Is the warranty from an AD worth the extra cost vs. grey market? How many needed it?

[rolexington]

Hi All,

I understand one advantage of buying new from an AD is a 2 year warranty. I realize there are other advantages of buying from AD (and some disadvantages). However, I am curious about this 2 year warranty. How many have actually needed it? Does this make buying from an AD worth it to anyone? Has anyone ever not bought from an AD but needed a warranty and wished they had had one in these first 2 years?

Many thanks for your thoughts and input.

[waspy1]

If its a new watch it will come with full warranty (or nearly full) from a good grey dealer. If its second hand then obviously not, unless just serviced. Only other benefit from AD is they may fawn over you a little and make you feel special - if you like that sort of thing.

[rolexposeur]

bought my gmt master 2 from an AD. after 6 months, my watch was not maintaining its power reserve. I took it back to the AD, which had a rolex certified watchmaker in-house. apparently, there was a problem with the oil keeping everything lubricated. this was covered under warranty, so i am glad i had it. i am not sure how much this would've cost if it didn't have its warranty.

[texex91]

Have bought many a Rolex from trusted sellers here. Never a problem with any of them.

[T. Ferguson]

If you are buying a BNIB watch from a trusted TRF seller it almost for sure will come with a valid warranty card. Just ask the seller to confirm. Keep in mind that in virtually every case the watch came from an AD to begin with. Take a look at some of the BNIB for sale ads here. I don't think I've yet seen a BNIB Rolex for sale here that didn't have a warranty card. Now, if the card was filled out by the AD when it left his shop it may not be the full 24 months from the date you buy the watch, but it's easy enough to ask the seller how much time is left on the warranty or when the card expires. They will usually state this in the listing.

The last new watch I bought on here had a 6 day old warranty card.

[rolexington]

Thanks for these replies everyone. I like the idea of building a relationship with an AD and supporting my local businesses and doing things the "authorized" way. But buying from a trusted seller seems really compelling. Decisions. Decisions. and of course I still have to decide which model! Leaning toward a WG Sub or a Patek.

[blackout]

Originally Posted by texex91

Have bought many a Rolex from trusted sellers here. Never a problem with any of them.

+1

[travisb]

Trusted seller = good discount + warranty.

[mailman]

Originally Posted by rolexposeur

bought my gmt master 2 from an AD. after 6 months, my watch was not maintaining its power reserve. I took it back to the AD, which had a rolex certified watchmaker in-house. apparently, there was a problem with the oil keeping everything lubricated. this was covered under warranty, so i am glad i had it. i am not sure how much this would've cost if it didn't have its warranty.

The warranty follows the watch, not the owner. If you sell it within the warranty period, the new owner gets the benefit of the warranty if needed.

[Billywiz]

Depends what tht price difference actually is?

[franklin]

I bought my explorer from a grey dealer. The watch needed repair after its first year with me. The dealer took care of it.

No problems.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by rolexington

Hi All,

I understand one advantage of buying new from an AD is a 2 year warranty. I realize there are other advantages of buying from AD (and some disadvantages). However, I am curious about this 2 year warranty. How many have actually needed it? Does this make buying from an AD worth it to anyone? Has anyone ever not bought from an AD but needed a warranty and wished they had had one in these first 2 years?

Many thanks for your thoughts and input.

You are correct, you do not get a valid warranty from a Grey Dealer by definition and any legitimate Grey Market Dealer will advise you as such.. Many, such as Alan Furman, offer their own in-house warranty though..

A Rolex seldom needs warranty work and you need to decide for yourself if it's worth it to you.. Frequently the savings is more than the cost of a full service and so even if the watch fails and you pay for a Rolex service you may be ahead cost-wise.

[mpaone]

Originally Posted by Tools

You are correct, you do not get a valid warranty from a Grey Dealer by definition and any legitimate Grey Market Dealer will advise you as such.. Many, such as Alan Furman, offer their own in-house warranty though..

