2016~2023 Advice for servicing the CX-9 for the first time?

Hi guys. I got a new CX-9 about 6 months ago and need to take it for it's first scheduled car servicing. I've never actually taken a car for routine servicing before so I have some questions:

1) Are scheduled car servicing costs pre-decided by Mazda or is haggling/comparing quotes across dealership service centers involved here too?

2) Is there any way to separate a good Mazda dealership service center from a bad one, besides just looking at the reviews?

3) Is there anything I need to watch out for during or after the servicing is being done on my CX-9? Asking this if there's a chance the servicing tech messes something up with my car.
 
Answer below based on my experience in Canada:

1. I don’t think Mazda set fixed service prices, I believe they set the work to be done and the man-hours it should take and the dealers calculate a service cost based on Parts and labor costs. If you can find a service department with lower labor cost, then the I think the service cost would be cheaper, but other than that in my experience these prices are usually not open to negotiation. (please someone prove me wrong here). That being said you don’t have to get your services done at a dealership, you can do it yourself or at any other garages, but make sure to keep receipts for proof of services which will be required if you need warranty work. When Doing it at Mazda dealership, the service info is entered In the Mazda database and can be looked up by any dealership.

2. Not really, other than trying them out for yourself. I tend to really dislike service department that tries to upsell things that are not necessary. I also keep hearing about dealership in the U.S. that services more than one brands, and they seem to not be as good (but that is a generalisation based on comments on this forum). Here in Canada this is very uncommon as Mazda dealers usually have their own service department.

3. Not much to look for here either. You should make sure that they have completed every items required as per the service schedule in the owner manual, and that they have reset the service interval in the infotainment system. But this is standard procedure for dealers, and a lot of time the only way to check is to trust what the invoice says. I have a local dealer that always tries to sell additional unnecessary stuff. (Fuel injector cleaner additive, etc). I tend to avoid them for that reason, but their servicing and repair work was still good. Some dealers washes the car after services, some don’t. Some also includes all fuel top up as well (washer fluid,etc).
 
What youri said. Disregard any extra services the dealership might offer you, stick to the maintenance items and the maintenance intervals outlined in the Owner's Manual. The Service Department is a profit generator for the dealership - it's their job to upsell and push services to generate profits.
 
Great advice in both replies above. Make sure you look at the service manual that came with the vehicle and do not do anything other than what that calls for. The 'recommended' services are complete nonsense for the most part.

On the older CX-9's the one thing that dealers should have recommended was the PTU oil change, and they wouldn't even do the work since it was not 'in the book'. Kind of makes you shake your head.

When I took my 2012 in for the Takata recall they tried to up-sell me for almost $1,400 in absolutely unneeded service. I guess they figure throw a huge number at you and they you'll feel good if you get out for less than $1,000. I saw it coming and tried not to laugh outright at the insanity.
 
At a dealership...There is little profit on new car sales. Used car sales are more profitable. The service department is the gold mine.
 
Just a random thought I had recently. My local dealer says that the first service is $99 (CAD) while at the same time synthetic oil seems to be dropping in price a lot. Costco has 0W-20 Synthetic for ~$40 for 10L, while dealers are still charging a premium for synthetic oil changes. Really thinking about doing non-dealer services now.
 
Find the right shop and you'll be much better off. A good shop will do what's needed and charge a reasonable price and not try to up-sell all kinds of BS 'recommended maintenance'.
 
Just a random thought I had recently. My local dealer says that the first service is $99 (CAD) while at the same time synthetic oil seems to be dropping in price a lot. Costco has 0W-20 Synthetic for ~$40 for 10L, while dealers are still charging a premium for synthetic oil changes. Really thinking about doing non-dealer services now.
I've started going away from my local dealer for servicing (after the warranty period) due to the "unnecessary" recommended services, trying to "upsell" every time & higher cost of "labour" and "shop mat'l charges" they tag on like rags etc. I've always bought synthetic oil jugs on sale for only $35CAD and brought my vehicle to my local Mazda dealer for oil changes and would still get charged $60-70 for the labour, oil filter & other shop charges w/ taxes. Now I just buy the oil filter & gasket from dealer due to preference for OEM part for $13CAD (w/ tax) and pay $20 for oil change labour at my local Kal Tire (no add'l shop mat'l charges) and is only 6kms away from where I live vs. the Mazda dealer (35kms away). Saves me time, money & hassle...
 
If it's your first time for service after purchasing only 6 months ago, all it should need is an oil change.

I'm guessing the mileage isn't that high yet.

Don't get sucked into anything else, unless you're having some kind of problem with it, in which case it should be fixed under warranty.
 
I called the dealer and they clarified that $99 was with a tire rotation but it's only $69 without. Considering the cost of oil and filter, $69 is feeling ok for a synthetic oil change.

Will probably let them do it at that rate. My other dealer that I've been going to for a decade (Mazda 3, CX-5) has a pretty honest service department that even delayed doing my brakes because they thought it could last a bit longer even though I had given them the go ahead to do the work.
 
Are they really putting synthetic oil for $69?

Many dealerships say that but actually they put "synthetic blend" oil or even conventional oil.
 
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