Any Good Atlanta Mazda Dealers?

[ATLMSPD3]

I am going to start shopping for a Mazdaspeed3 in the next few weeks and was wondering if there are any standouts as far as Atlanta area Mazda dealers go? I have not heard bad things about some of them, and I am hoping somebody can relay some good experiences and recommendations.

Thanks a bunch!

 

[itzl0l]

Jim Ellis mazda in marietta....across the street from dobbins air reserve base. Talk to Mike Fresquez...these guys were great

 

[40752]

I just got a 3GT sedan, MT, true red, with the bose/sunroof package from Jim Ellis and as above they were great to deal with. Evan Jefferson really made it a good experience.
After getting my price via phone and email I had about a 4 hour drive to go pick the car up and it was well worth it. We did the paperwork and I was back on the road pretty quickly. No problems and everything was as they promised.
The Mazda dealers in my area (about 5 of them) didn't come close to the price and ease of purchase that Jim Ellis provided.

 

[Kosh]

Jim Ellis +1

Mazda of Roswell is pretty suck.

 

[QuicklyCosmic]

Hennessey Mazda is also kind of crap. I bought my car there, but took it to Jay Mazda in Columbus for the mount recall.. about the same distance from me.

 

[BullManUGA]

Don't go to Mazda of Roswell. A bunch of idiots over there.

 

[Shiftatredline]

I just got my Speed3 from Jim Ellis of Marietta also. Evan Jefferson was my salesman and did a great job. He held a Speed3 for a little over a month for me while I was in Iraq. During the really bad storms before I got back it got some hail damage and instead of making me wait, they searched until they found the same one and had it brought from Charlotte. It had 250 miles instead of 20 like the original and I was a little pissed at first. But I appreciated the initiative to find one in perfect condition rather than have me bring it back or wait for repairs.

 

[mcspeed]

+1 Jim Ellis. Bought mine there and the transaction was FAST and positive. No experience with service and hope not to have any. I do all my own wrenching unless the issue is warranty related or over my head.

 

[Metal_TR]

I just got my Speed3 from Jim Ellis of Marietta also. Evan Jefferson was my salesman and did a great job. He held a Speed3 for a little over a month for me while I was in Iraq. During the really bad storms before I got back it got some hail damage and instead of making me wait, they searched until they found the same one and had it brought from Charlotte. It had 250 miles instead of 20 like the original and I was a little pissed at first. But I appreciated the initiative to find one in perfect condition rather than have me bring it back or wait for repairs.

Hey, was yours a blue GT? Cause i think i test drove it and ended up getting a true red GT. I think they almost sold yours to me cause i remember them saying 'well if you dont get this one now, ive got a guy comin in from iraq that wants one'. (dunno)

 

[mcspeed]

Took my MS3 to Jim Ellis Marietta for the eng mount recall today. Took under an hour to complete. Waiting room has WiFi which is a nice bonus.

Lack of attention to detail though:
1) Greasy fingerprints/air hose tracks all over the place on the hood/front fenders/bumper
2) Disconnected the battery and lost all my station presets and clock settings. There is a $7.00 devise that plugs into the cig lighter that maintains these when the battery is disconnected.

 

[Sorax]

I'm a little late to this thread but just wanted to add:
+1 Jim Ellis of Marietta and Evan Jefferson. Gave me some good tips on driving stick(this was my first manual) and had a MS3 with options I wanted drove in from another location. I have since used the Jim Ellis of Atlanta's service department and they are a good bunch of guys.

 

[johnnyB5646]

+1 Jim Ellis, bought a CX-7 for the wife and my MS3 as well as used their service department for 4yrs with my P5 and my wife's 6i... yes I'm a Mazdaholic and Jim Ellis is my hook-up.

 

[rodslinger]

Jim Ellis has always been the dealer I used also but they can be a little odd sometimes. The only real problems I have with them is their service department. Almost every item I have needed a repair under warranty has required two visits to the dealer. I really can't recall getting a vehicle back from them and everything being fixed or diagnosed properly on the first attempt. It's almost comical. This has applied to my 1992 Protege, 1997 626, 2002 Protege5, 2004 Mazda3 and my 2006 Mazda5.

My Mazda5 was the only Mazda I haven't bought from them. This particular car was used and was one of the Hertz off fleet vehicles that everyone else was selling. I could find them all over the area for $14,500 (or $13,900 for the one I bought) but Jim Ellis was selling theirs for $15,900... I offered $14,500 which I could get it for anywhere else but they wouldn't budge... Eight weeks later that had them on sale for $14,500... Go figure.

 

[slikshoes]

I had a horrible time purchasing my speed 3 from Jim Ellis Mazda. The salesman at the time, Moe Orduko(sp?), was top notch, but all the headache came from a guy named Tony in the Financing department. He would not give up on trying to sell me an extended warranty. He mistook me for an idiot and tried to bend the truth, making it seem like it was absolutely mandatory to purchase the extended warranty. I basically had to threaten to walk out for him to stop lying to me about the extended warranty.

On top of that, he lied about my APR. On the day that I purchased my vehicle, I was "guaranteed" a specific interest rate. In fact, it was on the "contract". The guy calls me three days later and says, "I'm sorry, but the best APR I could find that best matches your credit score is" about 12 percent more than what I agreed on before driving the car off the lot. I made it very clear to everyone at Jim Ellis that "if my credit score was so bad that I cannot get a decent rate, then I would rather wait to purchase the car until I could repair my credit a bit." After surviving Georgia Tech on scholarships and credit cards, I do admit that my credit was nowhere near being pristine at the time. Ultimately, the head honchos there found out that I was being 100% honest, but they could not say the same for certain employees. I ended up getting the APR that I was promised without the "required" extended warranty.

The manager told me that he sympathized with me and apologized for all the troubles. He even went as far as to say I wasn't the only one to complain about certain procedures, and that they were "trying to re-adjust certain sales tactics". He offered me two free oil changes to try to sway my opinion about this dealership. I told him, "no thanks."

My bad experience with Jim Ellis Mazda might just be a fluke, since everyone else here has only said good things. To be honest, I doubt I would ever go back there to buy a car. My experience with the Finance department has left me with an aversion to ever doing business with Jim Ellis Mazda again.

 

[TRMS3]

Do you need to stay in the ATL area to buy your car? If not, give Med Center Mazda, in Pelham AL (just outside of Birmingham, AL) a visit... I bought my MS3 at Jay Mazda in Columbus, GA where I live, but had I done some research beforehand I prolly would have bought from Med Center Mazda... It's where I've had all of my aftermarket and service work done since I found their on-line 'store'... excellent on-line prices for mazdaspeed parts, btw... I was just there 2 weeks ago and they had like six 08 MS3's on the lot along with 2 or 3 leftover 07 MS6's... excellent service dept. (large, clean, professional) and they're also one of the few Mazda dealers in the country w/ a Mazda (cyber) cafe, too!

 

[DigitalSyn]

I got my MS3 last week from Mazda of Roswell. The sales guy was a russian gentlemen named Stan. I started off by asking him some questions about the car, and he looked at me and said back ( in a very russian accent )

"You know more about car than I. I will get service guy to answer your technical questions. You know what you like to drive, I do not force sale. When you want to buy, I work your numbers and make smooth."

He let me test drive 3 times, pretty much only spoke when spoken too, but he always got an answer if he didn't know it, he still went and got it. Very nice guy.

As for the finance dept, Doug was awesome. Got my 4.9APR from Mazda themselves for a 60month loan. Top notch.

I have not dealt with the service dept, so if anyone knows a great service dept, let me know. I am wanting to get a MS CAI soon.