Mazda's Cars Are Good But Its Dealers Are Still Kind of Awful

Kaps

Contributor
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CX-5 Touring 2016.5
This should be a sticky note on the forum.

https://jalopnik.com/mazdas-cars-are-good-but-its-dealers-are-still-kind-of-1833713245

I would not recommend Mazda unless you really do have a good dealer or know most of the routine maintenance and go in only for warranty work.
Been to three dealers and they have all been awful to some degree. Here in Dallas - I get this feeling that every time I walk into a Mazda dealer - they seem so desperate to offer useless service etc. - it just seems they are so poor or they don't make any money. It seems Mazda sells them their cars above MSRP and they are suffering. I seriously think that holding a Mazda only dealership may not be any profitable venture except in certain places like Cali. I have seen dealers who:
1. Have no Mazda moly. Never heard of it.
2. Do warranty work only on certain days of the week. Give you loaner then charge you $25 for leaks and fluids. What leaks and fluids on a 12k mile car?
3. Looks like nobody cares - I see 2014 Mazda 3 accessories book this Saturday in lounge area of a dealer - wow.
4. Shady af. Keep dirty cabin air filters and show it to all customers who come in. I changed mine 4k miles ago and I still saw a dirty filter. I told him so and he switched topic quickly.
5. Needlessly push unnecessary stuff all the time.

If this crap happens in a city like Dallas which is a large urban center - I cant imagine smaller tier 2 / 3 cities.
All I am saying is there is a huge disparity between the cars and their quality - the dealers and their quality.
 
My Lexus dealer tried to pull that filter trick on me the last time I went in. I changed it a month earlier.

From my limited dealer experience, I would trust Mazda over Lexus as far as honesty goes. If we're talking about the customer waiting lounge and amenities, that's a different story.
 
I do all maintenance by myself, so I dont really deal with Mazda dealer other than warranty work. But some friends and family theyd rely on Mazda dealer for maintenance. Locally theyve been using Town North Mazda in Richardson I recommend. Theyre not perfect, but I havent seen any of the problems you mentioned from other Mazda dealers in DFW area. You want Mazda moly, $10 extra than Castrol. Never offer unnecessary work according to friends they go there. Definitely no dirty cabin filter hided under the counter!

I believe bad dealer service is not just Mazdas problem. Young generation is not interested to get their hands dirty. Dealers now really have a hard time to find a good mechanic. I just brought my 2018 Toyota Yaris iA / Mazda2 to a Toyota dealer in Bay Area for 1st free maintenance. Its an old and small Toyota dealer and service advisor seems very nice. Hes willing to ask technician to save factory oil filter and collect some factory oil sample for me. Yeah the factory oil filter is Japanese PE01-14-302B filter by Tokyo Roki, and new Toyota oil filter is Mazdas Thai 1WPE-14-302 filter by Denso. But the problem is the technician over-filled the oil about a half quart!

BTW, Ive seen so many Mazda CX-5s or just Mazdas in general in Bay Area, must be a major market for Mazda North American Operations.
 
It's been a mixed experience for me. The actual salesman was great. Easy to deal with, personable, "normal". The finance guy was a f***ing a**hole. We almost walked away from the car over him. Service-wise, ehh... The Mazda service center for the dealership we bought from is actually in a Volkswagen dealership, about 2 miles away from the Mazda showroom and sales dept. We had an issue with the brakes making noise that took 3 visits to resolve and I had to provide the TSB that addressed the issue (they weren't aware of it), but they did resolve it, so I'll give them that. Everytime they had the car, they had it for a week at a time. They were slow. I dealt with their parts department today and they charged me over $2 for a drain plug washer and $11.50 for a Mexican made oil filter and refused to order the Mazda Moly oil for me. The counterman was rude and slow. There were dusty parts catalogs and brochures sitting around that were so old they had RX-8s and Tributes on them. So pretty negative experience as far as parts go.

Overall that dealership gets maybe a D-.

Just dealt with another dealership parts department today and had a pretty positive experience. Price was right in line with online prices, the dealership was clean and new looking, the counterman was friendly. I haven't dealt with their sales or service department, but maybe I'll give them a shot when it's due for inspection.
 
My dealer interaction over a small TSB has been : Come in we will do it.
When I go - No parts now so cant do it.
If I show Mazda dealers Mazda's own TSB - they act like its in Latin and they have never seen or heard about it. This is the best Mazda dealer here. The best.
 
If I show Mazda dealers Mazda's own TSB - they act like its in Latin and they have never seen or heard about it.

Seriously, what the **** is up with dealers that aren't aware of TSBs? That is absolutely unacceptable IMO. I, the lowly customer, actually have to educate you, the mechanics, the experts. What kind of back asswards deal is that?
 
...
If I show Mazda dealers Mazda's own TSB - they act like its in Latin and they have never seen or heard about it. ...

One thing I've learned, service people don't like being told how to do their jobs. I only bring up a TSB for a known issue as a last resort, after giving them plenty of opportunity to find it on their own.
 
