Sadly not an isolated story about TAG Heuer and vintage timepieces...my advice (because I have first hand experience of his work) is Craig at Chronodeco, great guy to deal with for USA work. Advice for anyone who does want to send their watch back to TAG Heuer, is to first contact the customer service people at La Chaux De Fonds, Switzerland they are generally very helpful, although the quality of work their watch guys do on vintage pieces, and their understanding of models, references etc not great and the whole process is akin to a lottery...

Cheers
Rich
www.heuermonaco.co.uk
www.heuerpriceguide.com
www.vintageheuerautavia.com

: Hi guys, long-time lurker here.

: I got some disappointing news from Tag Heuer Customer Service about
: my vintage Carrera today, and I'm in search of a great repair
: shop (preferably in the NY area) that has the ability to repair
: it.

: 3 months ago, I decided to get my ~1964 Carrera Heuer Dato 45 fixed
: (I believe that's the exact model, guides differ). I had cracked
: the crystal in two, and the hands were beginning to corrode. I
: dropped it off at the 5th Avenue Tag Heuer store here in NYC,
: who began the process of shipping the watch back to Switzerland
: (at my expense) so the guys at the Heuer factory could have a
: look at it. They said that either NOS or new parts would be
: available, or they'd help me find them.

: I was first suspicious when the folks at the US-based repair center
: wouldn't insure the watch for over $500, nor enter the serial
: number in the proper space on the estimate form. "We don't
: do that for watches of this type," they told me. After some
: back-and-forth, I was able to confirm the S/N over email with
: them, which was assurance enough that we were all talking about
: the same timepiece, so I approved the shipping estimate.

: After waiting for 2 months, they sent me a terse repair quote:
: "The required spare parts to service your timepiece to
: factory specifications are no longer available from the
: manufacturer. Watch will be returned." OK, understandable.

: I called Heuer to see if they could shed some light on things. A
: customer service rep in New Jersey (the only person you can
: actually speak with) told me they had no further information
: about what they found when they took the watch apart (if they
: did so at all), and wouldn't help further.

: So despite my watch taking a trip back to its factory and back, I
: have no more information regarding its condition. Thanks, Heuer.
: Utterly useless. If you're thinking about sending your timepiece
: to them, that's the level of customer service you can expect.

: As for the Carrera, it needs a crystal (easy), a bezel and hands
: (hard), and some attention to the movement, which hasn't been
: serviced in many years.

: Anyone have a reputable vintage Heuer expert that you'd recommend?

: Thanks so much.

: Zach