I am reasonably comfortable with set of wrenches to do most of my own maintenance work, but that was on all the older cars I've owned in the past. The '14 CX-9 is my first new car, ever, with mfg. warranty. My concern is:
Horror stories are abound, with tales of woes from people whose warranty claims are denied for any conceivable reason. Obviously, I want to avoid this, if at all possible. So on the one hand, my best bet is to let the dealership take care of any and all maintenance work, even something as minor as oil changes, etc. But on the other hand, I am not exactly in the mood to get reamed and have long despised dealership service departments for their eye-gouging prices.
Can it be recommended, under any circumstances, to do your own maintenance work (at least the minor ones) on a factory-warranty'd car? If I go this route, what are some steps I can take to keep my own independent service records to "prove" to Mazda that I've been doing proper, timely maintenance if I ever do need to make a warranty claim?
If I do absolutely have to get work done at the dealer, I dont know, is there any way to avoid getting my bank account murdered? Again, first time with buying a car straight off the lot and not off craigslist, so this is all relatively new to me, so any pointers or just general feedback might be helpful.
Thanks!
Horror stories are abound, with tales of woes from people whose warranty claims are denied for any conceivable reason. Obviously, I want to avoid this, if at all possible. So on the one hand, my best bet is to let the dealership take care of any and all maintenance work, even something as minor as oil changes, etc. But on the other hand, I am not exactly in the mood to get reamed and have long despised dealership service departments for their eye-gouging prices.
Can it be recommended, under any circumstances, to do your own maintenance work (at least the minor ones) on a factory-warranty'd car? If I go this route, what are some steps I can take to keep my own independent service records to "prove" to Mazda that I've been doing proper, timely maintenance if I ever do need to make a warranty claim?
If I do absolutely have to get work done at the dealer, I dont know, is there any way to avoid getting my bank account murdered? Again, first time with buying a car straight off the lot and not off craigslist, so this is all relatively new to me, so any pointers or just general feedback might be helpful.
Thanks!
