- :
- 96 Miata M-Edition, 2015 Mazda 3 Hatch
here's my story here...
as many of you know, I came very close to trading in my mazda 6.. I just became too frustrated with things breaking on it and having a poor dealer experience... little did I know that the root of this frustration reached greater heights than I imagined.
I purchased my car at John Kennedy Mazda in Conshohocken, PA because it was a 1/2 mile from my apartment and I wanted a Mazda badly. When the 6 came out, I said "I have to own that car, its very nice." I was supposed to get a mazda 3, but couldnt' find one I liked and ended up with my 6. Needless to say, I took the car back to the dealership to get serviced because of the convenience factor. Big mistake.. When I got in my accident, I probably got overcharged for all the repairs my 6 needed and several things weren't fixed right.. eventually I worked this out and this brings us to now.
I take my car into Kennedy last week to work out a few issues.. I need an oil change, and my transmission has been acting funny.. I'm having difficulty shifting into reverse, especially on hot days. Lastly, my horn shorts out whenever the road is wet.
I get the oil changed and done, show up the next morning to pick up my car (without getting a call from the dealership.. idiots.) They tell me I need $600 worth of repairs on my 6. Brake pads are shot, my rotors need to be resurfaced, and I have broken clips and a cracked shield in my wheel well. lastly they say I need an alignment because my tires are feathering. $200 of that $600 bill is for the shield. I get fed up that my car is breaking and go on a tirade, I rip up the bill and don't authorize the repairs. I go straight to subaru and try to trade my car in, but don't because they won't cut me a good deal.
Yesterday I bring my car to Brandywine Mazda in West Chester, PA. I drop it off for service and tell them what Kennedy said needed to be fixed. I get a call this afternoon. My brakes have 50% life left on them, my tires are wearing fine, and they say my car is tracking straight as an arrow. They measured my brakes twice while I was on the phone to them to make sure. They said my transmission was due to a poorly lubricated shift fork, and they fixed that for me no charge.
Here comes the bombshell:
They said that they fixed the clips on my wheel wells, and then looked at the cracked shield. It has several impact marks on it from what appears to be a hammer. They think it was cracked by hand. They tell me that with overnighting the parts and labor costs, the total repair will be $70. A mere $530 short of Kennedy's estimate.
So whats the upshot of this? I'm keeping my 6, and never stepping foot into John Kennedy Mazda in Conshohocken, PA ever again. I'm very happy that Brandywine told me honestly that I needed no work done when they could've stolen my money anyway. I'm still shocked that they tried to cheat me out of said money. I'm willing to bet they would have "replaced" my brake pads and charged me for new parts anyway.
the moral:
John Kennedy Mazda in Conshohocken PA is the worst ******* dealer in the country.. Never ever take your car there. Ever.
Brandywine Mazda in West Chester, PA is a good honest dealership.. I thank them for saving me a lot of dough.
And oh yes, my 6 rocks and I'm keeping it.
as many of you know, I came very close to trading in my mazda 6.. I just became too frustrated with things breaking on it and having a poor dealer experience... little did I know that the root of this frustration reached greater heights than I imagined.
I purchased my car at John Kennedy Mazda in Conshohocken, PA because it was a 1/2 mile from my apartment and I wanted a Mazda badly. When the 6 came out, I said "I have to own that car, its very nice." I was supposed to get a mazda 3, but couldnt' find one I liked and ended up with my 6. Needless to say, I took the car back to the dealership to get serviced because of the convenience factor. Big mistake.. When I got in my accident, I probably got overcharged for all the repairs my 6 needed and several things weren't fixed right.. eventually I worked this out and this brings us to now.
I take my car into Kennedy last week to work out a few issues.. I need an oil change, and my transmission has been acting funny.. I'm having difficulty shifting into reverse, especially on hot days. Lastly, my horn shorts out whenever the road is wet.
I get the oil changed and done, show up the next morning to pick up my car (without getting a call from the dealership.. idiots.) They tell me I need $600 worth of repairs on my 6. Brake pads are shot, my rotors need to be resurfaced, and I have broken clips and a cracked shield in my wheel well. lastly they say I need an alignment because my tires are feathering. $200 of that $600 bill is for the shield. I get fed up that my car is breaking and go on a tirade, I rip up the bill and don't authorize the repairs. I go straight to subaru and try to trade my car in, but don't because they won't cut me a good deal.
Yesterday I bring my car to Brandywine Mazda in West Chester, PA. I drop it off for service and tell them what Kennedy said needed to be fixed. I get a call this afternoon. My brakes have 50% life left on them, my tires are wearing fine, and they say my car is tracking straight as an arrow. They measured my brakes twice while I was on the phone to them to make sure. They said my transmission was due to a poorly lubricated shift fork, and they fixed that for me no charge.
Here comes the bombshell:
They said that they fixed the clips on my wheel wells, and then looked at the cracked shield. It has several impact marks on it from what appears to be a hammer. They think it was cracked by hand. They tell me that with overnighting the parts and labor costs, the total repair will be $70. A mere $530 short of Kennedy's estimate.
So whats the upshot of this? I'm keeping my 6, and never stepping foot into John Kennedy Mazda in Conshohocken, PA ever again. I'm very happy that Brandywine told me honestly that I needed no work done when they could've stolen my money anyway. I'm still shocked that they tried to cheat me out of said money. I'm willing to bet they would have "replaced" my brake pads and charged me for new parts anyway.
the moral:
John Kennedy Mazda in Conshohocken PA is the worst ******* dealer in the country.. Never ever take your car there. Ever.
Brandywine Mazda in West Chester, PA is a good honest dealership.. I thank them for saving me a lot of dough.
And oh yes, my 6 rocks and I'm keeping it.
. There are many bad car dealerships out there, Mazda and otherwise...and they seem to cause more problems for people and manufacturers alike...
