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A reasonable question. I would tend to believe Lange's assertion about this.
Stere was not the original owner of the watch, and Lange had not seen this watch since Stere bought it a decade ago. Lange watchmakers can often detect cosmetic signs of work done to the movement that you and I may not be able to detect with our untrained eyes. This happens regularly. I also recall hearing that Lange may take a photograph of the caseback, to record the positions of the screws (which will likely change position if/when the caseback is opened), though I am not sure if/when Lange does this.
To be clear, none of this excuses or justifies the price quote that Stere received. That is a separate issue (but certainly a related issue in this case). And I would hope Lange's standard 3500 Euro repair price would cover all work that Lange would perform under Reason #1 (exchanging/upgrading parts): If a person sends a malfunctioning but otherwise undamaged Lange 1 to Lange for repair, I would hope 3500 Euro would be the maximum cost. And if the watch functioned properly and Lange was just performing a routine service, I would hope 1300 Euro (the service/overhaul price) would be the maximum cost.
This is advice for anyone considering buying a preowned Lange: Ask the questions, "Were you the original purchaser of this watch directly from a Lange AD or boutique? Do you have a record of the last service performed by Lange? And is there any possibility that a non-Lange watchmaker ever opened the caseback of this watch for any reason?" The answers to these questions could mean higher service costs.
I'm out
Yesterday afternoon I was chatting with a fellow PuristS member what Lange he / I could buy next when at the same time I've got a mail vom Lange service center I've been waiting for. Six weeks ago I went to a Lange Boutique and dropped my beloved Lange 1 ...
That is absolutely crazy!
I don't blame you. Get rid of them ASAP. Was it broken in any way? Did it have water damage? I can't wrap my brain around this. You could buy a Rolex every time you send a Lange to the service center. This is Richemont at its finest.
Richemont....
Sorry for your troubles, it seems Richemont brands are... Yes, and sad to say, imho the best bet is to try and avoid the situation they cast upon customers. This is a very sad situation indeed.
There must be a mistake! You mind sharing the exact model?
According to their website, the quoted 1,900 Euro are for complete service of the case and the movement (movement only sitting at 1,300 Euro), while a repair/restoration on the movement and the case are quoted at 4,350 Euro (movement only sitting at 3,500...
I checked the price list...
... and a service for Lange 1 (tier 2) is 1.900,- Euro incl. polishing. Changing date disk on top I expected around 2.500,- but never >10k€ stere
As said, there must be a mistake. Seems like they’re adding on services that basically negate themselves.
Have you seen the detailed cost estimate on paper or how did you learn about it?
If this is listed service prices then how on earth could they quote what they did?!
This is a scary and disappointing situation since I have a Lange 1, and this makes me think like you ie why keep it if at some point the service will be disrespectfully unreasonable. Did you show the staff the listed pricing? If so, then how can their res...
So they were consistent with their listed pricing, that’s better.
But they’re saying that they suggest other work/replacements in your piece…which was unexpected. Understood.
It sounds unbelievable. Last year a PP retrograde QP, was serviced, I do not recall the exact data, but
the complete service with polishing and laser welding was fast less than six months for sure and for sure less than 3000 EUR. The prices quoted on Patek’s website testify it.
Mind blowing !?
It sounds mind blowing 🥺🤯 I see three options: (1) ALS increased their prices by a factor 5x; (2) there was a mistake during the estimate; (3) some info is missing in the calculations provided by ALS, like extra replacement parts (new dial? New parts in m...
Rereading the post
Rereading the post, I now see the itemization which I had missed .. sorry about that. Seems like the repair itself is 8,3k… That is getting even more crazy. Please let us know how it ends! J
I sincerely doubt the entire L1 movement even costs that much to make.
