Dealer wouldn't let me test drive the turbo

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Yesterday I went to my local dealer because I wanted to make a selection as my lease is ending in few months. I got a 2018 CX-5 and a 2019 Mazda3.
I bought both of these cars over there.

Naturally I was interested to replace the CX-5 with another CX-5. I sat in one with the Bose stereo to test the electronics.
Quite honestly I did not expect what I've heard.
The sound off of it was terrible. I mean my Mazda3 stereo is good and I love it and I think I got spoiled by it. Must be that.
My expectations for a system on another BOSE equipped Mazda was probably too high.
But the sound quality of my favorite local radio station was so much behind anything I've heard on my Mazda3, that I just walked.

I mean I got so disappointed, that I realized I simply don't want to pay extra for this system on a CX5.
So I asked them for a Turbo version of Mazda3 and if I could drive it. (Maybe I should have two Mazda3?)
But they told me that got only one, in red color and that they don't offer test drives on it.
Since I wanted to buy a white car - I decided to leave.

There was one more thing that I noticed about the new Mazda3.
It doesn't have a cover on front cup holders. I don't like it.
I am now not sure if I am going to buy a Mazda.
 
Sorry to hear about your dealer experience.

Acoustics in the Mazda3 are very different from those in the CX-5 with it's larger interior. Bose audio isn't the best by any means, but I wouldn't say it's terrible. Maybe the settings were off on the vehicle you tested, did you check?

Stock levels are still recovering - it may be some time before more inventory becomes available. Have you checked any other local dealers? They may have more stock and may be willing to take you on a test drive.

It's a shame that a cupholder cover would turn you off on the car entirely, but a dealbreaker is a dealbreaker.
 
I tried adjusting the levels on the CX-5. It didn't help. It's the overall feel. The bass is no good. It's not deep. It sounds like a cheap stereo. No clarity in the top range as well. It's bad. I went to Lexus and i am glad that I did. They have a nice Mark Levinson system.
 
Which Lexus did you end up in?

Bose has some fairly popular catchphrases associated with it - "No highs, no lows, must be Bose", or "BOSE = Buy Other Sound Equipment", etc. For an entry level premium-ish brand, Bose is adequate for most people. If you're an audiophile, you'd need to consider upgrading the system with an aftermarket option or moving up to one of the luxury brands. For the record, I've never had any bad experiences with the radio in my CX-9. Generally the audio comes through nice and clear.. well, as clear as can be expected for a broadcast signal, lol.

I have the OEM Bose system in my 2018 CX-9, and after turning off the Bose Audio features (Centerpoint and AudioPilot) and playing with the treble and bass, I was able to get sound that I was satisfied with for the price point. I was able to improve the low end SQ by doing a DIY mod to the Bose spare-mounted subwoofer (detailed here). And if you wanted to, you could buy a music player app for your phone with a capable EQ and fine tune the sound even further. Of course, this only goes so far, and if you truly want audiophile quality sound, you need to spend the money for it.
 
I tried adjusting the levels on the CX-5. It didn't help. It's the overall feel. The bass is no good. It's not deep. It sounds like a cheap stereo. No clarity in the top range as well. It's bad. I went to Lexus and i am glad that I did. They have a nice Mark Levinson system.
I have the ML in my Lexus and my wife has the Bose in her CX-5. Never, did I expect a similar sound experience between the two. One is a run in the mill sound system and the other is high end. That said, it's not that bad, just not great.
 
Yesterday I went to my local dealer because I wanted to make a selection as my lease is ending in few months. I got a 2018 CX-5 and a 2019 Mazda3.
I bought both of these cars over there.

Naturally I was interested to replace the CX-5 with another CX-5. I sat in one with the Bose stereo to test the electronics.
Quite honestly I did not expect what I've heard.
The sound off of it was terrible. I mean my Mazda3 stereo is good and I love it and I think I got spoiled by it. Must be that.
My expectations for a system on another BOSE equipped Mazda was probably too high.
But the sound quality of my favorite local radio station was so much behind anything I've heard on my Mazda3, that I just walked.

