Tag Heuer service question...

[eddieo]

I bought a TH Aquaracer used from Tourneau in 2017 ($1500, BTW). Watch is great but always ran fast. In 2021 I wore in Aruba and didn't notice that I failed the screw the crown down tightly after setting it to local time so, no surprise, it got water in it. It was still running fine (it seemed) but there was condensation in it so I brought it in for service. Tourneau sent the watch to Tag for the work and this was the quote:

Service Charges for Necessary Work: $759.00

Movement Parts $0.00 Necessary
Crown $39.00 Necessary
Tube $8.00 Necessary
Dial $240.00 Necessary
Hands $57.00 Necessary
Water Test $0.00 Necessary
Gasket $0.00 Necessary
Ultrasonic Cleaning $0.00 Necessary
Miscellaneous ADJUST CLASP/FOLDER $0.00 Necessary
Miscellaneous RE-ENGRAVE MODEL/SERIAL# $0.00 Necessary
Spring Bar Insert $0.00 Necessary
Complete Service $415.00 Necessary

Complete Maintenance of Movement, which is accompanied by a two-year service warranty.
This full service includes disassembly of all watch parts, ultrasonic cleaning of movement parts, lubrication of parts, replacement of gaskets, all adjustments to movement parts, demagnetization, and full Quality Control testing to ensure that watch is functioning to factory specifications.

Note: All Necessary work must be approved, to restore the function of your watch to factory specification.

Optional and cosmetic services to enhance the look of your timepiece are available for an additional fee.
Each of these services is individually priced and you may opt to take one, several, all or none. If applicable, the charges for these optional services are below:

-Crystal $94.00 Optional

The timeframe for this repair is estimated at approximately 12 weeks from date of estimate approval.

The watch came back good as new (the estimate had taken 3 weeks BTW, the repairs another 3 weeks or so), but it still ran fast, enought that I was resetting it every couple of weeks. Just before the two-year service warranty would be up I took it in to be recalibrated at the end of February. Mid-March they informed me they were again sending it to Tag, and a couple of weeks later I got another quote:

Service Charges for Necessary Work: $525.00

Crown $0.00 Necessary
Tube $0.00 Necessary
Water Test $0.00 Necessary
Gasket $0.00 Necessary
Ultrasonic Cleaning $0.00 Necessary
Complete Service $525.00 Necessary

It has taken me a couple of weeks to get an answer as to why another "Complete Service" isn't covered by their two-year service warranty and this is what they say:

Case, Bracelet & Bezel Scratched Crystal, Crown & Case back Scratched Crown/Tube Threads Stripped Crown Dented Movement Magnetized Warranty Void Due to Damage/Shock Received. This repair will not be covered under warranty due to the impact.

I don't doubt the watch has scratches; I wear it every day. I may have obsessively tightened the crown down given my Aruba experience but I never dropped it or subjected it to any "impact". Wouldn't the level of damage they describe come from some memorable event(s)? How would the movement get magnetized??

 

[asusundevils1971]

Are you concerned about the price to repair or the fact the movement is magnetized?. You purchased a used TAG six years ago so warranty is long gone. You made a mistake not screwing in the crown and let in the beautiful movement killer called salt water. So that would void any warranty anyway for making that mistake. Would pull the trigger and let TAG overhaul your baby and it will look like new when you get it back. And stay away from Aruba when you get it back.

 

[Thatwatchguy]

This is why I stopped buying gens in the 2-5 k range, some reps are as good and cost less that a service!

 

[eBoy]

That's the thing about luxury gens that bothers me the most: Not only have prices left the realm of what is believeable anymore (so many watches now cost 10k or more that not even 10 years ago cost 60 to 75% less) but once out of warranty, you also have to pay fantasy prices for service & repair as well... For example, Omega chrono basic service is now almost €1k in Europe. That's almost the price of a standard moonwatch, which was around €1500 some 15 years ago if I'm not mistaken (and is now is €7-9k, soon to move past 10k)... Absolutely ridiculous....

