When the Cost of Service Exceeds the "Value" of a Watch

[Ryan]

I've just received the overhaul, cleaning, and repair estimates for the two watches I sent in for service a couple of weeks ago. If I consent to work on the Hamilton, costs will exceed its new purchase price by about $100. I could even buy another Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical at full MSRP for less than the estimate, but it was given to me by my wife a few years ago and I'm sentimental. She'd probably tell me to just buy another one if I still like the watch. But if I did that and wanted to keep it for the long run, I'd still be paying someone hundreds of dollars down the road to maintain it. Right? I'm not sure what I'll do yet. Buy a brand new one now and then deal with this again in a few years... What are your thoughts? What would you do, and if you buy affordable watches, how do you/will you approach the cost of maintenance when the cost could equal or exceed the value of the watch?

[Der Amf]

Yeah I've done £x + £x = £x a couple of times. If it were a current model I definitely wouldn't - I would park the sentimental object in a drawer and plough on with getting a new one.

[watchdaddy1]

I just sent 2 Vostok N1 Rockets in for service & repair & they want 300.00 USD a piece to fix them....$600 USD, "your FN crazy I told them there not Rolex's"...

[tribe125]

What are your thoughts?

I'll sell you a quartz one.

But you raise an interesting question. Watch-fanciers are open to thinking of quartz watches as semi-disposable, but often point to the 'legacy factor' of mechanicals. It's hard to make the case for 'legacy' all the time that a replacement is cheaper than a service.

There are two questions, really - service costs while replacements are available, and service costs when a replacement is no longer available. The second question is the easier of the two - either you think it's worth it or you don't. The first question depends on the level of emotional attachment, and whether that triumphs over reason.

In your situation, I would probably have it serviced, even if it makes no sense in economic terms.

[93EXCivic]

Who do you use to do the service?

Sounds like you sound find a cheaper place.

[OhDark30]

I've been on both sides of this question, lol
Used to wear quartz watches so cheap, it was cheaper to buy a new one than change the battery.
And yes, sub £30 Soviet watches that on the face of it, cost more than their value to service.
But.
Couldn't find modern watches even at several times the price that I liked - so watch + service = still a total bargain
(heck, often my straps cost more than the watches

[skywatch]

For me it depends on the watch and its history plus emotional attachment. I keep inheritance watches and gifts running, or safely in storage. Just two weeks ago I decided to spend over $300 doing a service and overhaul of a beautiful 1968 Longines Ultra-Chron that I found for $200 at an estate sale. It had no history with me, not a gift or anything, but I really want to see that beauty sliding along in its high-beat goodness. On the other hand, I may let my more affordable watches run for years without service. Since they don't get used daily it might be a decade or two and I'll decide later. I have a guy who cleans simple movements for about $85, so that puts many of those watches right on the edge of the tipping point, but I don't know if I would take the more difficult ones to him.

[Seriously]

I just chuck it in the bin

.....after all ... It is just a watch , isn't it CFR ? .............

[FuzzyB]

Since that watch has sentimental value, I'll toss out another option. It's still in production and new costs cheaper than the service cost, right? 10 years down the road, it may no longer be available. Therefore, I'd say buy a new one and stick the original in the drawer. When it comes to service the new one, if it is still available and servicing is still as much as the new one, buy another one. Why? Because when it is out of production, you will then have at least one newer copy of the watch that you can use as a donor if you ever need parts for the original.

[Ryan]

Since that watch has sentimental value, I'll toss out another option. It's still in production and new costs cheaper than the service cost, right? 10 years down the road, it may no longer be available. Therefore, I'd say buy a new one and stick the original in the drawer. When it comes to service the new one, if it is still available and servicing is still as much as the new one, buy another one. Why? Because when it is out of production, you will then have at least one newer copy of the watch that you can use as a donor if you ever need parts for the original.

Solid points all around. FuzzyB and others make a good case for buying new and that's probably what I'll do. I like the idea of having the original ready for donor duty, and maybe I'll even find a good, local watchmaker in the future who's willing to do the partial repair/timing on the cheap.