I mean I got so disappointed, that I realized I simply don't want to pay extra for this system on a CX5.
So I asked them for a Turbo version of Mazda3 and if I could drive it. (Maybe I should have two Mazda3?)
But they told me that got only one, in red color and that they don't offer test drives on it.
Since I wanted to buy a white car - I decided to leave.

There was one more thing that I noticed about the new Mazda3.
It doesn't have a cover on front cup holders. I don't like it.
I am now not sure if I am going to buy a Mazda.
Just an FYI ALL of the head head units or main controller or whatever you want to call it is made by BOSE for Mazda as are the speakers. Car manufacturers buy all of that stuff from one supplier just like Subaru buys all of theirs from harman kardon. To confirm this just look at parts numbers. Anyway, all of those fancy little BOSE badges are when they add more speakers, sub or an extra amp.

That being said it could very well be that the system didn't sound good because someone adjusted it improperly. My Sport with only 4 speakers sounded like crap when I bought it but after fifteen minutes of fiddling about I got it so it sounds really good.

Back when we all used to put in after market sound systems I had an amazing system and I would compare it with the stock systems in many cars these days. We have become pretty spoiled.
 
The Mark Levinson system, which I’m sure sounds great, is part of a $3,045 package on the Lexus. A Lexus that costs $9k more than the comparably equipped and better performing CX-5 Signature.
 
Which Lexus did you end up in?

Bose has some fairly popular catchphrases associated with it - "No highs, no lows, must be Bose", or "BOSE = Buy Other Sound Equipment", etc. For an entry level premium-ish brand, Bose is adequate for most people. If you're an audiophile, you'd need to consider upgrading the system with an aftermarket option or moving up to one of the luxury brands. For the record, I've never had any bad experiences with the radio in my CX-9. Generally the audio comes through nice and clear.. well, as clear as can be expected for a broadcast signal, lol.

I have the OEM Bose system in my 2018 CX-9, and after turning off the Bose Audio features (Centerpoint and AudioPilot) and playing with the treble and bass, I was able to get sound that I was satisfied with for the price point. I was able to improve the low end SQ by doing a DIY mod to the Bose spare-mounted subwoofer (detailed here). And if you wanted to, you could buy a music player app for your phone with a capable EQ and fine tune the sound even further. Of course, this only goes so far, and if you truly want audiophile quality sound, you need to spend the money for it.

Actually I did not buy any car just yet. I may not buy any after all - but that's a separate story below. Sorry for the delayed response - I appreciate all replies, thank you.
I was set to buy a Lexus after my Mazda dealer visit. They didn't want to sell me a Turbo? Fine. I went to my local Lexus in Torrance, CA and I spent some time with a nice guy there and tested the 2021 model. But then 2 things happened. On my first visit I was testing a white ES350 with Mark Levinson. The price tag was like 53k or something. It was a nice car. But I did not like the way the mouse pad felt. It was a little hassle to navigate it and I couldn't get used to it over the whole time of the visit. I decided to talk to my wife about it and bring her in to see that. I wasn't sure. Then on my second visit I actually brought in my wife and I was ready to pull the trigger and the sales people ignored us entirely. I don't know - they were busy, or maybe I had a stain on my shirt, whatever. Maybe I was just too picky and a bad buyer. But I wanted that Lexus and I was set on buying it on that day - but kind of felt ignored and then my kid started to cry and we just left.

Now back to my Mazda - I think my Mazda3 Premium spoiled me by the sound of this new dash bass speaker. Look, I had a Lexus before, I know how it sounds very well and my Mazda3 is not far off from the Mark Levinson stereo. I mean I spent a lot of time in both of the cars. I drive the Mazda and I drove the ML. I think obviously that the ML is better, but it is not by far. It is just a little bit better.

The Mazda3 has such a good stereo system, that other Bose systems on previous models pale in comparison. Would I call myself an audiophile? Nah. I didn't thinks so. I don't put much significance to music - at least that's what I thought before. Then, after hearing the CX-5 premium I got my eyes wide open. Maybe I am an audiofile after all. I mean I simply couldn't bear it. My impression of that CX-5 was simply terrible.

As for the purchase of the new Turbo - I think I am gonna pass on it.

