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- Miata and CX-5
Return the CX-5 and you will get most of your money back. Next, buy an Audi Q5 or Porsche Macan, which will probably be closer to your fit and finish demands.
Fit and finish on new cx-5
- Thread starter Drm31078
- Start date
Return the CX-5 and you will get most of your money back. Next, buy an Audi Q5 or Porsche Macan, which will probably be closer to your fit and finish demands.
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- Miata and CX-5
The new CX-5 I bought I bought a few weeks back had some rocks chips on the hood, a paint job full of swirl marks and holograms, and the rear bumper had a 6" scrape (where either another vehicle had hit it or it was backed into a pole or something). If I went over the car with a fine tooth comb I could probably make a long list of imperfections, but I don't want to do that.The things I noticed about my car I did not even mention to the dealer.
I like the way the CX-5 drives , its reputation for reliability, and its reasonable selling price, so I am happy about my purchase. Why dwell on the negative and ruin the fun experience of having a new car ?
Life is short, so try to enjoy it.
So I have owned the car one week and love everything about it except the quality control on the finishes is bad. In addition to my leather seat issues. Here is another gem I just saw...I was wiping a piece of fuzz off of the dash and noticed a bump. Then I pushed on the bump and it was hollow. Like there is an air void in the foam the dash cover material is attached to. The rest of the dash has firm foam. So essentially there is a bubble in my dash about the size of a quarter.....so as the air heats up it will expand. As it cools it will contract. This will lead to cracking or it will lead to the surrounding area dash cover detaching from the foam and making the bubble bigger. They gonna replace the dashboard? I doubt it....
Save "the more important things in life" comments. Mazda has quality issues with the finishes. Wonder if this is any indication of other quality issues down the road....
I am meeting with the service manager next week.
Save "the more important things in life" comments. Mazda has quality issues with the finishes. Wonder if this is any indication of other quality issues down the road....
I am meeting with the service manager next week.
Attachments
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
Some people find joy in the minutia. These are our watchmakers. Our engineers. Etc. However, the trick is to understand when passion becomes obsession, and when a personality trait becomes a disorder. Checking the DSM, this line can very succinctly be surmised as the point where the patient's occupation with an otherwise non-impactful thing impacts their ability to enjoy their daily life or complete their daily activities due to the anxiety or other emotions/reactions it causes.
OP, I think you are there. The issues you describe are purely cosmetic, and are considered by many in the industry (I used to work as a sales rep for a Ford dealer) to be "normal" (whether they should or not...they are. That is life in the $30K vehicle market). No offense, but you need a rheostat in your life, perhaps. Theraputic communication is NOT my strong point off the clock, especially on the internet, so I'll leave it there. I myself can be VERY OCD about things, and so I can understand where you're coming from.
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Drm. I'm a pretty conscious person for both interior and exterior details of new vehicles. The issues you're finding would trouble me too. That said some dealerships may have you sign a release waiver indicating that both you and the salesman both looked through the interior and exterior of the vehicle to find everything is to your satisfaction. Some do this while some don't. Just like some dealers rely on surveys. Depends on dealer. What I'm trying to say is that pointing out imperfections should be part of the sales process. You're buying a 20k-30+ car. You're not satisfied. Personally I'd expect something in return. What that something is depends on how much you complain and the dealer's level of customer service.
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
Hah! I'm that super OCD guy who understands that I'm OCD and would take a 23ga needle and 3cc syringe, prime it with whatever adhesive I determined would work best, pierce the bubble, inject the adhesive, mash it all flat, wipe up whatever came out of the puncture site, and motor on while patting myself on the back for being one inventive bastard who can still look his service manager in the eye without either party feeling dread!
Smile. Life is too short to worry about a temporary investment with a minor blemish. I bet you have a mole or a scar somewhere, or maybe you are 5-10# overweight, or...see? There are so many other things you could stress over that are arguably more correctable and more meaningful to your life! But you're not, are you? What does this mean? It means that you need to re-calibrate your sensibilities and priorities toward enjoying your vehicle the same way you enjoy that last meal that was bad for you, medically speaking, and your 5-10# heavy waistline! It caused you no angst, and I bet it tasted great. Yet it caused a glucose spike, and added to your potential for a future metabolic disorder, joint pain, so on, et al! Yet...until I mentioned this, I doubt you even cared---and you still probably don't. You might eat out again tonight! I know I will. I already have dinner with a wonderful girl planned. So please, enjoy life. Understand that your CX-5 will be just fine, and with the 3 years or 36 thousand miles you have, you will know if it will NOT be just fine, well before you are out of the warranty phase! So please...enjoy life! Eat the burger. Drive that car. Relax. Go to sleep. Slap a few rubber bands around your wrist and when you get your brain stuck in that "loop" of worry, snap them 3 times and think about your favorite activity and try to change your channel. Life will get better...because you will see it better!
