my biggest concern.

I do own the 70-200 FL ED VR and it is a great lens!
 
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Sometime back I think Nikon stopped with the 5 year warranty or at least they were talking about it. Or maybe I'm just remembering something wrong...

At any rate, if they had a 1 year warranty on refurbished the same as the base warranty on new I'd be a whole lot more interested. Giving up 9 months warranty for a couple hundred bucks savings does not seem like a great trade to me.

On the other hand, you can save a few dollars so the answer really means how price sensitive each potential purchaser would be.

Jeff
 
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I buy most of my lenses used so the warranty part of the refurb deal doesn't bother me, I generally don't have warranties on my lenses anyway and though I've had a lens or two repaired over the years I've never had a warranty repair performed even on those lenses bought new. But to me at least, factory refurbs should be sold for a lot less than a new lens. It's still a used lens even if it's been back to the factory for a repair or alignment it still isn't new out of the box and straight off the assembly line. If they cut another 20% or so off the price of refurbs it would start looking really good to me but personally if I'm buying used gear I want to pay used gear prices and at those price points don't mind self insuring against down the road repairs though I've found they're rarely needed outside of damage I've done myself that wouldn't be covered by warranties anyway.

Bottom line, at lower price points I might buy refurbished lenses but have had very good luck buying used lenses at a fraction of the cost (including my 70-200mm f/2.8 E-FL) but I do make sure the seller has a good return policy in case it's got problems on arrival and for Nikon glass I make sure it's a US version so the repair centers will actually take a down the road repair if it's needed.
 
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For what it's worth, all refurbs are checked and meet factory specs before being sold. That said, I've only made one refurb pruchase ever, so I am far from a fountain of personal experience on the subject. :)
 
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laurapasketphotog68 said:
I am contemplating purchasing the 70-200mm 2.8E FL ED VR and Nikon is offering it refurbished at about a $400 discount. As far as I can tell, the warranty goes from one year down to 90 days which is concerning as I will obviously not know why Nikon received my lens back and what they did to it to remedy any issues with it. Any recommendations or knowledge on buying refurbished direct from Nikon would be appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...

This isn't exactly true. Yes, a new lens comes with a limited one-year warranty. But if you read the fine print on the paper warranty, you will see it requires registering the new lens with Nikon USA within 10 days of purchase to receive the extended 4 years of additional coverage.

You just need to decide if the extra $400 is worth the additional 4 year warranty coverage. ;)
 
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MartyD said:
I have looked at Nikon refurbished a number of times but I have never felt the savings justified giving up the 5 year warranty. Nikon also routinely offers 10% off refurbished lenses. It is difficult not knowing why the lens is considered refurbished and I agree with Warren D that the intermittent and difficult to diagnose issues would be my biggest concern.

I do own the 70-200 FL ED VR and it is a great lens!
Click to expand...
I would love to hear what you switched from when you bought the lens. The f4? Or an older version of the 2.8? Still on the fence. I currently have the f4.
 
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Amadeo Arts said:
This isn't exactly true. Yes, a new lens comes with a limited one-year warranty. But if you read the fine print on the paper warranty, you will see it requires registering the new lens with Nikon USA within 10 days of purchase to receive the extended 4 years of additional coverage.

You just need to decide if the extra $400 is worth the additional 4 year warranty coverage. ;)
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You do not need to register the lens to activate the additional coverage. That is merely a marketing ploy. Been there, done that. "Registered" my lens and when I contacted Service a few years later, they had no info on it. I told them I registered it and they said it was for marketing, all they needed was a copy of my receipt and the warranty card.
It appears Nikon USA is no longer offering the extra 4 years.
 
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laurapasketphotog68 said:
I would love to hear what you switched from when you bought the lens. The f4? Or an older version of the 2.8? Still on the fence. I currently have the f4.
Click to expand...
I have owned all 3 versions of the 70-200 f2.8 and the current E version is by far the best. Extremely sharp, it's been said this lens approached prime-level IQ. It takes TC's very well, I hardly see any loss of IQ with the 1.4TCEIII.
 
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Warren D said:
You do not need to register the lens to activate the additional coverage. That is merely a marketing ploy. Been there, done that. "Registered" my lens and when I contacted Service a few years later, they had no info on it. I told them I registered it and they said it was for marketing, all they needed was a copy of my receipt and the warranty card.
It appears Nikon USA is no longer offering the extra 4 years.
Click to expand...

I am simply stating the info on the warranty paper. This shows the warranty paper info from a lens purchase in February 2021.

Nikon warranty.jpg
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Over here you can get used Nikon lenses from reputable dealers with between 6 and 12 months warranty. Sounds like a better bet than what Nikon is offering as they are cheaper than the Nikon refurb price.
 
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