And these "luxury watch" companies wonder why reps of their watches are becoming more and more popular (and more sophisticated along the way).

I for one have the expensive gens now that I always wanted and my future purchases in the price category of 3-4k+ will be super selective. I sold most of my mid-tier gens (0.5k to 2k range) and for the time being, high-end reps can and low-end gens for up to 500 or 600 max can more than enough satisfy my horological urges...

 

[eBoy]

Are you concerned about the price to repair or the fact the movement is magnetized?. You purchased a used TAG six years ago so warranty is long gone. You made a mistake not screwing in the crown and let in the beautiful movement killer called salt water. So that would void any warranty anyway for making that mistake. Would pull the trigger and let TAG overhaul your baby and it will look like new when you get it back. And stay away from Aruba when you get it back.

You have a point here. I think the main mistake the OP did was not bringing it to an independent watchmaker.

Whatever car I drive, if it's out of warranty, the last place I'll take it to is a factory branch or dealership. I have mostly driven BMWs in the last 30 years and usually bringing my already-out-of-warranty car for a service or repair to an independent specialist would not only cost 30 to 40% less, but also the quality of the work was significantly better...

 

[mclarendude]

As with reps, you don't necessarily have to go to the maker for a service. Plenty of other watchmakers that can tackle this job for less.

 

[didjital7]

I think you guys are missing it.... he sent it to tag twice. The second time they wouldn't warrantee the first service..... which had a 2 year guarantee.

 

[wisedennis]

I think you guys are missing it.... he sent it to tag twice. The second time they wouldn't warrantee the first service..... which had a 2 year guarantee.

Yes the second time quoted $525 because there is dents and magnetized are ridiculous..

 

[asusundevils1971]

I think you guys are missing it.... he sent it to tag twice. The second time they wouldn't warrantee the first service..... which had a 2 year guarant First is the 415.00 complete service that includes taking the watch apart and seeing what is good, what will need replaced , cleaning, checking the movement gaskets and polish or buff bracelet and case. Some parts are covered with that service. Now the other 344.00 for parts that had to be replaced and were not covered. The 525.00 is to do another complete service. Guess prices have went up since the last time it was there. The two year warranty covers the new parts they installed. And they deemed that those parts are still good and won't need replaced.

 

[asusundevils1971]

First is the 415.00 complete service that includes taking the watch apart and seeing what is good, what will need replaced , cleaning, checking the movement gaskets and polish or buff bracelet and case. Some parts are covered with that service. Now the other 344.00 for parts that had to be replaced and were not covered. The 525.00 is to do another complete service. Guess prices have went up since the last time it was there. The two year warranty covers the new parts they installed. And they deemed that those parts are still good and won't need replaced.

 

[asusundevils1971]

Just get the watch back from TAG and do what @eBoy said. Find a watchmaker who will buff and polish the case and bracelet back to looking close to new again. Also get him to also service the movement and pressure test the case. Will be a lot cheaper since TAG wasn't going to replace any parts.

 

[asusundevils1971]

https://www.tagheuer.com/assets/downloads/TAG_Heuer-Services-Pricelist_USA.pdf

 

[eddieo]

Are you concerned about the price to repair or the fact the movement is magnetized?. You purchased a used TAG six years ago so warranty is long gone. You made a mistake not screwing in the crown and let in the beautiful movement killer called salt water. So that would void any warranty anyway for making that mistake. Would pull the trigger and let TAG overhaul your baby and it will look like new when you get it back. And stay away from Aruba when you get it back.

The watch warranty may be long over, but the 2 year service warranty is still in effect. I don't care about scratches; I only sent it in because it (still) runs fast. I never damaged the watch since the repair and service, and I'm wondering how normal wear could lead to demagentizing and all the other noted "damage". I'm gonna just have them send me my fast-running watch and live with it.

