Rolex Service and Loan

[Rogue884]

I had to send my DSSD back under warranty, an my AD asked if I wanted a loaner DJII. I was actually shocked, so I sported a DJII for three weeks. if you think about it, its a great sales tool, there is a high liklihood that you will buy another sooner.

[fc3s2k]

Originally Posted by Sunshine

Well how about rental cars?

I bring my 65k BMW to the BMW dealer for warranty or factory recall repairs and what do they do? They put me in a BMW off the lot to drive for two or three weeks until my car is ready.... This happens all the time. And for the most part cars cost more than several Rolex models and require more up keep than watches. Not to mention a cars shows miles depreciating the value. My 16600 looks the same today as it did 4 weeks ago and the dealer cant do that with a car.....

Mercedes Benz does the same thing

[Andad]

Easy answer.

Have it written into your sales contract when you buy a Rolex.

When my watches are in for service I get a loan Patek Philippe Moon Phase Tourbillon.

YG of course.

[Richard.]

Originally Posted by snog

it's a very workable concept,just means the service charge would quadruple.

Why? There are plenty of models which will be worth far more than dealer cost when they come back, so no depreciation. Interest costs are negligible. So where's the cost?

And that's before you allow for the other factors. E.g. The possibility of provoking a sale; customer service/retention; even (maybe) some level of financial support for the programme from Rolex.

[gypsy]

the courtosy cars are funded by the manufacturer so rolex would have to fund the loaner watches

[dsio]

Originally Posted by Sunshine

Well how about rental cars?

I bring my 65k BMW to the BMW dealer for warranty or factory recall repairs and what do they do? They put me in a BMW off the lot to drive for two or three weeks until my car is ready.... This happens all the time. And for the most part cars cost more than several Rolex models and require more up keep than watches. Not to mention a cars shows miles depreciating the value. My 16600 looks the same today as it did 4 weeks ago and the dealer cant do that with a car.....

I was about to say just that lol.

My 328 is 12 years old and when I took it in I was loaned a $270k seven series with 100 KMs on it.

The tyres were even in good condition... When I first got it...

BMWs dealers know how to make you feel loved while they clean out your wallet.

[HL65]

What a great concept. I think you should go to your AD and bring it up and see what they say. Let us know in case it works so we can share it with our AD. Thanks for the stroke of brilliance on this post Thanksgiving Friday morning!! Again--Please post the outcome and don't leave us hanging!

[Yazo]

When I bought my Tag Link YEARS ago from an AD nears my folks house in Huntsville Alabama, they said they would give me a loaner if I ever needed to send it off for service. It does happen.... just not as much as you would think.

[tmac141]

Originally Posted by Yazo

When I bought my Tag Link YEARS ago from an AD nears my folks house in Huntsville Alabama, they said they would give me a loaner if I ever needed to send it off for service. It does happen.... just not as much as you would think.

Loring?

[tmac141]

Mental note after reading this thread, don't ever buy a BMW, Mercedes or Land Rover. If your spending that kind of $$ and it takes 3 weeks to repair, they ought to loan you a ride. However, FYI you're paying for the loaner, it's built into the service pricing.

[HL65]

Although new BMW service is free and my dealership provides BMW loaner. Before you say it--yes it is built into the price--although Mercedes and Audi don't have free service on new cars but are priced like they do.

[Sunshine]

Originally Posted by tmac141

Mental note after reading this thread, don't ever buy a BMW, Mercedes or Land Rover. If your spending that kind of $$ and it takes 3 weeks to repair, they ought to loan you a ride. However, FYI you're paying for the loaner, it's built into the service pricing.

Not if it's a factory recall! We had a seatbelt recall and it didn't cost one dime.

[harry in montreal]

Answer; risk of loss and dammage is too great. however, it would be a great opportunity to reintroduce customers to the new Swatch watches.

[Hooper]

Your not serious are you ?

[Sunshine]

Originally Posted by gypsy

the courtosy cars are funded by the manufacturer so rolex would have to fund the loaner watches

Thats not always correct. My Grandpa was in the automobile business for over 50 years. I called him to ask and he tell's me that only a select few handles it this way. He knows for sure that Chevrolet dealers handle there own cars. When demonstrator's as he calls them would gain millage form salesmen and repair loners driving them they wold reduce the price back to what they had in them and sale it as a demonstrator on the used lot. Even though it was a new car. They would select a few cars to use as test dives and for the salesman of the month. I remember as a kid he would always drive home something different.

One thing he told me was if a customer especially a returning customer brought in one of there cars for repair they would get that car back to drive or an upgrade. If a guy brought in a Corvette for recall or repair he would drive a Corvette.

[London Gent]

Cartier do in fact issue courtesy watches.

It is not an entirely unworkable concept in my opinion.

[skywag]

Originally Posted by Sunshine

I bring my 65k BMW to the BMW dealer for warranty or factory recall repairs and what do they do? They put me in a BMW off the lot to drive for two or three weeks until my car is ready.... This happens all the time.

A good reason not to buy a BMW!

[Yazo]

Originally Posted by tmac141

Loring?

Maybe... don't remember the name... sorry.

[snog]

Originally Posted by Richard.

