Are Repairs Fixed Cost?

[New_Falcon]

Hello All,

 

I'm thinking that next year sometime I will buy a MB 149 with an EF or F nib.

 

So I'm wanting to start doing some of the surrounding research to avoid any potential buyers remorse.

 

The first question that I have is say something bad happens, I drop the pen or some other such problem, does MB charge a fixed fee or is it a floating charge.

 

I'm sure I've read in threads that it's a fixed fee, but can't remember if that is for everything but the nib.

 

Any experiences with this?

 

Thanks,

 

F.

[dds51968]

It is in fact a fixed fee for everything but the nib, done it twice.

 

Hope that will put your mind at rest, if the nib is damaged send it to Greg MInuskin.

 

Here's to hoping you never need to find out.

 

Happy Holidays,

 

David

[johnkim424]

Yes, you heard it correctly. It is fixed cost. I purchased a beat up early 70's Montblanc 149 for $100 on Ebay. I removed the feed as spare part for my other 149 and sent out the nib to a nibmeister to have it straightened and tuned. Upon getting the nib back, I sent out the beat up 149 without the feed to Texas, Forth Worth repair center. They promptly put the nib in a brand new 149 body and returned it to me in about 2 weeks. All they charged me was $76.13, which included tax and shipping. Now what is the take home message here? Let's review:

 

(1) Don't pay more than $76.13 to repair your resin Montblanc 149.

(2) Send your pen directly to Texas repair center and don't go to your local MB boutiques.

(3) I have a brand new MB 149 except the nib for $176.13

(4) You don't get your old parts back so if you have a vintage MB, don't send it to Texas.

(5) Make sure your nib is in great shape or they won't put it on a new pen!

[Batman]

Yes, you heard it correctly. It is fixed cost. I purchased a beat up early 70's Montblanc 149 for $100 on Ebay. I removed the feed as spare part for my other 149 and sent out the nib to a nibmeister to have it straightened and tuned. Upon getting the nib back, I sent out the beat up 149 without the feed to Texas, Forth Worth repair center. They promptly put the nib in a brand new 149 body and returned it to me in about 2 weeks. All they charged me was $76.13, which included tax and shipping. Now what is the take home message here? Let's review:

 

(1) Don't pay more than $76.13 to repair your resin Montblanc 149.

(2) Send your pen directly to Texas repair center and don't go to your local MB boutiques.

(3) I have a brand new MB 149 except the nib for $176.13

(4) You don't get your old parts back so if you have a vintage MB, don't send it to Texas.

(5) Make sure your nib is in great shape or they won't put it on a new pen!

 

What if I live in Canada, I assume I can't send it to the US for repairs. I'm not too sure if we have fixed costs or not in Canada. Can anyone chime in?

 

Thanks

Brad

[Kalessin]

While I don't have direct experience, Canada's MB service should be similar to the USA.

 

MontBlanc Boutiques in the USA (and I believe Canada is the same) will send your pen to the nearest Service Center or the MB factory (if needed) at no charge, and handle payment locally. I've had great luck using the Boston boutique for getting my 149 serviced.

 

It's also possible to contact a Service Center directly and to send a pen in for repair. For Canada, the contact information is:

 

Montblanc Service Center Ontario

4610 Eastgate Parkway Unit 1

Missisauga, Ontario L4W 3W6

 

Tel: 905-602-1262

[torstar]

Repairs seem to come in at 1/3 of replacement value for my watches and pens lately.

 

They hit the perfect spot of extracting as much out of you before you would say "forget it."

 

Almost like a science.

[meiers]

While I don't have direct experience, Canada's MB service should be similar to the USA.

 

MontBlanc Boutiques in the USA (and I believe Canada is the same) will send your pen to the nearest Service Center or the MB factory (if needed) at no charge, and handle payment locally. I've had great luck using the Boston boutique for getting my 149 serviced.

 

It's also possible to contact a Service Center directly and to send a pen in for repair. For Canada, the contact information is:

 

Montblanc Service Center Ontario

4610 Eastgate Parkway Unit 1

Missisauga, Ontario L4W 3W6

 

Tel: 905-602-1262

 

The Canadian Service Centre is outstanding. I have dealt with them.

