To service or not service a rep

[Prsist]

Do you service your rep or throw it away when she dies? I had a Swiss Eta and an a7750 die on me within 6 months of purchasing. I try to buy Swiss movts thinking they would be easier to service. I might take a flyer on an Asian 21j for cheap (so far this is the most reliable movt I have owned). If I decide to keep a rep I'll do so with the intent of keeping her for a long, long time. Now any future purchase I factor in taking the watch to be serviced. I dont mind spending good money on something because I take care of my goods. I do have a problem throwing down $400 every time a rep breaks, I would be better off saving that money for a gen. I know some might say to just buy another rep but quality and accuracy do vary over time. The only problem is a local watch smith charges $275 for a complete service. I find this too high and wait times for forum members who service reps are long. Id like to know your opinions. Ultimately until I find a local rep friendly watch smith I'm in a quandry.

Has anyone found a dealer to sell reps with better movts (not dirty or bone dry?)

[nakortheblue]

You could check with your dealer if they will stilll fix it for you.

[nakortheblue]

Also, bear in mind that a7750 spare parts may not be readily available if replacement is needed.

[Jkay]

I understand that this forum's trusted watchsmiths are very very busy people, and their wait-time can be discouraging. They are masters of their craft, tho and a session with Zig is like a session with the God of watches. If your local guy is being a jerk and charging you blood money to service common ETA movements then I can understand how annoyed you must be, in this position.

[ryaku]

If it's a keeper i'll invest some money in a E7750/servicing otherwise sell it as broken watch or take it apart and sell spares.

[maxman]

Well It all depends, to repair or to service. If you really like a watch you should have It serviced If you dont want to be In the position to repair It. The other thing to look at Is the cost of gen vs rep. Take a UPO, they go for around $300.00, add $250 for a service and you have around $550.00 Invested. With a proper servicing It can last you many years. If you purchase a gen It will set you back about $2.500 or so. I guess It depends on how you look at It,good luck (ps) Does that servicing come with a reach around,If not, look elsewhere

[Jkay]

Good Lord ... not to be crude but I hope you got a reach-around with that $250 service on a plain vanilla ETA. That's $100 more than the most expensive watch repair guru I know of.

[daniel8888]

My local rep friendly watchsmith charges me 80Euros for a full service. Price above this range is ridiculous!

[FxrAndy]

That does sound quite expencive if that is for a simple ETA 28xx movement, if it was for an A7750 then it is still not cheep

what was it that you paid $250 for?

[krpster]

You could buy a new 28xx for less than that. Yikes!

[plaifender]

Really expensive to service a rep. Like KRPSTER said, you can get a new ETA movement for that much. Where are you located? If you're in europe.. i got some leads for you.. otherwise, not sure who else you can use besides the trusted forum dealers..

[Jkay]

You could buy a new 28xx for less than that. Yikes!

I bought a new bulk-packaged 2824 3 weeks ago for $110!

[panerai153]

My feelings are ,if you really like the watch, and it's going to be a keeper for a while, I would invest in the service. I sounds like the local guy wasn't really interested in your business, and possibly shot you a really high number to see if you were a mullet and were willing to take the bait. I realize that having one of the forum guys do your work is a fairly long drawn out process, but the results are worth it. Ouside of sending your watch to one of the forum members, I think I would try to find another local watchmaker that would work on reps. If you vlive in a fairly large city, check the yellow pages for watchmakers. Stay away from the AD's and big jewelry stores. try to find and older guy who has a little stand alone shop. Ii believe that there are lots and lots of well trained watchmakers all over the world who are greatly underworked, many of them are now just battery changers for quartz watch owners.

Just my dos centavos

[Prsist]

My feelings are ,if you really like the watch, and it's going to be a keeper for a while, I would invest in the service. I sounds like the local guy wasn't really interested in your business, and possibly shot you a really high number to see if you were a mullet and were willing to take the bait. I realize that having one of the forum guys do your work is a fairly long drawn out process, but the results are worth it. Ouside of sending your watch to one of the forum members, I think I would try to find another local watchmaker that would work on reps. If you vlive in a fairly large city, check the yellow pages for watchmakers. Stay away from the AD's and big jewelry stores. try to find and older guy who has a little stand alone shop. Ii believe that there are lots and lots of well trained watchmakers all over the world who are greatly underworked, many of them are now just battery changers for quartz watch owners.

Just my dos centavos

I live in Stl, Mo Usa. Place wanted $275 to service a Evelyn 1911 I had. I have an IWC aquatimer I am on the fence about.