ADs in Manhattan: thoughts?

[adambmi]

Hi folks,

Have been an avid reader of forum threads for a bit now; what a great and enjoyable community!

I was hoping you all could share some words of wisdom... I'm in what could fairly be described as the terminal stages of pre-purchase (a new SS Sub Date) and have decided to go the A-D route for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that this will be my first Rolex. Actually to be 100% forthcoming, this will be my first watch ever, with the semi-notable exception of the Casio G-Shock ET (that's "Elapsed Time", for those of you not familiar with Casio insider lingo, *sniff*) purchased in 1983 at my local drugstore for the princely sum of 24 bucks. Lots of cool buttons on that huge chunk of plastic and rubber, which made it far cooler than any Rolex could ever be in my 8-year-old mind.

At any rate, that was then, this is now, and to say I'm very excited would be an understatement. I would, however, like to go about the purchase armed with as much info as possible, which brings me to the reason for this long-winded post. Before I pull the trigger, I think it would be really useful to get some feedback from the venerable experts on this forum on A-D's in Manhattan. I know of several (Wempe, Tourneau, W. Barthman) and I'm sure there are several more... I've visited the three I've named but have not spent long enough in any of the stores to form any strong impressions one way or the other ... can anyone share experiences, positive or negative, that they've had with any of these places, or make a recommendation of a dealer in the vicinity with which they've had good dealings?

Beyond that, any other nuggets of advice for a newbie purchaser, namely, me?

Cheers,
Adam

[Trurolexer]

WELCOME TO TRF, Adam!!! Hope you enjoy your stay here!!!

[topcat30093]

Adam
Welcome to the forum.
Unfotunatly I can't help you with the AD's over there.
But what I can say having owed several Subs, is that you can't go wrong, it may not be as robust as your G shock - I to have owed one for the past 12 years.
But its as strong a Rolex as you can probably get and its icon in its own right.
Good luck with your purchase.

[cocopeep]

Welcome Adambmi, I live close to manhattan ; Tourneau and wempe are the big retailers in manhattan, but I never went to wempe, although I heard they treat you with more "class" than tourneau. I guess its up to the sales person that determines how well you are going to be treated that day. However, I bought my watch at tourneau in white plains NY and had a good experience. Tourneau will not negotiate on new rolex prices at all. I had a trade in and got a good deal so I purchased from them. So I guess if you have no trade in, try wempe first. Good luck, rolex buying is fun

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Welcome to TRF, Adam!

Of the AD's you mention, I would recommend Wempe. They are known for excellent and friendly service and are not afraid of discounts.

Please post a pic of your SS Sub Date when you get it. Best of luck!

[BillA]

the Sub date is a great piece.
I guess I would need more info from you: do you want a new watch or is pre-owned in LNIB condition OK. If you go the pre-owned route you can save lots of money, but then there is the warranty issue in the US, but not a deal killer. Other posters have said the Big T does not discount, I have found that true, like to go in there, good selection, terrible prices. So give us more details, new or pre-owned? You may want new but if you could save a ton of money, maybe pre-owned would be OK. I personally have never purchased a new watch for myself, buying from fellow enthusiasts has been a great experience. Regards and good luck Bill

[adambmi]

Tru, thanks for the welcome; darn glad to be here.

Top, Coco, and Space, thanks for the feedback, that's realyl helpful.

Bill, to your question, I have been thinking new, primarily because it seems the "safest" way to go, but also because I think it would be nice to be the original owner of the piece... however I am not totally closed to the idea of purchasing LNIB from an enthusiast... can you extoll a little further on your experiences with this?

[watchlady]

I would go to Wempe in the city. I bought a sub date there 2 years ago. Also consider a trip to Greenwich, CT a short metro north train ride to an out of state AD. My favorite is Betteridge.

[Markg]

i have been to most of them, but have purchased several from Wempe (daniel simone) since they give me GREAT service.

they are the ONLY rolex store in manhatten i will deal with.

and they will discount, but nothing extraordinary. pretty much the same i get from my local AD.

[erdiesel]

I agree with Mark. Wempe is the way to go. As for the discount part, i don't think they will discount for popular models like subs and sd's..................

