Some car manufacturers now offer free servicing etc on their models. Raises an interesting (to me anyway) hypothetical question. Would you pay say £3,000 more for a submariner for example if it came with “free” lifetime servicing? Not sure I would but curious the thoughts of the herd....
Servicing package you mean?
Probably not worth it as most watches are relatively inexpensive to service - a Rolex is £400 every 5-10 years so only £40-£80 a year, or a few quid a month. Compared to a car which will often be £500+ a year and so worth splitting into more manageable monthly chunks of £50, etc.
Personally no due to how infrequently a watch needs servicing. I could find better uses for that lump sum of cash and just pay the service cost as and when is necessary.
Rolex is probably a bad example for this scenario given how infrequently they need servicing (every 5 years?) and using your example I def wouldn't be prepared to pay 50% of the watch value on top to cover servicing.
Ok what if lifetime servicing was replaced with lifetime warranty....Originally Posted by Gerald Genta
Good question but no due to reasons mentioned plus I don't want the salaried employee of the AD trying to hard sell the plan while buying. Tourneau have some extended insurance/warranty plan which the my contact always tried to sell me. He was honest enough to admit that it was the only way he could benefit from selling. He did not get any commission from sales but did get some from the plans they were selling
One side effect of car manufacturers offering service packages (£500 for the first 5 years’ servicing being one offer we took up), is that they have worked harder to extend the service intervals. £500 for five annual services sounds incredibly good value on a £40k 4x4, but it was actually for one 3-month checkup and 2 services.
If it made watch manufacturers extend the time between services, maybe that would be a good thing. Rolex seem pretty good on that score but some others less so.
I personally wouldn't pay for it as I don't think I have ever kept a watch that long to benefit from such a deal.
I could see it working with the higher end brands were the buyers are less likely to flip their watches and keep them for a lifetime.
Most WIS's (well the ones here) seem to change their watches like they change their underwear. Probably that is the reason they often moan about being skint and the cost of watches.
I never sell and for me the deal has an attraction especially as a recently serviced Rolex with all its stickers and paper work adds to the value.
It has to be considered a long term total cost of ownership arrangement so may well appeal to those who hold on to their stuff.
The biggest drawback is age. I read somewhere that the average Rolex owner is 63 years so they will probably be pushing up daisies in a few years from now, hardly a VFM equation.
Do you trade? Or does it just make you wet when you see a watch you own go up in value.
I never sell and I never trade, so in reality the value is irrelevant. However buying something that is better than money in the bank makes it easier to justify buying to the wife. If I pop my clogs, she can sell the things.
Are clogs worth much mick ?
Fancy having to justify any purchase to your wife ?
What’s the world coming to...
yes ..an easy yes.
Last edited by Ozyjohn; 30th April 2019 at 06:47.
No for me since I only service my watches when they need to be serviced. And as already mentioned, there's a real chance that I will sell the watch before it needs serviced.
Can’t help smiling at the ‘extended service intervals’ comments being applied to watches, they’re totally different to cars. The perception that Rolex are doing something novel to make their watches run longer without service is also a misconception based on a statement they made about Rolex owners typically having their watches serviced after 10 years. Possibly Rolex are more rigorous with the lubrication when the movements are assembled and that gives them an advantage, but I can’t see any other reason why a Rolex needs servicing less often than other good quality watches.
Although recent developments by the likes of Omega do reduce lubrication requirements and could potentially extend service intervals - or did I read it wrong somewhere ?
Well despite Omega making original claims of 10-15 year servicing upon the initial introduction of the co-axial movements, they still stuck to the 3-5 year recommended servicing.
Rolex are the first big brand that I know of that is stating a lot longer service intervals on their own website, which suggests a high level of confidence:
"To guarantee continued accuracy and waterproofness, Rolex recommends that you periodically return your watch to an Official Rolex Retailer or Service Centre for professional servicing. It is recommended to service your Rolex approximately every 10 years depending on the model and real-life usage."
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