Looking at a 5513 metres first Sub

[Pharmlou]

Hey Guys,
been looking for a vintage sub for a little while now and managed to find a local one ( Oz) in reasonable order. Provenance was unknown but we agreed to a price pending a look over by a watchmaker that we mutually agreed to. Watch was supposedly in good working order with everything period correct except for the bracelet.
The watchmaker confirms that it is authentic but the hands are not tritium and the rotor pivot was damaged years ago through lack of servicing causing the rotor to wear mark on the bridge. He showed me how the rotor rocked back and forth along the pivot and said that it would continue to cause irreparable damage unless fixed. He did not expect it to keep good time because of this. The watchmaker also suggested that because it was obvious the watch had not been serviced for a while that there may be more damage to other components, which could only be ascertained by pulling parts out and doing a full quote for repairs.
My question is who is responsible for the repairs?
I offered to pay for half the repairs thinking I was being fair but he was annoyed and said that the watchmaker was only supposed to authenticate the watch!!


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[themaninblack]

Why buy a watch in that condtion at all? Walk away IMO.

[The_Walrus]

What would the repair cost? You would definately need to counter offer the difference.
Any images?

[figsgrandpa]

I'm no lawyer, but, it appears that you had a sales contract that was conditional on the watchmaker confirming that the watch was in the condition that the seller represented, i.e., "good working order". Clearly, based on the watchmaker's inspection, that is not the case, so, you can either walk away from this deal, or try to come to a new agreement regarding the price, repairs, etc.

[fusionstorm]

Get price adjusted due to repairs needed, or walk away.

[watchcrank]

Well, depends on the purchase price. If it's cheap enough, do the deal and service. If not walk away from seller.

[Pharmlou]

Thanks George for providing some missing information regarding the provenance of this old watch. It seems it was originally sold by an American TRF member last year, freshly serviced and any damage to it is recent. It puts my mind at ease regarding any other issues at least. Negotiating the purchase will be interesting.

[swish77]

I'd certainly walk away. Watch was supposed to be all original/period correct except for the bracelet, but the hands are not tritium? That's enough of a deal-breaker for me right there, mechanical problems aside.