I have a old 1998 Zodiac Super SeaWolf 506.54.44 movt 2824-2 I sent to FG Zodiac for service. They sent it back "Non-Repairable"  It runs however it occasionally would stop. Thye provided no other details. Argh. I took it to a local shop they laughed and said they will service for $250. What gives with FG?

Since the bought the brand they have never done anything with/for previous owners' models. They used to send them here.

It's a vintage watch. Many brands will not service them - or do so at an extortionately high price. One reason is that parts are so hard to come by, that only specialists are willing to do the hard work and build up a stock of parts - or know where to source them. FG bought a brand name and nothing else. No factory, no machines, no tools, no parts - nothing. It was all lost in the turmoils of the quartz crisis and a 1999 bankruptcy. Hard to blame them really, what are they to do about it? At least they keep the brand name alive. If your local shop know what they are doing, you will be happier with the result and pay a fraction of the price that FG would have charged you, if they had taken it on.