A Rolex seldom needs warranty work and you need to decide for yourself if it's worth it to you.. Frequently the savings is more than the cost of a full service and so even if the watch fails and you pay for a Rolex service you may be ahead cost-wise.

This. I completely agree since in my experience I've never had any issues with a new Rolex however I suppose it could happen. Many Grey dealers offer a great warranty so that IMO is equal.

The only time I'm really concerned is when a non-established seller is offering a new Rolex without a warranty card. I recently had a few offers on a trade for one of my watches that were sketchy at best.

In the end weigh the pros and cons and make an educated decision.

Thanks,
-Mike.

[swish77]

One thing to keep in mind is the re-sale value, if you tend to flip your watches. A lot of buyers won't even consider buying a modern Rolex without the original warranty card, even if the watch is no longer covered by the warranty. That little card, or paper, has value of its own beyond the warranty itself. You don't get that from a grey market dealer, and you might regret it down the road if/when you try to sell the watch.

[AK797]

A proper grey dealer like the trf sellers will buy from an AD so the watch will come with a Rolex warranty for 2 years and stamped by the AD and without any name on it so you will be the first owner if you so wish. Same as buying directly from an AD just at a much lower price as the grey dealer can buy from the AD at a much better price than you.

[perpetualman88]

Originally Posted by mailman

The warranty follows the watch, not the owner. If you sell it within the warranty period, the new owner gets the benefit of the warranty if needed.

I wish we could make this a sticky

[Sub4Life]

Originally Posted by mailman

The warranty follows the watch, not the owner. If you sell it within the warranty period, the new owner gets the benefit of the warranty if needed.

Originally Posted by perpetualman88

I wish we could make this a sticky

RSC NY told me that if I was not the original owner with the warranty card in my name, they would not honor the warranty.

However, RSC Dallas told me exactly the opposite; that the warranty follows the watch

[s14roller]

Originally Posted by Sub4Life

RSC NY told me that if I was not the original owner with the warranty card in my name, they would not honor the warranty.

However, RSC Dallas told me exactly the opposite; that the warranty follows the watch

It would be like buying a 6 month old car and having the warranty denied...just wouldn't make sense.

[s14roller]

Originally Posted by rolexington

Thanks for these replies everyone. I like the idea of building a relationship with an AD and supporting my local businesses and doing things the "authorized" way. But buying from a trusted seller seems really compelling. Decisions. Decisions. and of course I still have to decide which model! Leaning toward a WG Sub or a Patek.

Also keep in mind a relationship is both ways...you buy from them over everyone else, and it should be that they earn your business with a competitive deal and great service.

No sense in having it if you can walk into any other store, chat them up a bit, and they offer you twice the discount...

[uscmatt99]

Depending on the AD and the watch in question, you may be able to get the pricing very close. I was surprised that my local Rolex AD could nearly match the price on a DJII that I saw from one of the trusted sellers here.

I'd prefer to support local business and develop a relationship in case I want harder to acquire pieces in the future, assuming the cost difference is negligible.

[T. Ferguson]

Originally Posted by uscmatt99

Depending on the AD and the watch in question, you may be able to get the pricing very close. I was surprised that my local Rolex AD could nearly match the price on a DJII that I saw from one of the trusted sellers here.

I'd prefer to support local business and develop a relationship in case I want harder to acquire pieces in the future, assuming the cost difference is negligible.

Are you saying the AD was offering a lower price on the watch than a TRF seller and the deal was almost equal after figuring in sales tax?

[padi56]

Originally Posted by swish77

One thing to keep in mind is the re-sale value, if you tend to flip your watches. A lot of buyers won't even consider buying a modern Rolex without the original warranty card, even if the watch is no longer covered by the warranty. That little card, or paper, has value of its own beyond the warranty itself. You don't get that from a grey market dealer, and you might regret it down the road if/when you try to sell the watch.