The dealer I bought my CX-5 was fantastic. Never pulled any of this kinda crap. They were an honest, family owned dealership.

Then they sold off to a dealer group that took away our free oil changes and then proceeded to keep me there waiting for 3 freaking hours for an oil change. It was after this that I decided to learn how to change my own oil.

The other dealer group near me that has a Mazda dealership is fast on the service, but they were not very friendly when I was shopping around, and someone I know who bought a used CPO CX-5 from them has had nothing but issues immediately after buying it. They're so called "inspection" must have been a lie. Infotainment issues, and a yellow wrench that wouldn't go away like a couple days after she bought it.
 
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It's like anyplace else, the facility is only as good as the people that work there. One screw ball, be it salesman, service advisor, or mechanic, can knock the reputation of a place way down. I was looking for a CPO Toyota Corolla and this one Toyota dealership lured me in with a "new acquirement", claimed they just received a used Corolla and was in the process of getting certified. After being there for almost an hour they finally showed it to me. The thing was ready for the scrap heap, front bumper was taped together, all kinds of dents and damage, no way was this car going to be CPO. Goes without saying I'll never set foot in there again even though people I work with swear by this dealership.
 
Like yrwei52, I formerly lived in Plano and used Town North in Richardson for my service needs.
They were usually efficient and didn't try to upsell unneeded parts or service.

I've been in Austin for many years and now frequent Mazda South.
Their service department has been excellent with a couple of minor exceptions (oil over or under-filled).
They know that I'll double-check the oil (and other fluid) levels before I leave the service drive and make darned certain that all is perfect.

"Extra" services are sometimes offered, but there's never a hard sell.
 
Both of my dealers I have dealt with have been good. My local dealer now is almost too laid back - the sales people need to be asked to see a car.
 
My dealer interaction over a small TSB has been : Come in we will do it.
When I go - No parts now so cant do it.
If I show Mazda dealers Mazda's own TSB - they act like its in Latin and they have never seen or heard about it. This is the best Mazda dealer here. The best.
No, this Mazda dealer definitely is NOT the best in DFW area!

When I brought up the TSB at the Town North Mazda, not only the service advisor knew but he'd explain the details. When I discussed the issues on TSB in detail, I could talk to a Master Tech and he answered all the questions I had. Your Mazda dealer to me is the worst among them!
 
Before I bought my CX-5 I talked with 2 Mazda owners - both women, both had great experiences with a Mazda dealer south of the Twin Cities, MN. I bought there and it was a good experience. I'll probably never use their service because I do 99% of all repairs myself and I'm cheap.
But - let's be fair. If you want special treatment then be a decent customer. Establish a relationship on the easy stuff like oil changes. And don't show up with your TSB in hand requesting the "fix". Present the problem and symptoms. And, if you have a TSB, then provide it if it seems to fit. If you act like a cheap pain in the ass then don't be surprised if you are treated like one. Not accusing anyone - just suggesting that you can increase your chances of getting good service.
 
A comment like this is totally misleading because of the generalization that ALL MAZDA dealers are not good. That misleading statement can refer to almost any manufacture. My MAZDA dealer in Fort Myers, FL has been excellent with the two MAZDAs I bought from them. Ed
 
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And don't show up with your TSB in hand requesting the "fix". Present the problem and symptoms. And, if you have a TSB, then provide it if it seems to fit. If you act like a cheap pain in the ass then don't be surprised if you are treated like one.

I didn't show up with a TSB in hand until after I gave them two chances to fix the car themselves, which they failed to do. The service manager (not an advisor) was completely unaware the TSB even existed until I gave him a printed copy. I don't think expecting the car to work the way it should after spending $25k on it at the same dealership is acting like a cheap pain in the ass. I also think bringing the car back 3 times for the same issue that was addressed in an existing TSB is some bulls***.

And I work at a dealership. I get both sides. I'm a technician for Ford, have been for 5 years. It's the dealership's job to keep the customer happy, not the other way around. The customer is the one paying, and the have already bought a vehicle, so they have already invested a significant amount of money into the brand/dealership. It's not like they haven't spent any money.
 
One thing I've learned, service people don't like being told how to do their jobs. I only bring up a TSB for a known issue as a last resort, after giving them plenty of opportunity to find it on their own.

Quoting for truth!
 
Exactly. Its not specific to Mazda dealers. its specific to the business owner that has the franchise/service,etc..

My Mazda dealer is good for example and I always recommend them.
 
One thing I've learned, service people don't like being told how to do their jobs. I only bring up a TSB for a known issue as a last resort, after giving them plenty of opportunity to find it on their own.

I think that is company culture more than it is service people in general. Again as a technician who works at a dealership, if a customer brought me a TSB that dealt with an issue I had already supposedly "fixed" on their car, I would be extremely embarrassed. And the service manager would be embarrassed for me, and he wouldn't be very happy with me. That customer would probably be getting VIP treatment to make up for it.
 
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