I sat down with my wife, and we wrote down all pros and cons of going with the new car.
It was a very surprising exercise. We had a lot of complaints. We decided to keep the CX-5. That was a no brainer. I have a 2018 CX-5. This was the last model where they made them without the auto parking brake ON by default. This auto parking brake is making me and my wife really upset. So changing the CX-5 for a new CX-5 with that brake was completely out of the question. Another major argument to keep the Mazda was the selector knob. this was on both of our lists. The knob is an argument against Lexus and a very strong one actually. Lexus made two models before - like few years back. They had a knob as well. Then they changed it. I liked the way that knob worked but it is no longer available. It is very hard to use the pad while driving. We tried. It's not working for us. So goodbye Lexus. 2018 CX-5 stays.

My most important complaint about my current leased Mazda3 was of course the dreaded Locked in forever Parking Brake. This was my main complaint - and it was why I wanted to return the car to them. That's why I went to Lexus. That's why I spent 4 subsequent weekends trying to sort this all out. But then after the Lexus rejection and after seeing the New Mazda3 style inside, with the cap holder not being covered - it felt like changing a better car for one that's even worse. So I was very undecided. Then funny thing happened. Last week I bought a new aftermarket air filter. I installed it few days ago, filled twice already and I noticed a very substantial gas mileage improvement. My car did ~242 miles on a full tank before - and it was like that from the get go - when I bought it new. But with this new filter I got 287 miles on a full tank. wow. When I first saw it I was kinda shocked. It never had such a good gas mileage. The car feels ok, no major change in the way it handles - but it helped me decide. I think I am gonna keep it. I will have it refinanced at Autopay. I will keep both cars. I will live with this brake and listen to Bose not the ML. That filter was PG Air Filter PA99516 from Amazon. Made in China. Remarkable filter.
 
Actually I did not buy any car just yet. I may not buy any after all - but that's a separate story below. Sorry for the delayed response - I appreciate all replies, thank you.
I was set to buy a Lexus after my Mazda dealer visit. They didn't want to sell me a Turbo? Fine. I went to my local Lexus in Torrance, CA and I spent some time with a nice guy there and tested the 2021 model. But then 2 things happened. On my first visit I was testing a white ES350 with Mark Levinson. The price tag was like 53k or something. It was a nice car. But I did not like the way the mouse pad felt. It was a little hassle to navigate it and I couldn't get used to it over the whole time of the visit. I decided to talk to my wife about it and bring her in to see that. I wasn't sure. Then on my second visit I actually brought in my wife and I was ready to pull the trigger and the sales people ignored us entirely. I don't know - they were busy, or maybe I had a stain on my shirt, whatever. Maybe I was just too picky and a bad buyer. But I wanted that Lexus and I was set on buying it on that day - but kind of felt ignored and then my kid started to cry and we just left.

Now back to my Mazda - I think my Mazda3 Premium spoiled me by the sound of this new dash bass speaker. Look, I had a Lexus before, I know how it sounds very well and my Mazda3 is not far off from the Mark Levinson stereo. I mean I spent a lot of time in both of the cars. I drive the Mazda and I drove the ML. I think obviously that the ML is better, but it is not by far. It is just a little bit better.

The Mazda3 has such a good stereo system, that other Bose systems on previous models pale in comparison. Would I call myself an audiophile? Nah. I didn't thinks so. I don't put much significance to music - at least that's what I thought before. Then, after hearing the CX-5 premium I got my eyes wide open. Maybe I am an audiofile after all. I mean I simply couldn't bear it. My impression of that CX-5 was simply terrible.

As for the purchase of the new Turbo - I think I am gonna pass on it.

I sat down with my wife, and we wrote down all pros and cons of going with the new car.
It was a very surprising exercise. We had a lot of complaints. We decided to keep the CX-5. That was a no brainer. I have a 2018 CX-5. This was the last model where they made them without the auto parking brake ON by default. This auto parking brake is making me and my wife really upset. So changing the CX-5 for a new CX-5 with that brake was completely out of the question. Another major argument to keep the Mazda was the selector knob. this was on both of our lists. The knob is an argument against Lexus and a very strong one actually. Lexus made two models before - like few years back. They had a knob as well. Then they changed it. I liked the way that knob worked but it is no longer available. It is very hard to use the pad while driving. We tried. It's not working for us. So goodbye Lexus. 2018 CX-5 stays.

