Clean Lube Adjust

Clean, Lube, Adjust

Should you pay for a CLA when you buy a used camera?
It's always a tough decision whether to get a camera repaired, especially when the cost of the repair is more than the cost of the camera. My advice to readers back when I was East Coast Editor ofCamera & Darkroommagazine was that itisworth itifyou intend to use the camera. Granted, you can "get lucky" and buy a camera that doesn't need a CLA, but the peace of mind is something that seems worth the expense, at least to me. For instance, I once paid $160 for a Canon Canonet rangefinder, when the going rate was about $60-$75. The reason? The one I purchased had just had a full $85 CLA. Now IknowI don't have to worry about it quitting on me, or about when I ought to have it serviced.
It doesn't seem to make sense to have the work done from a hardboiled economic standpoint. It's not worth it if you intend to try to get your money back out of the camera very soon. But consider that the closest thing yo...