Why? There are plenty of models which will be worth far more than dealer cost when they come back, so no depreciation. Interest costs are negligible. So where's the cost?

And that's before you allow for the other factors. E.g. The possibility of provoking a sale; customer service/retention; even (maybe) some level of financial support for the programme from Rolex.

I do see how it could be done at no/small cost to the customer but would Rolex want their watches to be seen in less than new condition to a potential customer.It could also have the opposite effect,a big part of the Rolex experience is going though the buying process and putting a brand new watch on your wrist for the first time,a loaner watch which could be with the customer for anything up to 4-6 months,could be enough to get some over the need to go out and buy the watch.

[SCD]

You mean loan you the watch for free? "Free" just means they don't tell you how much you're paying.

[harry in montreal]

Hooper,

you bet i am serious about swatches. my first real watch was a swatch and i own about 20 from the 80s. they all sit in a box as i have moved on. however, when i vacation to risky areas, i crack out an old one and leave the seadweller at home. harry

[gypsy]

Originally Posted by Sunshine

Thats not always correct. My Grandpa was in the automobile business for over 50 years. I called him to ask and he tell's me that only a select few handles it this way. He knows for sure that Chevrolet dealers handle there own cars. When demonstrator's as he calls them would gain millage form salesmen and repair loners driving them they wold reduce the price back to what they had in them and sale it as a demonstrator on the used lot. Even though it was a new car. They would select a few cars to use as test dives and for the salesman of the month. I remember as a kid he would always drive home something different.

One thing he told me was if a customer especially a returning customer brought in one of there cars for repair they would get that car back to drive or an upgrade. If a guy brought in a Corvette for recall or repair he would drive a Corvette.

thats correct but they have demonstrator/courtosy funding from the manufacturer. The car gets a monthly writedown, some cars more than others. We handle all our own cars and decide what goes on as demonstrator/courtosy within the remit the manufacturer gives us, but they are funded partly by manufacturer and partly by us depending on how much writedown we want to apply to the vehicle. Some demo's will get more manufacturer support (phaeton for example) some will get less.

[Richard.]

Originally Posted by snog

I do see how it could be done at no/small cost to the customer but would Rolex want their watches to be seen in less than new condition to a potential customer.It could also have the opposite effect,a big part of the Rolex experience is going though the buying process and putting a brand new watch on your wrist for the first time,a loaner watch which could be with the customer for anything up to 4-6 months,could be enough to get some over the need to go out and buy the watch.

But think of the customer loyalty it would build.

[Richard.]

Originally Posted by gypsy

thats correct but they have demonstrator/courtosy funding from the manufacturer. The car gets a monthly writedown, some cars more than others. We handle all our own cars and decide what goes on as demonstrator/courtosy within the remit the manufacturer gives us, but they are funded partly by manufacturer and partly by us depending on how much writedown we want to apply to the vehicle. Some demo's will get more manufacturer support (phaeton for example) some will get less.

A well-managed demo/courtesy car scheme will cost nothing to operate. And it opens up a new market in vehicles for those who can't quite afford new (this time).

[snog]

Originally Posted by Richard.

But think of the customer loyalty it would build.

I do agree,I would love to try out a "loaner" but I can also see the reasons why they up till now don't as a rule do it.

[BT12]

Originally Posted by snog

I do see how it could be done at no/small cost to the customer but would Rolex want their watches to be seen in less than new condition to a potential customer.It could also have the opposite effect,a big part of the Rolex experience is going though the buying process and putting a brand new watch on your wrist for the first time,a loaner watch which could be with the customer for anything up to 4-6 months,could be enough to get some over the need to go out and buy the watch.

There is in fact allot of people that do care about the new watch experience, but on the same token there are allot of people who can care less. If they love the watch they love the watch regardless. As for the watches being seen in less than new condition, define less than new. I send my sub to the AD strictly for polishing It comes back looking like I just bought it. I don't think Rolex worries to much about issues like this IMO.

[wokafu]

i'll support da idea...wont mind wearin a SUB-C n enjoy da water while my watch is being takin k of..

[donq]

When I used to work at a Triumph motorcycle dealership a couple of years ago, each dealer was provided a few demonstration bikes each year.

The dealer could do whatever he wanted with these bikes, loaner vehicles, test rides, promotional events, and was only allowed to sell them after they had a certain number of miles on them.

We could sell them for whatever we deemed appropriate. This program was subsidized by Triumph, and part of the dealer program.

Of course, the cost is factored in to the price of every bike sold.

The profit margin at a bike shop is surprisingly slim. A lot of customers demanded perks that they might have received at a BMW or Lexus Dealership,
such as brand new loaner bikes of a certain model or color, free services, having us pick up their bikes at work to service them and return them for free.

Nice stuff, but not available along with the deep discounts that everyone expects.

We we're often expected to provide these services to customers who had bought their bikes from other dealers, but were afraid to take them back because of poor reputations for service proficiency!

They had a hard time understanding that some bikes are sold at a loss, and providing these services is just that more lost money to the dealer.

A sale of a bike with a profit of 10-15% was considered a good sale.

Anyone know what the profit margin on a Rolex typically is?

[dsio]

Heaps better than a bike by the sounds of it.

[brownbear]

I think it is a great idea..