For a repair, that amount is just insane, and Lange is profiteering from your misfortune (i.e., there must be some Lange movement defect otherwise a simple service would have sufficed).
maybe #3
There are some additional costs listed but did not explain why they have to exchange. When Service cost of movement is listed by 3.500,- Euro on Lange website I expect that this is a flat rate and I didn't understand why I should pay additional 4.800,- fo...
So sorry to hear this, Stere,
the quoted estimation is absolutely out of proportion, cca 25 % of the today's retail, maybe a half of the price at the time it was purchased, just outrageous. I'm afraid this Lange/Richemont policy transforms a timepiece as a precious object that could b...
If this is all as it seems and a legitimate repair price...
Note: I'm not doubting you, just wondering if there's some miscommunication or mistake, although with your double-checks, it would seem entirely as you perceived. If this is all as it seems and a legitimate price, then this will absolutely affect Lange se...
No doubt the explanation will be some movement damage.
But how much is the marginal cost of producing gears, levers, etc. that are required to address the movement damage? As I noted above, 8,000 Euros is probably more than the full cost (labor included) of manufacturing and assembling the entire L1 movement....
Dear Stere,this is a real horror story.
And hardly understandeable how they can come up with such a price. As a reference,I had my Datograph serviced last year which had stopped working (through Lange boutique in Frankfurt). The repair plus polishing incl. laser welding plus exchange of both cr...
Sounds crazy
And so very greedy to a point I have a hard time believing it to be true. 10k euro should more than cover the complete costs of materials, labor and everything for a new watch. Having owned the watch for years and suddenly they make it to expensive to kee...
I won't lie, the high cost of servicing expensive
watches keeps me from, or causes me to reconsider the purchase of another one. Buying one then having to spend $1,500+ to have it serviced doesn't do much for me. I know they need to be serviced, just like cars, motorcycles etc. with moving parts. While I...
Unfortunate for sure!
Hi Stere, This is definitely an unfortunate turn of events. I recently had my L1 with a Guilloche MOP dial serviced for the first time in some 16 years by one of the few authorized watchmakers (who is not part of Lange/Richemont) and it was in line with t...
Then this is a very odd quote…
In the case of the gentleman with the watch that was tampered with, he was told exactly what was done to damage the watch so not sure why they can’t walk you through the estimate at that ‘price-point’! I think it is worth exploring a discussion with an AD...
Unless
the movement melted inside the case and they need to supply a brand new one this is OUTRAGEOUS. I’m just going to say it straight…Richemont is suckering high end owners…period. That is why I returned my JLC…crappy workmanship coupled with crummy customer ...
Factory service sounds great but sometimes
the watch needs to be sent back for another intervention. I suspect the best/most skilled watchmakers are on the production side. Or when they specialise in the movement servicing and are really good, they go independent. In addition, factory service is u...
Dear Stere,
I can totally understand your concerns about this situation. Let me tell you my story with the service cost of my Langematik Sax-O-Mat, maybe it helps to you: I have sent my watch directly to Glashütte, the zero-reset mechanism doesn’t work anymore. Accor...
As I understand it seems as if they are telling you that some parts should be changed but frankly I would just tell them to not change the parts, clean and lubricate the parts only.
Tell them to center the date disk, don’t change the dial, no welding or polish. I would ask a quote only for the services that I request and not the ones they are suggesting. It seems that Richemont is trying to milk customers with unnecessary service ite...
Dear Stere
Thank you for your reply. For clarification I think exactly like speedie74 aka mrtourquise. The services shouldn’t do unnecessary jobs on watches but sadly with big corporations this is becoming usual practice which is a shame. I’m guessing at the end you...
Scary
I’ve been planning a L1 purchase recently, but have heard enough horror stories to scare me off of the idea for now. I might have to get my high horology fix elsewhere.
I am curious...
Is it possible that a non-Lange watchmaker ever opened the caseback of your Lange 1? For example, if you bought this watch preowned 10 years ago and have never sent it to Lange before now, perhaps a non-Lange watchmaker was inside your watch in the past. ...