And that phenomenon about the so called papers=(warranty paper) has only started basically since the Internet .Modern Rolex are made in there millions myself always buy condition of watch and service history and not a out-dated warranty in most cases. And would never pay extra for a outdated warranty on a modern Rolex,now a rare vintage Rolex then yes a full package could be desirable.And if buying used if no service history it would be wise to service it then you will have a service card with all the watch details on but that paper/card will be a current valid warranty.

[DanG]

Some ADs like mine add a third year to the warranty for free.

[Rags]

Originally Posted by texex91

Have bought many a Rolex from trusted sellers here. Never a problem with any of them.

I've bought 3 without a problem.

[melrob1]

I personally love to get the best deals on everything. Been in retail for over 20 years so it kills me when I have to pay full price on anything. However I just cant seem to pull the trigger on buying anything with a hi cost from the grey market. Be it a trusted seller or anywhere else. I do get discounts from my AD so that satisfies my need for a discount. Although I know I could get just as good a watch from a trusted seller here and save even more. I just can never pull the trigger because of the extra piece of mind I get from an AD. I think part of it is also the support it gives the local brick and mortar.

[RolexDivers]

The extra $$ you spent at an AD is primarily for:
1. The warranty
2. Your name on the card (same as 1)
3. The right to take stickers off.
4. The Rolex buying experience of the boutique.

If the above reasons are important to you then go for the AD ...For me, the extra $$ spent at an AD is not worth it because I do not care for any of the reasons I listed. The odds that your watch is defective, mechanically, are super super low and just not worth forking over the extra $$ to the AD. I put ADs in the same class as car salesmen...

So buy from local TRF sellers here .. the heavyweights and pocket the change and keep it in the bank OR spend it on some nice beaters!

[Roll the Lex]

Originally Posted by RolexDivers

The extra $$ you spent at an AD is primarily for:
1. The warranty
2. Your name on the card (same as 1)
3. The right to take stickers off.
4. The Rolex buying experience of the boutique.

I'd like to add that the extra $$ also goes to:

- ease of buying the seller- go to www.rolex.com and done.
- insurance on the transaction - guaranteed and more avenues to seek recourse if something does go wrong.

That being said, it all depends on what kind of deal you can get- if you can avoid sales tax and get a discount- 10%+, the price difference may not justify buying on the grey market. Other times, it makes sense to buy off the grey market.

In the end, there is no one right way.

[AK797]

Originally Posted by RolexDivers

The extra $$ you spent at an AD is primarily for:
1. The warranty
2. Your name on the card (same as 1)
3. The right to take stickers off.
4. The Rolex buying experience of the boutique.

All of these can be provided by the trf sellers, apart from the last. That's the only difference.

[rolexposeur]

Originally Posted by T. Ferguson

Are you saying the AD was offering a lower price on the watch than a TRF seller and the deal was almost equal after figuring in sales tax?

my AD offered my gmt master 2c at a lower price than the prices listed by trusted sellers here; however, after negotiation, perhaps the final price could be lower with the trusted sellers...I am not sure as I have never negotiated with one.

my father-in-law, who lives in another state, was paying for the watch, so I had the watch shipped to him, thus saving on taxes. to sweeten the pot, the AD offered to ship it for free.

I think the point is that you should shop around, and it is not a given that the AD will always be more expensive.

[Urosfan]

Originally Posted by rolexposeur

my AD offered my gmt master 2c at a lower price than the prices listed by trusted sellers here; however, after negotiation, perhaps the final price could be lower with the trusted sellers...I am not sure as I have never negotiated with one.

my father-in-law, who lives in another state, was paying for the watch, so I had the watch shipped to him, thus saving on taxes. to sweeten the pot, the AD offered to ship it for free.

I think the point is that you should shop around, and it is not a given that the AD will always be more expensive.

I agree when I purchased my Pam and my hulk, I looked on the forum for a while but my AD price was better than on the forum so I guess it depends on your AD, thank goodness I have a good report with mine