[someonesdad]

They hit the perfect spot of extracting as much out of you before you would say "forget it."

 

Almost like a science.

No, it's business -- buy low and sell high. Most businesses will operate their field service units at high profits if at all possible. I can virtually guarantee they're making a good profit rebuilding those pens (which should tell you something about how much they're marking their retail stuff up). Years ago I worked as a manager in a big US corporation's department that let me see warranty costs and manufacturing costs. I would see numbers like: $5 to manufacture and they sold it to the public for $200. Make sure you want to contribute such profits to a company before you buy from them...

[jslallar]

AFAIK the fixed price repair is available only in USA and possibly Canada. The rest of us not so lucky to have been born there or migrated, have to pay a substantial sum for repairs. I recently had my 149s cap and feed replaced, only the cap barrel was changed the top and clip are my own, and the total bill was twice nearly than $70.

 

At least that is how it works in Pakistan.

 

Other country men share your experiences please.

[soapytwist]

jslallar; I think your experience bears out most of the other experiences I've read on the boards, and my own.

 

For the basic fee (GBP54 in the UK the last time I paid), MB will service, fix any piston problems and flow/adjustment/nib setting issues, and replace any plastic-only parts that they feel they need to (piston, piston knob, barrel, section, feed case and feed). They seem to replace them all as a matter of course, in order to avoid the pen having shiny new parts next to scratched up used ones. Anything over and above that (repairing the nib, replacing parts with integral trim like a cap), and they will quote an extra cost.

 

It's the sort of info that means I can quite happily buy something like this, knowing that for another £50 I'll have a fully operational, serviced and adjusted pen:

 

My link

 

[torstar]

They hit the perfect spot of extracting as much out of you before you would say "forget it."

 

Almost like a science.

No, it's business -- buy low and sell high. Most businesses will operate their field service units at high profits if at all possible. I can virtually guarantee they're making a good profit rebuilding those pens (which should tell you something about how much they're marking their retail stuff up). Years ago I worked as a manager in a big US corporation's department that let me see warranty costs and manufacturing costs. I would see numbers like: $5 to manufacture and they sold it to the public for $200. Make sure you want to contribute such profits to a company before you buy from them...

 

 

 

Not remotely sure what your point was; mine was a mainly whimsical comment on getting my expensive watches and pens repaired lately. We all know you buy low and sell high. And yes, businesses want to make a profit.

 

It's not like I can go anywhere but MB HQ to get my LE Poe barrel and cap replaced. Unless you have a competitor to share; last I looked the war of attrition was won but good by MB.

[psychobabble]

About this time last year, I had two pen repaired by MB via bringing into a MB boutique (USA).

 

The first one, a bordeaux 144, needed to have the gold ring on the section next to the nib replaced for corrosion and the resin on the section had a hairline crack that occurred when I overtightened it. They charged the flat rate of $70 plus local sales tax, which is what I expected.

 

The second one was a 146 that began to leak inside the cap somewhere near the nib or ink window. Surprisingly, they only charged me a flat rate of $40 plus local sales tax for replacement of the feeder case, ink feeder, and piston with nib polish and adjustment. I didn't ask them why it was less. I was just so happy I nearly ran out of there before they could change their mind. :roflmho:

 

Both work good as new!

[Kalessin]

By the by, the raw materials value of any product is going to be less, possibly far less, than the wholesale or retail price.

 

Medium-to-large scale manufacturing requires factories, power, design, marketing, a sales organization, a service organization, IT department, warehousing, distribution, and on and on.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Kalessin

[Ghost Plane]

Be aware WE repairs can run more. Putting the piston knob back on my Shaw cost $189.00

[hari317]

Not here in India. there is no flat rate overhaul fee. Each part is billed individually and are very expensive. Their estimate was $160 to fix a broken piston spindle on a modern 149.

 

I think the reason may be that in India, the service and sales is handled by their local representative: Entrack. The operations are not handled by MB directly.