Cartier rep from a forum member - $50 less than "rep dealer" - ripoff or worth it?

[zub3qin 0]

I am a relative rep newbie.

I am looking for a good quality Cartier Roadster or Tortue. These seem hard to find.

 

A member of RWG is offering me a 3 year old Roadster rep (Ultimate- Swiss ETA supposedly) for $220.

 

The member seems reputable based on prior posts, but a 3 year old watch for only $50 less than the "Trusted dealers" price (ie Joshua or Mary) seems steep.

 

Advantages- the watch was owned by a real rep collector with 40 watches who I suppose took good care of it. Also, it is already sized for my wrist (i hear removing links on these is tough and I'd rather not hunt for some watchmaker that doesn't mind working on a replica watch- and who knows how much they'd charge to adjust)

 

 

Disadvantages- light scratches. 3 years old- don't these reps have limited lifespan? No track record of sales.

 

 

Is this a bad deal?

 

Thanks!

[houndoggie 58]

I am a relative rep newbie.

I am looking for a good quality Cartier Roadster or Tortue. These seem hard to find.

 

A member of RWG is offering me a 3 year old Roadster rep (Ultimate- Swiss ETA supposedly) for $220.

 

The member seems reputable based on prior posts, but a 3 year old watch for only $50 less than the "Trusted dealers" price (ie Joshua or Mary) seems steep.

 

Advantages- the watch was owned by a real rep collector with 40 watches who I suppose took good care of it. Also, it is already sized for my wrist (i hear removing links on these is tough and I'd rather not hunt for some watchmaker that doesn't mind working on a replica watch- and who knows how much they'd charge to adjust)

 

 

Disadvantages- light scratches. 3 years old- don't these reps have limited lifespan? No track record of sales.

 

 

Is this a bad deal?

 

Thanks!

 

 

6 one way, half a dozen the other.

[Akira 0]

I am a relative rep newbie.

I am looking for a good quality Cartier Roadster or Tortue. These seem hard to find.

 

A member of RWG is offering me a 3 year old Roadster rep (Ultimate- Swiss ETA supposedly) for $220.

 

The member seems reputable based on prior posts, but a 3 year old watch for only $50 less than the "Trusted dealers" price (ie Joshua or Mary) seems steep.

 

Advantages- the watch was owned by a real rep collector with 40 watches who I suppose took good care of it. Also, it is already sized for my wrist (i hear removing links on these is tough and I'd rather not hunt for some watchmaker that doesn't mind working on a replica watch- and who knows how much they'd charge to adjust)

 

 

Disadvantages- light scratches. 3 years old- don't these reps have limited lifespan? No track record of sales.

 

 

Is this a bad deal?

 

Thanks!

 

I'd get a new one from Mary, who can is reliable with Swiss ETA.

Moreover removing links is easy and even a watchsmith charges about $10 for it.

Just my impressions

[mbjoer 0]

Depends where you live.

 

If you are in a country with customs problems it may be worth it getting a local deal.

If it is customs neutral I would follw the advice and go with Mary. She is really good and will look after you.

 

In my opinion the seller is just trying it on - as are many another private seller on the fora.

[Drhulee 0]

First, never assume just because someone has a tonne of reps that they take extra care of them, especially the parts that matter.

 

Considering that you say this is a THREE year old watch, I personally feel that $50 is not enough of a discount - especially if it is still available from the dealers. If it was a unique discontinued model, that would be different. Since it is three years old, that is three years that whatever small amount of oil had been applied to the movement has had to breakdown. Synthetic oils, which are used in our reps and gens, have a normal life span of 5 years.

 

But if customs is an issue in your country, then this is something else to take into account ..

[Brightlight 0]

Good grief, I thought I was on RG for a moment there..................

 

Comsidering 3 years ago it would have cost him less than he's offering it for now and it probably needs a service, bad deal in my view. Mind you he has vintagised it up a bit, does it have gen springbars..............................?

[KBH 7]

One thing to realize is that he may have paid much more than the $50 difference when he bought it. Rep prices seem to have come down a bit in the last couple of years. He may be thinking that he's taking a $100 loss on it, not $50. We're also looking at a lot of prices that are much closer to wholesale than what were available before, thanks to some of our great dealers here.

 

Also if you feel it's too high, the thing to do is to tell him the reason and make him a fair counter offer. I'm not sure I feel real good about someone immediately making a private deal into a community member bashing over a sales price. Just seems wrong!

 

 

 

 

 

Edit: I see I feel different about older prices than BL. But gen spring bars can make a difference.

[zub3qin 0]

One thing to realize is that he may have paid much more than the $50 difference when he bought it. Rep prices seem to have come down a bit in the last couple of years. He may be thinking that he's taking a $100 loss on it, not $50. We're also looking at a lot of prices that are much closer to wholesale than what were available before, thanks to some of our great dealers here.

 

Also if you feel it's too high, the thing to do is to tell him the reason and make him a fair counter offer. I'm not sure I feel real good about someone immediately making a private deal into a community member bashing over a sales price. Just seems wrong!

 

 

 

 

 

Edit: I see I feel different about older prices than BL. But gen spring bars can make a difference.

 

 

Well the seller was offended when I asked for less.

I did email Joshua (trustytime) and he tells me the factory no longer makes the "Ultimate" Cartier Roadster... so I suppose it may be hard to find.

 

I live in the US, and purchased from Mary before- didn't seem to have any issues with customs.

Maybe I am being foolish, but one thing that makes me scared is resizing the bands on these reps. I don't know how to find a watchmaker that would adjust this to my size, and I hear that people have all sorts of difficulties resizing these bands. Do watchmakers recoil in disgust if you bring a rep to them? How much do they charge for this? Can you just go to any watch band adjuster in the mall?

 

If Roadsters are hard to get, can someone suggest another "dress" watch for me? I am looking for something classy. not Omega, Tag or Rolex, not a chrono.

I need a smaller watch (<42mm) -

 

Thanks!

[KBH 7]

Almost all small independent watchmakers will have no problem resizing a rep watch for you and the Mall is a good place to start. The only ones that are likely to recoil in horror are the Authorized Cartier Distributors. That would be highly frowned upon. I personally have no idea what they would charge, I've always figured out how to do it myself.

 

And for a discontinued "Ultimate" model the seller has every right to ask what he wants. Now that you know it's no longer available the price probably doesn't seem quite so high.

 

If you've been to Joshua's web site you will see there are plenty of other Cartiers to choose from. Even if you don't buy from him, he's got a great selection to choose from and any of the other dealers have access to almost all of the same watches. Just shoot a picture or link to the dealer of your choice.