My most important complaint about my current leased Mazda3 was of course the dreaded Locked in forever Parking Brake. This was my main complaint - and it was why I wanted to return the car to them. That's why I went to Lexus. That's why I spent 4 subsequent weekends trying to sort this all out. But then after the Lexus rejection and after seeing the New Mazda3 style inside, with the cap holder not being covered - it felt like changing a better car for one that's even worse. So I was very undecided. Then funny thing happened. Last week I bought a new aftermarket air filter. I installed it few days ago, filled twice already and I noticed a very substantial gas mileage improvement. My car did ~242 miles on a full tank before - and it was like that from the get go - when I bought it new. But with this new filter I got 287 miles on a full tank. wow. When I first saw it I was kinda shocked. It never had such a good gas mileage. The car feels ok, no major change in the way it handles - but it helped me decide. I think I am gonna keep it. I will have it refinanced at Autopay. I will keep both cars. I will live with this brake and listen to Bose not the ML. That filter was PG Air Filter PA99516 from Amazon. Made in China. Remarkable filter.

You do know that you can disable that auto lock parking brake in the Mazda 3 right? There’s a procedure on how to disengage it found in the manual...
 
I am not sure if this thread is a joke or not? You are not buying a car because of cup holder covers or a parking brake?

At the same time, what kinda dealer is that. You purchased two cars in the past from there and they won't let you test drive a car? That seems like a crummy dealer and I would not go there.

As for a car with a great sound system, skip the Lexus and get a Volvo. Seriously good sound.
 
Then on my second visit I actually brought in my wife and I was ready to pull the trigger and the sales people ignored us entirely. I don't know - they were busy, or maybe I had a stain on my shirt, whatever. Maybe I was just too picky and a bad buyer. But I wanted that Lexus and I was set on buying it on that day - but kind of felt ignored and then my kid started to cry and we just left.

In my experience over the years, this issue of being ignored is all too common at Toyota (and Honda) dealerships.
My last car shopping experience was in 2017, and one of the alternate brands to the Mazda 6 I was looking at was the Camry and Accord. I visited both dealers, and was totally ignored at both locations.
It wasn't like I only stepped on site for a few minutes either. I wandered around, looked at all the cars, picked up some pamphlets, sat in a few cars in the showroom, and was I still invisible to them. This was not the first time either. Previous experiences were the same.
The worst (for me anyway) was Honda/Acura. I can honestly say I have never had even a moderately positive experience at those locations. It's one of many reasons I'll never own a Honda/Acura product.
 
I am not sure if this thread is a joke or not? You are not buying a car because of cup holder covers or a parking brake?

At the same time, what kinda dealer is that. You purchased two cars in the past from there and they won't let you test drive a car? That seems like a crummy dealer and I would not go there.

As for a car with a great sound system, skip the Lexus and get a Volvo. Seriously good sound.
Agreed...Volvo has a nice sound system I owned an XC60 for 7yrs and that model only had 8 speakers and was just the base system not even the upgraded more expensive Dynaudio but it sounded amazing compared to the audio system I tried when I cross shopped the Lexus RX-350...
 
You do know that you can disable that auto lock parking brake in the Mazda 3 right? There’s a procedure on how to disengage it found in the manual...

Unfortunately I think the procedure doesn't "stick", you have to do it every time you start the car. I have referred @arrow to the Owner's Manual that describes how the parking brake automatically disengages upon certain conditions, but for whatever reason the procedure either doesn't work for him or he isn't meeting all conditions.

I am not sure if this thread is a joke or not? You are not buying a car because of cup holder covers or a parking brake?

At the same time, what kinda dealer is that. You purchased two cars in the past from there and they won't let you test drive a car? That seems like a crummy dealer and I would not go there.

As for a car with a great sound system, skip the Lexus and get a Volvo. Seriously good sound.

Don't think it's a joke - @arrow has been fairly vocal about his thoughts on the car, and sometimes even minor things can be dealbreakers. Crappy dealer service would turn me off for sure.
 
