Am I being unreasonable?

[T.Narley]

My wife and I have a 2008 CX-9 GT (15k) two 2 year olds, and an infant. I called the dealer today about the tailgate rusting, and the 20" wheels, which have paint bubbling on them (around the "M" in the center).

The service advisor said no problem, they can get it on on Friday, but will likely need it up to a week to refinish the tailgate. I told him thats ok, I just need a car that I can fit 3 car seats in.

His reply was "ok, we have a CX-7 loaner you can use", to which I replied "ok, thanks, but 3 car seats don't fit in the back of a CX-7". He understood and offered to call one of the dealership owners. He called back to say he spoke to him and all they can offer is a CX-7.

I can't schedule the work because there is no way my wife can't be stuck at home for a week or more, unable to leave with all the kids.

The service advisor said he understands, and I told him I know he has a boss and didnt make the rule, but I expect a comparable vehicle when my is broken, by no fault of my own.

So my options are: take a week or more off work so there is always someone at home to watch the child that can't fit in the car, or go rent a minivan at my own expense. (notcool)

Otherwise, our CX-9 has been a great car (drive2)

 

[StealthWyvern]

Would the 5 work for you?

 

[T.Narley]

No, you cant fit 3 car seats in the back of a CX-7, or the 5. A car seat wont fit in the rear seat middle seat. It's too narrow by about 8".

 

[The ManLaw]

err. i had something similar like this happen to me a while back when i had a focus, all they could stick me in was a carolla and i said i couldnt use that because of my job (manager of a greenhouse so i had to haul s*** around a lot). so they ended up getting me an escape from enterprise at their cost. tell them if they cant stick you in a comparable vehicle to rent you a vehicle since it is a warranty issue.

 

[Davicho]

The Mazda5 has three rows of two seats (6-passengers). You can ask them to get you a Mazda5 in which you WILL be able to fit all three car seats...a little tight mind you...but it will work for a week.

 

[T.Narley]

I just called, they said my options are a Mazda 6, or a CX-7, nothing else.

 

[The ManLaw]

seriously? thats pretty effing lame on their part. its a warranty issue and its their job to compensate you with a similar vehicle while they work on THEIR faulty products. honestly, i'd keep pestering till they either stick you in another cx9 or rent you a large enough vehicle. pestering works cause they will get tired of listening and you'll get your way

 

[Tungsten6]

Atleast you get mazdas. since we have taken in our cars in for service (06 mazda 6 and 06 mazdaspeed 6) these are the rentals we have gotten

Pt loser
dodge neon
dodge ram 1500
kia sorento
mazda 5- the best one we got.
Ford tarus
Ford focus

Im pretty sure the ms6 isnt anything like any of those cars.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

You're right on...they should give you something comparable. I do think a 5 would work tho, and they should have one of those kicking around, or find you one. I agree that talking to someone further up would be the next best thing. Maybe call another dealer and ask them if they could provide you, and take the car to them if they can.

 

[Lindyrect]

I had to take my 9 back to a dealership to have it fixed after the tech broke something else while fixing a non related issue. It had to stay for a couple of days to be fixed, so I figure they will make it up to me and give me a comparable rental car. Yah right, I got a suzuki firenza instead.

 

[Davicho]

"The squeaky wheel get the grease"

Call them back and demand to speak to the GM, screw with talking to the Service Director. Demand a Mazda5 or a t the very least a Kia Rondo with the third row.

 

[ceric]

A "comparable loaner" for repair work?
Is that a norm these days?
I have owned many brands of vehicles and never been treated that well.
For Mazda, I had to pay for a $30 rental (Mazda3).
BMW did the same for me (a voucher for a small rental next door).
Even Lexus gives mostly RX or ES as loaners
(you do pay for them when they over-charge you such as a $187 5,000-mile maintenance).

I am not saying the OP is not reasonable. You certainly suffer from the repair work being done, but a good-will negotiation may go a long way here. The dealer is not being unreasonable either, IMHO.

 

[Force-1]

Just curious where it says Mazda must give anyone a loaner period, let alone a comparable vehicle.

Most auto companies state they will provide courtesy transportation, which can be a shuttle. My Mazda dealer has never given me a loaner when I had service issues--home via the shuttle.

 

[tonyj]

well apparntly you all have bad dealers. The Mazda dealer I use, everytime, and i mean everytime I have work done and they keep it overnight. they call up Enterprise and get me a rental. Since I own a MPV and the '9' they ALWAYS ask me if I want a minivan or large SUV for rental. Guess it depends on how the dealers warranty compensation program works.
I work in the service (non-auto), BUT IF A CUSTOMER complains enough, I will provide a loaner or advance replacement of their product, when in for repair.

 

[cccx9]

My dealer doesn't even do loaners!

 

[IslandTractor]

I kinda side with the dealer on this. For practical purposes the dealer maintains a few loaner vehicles that they will use for six or 12 months and then sell as used. They cannot maintain one or more of each vehicle type they sell in such a program and to have a basic sedan (the 6) and a crossover (the cx7) seems pretty reasonable. They cannot be expected to pull a new car into service just to meet a particular customer need. The car seat issue presumably doesn't come up that often and is somewhat akin to other special requests like having a trailer hitch or a nav unit etc etc in a loaner vehicle. I appreciate the hassle for the OP but in this case I would not fault the dealer.

 

[T.Narley]

I spoke with a nice lady at the 800 number, she sympathized but said there is little she can do.

Fortunately it's not an urgent repair because it affords us the chance to works our schedules around it, and after I mentioned the issue on Facebook I was contacted by 3 friends who volunteered to loan me their cars (Yukon, Explorer and Titan crew cab) if needed.

I poked around the site a bit and I don't see anyone else complaining about problems with the paint on the wheels, specifically around the center Mazda emblem. Has anyone else had this issue?

I can take pics if anyone is intersted.

 

[vikefan7]

There have been at least two posts that I remember dealing with paint peeling on the 20" rims. I don't think either of them got satisfaction from Mazda though.

 

[T.Narley]

I did some searching, but couldnt locate anything about the paint actually bubbling and flaking off.

Anyone have a link?

 

[offset_98]

I wouldn't put 3 car seats in the back of our CX-7 anyway. It only has 2 tethers on the outboard seats. There is no anchor/latch/tether for the middle seat. Look at the back of the back seats from the hatch. Only 2.