 

[asusundevils1971]

The watch warranty may be long over, but the 2 year service warranty is still in effect. I don't care about scratches; I only sent it in because it (still) runs fast. I never damaged the watch since the repair and service, and I'm wondering how normal wear could lead to demagentizing and all the other noted "damage". I'm gonna just have them send me my fast-running watch and live with it.

The two year warranty is for the new parts they exchanged. The price they quoted you now is for another complete service. When you received the watch from TAG two years ago and the movement was still running fast. Should have sent it back to TAG letting them know the movement is still running fast and for them to fix it. Which they should have done the first time they had it. Also let TAG know you DON'T want another complete service done. You just want the movement to run like it did when you purchased it. Did you take any pictures of the watch before sending it off?. And ask them to send you pictures and explain how they came to the conclusion your watch is "damaged".

 

[d.brocke]

Are you concerned about the price to repair or the fact the movement is magnetized?. You purchased a used TAG six years ago so warranty is long gone. You made a mistake not screwing in the crown and let in the beautiful movement killer called salt water. So that would void any warranty anyway for making that mistake. Would pull the trigger and let TAG overhaul your baby and it will look like new when you get it back. And stay away from Aruba when you get it back.

I think the OP has a ( justifiable ) complaint that this wasn't covered during the first TAG servicing, nor does it seem to be covered under the 2 year warranty given after the servicing, now requiring yet another more costly servicing invoice.

 

[d.brocke]

I own several TAG models, ranging from the SEL, 2000, 6000, Link and WAJ21XX series Aquaracers and I've yet to send any of them in to Tag Heuer for servicing.
When I need case/bracelet parts renewed/replaced I've got "a guy" in Switzerland that always comes through.
( but I'll admit some of those new replacement parts are becoming both increasingly harder to find and increasingly more costly.)

ChroXn_o-24 is another option.

 

[d.brocke]

https://www.tagheuer.com/assets/downloads/TAG_Heuer-Services-Pricelist_USA.pdf

I could sure use a pair of the date discs for the Calibre 5 (SW200-1) in the WAJ21XX Aquaracers.
That proprietary date @ 9h is extremely elusive in the wild.

 

[asusundevils1971]

I think the OP has a ( justifiable ) complaint that this wasn't covered during the first TAG servicing, nor does it seem to be covered under the 2 year warranty given after the servicing, now requiring yet another more costly servicing invoice.

The movement should have been fixed when it was at TAG the first time. When the OP received the watch back and it was still running fast he should have sent it back right away and let them know the same problem still exists. The $344.00 he paid was for parts that needed to be replaced. That was on top of the $415.00 for the complete service. The parts that were replaced are under the two year warranty and TAG isn't charging him for those parts if they need to be replaced. Now TAG has it for the second time and they want to charge the OP for another complete service. The OP doesn't care about the scratches " his words". Said to the OP to get a hold of TAG and tell them he doesn't want another complete service but to just fix the movement.

 

[asusundevils1971]

I could sure use a pair of the date discs for the Calibre 5 (SW200-1) in the WAJ21XX Aquaracers.
That proprietary date @ 9h is extremely elusive in the wild.

Have a Heuer 980.014 and I am trying to find an original jubilee bracelet. The original one I have looks like it has been run over by a dump truck a few hundred times lol. In all fairness the band is 40 plus years old and can't be repaired. Getting sick of wearing it with a leather band. That is how I found RWI looking for a replacement bracelet. The quality of the cases, bracelets, crystals, dials and movements the factories are producing is scary good.

 

[d.brocke]

Have a Heuer 980.014 and I am trying to find an original jubilee bracelet. The original one I have looks like it has been run over by a dump truck a few hundred times lol. In all fairness the band is 40 plus years old and can't be repaired. Getting sick of wearing it with a leather band. That is how I found RWI looking for a replacement bracelet. The quality of the cases, bracelets, crystals, dials and movements the factories are producing is scary good.

Agreed.
Search for Rlx parts is what sent me off to stumble across RWI.
Best dayum place I ever "stumbled" across.