My experience with Mark Hansen of Classic Camera Repair was unacceptable. In brief instead of fixing my Rolleiflex, he broke it.
My Rolleiflex is about 70 years old. When I first mailed Hansen my Rollieflex to be repaired (I had misloaded the film and jammed it), I asked him, since the camera is so old, whether it was worth fixing. He said yes, so I told him to go ahead and fix it.
I paid Hansen $170 + $20 return shipping. He did not fix it properly the first time--I had to jimmy the film advance crank to be able to release the shutter. (Hansen did not contest my experience with the malfunctioning film advance after I sent it back, thereby implicitly admitting that he didn't fix it properly) As per his instructions, I sent it back to Hansen. (This time he paid return shipping.) So Hansen attempted a second repair, which would not have been necessary had he fixed the camera the first time.
After I got the camera back from Hansen the second time, I shot another test roll. Two frames were partly double exposed, which I have posted. I emailed him scans of these two frames. His response was "As with all my warranty work, I will happily take a third look at it." Taking a look at it is absolutely not the same thing as fixing it!. (If his definition of repair is "taking a look at it", then he has an obligation to disclose that before he does any "repair" work.) I responded to his offer to "take a look at it" a third time, by demanding that he prove he would fix it by shooting a test roll after his third attempt to fix my Rolleiflex and emailing scans of all 12 frames. He refused. By causing double exposures, he rendered my Rolleiflex useless and worthless. Had he fixed it, it would be worth $380 to $600 on eBay, based on three listings of Rollieflexes of similar age with recent CLA's (see below for links). Plus I spent $72 on shipping the camera with insurance and shooting, developing and scanning two test rolls.
Hansen responded by refunding me $120 of the $190. He kept the remaining $70 on the grounds that he replaced the mirror and did some other work internally, even though he wrecked my camera.
By refunding me $120, Hansen implicitly admits that he did not fix my camera.
My response was to demand the $70 be refunded.
I also demanded that he reimburse me for the $72 I paid to ship the camera and shoot two test rolls since he broke my camera instead of fixing it. Finally, I demanded that Hansen pay me $500 (the average of three listings on eBay; see below for links) that my Rollei would have been worth had he fixed it, as I paid him to do.
I gave Hansen the option, instead of paying me $500, to pay the full cost of sending my camera to a competent Rolleiflex repair person of my choice--his/her cost, shipping and insurance both ways--presuming Hansen hadn't broken it beyond repair, in which case he owed me $500.
I Fedex'd Hansen my three demands; my letter was delivered to him and signed by him the morning of 4/17/17. I gave him a deadline of 48 hours to comply. By email, he refused to comply on 4/18..
In addition, Hansen made personal attacks against me in one of his emails, such as having a "Chaotic Life Style" and "seek some professional psychological help" and having the "The Dunning Kruger Affect."
Finally, Hansen has wasted many hours of my time.
Contact info:
(Note: Hansen is moving to Wisconsin.)
http://www.zeissikonrolleirepair.com
classiccamera@comcast.net
Mark Hansen
3585 S.E. Franklin St.
Portland, OR. 97202-1828
Llinks to three Rolleiflexes, of similar vintage as mine, on eBay that had recent CLA's:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROLLEIFLEX-T-6x6-camera-Tessar-3-5-WORKING-1940s-/121682638425?hash=item1c54d9b659:g:0aYAAOSwyQtVhGcC
$525
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolleiflex-3-5-MX-Type-2-EARLY-1950s-TLR-SUPER-SHOOTER-ZEISS-TESSAR-CLAd-/222450091617?hash=item33cb0f0661:g:ObsAAOSwCU1Y1LAI
$380
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CLA-D-ROLLEI-ROLLEIFLEX-TLR-6X6-AUTOMAT-MX-TYPE-1-W-ZEISS-T-75MM-3-5-TESSAR-/152429342949?hash=item237d7f30e5:g:dCIAAOSw44BYmy-I
$600 read more