Go Warranty! New Wheels for me!

[Clarkbug]

Hooray!

I figured I would share the news, just to hope that others might have similar luck.

I went to go buy an airfilter while I was home (Upstate NY) and ended up at the dealer. In this case, that is Scot Mazda in Bennington, VT. The service manager wasnt overly busy as I had caught them right after lunch, and I asked him if he could look at the wheels on my car. I noticed when I bought my P5 about a year ago that the paint on some of the spokes was bubbling, sorta turning into looking like orange peel.

So, he came out and looked at them, then said "Well, I can warranty all of these.".

Sweet.

This monday I have 1200+ dollars of wheel coming in to be put back on the car. Im pretty psyched. They werent even that bad. But I am definitely glad I asked.

I thought I would share, and also give the plug to Scot Mazda. I didnt by my car there, but they have an amazing service and parts department. (Not just based on my one experience, people around here have had good luck) So, if you are around the Bennington VT area, I would say go there for service or parts.

~Bug

 

[altspace]

Umm....ok. Never heard of this. Usually you have to fight for a simple fuse change.

 

[Pirana]

Man you are lucky....they wouldnt warranty my MSP wheels that have some spots, they said it was normal.

 

[JCell]

pics of damage?

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

nice! My Mazda dealer had to buy me new wheels 2 weeks after I got the car because they washed it but neglected to remember NOT to use chemicals on them so they ruined them....

 

[Clarkbug]

Yeah, I know its very unusual. I didnt think that I could get them to warranty them either, but I figured it couldnt hurt to ask.

Again, I gotta credit the service guys at Scot Mazda up here, they definitely are nice to talk to, and obviously they are giving me free stuff The service and parts managers both agreed that the bubbling on the wheels wasnt a normal thing, so they should replace them.

I dont have any pics of the damage, I have already dropped the wheels off up at the dealer, so I cant take any. Sorry But it just looked like rust was forming under the powder coating on the spokes of the wheels. (They are the 2003 styled P5 wheels, not the 2002) The top layer was still intact, but you could see that something wasnt quite right. Also, some of it was appearing in the lug holes on a few of the wheels. It seemed to be more of a problem on the back two than on the fronts, but I dont know why.

And I guess the next thing is to try and figure out what else is actually "wrong" with my car so I can get it fixed under warranty... This is the first vehicle I have ever owned that has one, and Im just used to when things break or are annoying to deal with it. Any suggestions?

~Bug

 

[eh-body]

The wheels with flacky paint are warranty covered. Pressure the dealer. It is a manufacturing defect. Wheels were NOT prepped properly before coating in the factory. I suspect they forgot to anodize the rims before coating them. Anodizing creates a hard barrier again corrosion.(attn)

I had a chevy truck with aluminum rims that were 13 years old that were not as bad as the mazda rims after a year. And one of the rims was exposed with out clear coat for 5 years, after somebody hit it in a parking lot.

Regards
Shawn

 

[MP5_509]

How long is the warranty on the wheel problem? I have a 2002 with 63k miles. and my wheels are bubbling near the bolt holes. Now whoever had the car prior to me beat the living hell out of the rims and i dont want them to blame the bubbling on the nasty curb rash, even though where its bubbled no curb could hit.

 

[Clarkbug]

I honestly dont know how long the warranty would be, because I dont know which part of it they are going to claim.

My car has the 4 year/48000 mile bumper to bumper, and mazda also has a 5 year/unlimited mileage corrosion warranty. (Anyone can correct me here, Im shooting from the hip). I think the 2002 P5's had a 3 year/ 36000 mile bumper to bumper, but the same corrosion protection.

So, I dont know if they are doing my wheels under the bumper to bumper, or under the corrosion. My first thought would be that you are out of luck however, only because its not easy to get them to agree to replace them to begin with, and it would be super hard now that you are out of your initial warranty period. I honestly didnt think that they would do them at all. But, Im supposed to go pick them up in a few hours. Sweet.

 

[MP5_509]

I honestly dont know how long the warranty would be, because I dont know which part of it they are going to claim.

My car has the 4 year/48000 mile bumper to bumper, and mazda also has a 5 year/unlimited mileage corrosion warranty. (Anyone can correct me here, Im shooting from the hip). I think the 2002 P5's had a 3 year/ 36000 mile bumper to bumper, but the same corrosion protection.

So, I dont know if they are doing my wheels under the bumper to bumper, or under the corrosion. My first thought would be that you are out of luck however, only because its not easy to get them to agree to replace them to begin with, and it would be super hard now that you are out of your initial warranty period. I honestly didnt think that they would do them at all. But, Im supposed to go pick them up in a few hours. Sweet.

Sell em to me! (hi)

 

[Clarkbug]

Heh....Uhhh....NO.

But I didnt get them today anyway

New ones came in, but they were a 4 lug version or something. (The parts guy just said they were the wrong ones...)

So, Now I am waiting until the next parts delivery. Oh well.

I did try to ask what would happen to the old ones, but they didnt seem to take kindly to where I was headed....

 

[xvdarkyvx]

Man.. I wish I got new wheels for free. That would be awesome.