The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I'm thinking of buying a 'new old stock' breitling dating from 2008. It's been in a safe until now and has never been worn or moved for years. It's from an AD so will come with a 2yr breitling warranty and the dealer will check that it runs to COSC standards before buying.

My worry is that it needs a service now, surely the oil in the moving parts will be long past it's best. The dealer says it will be in better condition than a watch that has been worn since 2008.

Does the watch need a service now? Even with a two year warranty the thought of having to service it in two years should it run poorly after the warranty runs out is off putting, normally I'd hope to have at least 5yrs before having to service it.

So should I walk away?
Buy it but expect to service it in two years?
Or insist on a service now/price adjustment to allow for it now?

I would buy it now, with a decent "price adjustment" and send it in to Breitling for a service a year and a half later complaining that it is not keeping good time and let them service it before the warranty is out
That's my evil side coming out of me now

_________________
"It is just a matter of time!"

It might not last a year and a half without damage - oils will be pretty broken down by now. I get wessa's point - with a 2 year warranty you can wait as long as possible because any damage caused would be fixed on Breitling's dime, but I hate to think what running the watch for that period might do to the movement.

If the watch had been sitting at the Ad this whole time in a safe, wouldn't the oils in the movement still be somewhat good considering the watch hadn't been running for 2 years? Just asking for my own knowledge. In any event, I hope you get a good deal on it. What model is it?

No. Oils break down at a predictable rate as they age, whether or not the watch was running is irrelevant to the aging process.

I actually am facing a very similar dilemma. Roff, you have a PM from me about this
I bought a NOS 2004 Omega watch in May 2012 with a 2 year warranty.
This means the watch is still under warranty for 5 more months or so.
The watch is by now nine years old and well and truly due for a service. Does it mean that I can try to get it serviced by Omega while still under warranty?
I guess this will also answer OP's question

_________________
"It is just a matter of time!"

Good to know.

According to Roff, stated here many times, the oils lubricating properties last max 7 years.
I have seen many comments from others on other forums "if it ain't broken, don't try to fix it"
In other words, let them run until they come to a grinding halt.
I tend to believe Roff though.
My problem is - I will have about 10 watches due for a service in about 5-6 years

_________________
"It is just a matter of time!"

Well, in any event, the watch is not that old, and if the math is correct you will be all set to wear it, and send it for service sometime before the warranty runs out. You will be all set.

Well if it's 2008 (assuming that's the date code) it's already more than 5 years old so that oil isn't in great shape. Personally I would insist on an AD financed service before purchase, but that's just me.

thanks for all the replies, the watch is a superocean a17360.

Am still in two minds about it:
buy it and send it off for a service within the warranty period citing it is not running well - won't breitling check the running before commiting to a full service?

Insist on a service now or allow for that within the price. This is probably my favoured route, it's like buying a car, I'd rather drive away knowing the cambelt etc was done rather than wait for it to go bang within the warranty period.

Only trouble is I doubt the AD will be keen on this, despite being a very big well known AD I was surprised that they had vastly different opinions regarding the life of the lubricating oils and flatly discounted any need for a service prior to sale. This is in contrast to a smaller AD selling a different NOS watch I enquired about who insisted it had to have a service before leaving them. All about the profit margin I guess.

Right, I just feel it would be a greater deal if the watch was 10 years plus. But it would make since to have it taken care of before hand and not have to worry about it.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Breitling themselves say that watches should be serviced every 5 years, if the AD doesn't agree with Breitling's own policy then they don't deserve to be an AD!

When I bought a NOS watch - also an SO as it happens - I simply got it a very good price which I felt reflected that it would need an overhaul service earlier than would ordinarily be the case. For me it would be bittersweet if it ran out of COSC: on the one hand you could get it looked at under warranty, on the other I'd fret that it wasn't running sweetly out of the box. If you like the watch I'd just try to secure it at a price which allowed you to budget for the service on schedule.

This thread interests me as I've often said on here that many misguidedly start the service clock from date of purchase rather than manufacture. But Breitling don't make it easy for the average punter to actually know the manufacture date, do they? The WIS on here know there's a case date stamp on the case between the lugs, but most punters won't know that and it's only visible if you remove the strap / bracelet, which many either don't do or have the confidence (or Bergeon) to do.

Many 'new' (as opposed to NOS) watches are themselves two or three years old when they leave the shop, but it's not something ADs volunteer are they're wary of yielding a bargaining chip.

I just bought a 2006 Daytona that runs very well so far but hasn't had any service. So even though it runs well, I can't get over the fact that the oil and parts are about 8 years old. So I'm leaning towards having it serviced because I'm thinking I'm pushing my luck.

So I think that watch is in the same boat. It may run well for awhile but will need service soon. And I'm not always convinced that a warranty from an AD is comparable to one from the manufacturer (although I know you mentioned it was a Breitling warranty). I also had a GO that is a similar age but wasn't keeping good time. The AD serviced it but I didn't get a receipt of what was done and think it was just regulated.

So I personally agree with getting as good of a price as possible and then sending it in to Breitling before the two years (it will be hard to buy it and then immediately send it in).


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk