I'd probably make sure that $4k is fine with them and then keep all receipts, but now it's a no brainer to ship it. Nothing in principle against buying second-hand, as I said (and if you saved $60k it might make sense), but keep in mind that the perks of purchasing from an AD are incomparabile, on multiple levels. And the better the watches, the better the perks with the right AD. Even in this specific situation, you would have just handed everything to your AD as soon as you noticed the problem, rather than worrying and not knowing where to turn for help. And after the two-year warranty, an AD (especially one with a service center) will come even more handy, except of course for service costs.