Mb Flat Rate Repair Rates

[Beechwood]

I asked MB if they would be prepared to service an early 149, nothing much more than a nib tuning matter but

they had done a great and inexpenisve job on a 146 I thought I would ask.

 

The following is there response, what concerns me is the fact that it is a flat rate service and

presumably applies whatever the amount of work involved and prices starting at Euros 400 (GBP290/USD440)

 

I wont be a little pedantic and question how you can have prices starting at a flat rate, its either a

flat rate or it isnt.

 

 

Thank you for your enquiry about repair of your Montblanc pen.

 

It is always a pleasure to us to receive correspondence such as yours,

which show us again and again that our writing instruments accompany their

owners for a long time and are often treasured and passed on to succeeding

generations.

 

Writing instruments of this age have to undergo repair by hand, which is

carried out in our manufacture in Hamburg by one of the master craftsmen

of our service team, generally taking four to six weeks.

 

Repair entirely by hand is an operation that demands a lot of time and

experience, involving prices starting at about a flatrate of Euro 400,00

incl. VAT. Once we receive your pen, our master craftsmen will make an

initial inspection to determine whether or not a handcraft repair is still

possible. If so, we will be happy to provide you with a quotation.

 

You can hand over your writing instrument to a Montblanc Boutique or to an

authorized dealer. If you are not living close to a Boutique or dealer you

may feel free to send it directly to the Service Center in Hamburg at the

following address:

[Chrissy]

I would respectfully advise that they have either quoted you a price for replacement of your nib, or the price mentioned is a typo. This is borne out by the fact that you have quoted it in Euros, so it presumably comes from Germany not your Head Office in the UK.

 

They have 3 levels of service, and nib tuning might be something that could be done at local level, assuming they have someone who can do it.

 

When you made contact, I think you could have selected to make contact with the UK HQ on the contact form. If you don't have that email address, I do and can send it to you if you wish.

[zaddick]

For a nib tuning and overhaul go to Francis in Belgium. He is fountain believe here on FPN. I think turnaround time is 2 weeks and cost is about 70 Euro I think.

[Beechwood]

There was no mention of a replacement nib and I had made it clear that the nib was perfect.

 

The point of concern and the reason for bringing this to the attention of FPB readers is the practice of a flat rate for

repair.

 

I had previously used the repair service and paid 25% of the flat rate being quoted.

 

You will note that the quote letter states the price will be from Euros400,00.

[Beechwood]

For a nib tuning and overhaul go to Francis in Belgium. He is fountain believe here on FPN. I think turnaround time is 2 weeks and cost is about 70 Euro I think.

Agreed Francis provides a top quality service, fountainbel on FPN.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Beechwood

[zaddick]

Agreed Francis provides a top quality service, fountainbel on FPN.

Yes, stupid auto correct on my phone.

[meiers]

I would NEVER send a vintage fountain pen to Hamburg. Francis does an amazing job.

[Beechwood]

I would NEVER send a vintage fountain pen to Hamburg. Francis does an amazing job.

Agreed, it wasnt the 'who does the repair' point that I was making, it was the introduction of a flat rate repair as quoted by MB.

[Chrissy]

I have regularly had level one services for my pens, and have never paid anywhere near €400.

 

I don't believe that figure is correct for the level one flat rate service. Whoever replied to your message must have got the wrong end of the stick

[CS388]

I'm with Chrissy - I hope.

 

Unless this is a new pricing strategy emerging?

€400 seems to be a new figure, unrelated to previous figures.

But it is from the horse's mouth.

 

I'll find out, I've got a 146 going in soon. Expecting a level one sevice at around £80.

 

Will report back.

[KAC]

MB must be fond of oxymorons, or they consulted leading US government wordsmiths when they generated this gemstone, "...prices starting at about a flatrate of Euro 400,00". One doesn't "start" at a flat-rate. A flat-rate means that, for whatever level of service required, it's one price. If the price they quoted is accurate and that's the baseline charge, I'd follow the good advice of other members of this Forum who have referred you elsewhere. Upon further reflection, I'd send it elsewhere, regardless.

[Michael R.]

How "early" is your 149?

 

I beleve this is a "standard" (not "flat" ;-) ) quote for vintage pens. I would not send it to MB but rather to a vintage expert.

 

Good luck

 

Michael

[FredRydr]

Beechwood,

 

The reason for the recommendations above that you go elsewhere is that if you wish to keep the "early" attributes of your pen intact, be aware that Montblanc service will simply replace old parts with new parts as they see fit. Time is money, and swapping in inexpensive new plastic parts makes financial sense to Montblanc rather than repairing original parts.

 

On the other hand, if your pen is new or is a special edition requiring unique parts, by all means, go with the service center.

 

Fred

[Chrissy]

I'm with Chrissy - I hope.

 

Unless this is a new pricing strategy emerging?

€400 seems to be a new figure, unrelated to previous figures.

But it is from the horse's mouth.

 

I'll find out, I've got a 146 going in soon. Expecting a level one sevice at around £80.

 

Will report back.

I have asked the question

[Beechwood]

I have asked the question

#

Agreed.

 

I normally pay around £50-65 for a service on my MBs, the last 146 I took in needed a new barrel and was still under £60.

 

I expected a similar amount for a feed/nib setting on my 149 and that was the basis that I asked MB to confirm service arrnagements via their

website.

 

 

My concern, and this is the reason why I have brought this matter to the attention of FPN readers, is the use of the

term "flat rate" from MB.

 

We may be talking about language differences here but my interpretation of flat rate is 'this is the price it will

cost to service your pen.'

 

A possible concern is the the suggestion that the price 'starts from' a 'flat rate', terms which are mutually exclusive, I would have thought.

[crescentfiller]

Last year, I sent an older (80s?) 149 to MB in Texas to get the cap top repaired and to get a clip. I was told the barrel was cracked and that they would replace the entire cap. In the end, the only thing left from what I sent was the nib. It was all done for $94 plus return postage.

 

So, I guess it all depends on who does the estimate at MB. The work on my pen was definitely at a "flat rate" and it was done at level one.

 

Here is the link to my earlier post:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/257990-help-with-a-149-i-just-inherited-please/page-2

 

 

Best,

Daniel

[Chrissy]

I have received an answer to my direct question from Montblanc today.

 

This is their message (and yes I know I'm not a Mr. but never mind):

 

Dear Mr. Cooper,

Thank you for your reply.

Our current flat rate for the fountain pen models Meisterstück LeGrand 146
and Meisterstück 149 made of precious resin are in our service center in
Hamburg, Germany as follows:

flat rate 1 -> GBP 44,00 incl. VAT
flat rate 2 -> GBP 63,00 incl. VAT

flat rate 3 -> is for nib exchange , 146 -> GBP 209,00 incl. VAT / 149 ->
GBP 231,00 incl. VAT

Edited March 13, 2015 by Chrissy

[Beechwood]

These may be the rates for prescious resin, my enquiry was for an early 149.

 

However the rates quoted by MB dont look that bad, and I know from my experience that they do a good job.