I can only confirm:
Mrs. Petzold is the new Gudrun Pahl! She will help you especially if you write her in your common german language…
... a short update
For short: nothing new! Extended edition: 1. Using public phonebook to get the phone number of Lange company. Multiple trials... no one picks up the phone. 2. Using the phone number listet on website. Callcenter replies: wrong number - here are just sales...
You might want to try this contact:
Gudrun Pahl at +49-35053-440 I got this name and number back in 2016 when I have sent my Datograph to Glashütte for a service. No idea if Mrs Pahl ist still with Lange or if the number still exists.
I wonder if most factory staff are taking their summer vacation now?
I don't remember exactly when they typically do that.
Yes,
it is true, unfortunately! She was a very, very nice and customer-friendly person, my Lange 1 was in Service at that time when she was still on board…
So much white glove service before the sale, so little after...
a somewhat common theme in the luxury goods sector.
... a short update Part II
Today I've got an e-mail from Lange with an offer to explain the quote. We're gonna make an appointment for the phone call in the next couple of days. I'll keep you informed when done. stere
Yes indeed ...
Briefly my thought about the whole "replacement parts" is - watches are not cars. If there are worn out parts in a modern watch it is on the brand - either issues with the quality of the parts themselves or with assembly / lubrication. Unless of course th...
In case of normal wear and tear certain movement parts can be replaced if deemed necessary, but that has always been included in the standard service costs.
I am talking from experience with PP, AP and even Lange from the old days. So this is a totally new paradigm.
finally... last Update (and end of the story!)
I had today a phone call with team lead from service center who inspected my watch in person. At first: the mood was very friendly and respectful. He explained me all the work should be done to bring this watch in a "like new" condition. It was mostly und...
Very sad to hear ...
... that means, that the minimum repair cost would add to 8300€ if you don't opt for the optional work (dial and refurbishment)???
yes, you are right!
unfortunately... by the way: The money is not the problem but I'm not willing to pay such an amount of money for a service of a "simple" L1. I can not process this in my head. This is behind my red lines. stere
Oh no, very sorry to hear this.
I suspected that at least part of the high cost may be due to prior work performed by a non-Lange watchmaker. Lange's repair quotes always increase if they detect evidence of this. And of course, it can be harder to sell such a watch if left unrepaired be...
I have no idea,....
... what I should do next. It is for sure that I will sell the watch. Maybe, sell with attached disclaimer for upcoming service or find a Lange certified watchmaker to fix the issue before selling. I can't justify, if there is a real issue from last servi...
Ah yes, I understand.
You may just have to find any really good watchmaker. There are no independent Lange-certified watchmakers in the world, as far as I know. I believe Alkis is the only Lange watchmaker in the world who doesn't work directly for Lange and who can get Lange ...
my service experience, original owner, no 3P attempted service
I brought in a watch recently to be serviced. Original owner, first time serviced after ~10 years. The quote came in above the website estimate (tier 1) citing parts wear etc. I was a bit surprised given that it does not get a lot of wear in the rotation ...
I've learned a lot in this process
The most important thing is that you should avoid to double the recommended service interval. If you're inside, the chance is real to stay at the published estimated service cost from Lange: stere
i stand corrected -- another datapoint
Just got back another watch, first service 8 years after new purchase. was charged the standard service fee, no additional work needed. I'll probably adopt the "if it ain't broke..." mentality going forward; and would reiterate for prospective lange owner...
Sorry to hear of this unfortunate update.
Why should we believe Lange's assertion that service was performed by another watchmaker, especially since the service was invisible from the see-through caseback? Reason #1 is entirely bogus. These watches are crafted for a lifetime and if made properly ...
A reasonable question. I would tend to believe Lange's assertion about this.
Stere was not the original owner of the watch, and Lange had not seen this watch since Stere bought it a decade ago. Lange watchmakers can often detect cosmetic signs of work done to the movement that you and I may not be able to detect with our untrained...
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