Unfortunately I think the procedure doesn't "stick", you have to do it every time you start the car. I have referred @arrow to the Owner's Manual that describes how the parking brake automatically disengages upon certain conditions, but for whatever reason the procedure either doesn't work for him or he isn't meeting all conditions.



Don't think it's a joke - @arrow has been fairly vocal about his thoughts on the car, and sometimes even minor things can be dealbreakers. Crappy dealer service would turn me off for sure.

Regarding the dealer, agree 1000%. If the dealer experience is terrible, I would not buy a car there, period. If I buy a car from a dealer and they don't continue to treat me nice, you can gaurentee, I won't be back. That pretty much applies for a car or a toaster!
 
I am not sure if this thread is a joke or not? You are not buying a car because of cup holder covers or a parking brake?

At the same time, what kinda dealer is that. You purchased two cars in the past from there and they won't let you test drive a car? That seems like a crummy dealer and I would not go there.

As for a car with a great sound system, skip the Lexus and get a Volvo. Seriously good sound.



Thank you for that suggestion. Volvo was outside my research horizon. I didn't even think about that. I will check that out.

As for the comments about me joking - no - I am not joking. I am close to retirement, I am a demanding customer and I pay attention to details more that other people. I buy new cars. I don't buy a compromise cars. If a person wants a compromise - then let them buy a buick; a GM, a Ford. Whatever.

I want my new car to operate 100% and be good to me. When I bought a 43,000 car sometime ago - I did not accept a broken bluetooth. It was so unacceptable that I returned that car. Not only that - I thought it was so bad - that I disused the issue with my lawyer, but then decided to just let it go.
It seriously angers me - when a company makes a shortcut in such a visible item like dash cup holder. It has probably saved them 10 bucks. I'd pay them that 10 bucks to keep the cover, because i put things there, like keys and stuff and I don't want cup holes there.

Another thing is the stereo. When I bought my current Mazda3 - the 12 speaker system was on Preferred version and the whole package after incentive, loyalty discount and all that - was less than 24,000. Now the Bose 12 speaker system is on Premium version starting at 27,000.

This system is not as good to justify spending $7k over base version.
Other features are not that important. I'd argue - that for me that BOSE is THE SINGLE MOST important advantage Mazda has over ALL competing brands. That speaker system is great.

So why can't they put that stereo in EVERY model?
I am very undecided about what I need to do now.
I honestly don't know what I am going to do.

But there is one thing I am sure about. Right now buying a car is not limited to just one brand. There are plenty of choices across the market. Good cars. Being the most reliable thing is not enough to attract me as a buyer.

And - yes - that parking brake is a bummer. It's a terrible mistake.
If I was a Mazda company owner - I would fire the executive that signed off on that.

The simply made the new Mazda3 unfriendly for a user.
Sum that brake, cup holder and the stereo being 7K more and you have customers turn away for Lexus, and maybe Volvo. I will check that Volvo. Thank you.
 
Sounds like Arrow wants a custom built vehicle for his needs, built to his specs and has the disposable income to do so. Good luck. No offense but a bose sound system or dumb cupholder lid is not the single most important factor when buying a car. Reliability, safety, value and styling are and Mazda far exceeds those requirements PLUS brings to the table an over and above fun to drive package. Can't say that about boring numb lexus. You wanted to give a car back over broken bluetooth? You spoke to a lawyer? Ridiculous. You sound like an impulsive angry guy who demands things. Perhaps you give off an aura that salespeople don't want to deal with hence your experiences at dealers. Again, no offense but if it looks like, walks like and quacks like a duck...
 
In my experience over the years, this issue of being ignored is all too common at Toyota (and Honda) dealerships.
My last car shopping experience was in 2017, and one of the alternate brands to the Mazda 6 I was looking at was the Camry and Accord. I visited both dealers, and was totally ignored at both locations.
It wasn't like I only stepped on site for a few minutes either. I wandered around, looked at all the cars, picked up some pamphlets, sat in a few cars in the showroom, and was I still invisible to them. This was not the first time either. Previous experiences were the same.
The worst (for me anyway) was Honda/Acura. I can honestly say I have never had even a moderately positive experience at those locations. It's one of many reasons I'll never own a Honda/Acura product.


