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Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 4:56 pm
by Bident
I recently downloaded the newly available online Owner's Handbook for the C60 Mk3 GMT as I am possibly considering purchase. I was surprised to see that CW's policy for the 60 Month warranty has changed. The Handbook now says one must have a recommended service at "3-4 years" and if the watch has an issue, CW will first check its service record. If say, in year five, the watch's movement breaks and you have not had it serviced, CW says it will not cover the cost of repair. This is different from the Handbook I received in August 2018 when I purchased my blue C65 Trident Diver. I have attached screenshots from both Handbooks below. Does anyone know if this new policy only applies to the watches being released this year, or will CW implement this requirement retroactively for all watches currently under the 60 month warranty? I would think the former, but I have not researched this issue until now.
From C60 Mk3 Manual.png
From 2018 C65 Trident Diver Manual.png

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 5:25 pm
by Robotaz
Hmm. 60 months would be fairly worthless if you’ve already paid to service it. They can inspect it for wear, charge you to fix it, and basically never have a claim afterward. Sneaky.

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 5:26 pm
by H0rati0
Hmm, hedgy. Not so confident now, seemingly. :problem:

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 5:39 pm
by Macdaz
Hmmmm. So really a 60/48 now. I can't imagine I'll send a watch for a precautionary service at four years to preserve the final year of the warranty. I think I'll play the odds with that one!

But on the flip side, the same would apply to a car warranty. If you hadn't maintained the service schedule you'd get short shrift if you tried to claim on the warranty.

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 5:42 pm
by Essex Paul
Looks like there are now so many reliability issues they're having to cover themselves.
At least service and repair costs are, from what I’ve seen, very reasonable compared to the big brands.

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 5:55 pm
by what-time-is-it
It's now a 4 year guarantee, unless they include a free service.

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 5:57 pm
by Mikkei4
Can "If it ain't broke don't try to fix it" be applied to watch servicing?

I wonder what caused this step change from CW? Because they've had to perform more repairs than expected within the 5 years on watches that haven't been serviced and then decided to reduce the incidences of costs to them and also get some increased finance coming in from additional servicing?

Looks to me from recent posts that they can't provide timely turnaround with the current levels of services and repairs so how will they cope with potential additional service requests now and in the future. The first batches of C60 Trident MK2s are over 3-4 years old now but still within 60months - tough luck to the owners of those watches that haven't had them serviced as your C60 Trident is no longer under warranty !

Should the 60/60 be changed to 60/36-47?

A question for the London GTG ?

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:02 pm
by Mikkei4
Macdaz wrote: Sun Jun 09, 2019 5:39 pm Hmmmm. So really a 60/48 now. I can't imagine I'll send a watch for a precautionary service at four years to preserve the final year of the warranty. I think I'll play the odds with that one!

But on the flip side, the same would apply to a car warranty. If you hadn't maintained the service schedule you'd get short shrift if you tried to claim on the warranty.
Yes but with a car warranty you've known from purchase date that you HAVE to have it serviced every 12 months to retain your warranty. That's not so for these watches as it was previously a recommendation not compulsory.

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:11 pm
by Macdaz
It can't be changed retrospectively as that would be breach of contract. The clauses in your original paperwork are your contract and cannot be arbitrarily changed by either party. So If you've got a document with the old rules. The old rules apply to that watch.

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:14 pm
by Mikkei4
I thought I'd better check the situation with Omega's 5 year warranty - full service every 5-8 years so a full 5 year warranty, although I'm sure their service will be much more expensive than a CW service.

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:23 pm
by Mikkei4
On their website.....
60-month (5-year) movement guarantee
It’s extremely unlikely that your watch will ever develop a mechanical fault as it has a premium grade, Swiss-made movement at its heart. However, if it does develop a fault within five years, we’ll be happy to repair or replace the movement.

You can return the watch to us for diagnosis either by ordering a returns pack or, if you’re outside the UK, by requesting a refund for your shipping charges from our Customer Services team.

Quartz battery replacements are not considered a movement fault.

Not all mechanical issues are considered faults. We recommend regular watch Servicing at 3-4 year intervals to keep your watch in good working order:

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:35 pm
by H0rati0
Mikkei4 wrote: Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:14 pm I thought I'd better check the situation with Omega's 5 year warranty - full service every 5-8 years so a full 5 year warranty, although I'm sure their service will be much more expensive than a CW service.
I do not accept this 3-4 year service recommendation (seemingly now mandatory) even if wearing a watch continuously, which most of us do not. Modern synthetic oils do not break down, though they do need to be changed at interval due to debris - debris that under normal use should only build up from running. 5-8 years seems much more realistic from my experience and still very much on the safe side if the watch is worn infrequently.

Nor do I agree that one can compare car servicing - way too many differing operating factors.

I also would be very concerned with sending a watch to CW for service given the horror stories of late - not just the length of time, but more the standard of repairs coming back to owners.

Black mark that has to be weighed against future purchases.

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:54 pm
by kiter65
I’ve had the pleasure of owning 15+ CW’s over the years but not had one for a couple of years now....I have been looking at the C65 diver, which I really do like, can I risk that amount of money ( which is a lot to me ) with all the issues at the moment and now a shift in the warranty ?
Not sure :?

Re: Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2019 11:50 pm
by Lavaine
So the 60 month warranty is now a 48 month warranty, with a further 12 month service guarantee if CW services your watch. Considering the recent stories of 6 month + service times, really as little as a 6 month service guarantee after your 48 month service. A huge backwards move for CW considering how many other companies are moving to 60 month warranties.

60/60 is now false advertising. Another black mark on CW after sales service.

Change in 60 Month Warranty Policy?

Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2019 1:02 am
by Robotaz
3/4 years? I thought more about this. No professional business is going to say, “maybe 3 years. Maybe 4 years.” Which is it? The manual seriously says 3-4 years?

Their attorney was not consulted on this. That’s for certain. Anyone who deals in contracts knows you can’t do that.