*thus end my attempt at positive therapeutic communication and unsolicited advice* Sorry if you found it unhelpful, OP, but I threw a lot of ideas and concepts at you with the hopes that maybe one of the strands of spaghetti may stick to your mental fridge, and at the very least bring you a smile!
I am an engineer...I expect the same quality of craftsmanship that I put into my work as the things I buy...especially those that claim high quality. In the industry I am in, if I invoked the same quality standards that Mazda apparently has, people could die. So to your point, I am biased towards quality products which is what I thought I was buying when I got a Mazda. I have owned brand new VWs and Hondas and I did not see the same issues with those vehicles. So a standard for my expectations were already set by other manufacturers whom have shown that my expectations are not unreasonable.
So I am glad that you are content with mediocre quality when it comes to your vehicle. For me it seems like a lot of money to spend mediocracy. In hindsight I would probably be happier with a 5 year old used low mileage Audi since I would get quality and not pay as much.
So I am glad that you are content with mediocre quality when it comes to your vehicle. For me it seems like a lot of money to spend mediocracy. In hindsight I would probably be happier with a 5 year old used low mileage Audi since I would get quality and not pay as much.
What if you purchased a Picasso painting because you were standing 10ft away and it looked like a Picasso. You get it home and you stand 3 ft away and realize this is a fake. Would you be okay spending the amount of money for a real Picasso when it's actually fake?
This is what Mazda is claiming. Mazda has interior as high end as a bmw or Lexus at a cheaper price. From a quick look, it certainly seems that way. Until you take a closer look and realize it's BS. Hence my frustration and determination to make Mazda stand by what they are selling. Otherwise Mazda should tell you up front that you are buying a fake Picasso.
This is what Mazda is claiming. Mazda has interior as high end as a bmw or Lexus at a cheaper price. From a quick look, it certainly seems that way. Until you take a closer look and realize it's BS. Hence my frustration and determination to make Mazda stand by what they are selling. Otherwise Mazda should tell you up front that you are buying a fake Picasso.
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
That is fine. Being an engineer, you understand the cost/performance compromise. You will be spending miles/age, or money, to end up with a better product.
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
Yes, I understand. You thought that Mazda was able to produce a better product for cheaper by about $20K. Sadly, BMW and Lexus are not righteously profitable, nor are they grossly inept. You got what you paid for, like it or not. Yes, you were misled. Yes, some of this could have been prevented if you had taken more time to inspect the vehicle before signing papers. Yes, the dash, etc. should be under warranty 3/36.
I feel like a Porsche Macon would be a better vehicle for you. Or, barring your desire to spend Porsche money, a re-alignment of your standards with your budget.
Reality is what the world presents us. Not what is fair. Not what is right. Not what SHOULD be.
It reminds me of when I was in college. I had a rather self-righteous "occupy wallstreeter" type roommate. He was very fond of striding out into traffic when the sign said it was safe to walk. By god, it was his right of way! HE! was in the right. However, one day I was able to finally get through to him that right and wrong doesn't matter when several tons of steel illegally connects with several hundred pounds of morally indignant and legally righteous flesh at 60mph. That's kindof how the world works. You bought because you thought Mazda knew something noone else did. How to deliver a $60K vehicle for $30k, every time. Well, they don't. So now you have obvious options on how to deal with it. Within 3 days you can return a vehicle, I believe, by most state's laws. Advertising is made to sell, Mazda and Porsche are both in similar boats regarding profit, and QA/QC and quality over-all is still dictated by the cost of assembly and raw materials. Otherwise we would all be buying Ferrari's for $30K and Enzo would be laughing all the way to that big bank in the sky over breaking Lamborghini once and for all by exposing their $300k/car rip-offs.
I was simply offering advice on how to be happy in a world that doesn't always bring out our smile.
The unspoken point remains...if you have had such good luck with previous vehicles, why bother with a CX-5? That, I am genuinely curious about.
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You are exactly right. Based on the reviews I thought I was getting the quality I expected, in a brand new car at a price I could afford. Apparently it was too good to be true.
I could pay more for a higher end car, I could buy a used higher end car for same price, I could buy a Vw with high maintenance costs. Lots of options that Mazda is trying to tap into. Unfortunately they aren't there yet.
