In the name of watch science and TAG Heuer collectors I think it would be fair and a great source of knowledge if we can have one place where we share stories about our experiences with TAG Heuer servicing our watches. Post the good and the bad. Prices, do's and dont's. Personally I have not yet had to service any of the watches I own but since I recently bought my first calibre 5 I am expecting my first service in the next 12-24 months.

 

The majority of the service horror stories have come from the UK. So it would be good to also post the country or region to see if there's a pattern.

I'm in the US, have only had one watch serviced so far. My Monaco Gulf Cal 12 received routine service after about 7 years of ownership. This was about 5 years ago. Took around 2 months, no issues, don't recall the price.

 

Only had one Tag serviced (UK). My CS3110 Carrera reissue chrono. I sent it in with instructions not to polish the case (it didn't need it). Took 2-3 months. When it was time to come back, I received an apology saying that it had been polished. I was naturally a bit upset at this, given I'd been told my request not to polish had been accepted before. Simply a case of them not reading the instructions properly.

I accepted their reasonably generous offer of half the cost of the service back, and thankfully the watch hadn't been ruined. It was a very good polish job and the integrity of the case was intact.

However, not quite the end of the story because it wasn't keeping time in spec (was about 25 secs fast I think from memory). I had to send it back again to be regulated. It did come back OK this time, and with a new OEM strap as compensation for the additional problems.

At least I found the people I spoke to were polite, apologetic, easy to contact and deal with.

 

I haven't sent my 844/5 for a service to TAG for about 20 years....

But the last time it went, via the concession on Selfridge's (now gone), it went out with a badly scratched crystal and the second hand loose in the case. Came back like new.

I can't remember the first time it went, (mid 90's?), but I'm don't remember being disappointed.

The last time i showed it to a TAG employee, in the Oxford St branch about 3 years ago, he recommended I didn't send it in as they didn't handle old stuff any more. (The snobbery was overwhelming). I am hoping that things have changed on that front.

 

I sent my Aquaracer Chronotimer back for service at the end of last year, it was losing time quite dramatically. Got it back last week and the back light for the digital display no longer works. It is currently winging its way back to them, so I expect to get it back again in April or May..

However, I actually expect them to contact me sooner to tell me that the movement no longer has the backlight feature and it's tough cookies.

I hope not, because I really like the backlight feature... but we shall see.

 

Another experience was that I sent my SEL CG1110 back for service and re lume, replacement hands etc. When it came back it had the 'wrong' dial in it. I thought that what they did was relume the dial you sent back, but apparently they don't, they just replace the dial. Unfortunately the CG1110 had a dial change part way through its life but the model number stayed the same (no really, I'm not making this up).


This is the original dial, which I searched for in the first place...

This is the replacement dial which I don't like and did not want.

When I contacted them they said they no longer had spare original dials and they could only supply the replacement dial. I decided to keep the original dial but went ahead with the hands being replaced (the original ones looked awful). The hands now don't really match the dial but it was the best compromise... they didn't charge me for the hands. So that was something.

 

Oh, and also when I bought my orange F1 the date wasn't sitting in the date window properly. I sent it back (only like 2-3 weeks after I bought from the website) and they quoted me to replace the strap (because I had removed the dreadful metal keepers and replaced them with rubber ones - this was before I gave up on the strap altogether and bought the rubber strap). They also quoted me to repair the watch, even though the model had only been out about a month, so it couldn't possibly be out of warranty. In the end they repaired the watch free...

 

I sent my Microtimer back for a new battery, that went fine. And I also sent my blue dial 2000 Exclusive back because the crown unscrewed itself so I could only change the time backwards... that was okay too. The service cost about the same as the watch though (it was an eBay bargain at £250 or something)

 

I had a positive experience with my heritage Autavia. About a year and a half ago, it started gaining a lot of time per day and it was not magnetized. They did a good job with it, and it has been great since then.

 

So far, two positive experiences, both in the US (@Jemagloh & me). The rest somewhat under par, all in the UK.

