Have you sent your camera to Nikon for broken AF?

[FocusDave]

I'm in a position where I can purchase an as-is D40 body locally for a very low amount because the current owner says that "it won't autofocus." Anyone have a similar issue and send it in to Nikon for repair? How much did it cost you? If the cost isn't too high I might consider getting it fixed and reselling it for some profit, but not if it's only going to make me like $20.

 

[Mach0]

What lens was your friend using?
If you are looking to flip the camera for profit, this camera is relatively cheap..... You won't make anything. As a matter of fact, I'm more inclined toward you losing out on the deal.

 

[photo_joe]

I wonder if they have an auto focus lens that works with the D40, but my guess would be the cost to fix would not be worth it. Since the D40 doesn't have an auto focus motor built in it could be the lens being the problem.

 

[FocusDave]

I had a similar notion, that since the camera doesn't have a built-in autofocus motor that it could be specific to the lens. The only way for me to test that theory would be to use one of my known-to-be-functional AF lenses with the camera.

My hunch was also that the cost of repair would end up keeping me from making any real profit on a flip.

 

[Mach0]

I wonder if they have an auto focus lens that works with the D40, but my guess would be the cost to fix would not be worth it. Since the D40 doesn't have an auto focus motor built in it could be the lens being the problem.

AF-S

 

[molested_cow]

If it is indeed due to a non-AF-S lens, you can tell your friend that you will fix his camera for $50, and I will be happy to take a cut too.

 

[FocusDave]

Dang, looks like I slept on it and someone else got it. Oh well, should have jumped on it.

 

[photo_joe]

Yeah I would check it with a known good AFS lens and see if it works. If it does then you'd be good to go, or it could just need to have the contacts cleaned. Could be something simple or something expensive kind of hard to tell. How much is he asking for the camera?

If it's dirt cheap it might be worth it to take a look at it and see if it's something simple, worst case put it on ebay for parts to recoup your cost if it isn't something simple.

 

[FocusDave]

Funny story: I gave up on this because the guy had already sold it to someone. I walked into work today and found a D40 sitting there. Sure enough, my boss swooped on the camera. As expected, the autofocus works perfectly fine; the issue seems to lie somewhere in the aperture mechanism, though. If you have any input, check out the other thread I started (http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/nikon/275342-help-diagnosing-malfunctioning-d40.html#post2521412).