Sucks to make a purchase like this and after a week of owning it I regret it.
I could pay more for a higher end car, I could buy a used higher end car for same price, I could buy a Vw with high maintenance costs. Lots of options that Mazda is trying to tap into. Unfortunately they aren't there yet.
Sucks to make a purchase like this and after a week of owning it I regret it.
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
I understand, but as an engineer, how did you think you would be getting $50K of engineering and design and QA/QC for $30K? If you feel Porsche is that inept, you're working for the wrong company, you could fix them! If you feel Porsche is that profitable, you're buying the wrong stocks. So, really, you made a decision with zero real evidence to back it, based on slick marketing, without investigating. That is similar (and I have no idea what sort of engineer you are, so forgive me) to me saying "Use this steel for the truss on your bridge, it's great, and costs $1/foot less!" and you say "AWESOME!" and don't even bother verifying tensile, compression strength, coefficient of expansion, etc. You just slap it into the blueprints and off it goes! That's going to be a bad bridge, I bet...
So, really, what this all boils down to, is you being human. You saw something, someone told you a story, and you WANTED IT TO BE TRUE. So you caste your lot with it.
This is what I'm talking about. You sold yourself that car. And you can do it AGAIN! If you can master your own tendencies, and be happy and move on with life and enjoy it! OR...if you choose not to, then buy an older vehicle out of warranty that will cost the same amount, and gamble that, or spend MORE money, and buy a vehicle that meets your standards under warranty.
Those really are your only 3 options, unless you propose to hand-pick a Mazda which is more hand-picked than your current hand-picked Mazda...?
None of these issues are mechanical, and I challenge you to tell me how they will impact your interaction with the vehicle in a non-mental fashion. This is a game of dollars, or of mental perception. You choose the playing field. Spend the money, or change the mindset.
You have a fully loaded Mazda CX-5 with all those features for $32000, yet a BMW/Lexus etc with the same setup costs $10000 more or so. Did you really not think Mazda had to cut corners some places? Did you really not think ANY car maker now a days has to cut corners some places to have all those features in a decent price without charging luxury car prices? That's the beauty of it imo. They truly present themselves as $42000+ cars. You had to go down on the microscopic level to see the difference. Now you have every right to make sure everything is perfect, but it's going to be a hard search I think or one that will cost a lot of money. But in the end, seems like a pretty good trade off to me. I'll take your CX-5 off your hands if you hate it so much!
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Uno...you are right, I took the car at face value. I was at the mercy of what was presented in front of me along with all the car reviews, consumer reports etc. I would have loved to test drive the car for a week and then decide if I wanted to buy it. At which point I would have seen the flaws. Fortunately in engineering you have all of that detail in front of you and are able to take your time preparing and reviewing designs. Different from purchasing a car.
So Mazdas slogan should really be "Buy Mazda, get that new car smell but used bmw quality". And then scroll the imperfections across the screen.
Mazda certainly has a very forgiving and loyal customer base.
So Mazdas slogan should really be "Buy Mazda, get that new car smell but used bmw quality". And then scroll the imperfections across the screen.
Mazda certainly has a very forgiving and loyal customer base.
Since we are talking about high end items, I would just like to point out that you can't go to a luxury dealer like BMW or Audi and get the same technology and other features that the Mazda CX-5 has for less than $40,000. The local Lexus dealer told me straight out that if I wanted all the features that I mentioned I would have to spend at least $48,000. I didn't even like the car.
It was a Lexus NX and very cramped With little headroom in the front and the back.
Many Mazda CX-5 owners love their cars -sorry that you don't.
It was a Lexus NX and very cramped With little headroom in the front and the back.
Many Mazda CX-5 owners love their cars -sorry that you don't.
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- Mazdaspeed6
Are there many repeat Mazda buyers here?
I'm on my third new Mazda (2nd Skyactiv/post FoMoCo), and while their initial quality, namely fit and finish, hasn't been perfect, my experience has been quite good. Compared to other budget auto makers, and especially my Ford, I'd rate Mazda marginally higher.
Any minor defects are fairly isolated. Genreally, Mazda scores pretty high in this regard.
They do quite well, given their fairly limited resources.
I'm on my third new Mazda (2nd Skyactiv/post FoMoCo), and while their initial quality, namely fit and finish, hasn't been perfect, my experience has been quite good. Compared to other budget auto makers, and especially my Ford, I'd rate Mazda marginally higher.
Any minor defects are fairly isolated. Genreally, Mazda scores pretty high in this regard.
They do quite well, given their fairly limited resources.
