Advice negotiating with dealer for maintenance (2016.5 CX-5)

wlong01...
Depending on where OP lives ... cost varies very much.

In my area (SF bay area),
brake pad replacement + rotor surfacing would cost about $400 minimum.
(Most dealers will charge you $500).
Assuming no rotor surfacing, I found a dealer that charges $250, but that one is 40 miles away.
If you don't believe me, you can call any Mazda dealers in Bay Area.
Crazy living cost here. No wonder people move away to Austin.

BTW, all dealers in SF bay area simultaneously take down service coupons w/ actual $ on them.
(strange if you ask me) They only have coupon like (10% off, 15% off).
Conspiracy ?!
One dealer told me that they no longer honor coupons posted on MazdaUSA.com.
I hear you. I'm in the Washington to NY corridor and prices aren't cheap for most things. Not as bad as Cali though. I just think my dealer is pretty good and reasonable. There has to be a reason they've been in business for 50+ years selling Mazda's. They never try to upsell. This is the 4th Mazda we've purchases from them. They probably get alot of repeat business.
 
Hi all-
Dealer wants a ton of money for three jobs:
Rear/front brakes and rotors, fluid exchange $1500 (scheduled for tomorrow)
Drive belt and tensioner $570
Coolant $200
I have a 2016.5 with 55k mainly driven in the city.
I trust this dealer more than I would a local mechanic and cannot do any work myself. Do anyone has advice on how to negotiate the pricing down some. Thank you!

At 7 years and 55k miles your CX-5 shouldn't need any of that.
Coolant is 10 years or 120k miles
At 105k I'm still on my original belt and tensioner. Go to an Auto parts store and ask for a Gates belt tester. I'll bet your belt is good. Gates will send you one free, too. At 135k and 17 years my 2006 Miata is still on its original belt and tensioner. The tester shows the belt is good.
I was over 60k before my first brake job and I tow a 3200 lb RV sometimes. I did not need new discs. While it is a good practice, there is no required change interval for brake fluid.

Maybe trust less. Read your owner's manual and maintain your car accordingly.
 
Hi all-
Dealer wants a ton of money for three jobs:
Rear/front brakes and rotors, fluid exchange $1500 (scheduled for tomorrow)
Drive belt and tensioner $570
Coolant $200
I have a 2016.5 with 55k mainly driven in the city.
Going through the responses here, and my two cents worth.
Unless there is a visible problem with the belt and tensioner, I see no justifiable reason why the dealer would want to replace them, other than to make a quick buck (I wouldn't be surprised if they only changed the belt, and left the tensioner in there, but charged you for both). I'd give that a hard pass.
Coolant is a rip off. Just keep the overflow canister at the proper fill level, and you are good for a lot more miles on your current coolant.
Brake stuff can vary from state to state and country to country. Here in Ottawa (Canada), hourly rates are usually in the $140-150 range. Two hours per axle is the norm, so four hours labour for front and back, about $500-600, plus parts. You could buy good quality rotors and pads on line and bring them in to the dealer. The dealer parts pricing is obscene in my opinion. I don't think a brake fluid flush is mandatory either, but everyone has a different opinion on that. I'd just replace the pads and rotors and move on.
 
Going through the responses here, and my two cents worth.
Unless there is a visible problem with the belt and tensioner, I see no justifiable reason why the dealer would want to replace them, other than to make a quick buck (I wouldn't be surprised if they only changed the belt, and left the tensioner in there, but charged you for both). I'd give that a hard pass.
Coolant is a rip off. Just keep the overflow canister at the proper fill level, and you are good for a lot more miles on your current coolant.
Brake stuff can vary from state to state and country to country. Here in Ottawa (Canada), hourly rates are usually in the $140-150 range. Two hours per axle is the norm, so four hours labour for front and back, about $500-600, plus parts. You could buy good quality rotors and pads on line and bring them in to the dealer. The dealer parts pricing is obscene in my opinion. I don't think a brake fluid flush is mandatory either, but everyone has a different opinion on that. I'd just replace the pads and rotors and move on.
"Two hours PER AXLE is the norm". That's pretty slow to change brakes and at $140-150 it's even more ridiculous.
 
"Two hours PER AXLE is the norm". That's pretty slow to change brakes and at $140-150 it's even more ridiculous.
Stealership techs work flat rate. They can do all 4 corners in under half hour, I promise. Because if they're slow, they don't eat.
 
Stealership techs work flat rate. They can do all 4 corners in under half hour, I promise. Because if they're slow, they don't eat.
I totally understand that. I can work faster than that doing brakes at ground level. I was commenting on the absurdity of the quoted times. I find it hard to believe that indie/ non-dealer shops can't quote more realistic times. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
 
"Two hours PER AXLE is the norm". That's pretty slow to change brakes and at $140-150 it's even more ridiculous.
These are dealer rates, not independent shop rates. Dealers generally charge per job, as opposed to actual hours worked. They may do a brake job in less than an hour, but still charge you the two hour rate. That's how they operate.
Indie shops will vary depending where you go, but a reputable repair shop around here charges $100/hr. or more.

The fear I have with an independent shop doing Mazda rear brakes (with the EPB), is that they may not know about the maintenance mode requirement. These guys are not factory trained. There are enough horror stories on this forum about that problem.
Then there's the youtube videos by so called experts doing brake jobs, only to realize they have no idea what they are doing. I've watched a few where they do not go into maintenance mode, or they remove the EPB motor assembly from the caliper. Experts my a$$. Scary stuff.
 
Dude, that brake job takes no more than 1 hour labor for both front and back combined with a tech who has done any brake jobs in their life. They are simply swapping parts with new, especially the rotors that aren't being turned Brake fluid exchange? 15 minutes max. Fluid cost? $10 max.

Buy the oem parts online from many reputable mazda dealers like swag parts or med center mazda or quirk and have a local place do it. Print out the electronic parking brake mode service procedure for them. Forget EVERYTHING else the stealership said you need. You are being taken for the pride lube ride of your life with those prices.
 
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