Interesting. We had that experience too. We went to Toyota in 2015 to buy a Toyota RAV4.
We weren't entirely ignored - but the sales guy told us that we didn't need a RAV4. Seriously. It was kinda unbelievable. We went there TO BUY A CAR, not to **** around. My wife wanted to test drive the RAV4 and she wanted RAV4. She was set on it and there was not talking her out of it. She wanted to drive it and buy it. That's it. But then - it was not possible. Because the sales person we asked said just that - we don't need it. And that he doesn't recommend RAV4 - that it is a better buy to get a Camry, or a Corolla. We looked at each other with a surprise - and since the next dealership of Toyota was really far - we decided to go to Lexus. This is why I got a new ES350 on the same day. It took unbelievably long - I think it was 6 hours spent there at that Lexus dealership, but we drove out in a new car just as we planned on that day.

3 years earlier we had a similar experience at the same Toyota dealership. We were inquiring about a lease and wanted to get numbers, drive a car and buy it. Nope. Didn't happen. Sales people there started by saying that they don't know, that we need to tell them when we want to buy a car, are we sure and all that BS. I was shocked. I came to Toyota to buy a car and not to listen to lectures by some unqualified dude, who didn't answer lease questions straight.

We prepared. We read lease terms from Toyota before going there. I asked him for terms for a specific lease for a specific car and he just started giving me brackets, that the lease is going to be between 295 and 360 depending on my credit etc.

I sat there watched, listened and got up and left.
 
Thank you for that suggestion. Volvo was outside my research horizon. I didn't even think about that. I will check that out.

As for the comments about me joking - no - I am not joking. I am close to retirement, I am a demanding customer and I pay attention to details more that other people. I buy new cars. I don't buy a compromise cars. If a person wants a compromise - then let them buy a buick; a GM, a Ford. Whatever.

I want my new car to operate 100% and be good to me. When I bought a 43,000 car sometime ago - I did not accept a broken bluetooth. It was so unacceptable that I returned that car. Not only that - I thought it was so bad - that I disused the issue with my lawyer, but then decided to just let it go.
It seriously angers me - when a company makes a shortcut in such a visible item like dash cup holder. It has probably saved them 10 bucks. I'd pay them that 10 bucks to keep the cover, because i put things there, like keys and stuff and I don't want cup holes there.

Another thing is the stereo. When I bought my current Mazda3 - the 12 speaker system was on Preferred version and the whole package after incentive, loyalty discount and all that - was less than 24,000. Now the Bose 12 speaker system is on Premium version starting at 27,000.

This system is not as good to justify spending $7k over base version.
Other features are not that important. I'd argue - that for me that BOSE is THE SINGLE MOST important advantage Mazda has over ALL competing brands. That speaker system is great.

So why can't they put that stereo in EVERY model?
I am very undecided about what I need to do now.
I honestly don't know what I am going to do.

But there is one thing I am sure about. Right now buying a car is not limited to just one brand. There are plenty of choices across the market. Good cars. Being the most reliable thing is not enough to attract me as a buyer.

And - yes - that parking brake is a bummer. It's a terrible mistake.
If I was a Mazda company owner - I would fire the executive that signed off on that.

The simply made the new Mazda3 unfriendly for a user.
Sum that brake, cup holder and the stereo being 7K more and you have customers turn away for Lexus, and maybe Volvo. I will check that Volvo. Thank you.
Good luck finding the ”perfect” car out there as there isn’t any unless you have one custom-built from the factory to your exact specs and liking or you yourself build one. Manufacturers build them to cater to the majority of customers’ demands and wants and implement the specs and features to what they think and perceive but not to specific individual needs. It may come across to customers as “what you see is what you get - buy it if you like or don’t“ though not the intention of course. They are simply like any other mass-produced product with the target majority in mind. As someone may have already mentioned here in the forum, life is about compromises and there is no such thing as perfect rather you try to adapt, accept and live with what you have. For vehicles, same thing as there’s no perfect car out there - maybe a car that ticks most of the boxes but still with compromises. If dealing with dealerships is such a pain and hassle then there are brands out there that eliminate the middleman like Genesis so maybe give that a try...as for having the most features, better specs and quality of materials then shop within the luxury brands to give you the better selection, exclusivity and customer service experience. Good luck!
 
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