I'd love to hear opinions on this as I wait for my home to close and buy a celebratory Speedmaster.

 

Jomashop warranty sucks from what I have heard.

If a watch needs servicing in the first two years of ownership, it is most likely a lemon, so 2 years is plenty of time to work out any kinks.

No warranty covers wear and tear and damage...although Omega will work with you on a case by case basis...no pun intended.

 

Joma warranty primarily covers movement failures--if you end up with cosmetic wear/defects out of the box or have something like the bracelet or clasp fail, you're on your own! Omega warranty covers a lot more, but is it worth the markup? I'm undecided.

Personally, I don't know how much I'd trust Joma's in-house repair people to properly take care of your movement and replace with new parts. I'd rather take it to a good watchshop. Plenty of poor Joma reviews out there, and it's pretty much the same for other online grey dealers.

 

I would certainly not pay any extra money for a third-party warranty. If something does go wrong with a watch purchased through a grey market seller, you can expect very stiff resistance if you want them (or the third-party insurer) to cover the cost of a repair or replacement. This is regardless of whether you have the "standard" non-manufacturer's warranty or have paid extra for additional coverage.

Usually there is such a wide difference in what you pay a grey market seller vs. an authorized dealer (or brand botique), that you could pay for one or two repair jobs done by the manufacturer and still end up well ahead of the game money-wise.

 

I think of the grey-market warranties as worthless and certainly would not pay extra for one. But if you save enough vs. AD price to pay for a couple repair jobs and/or servicings, then that's certainly a logical approach; you're basically self-insuring. While my Speedy Racing was AD-purchased (by the previous owner, not me), my SMPc was not. But the $1000+ I saved on the SMPc seems a decent exchange for the self-insurance. These are not the only considerations, of course, but that's how I look at the warranty issue.

 

If it came to that, I would file a credit card chargeback and get my money back. Had to go that route once when a seller threatened a 10%-15% restock. Went through my CC for the return instead of going through the merchant.

 

I'd buy from Joma is the price is right, but I would never send a watch back to them for repair. If gray market price plus the cost of service is considerably less than AD price then I'd go for it.

 

Or find a NOS watch on omega forums that is cheaper than Joma, a few of those guys guarantee the movement for X monthes

 

Out of curiosity, is this another Speedmaster since you have one in your Avatar? If you aren't planning to return it it might be worth the savings going through a grey market dealer over going direct to Omega. The movements are pretty robust and I'd have a hard time believing the Speedmasters would have any issues unless it was a blatant manufacturing defect out of the box which I'm sure any dealer would be willing to work with you. I mean these watches were certified for space.

 

I don't know about individual sellers, but paypal certainly does--any purchase (bank funds, CC, PPcredit) made is guaranteed for 6 months now, which is actually pretty dangerous for sellers.

 

I bought my Tintin from Joma Shop at a great price. I was very pleased with the experience. There are no issues with the watch and I don't expect any in the future. Luckily I have a local watchmaker who is Omega trained and has an Omega parts account. If a problem with the watch were to arise, I would have him take care of it, rather than Joma Shop. I might feel differently with a more esoteric movement but its not all hard to find someone to service the Omega 1861.

 

Many people think grey market warranties are worthless. That said, some people are still willing to buy a GM watch with a worthless warranty -- it's just that they'll ignore the warranty and get any problems repaired elsewhere. So, if the GM price plus any repair costs (that you pay) are lower than the AD price, you're still ahead. You just have to be OK with sending your "new" watch out for repairs, with paying for it yourself, and with the long length of time that it'll take (probably at least 4-5 weeks, depending on watchmaker and problem).

Of course, if the watch doesn't have any problems in the warranty period, you've done well.

 

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the responses. From my seat, $1500 savings on NIB Omega may tip me towards the GM for sure...unless one of the sellers here gets another NIB 311.30.42.30.01.005 with a warranty card from an AD. I saw one sell earlier this month that was only a few hundred more than GM.

My Avatar is not my watch @jminchoi , Just a representation of what I want.

 

I doubt it's worth your time to wait on a specific watch model to show up in these forums--you could be waiting months with daily checks, and find one only to realize it sold within a few hours. If you wouldn't touch the grey dealer warranty anyhow, seriously consider buying used on eBay--you still essentially get a 6-month warranty through paypal, and prices tend to be significantly lower for barely-used.

For example, if new through Grey is about $3000, used for a year would put it around $2200-$2500. Those are savings worth considering--but I realize a lot of people won't touch used at any price.

 

Probably a steal at around $2995--too bad they permanently went OOS before Valentine's day. Won't find that price again through grey dealers...

 

What's your GM price? There's a dealer that supposedly has a new 311.30.42.30.01.005 w/card for US$3500. You should be able ask around here or WUS for references.

 

I'm new here so my experience is limited but I bought my FOIS from a GD and saved something like 38% plus no tax for a total of almost 43% from what I remember. I figured at that price I would just pay for any repairs out of pocket since my local dealer only offered to save me the tax.

 

may I ask which GD you used, as I have looked at a few none of which can save me the amount you suggest. That said maybe the exchange rate was better at the time of your purchase. You can PM me if you prefer Thanks

 

That's one heck of a deal! I'd pull the trigger too.