[kelly56]

I've only been to Tourneau in Manhattan. Wasn't looking to buy at the time, but the selection was so great that I felt like a kid in a candy store. Good luck.

[adambmi]

That's great, thanks for all the info ladies and gentlemen, very helpful. I will definitely check out Wempe and possibly Betteridge in CT; I've also got a number of other good options from all you mavens out there.

Much appreciated; will let you know when I pull the trigger!

[daveathall]

Even with or without a discount it does not hurt to ask for things like the Rolex pen, penknife or paper weight, all could be sold (If required) to collectors to enhance any discount you may or may not have been given.

If you dont ask you dont get, they will not offer them.

[Jmca1]

I completely agree with Watchlady. Betteridge is worth the trip. Go see Scott LaDu, he is fantastic!!!! Also, not afraid of the discount.

[krism06]

I bought my SD in February from Joel from William Barthman downtown. I got 10% off and he had never seen me before. They also had a better selection of SS than Wempe although Wempe was very helpful when I was there. Good luck.

[DJF881]

Sales tax will be about $500. If you buy at an out of state AD and get the watch shipped to you, you can save that money. Since it's so easy to get to NJ and Conn ADs from NYC, I'd highly recommend going that route.

[adambmi]

Well, everyone, the shoe finally dropped yesterday and, with much great input from everyone on this forum, I purchased a Sub No-Date COSC... Thanks a million for all your thoughts and feedback!

Ended up making the purchase at William Barthman in downtown NYC; the service was pretty good and I ended up with 10% off and no tax (I'm having it shipped to my home in Jersey). Supposed to arrive Tuesday morning; guess I'll have to occupy myself in the meantime reading thru the snazzy Rolex catalogue they gave me, presumably to help me maintain my sanity while waiting for the delivery. It's gonna be a long two days!

As an FYI in case any other close-to-Manhattan-forumers are interested, they've got a pretty decent selection of Rolex inventory right now, including at least 4 Daytonas (can't remember whether there was an SS amongst the bunch, though.)

Will of course attempt to post some pics on Tuesday when the watch arrives. Cheers!

[Cozzer]

Originally Posted by adambmi

Well, everyone, the shoe finally dropped yesterday and, with much great input from everyone on this forum, I purchased a Sub No-Date COSC... Thanks a million for all your thoughts and feedback!

Ended up making the purchase at William Barthman in downtown NYC; the service was pretty good and I ended up with 10% off and no tax (I'm having it shipped to my home in Jersey). Supposed to arrive Tuesday morning; guess I'll have to occupy myself in the meantime reading thru the snazzy Rolex catalogue they gave me, presumably to help me maintain my sanity while waiting for the delivery. It's gonna be a long two days!

As an FYI in case any other close-to-Manhattan-forumers are interested, they've got a pretty decent selection of Rolex inventory right now, including at least 4 Daytonas (can't remember whether there was an SS amongst the bunch, though.)

Will of course attempt to post some pics on Tuesday when the watch arrives. Cheers!

Congrats.

Very interesting posts. Im in NYC and looking to buying out of state. I am very interested in what you said about William Barthman, they are they only AD i havent been to. Would you mind telling us what the charged you???

[Bobareno]

Welcome to TRF!

[adambmi]

Cozzer, thanks a lot, I'm counting the hours until tomorrow morning, when the package is supposed to arrive.

I'm relatively new here and not sure if it would be appropriate to post prices in the public forums (moderator?)... I'll send you a private message with the details.

Bobareno - thanks, darn glad to be here.

Best,
Adam

[MK25toLife]

I just purchased a SS GMT IIc from a grey dealer. I didn't go the Manhattan AD route for several reasons, the main one being I didn't want to pay retail and the second reason was b/c they didn't have the watch I wanted in the first place. Another reason is that there is so few AD's in the city.

[oneillba]

Well done. I am sure you will enjoy your purchase. Pictures please!

[adambmi]

Originally Posted by oneillba

Well done. I am sure you will enjoy your purchase. Pictures please!

oneillba, not sure if you're talking to me or MK25 (sounds like we're both happy men right now!) ... as for me, the package is due before 12 noon tomorrow, and pics, probably ad nauseum, to follow shortly thereafter... I want everyone here who was so helpful in guiding me to share in the excitement of opening 'er up!