Zenith warranty repair: 3rd time the charm?

I own two Zenith watches and have been having some bad luck with them 😡.

My recent vintage Defy is documented here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/grinding-noise-when-winding-seems-wrong.148267/#post-2024857

But I wanted to share my "1969" El Primero (M2150) story. I bought this awesome watch in January 2021 with a warranty card date of July 2020. Love the watch and wore it in regular rotation. I never really use the chrono function, but early this year I turned on the chrono and let it run. After some time, the watch stopped. I played around and discovered that the chrono hand would get hung up, and the whole watch would stop, as evidenced by the second hand stopping also. While the watch is stopped, if I use the pusher to disengage ("stop") the chrono, the second hand resumes. Here's a video:

So in March, I took it to my local AD, who promptly sent it in for warranty repair. After approx 2 months, I went to and picked it up. A few days later, I realize the watch is doing the exact same thing. Back to the AD, and back to Switzerland she went for a 2nd time. Another 2 months and the watch is returned to the AD. The watch was still doing the same thing, i.e. same problem persists. I asked what Zenith did, and I was just told that they do a full service. The AD suggested we send it back for a 3rd time, but I insisted that we talk to someone first. He spoke to the local Zenith manager and we sent them the video. The watch is now on route for Switzerland for the third time. Hopefully I get it back in September. Not sure what I'll do if it doesn't get fixed properly. 🫨

It’s always the time frames for return that are the most annoying for me. Even independents take ages. Possibly representative of the lack of qualified watchmakers with ever growing demand as this hobby has leapt the boundaries of enthusiasts only and into the general public.

My El Primero is finally back... and the good news is that after 24 hours it seems to be working fine. It was sent three times back to Switzerland for a total of 8 months. It would have been nice to have been offered a little compensation, maybe a strap or some swag, but no such luck. But I love this watch and nice to have it back!

It's a shame you had to deal with such an experience but glad you're taking it better than most would and have it back (in working order)!

Glad the story has a happy ending. How long is the warranty? Do you get an 8 month extension to it to compensate for the time you haven’t owned it?

I’m sure if you contacted Zenith directly and explain the situation you may get some swag. They are very nice

I wasn't offered anything and I didn't push it with the AD. Just happy to have the watch back in working order. There is still a couple of years left on the warranty.

You have to go to the source not the middleman