 

As I’ve discussed with some already, I had to send my red Carrera for a redial (it was missing lume at 5:00), and that experience went well, too. Main delay was waiting for a red dial that was on backorder!

 

Service has more to do with people than "watch science". It's all about the attitude & service culture instilled down from management and the given individual who services one's watch. That's why I think it's important to note one's location, to see if certain areas are better or worse than others.

In general, those who have received poor service are always the most vocal. While those who have had no issues tend to be the silent majority.

 

Back in 2015 I decided to send my classic 2000 to TAG Heuer Customer Service (THCS) to get it refurbished. I sent it in via a local AD. At first, I had the hands and bezel replaced to go along with a quartz overhaul. They did a pretty good job and I was pleased with the results. However, the hands did not match the dial. So in 2016 I went back to the same AD and sent in the watch to have the dial replaced. When I got the watch back, it seemed good. However, within a day the crown failed. This is where things got dicey.

I went back to my AD and sent the watch back to THCS for a crown repair. After a period of 6 - 8 weeks, the watch came back but there were was an issue. The AD inspected the watch and found a smudge mark on the inside of the crystal. So they sent it back. After another 6 - 8 weeks, my watch came back with more issues. There was a deep scratch on the side of the case, and my "new" bezel was also scratched! To top it off, the smudge mark was still present on the inside of the crystal. The AD had their own watchmaker who did some work on the case and bezel to remove the scratches. They did this at no charge, and they did a pretty good job. But I was furious with THCS, but figured it wasn't worth sending my watch back again since I had done this several times already.

Later in 2016, my dad gifted me his Omega SMP. I found a local dealer that is an official Omega Service Centre for Western Canada that did a full service on my Omega, and they did excellent work. Turns out they later became an official TAG Heuer Service Centre as well! So when my classic 2000 needed a new battery a few years later, they swapped it out and also cleaned out the smudge mark on the inside of the crystal for free. The best part is they are local in my city and I can physically drop off/pick-up my watches from them. They also were able to get a new OEM bracelet for my 2000 at a very reasonable cost!

So my journey ended well. My 2000 looks good, and I found a great local service centre that does excellent work. I bought a pre-owned Breitling Colt GMT from them last year (they are a Breitling AD). But that's another story - look for that in the silver dial thread...

 

Interesting. My understanding is that for the US, both Omega's Service Center and TAG Heuer's Service Center are located in New Jersey. I'm now wondering if they might be one and the same place given your story about western Canada. But I would think each company would have separate service operations, unless they subcontract their service centers out to local entities that service multiple brands.

 

Agree, thats why I created this thread and asked for both positive and negative experiences so we can get a balanced perspective and not only members posting the bad experiences.

 

I took my WAY2112 back to the Tag Heuer boutique where I got it from after I had issues with the calibre 5 movement.
It was really rough when winding but hadn't been used that much.
As it was only 11 months old it got repaired under warranty.
The Tag Heuer official repair centre isnt far from where I live but you can't just call in.
It was repaired within the allotted time, the only qualms i had was I wasn't told what the problem had been ?
6 years on and I'm again having trouble with it but not enough that I want to send it away for months.

 

Time and Gold in Vancouver is the place I'm referring to:

https://www.timegold.ca/service-repair

They do excellent service, and to top it off I can just walk in and drop off/pick-up my watches from them. Also, being an official service centre they have access to OEM parts.

 

Ok, but just to be clear, if you bought a new Omega or TAG Heuer from an AD and needed a warranty repair, is this the place the watch gets sent to?

 

That's a very good question @Mspeedster. I honestly do not know.

I bought my wife a Tissot automatic for Christmas in 2018 from a different AD. The watch was running fast, so we took it to Time and Gold and just handed the watch to them, since they also service Tissot. They requested to see the warranty card, and they serviced it no problem.

 

I know that in the UK if you send a watch through an independent like Time After Time it goes to the same place as if you use an AD like Goldsmiths. The difference is the price. The example given was Breitling, buy given that they do most of the big name Swiss brands I wouldn't be at all surprised if all the watch companies were serviced by one big company in the UK