Over reacting?

[Thisguy65]

First I've been a mechanic for 10 years, worked in dealership for 1 year (hated trying to push people to get services they didn't). Now I work on cars by word of mouth as a side gig. while I don't have the Snap on VERUS computer, I do have high end tools that allow me to diagnose problems vs being a parts replacer.

Wife wanted a mazda 3, she has never had a newer-ish car in her life and it was time to change that with her 06 Scion TC with 180k showing it age. Frankly I was tired to wrenching on it to.

Found this Certified Pre-Owned 7 years/100k warranty out to 2020 (2014 model that was bought in 2013). We bought it last night. 2014 w/ 25k miles, paid 22,300 out the door on Grand Touring. Carfax showed it was maintain very well, with oil changes every 3,800-4,500 miles. I was driving home with the tunes up when my Iphone switch playlist there was a moment of silence for a few seconds. That lend me to pick up a slight whine. Thinking it might be the stereo, I turned it off. Still there. By this time I'm at a stop light in downtown (been driving for 25/30 minutes) Light turns green and I take off, notice the whine is RPM dependent. Hmmm

I get home and look up TSB's. I found the bearing issue in the transmission and my Vin/Tranmission code falls with in the range.

I go out to look at the transmission to see if it had been replace. This is when it get interesting.
I Immediately y notice ALOT of corrosion and oxidation. My civic (145k miles) does not exhibit anything close to what I saw. No I do not wash the engine bay. Emailed the dealer (not open yet) that we are returning the unit, however I hope we could reach a solution to keep her in a cx-5.

 

[CX-5um]

Dude you're not overeacting.

1. This is a certified used car. That engine should be cleaned and prepped to pass the visual inspection at least. I would ask the dealership service manager to resolve that.

2. Mazda dealerships have been pretty good with resolving the transmission issues. Look through these forum for people's experiences. Print out the TSB and present to the dealership. I would consider even taking it to another dealership as this one kind of seems incompetent judging from that engine bay.

 

[Thisguy65]

Even clean (yellow being pollen) will not remove the corrosion/rust. However they have had this unit for 63 days...long time in the dealer world.

Either they take it back and we go else where or we work out a compromise and put my wife in a comparable (100k warranty.

 

[mazdadude]

Even clean (yellow being pollen) will not remove the corrosion/rust. However they have had this unit for 63 days...long time in the dealer world.

Either they take it back and we go else where or we work out a compromise and put my wife in a comparable (100k warranty.

My curiosity RADAR would be going off also...

I wonder about the corrosion, and also I see some strange areas where dirt has collected say maybe after a high water event?

Battery has been swapped out also... Seems a little early? (shrug)

 

[KimGT]

Don't mean to be a jerk but being a mechanic on the side, didn't you pop the hood when you checked out the car?

I usually do it even on new cars after the test drive.

Either way, the dealership had no business selling a pile like that, should have been taken care of before sale. Good Luck!

 

[Thisguy65]

Don't mean to be a jerk but being a mechanic on the side, didn't you pop the hood when you checked out the car?

I usually do it even on new cars after the test drive.

Either way, the dealership had no business selling a pile like that, should have been taken care of before sale. Good Luck!

Having dealt with this dealership before and knowing of the owners (I'm friends with owner of a different dealership that knows them) I trusted them. I did however pop the hood, given it was 7pm, light condition to see down were not optimal. However I did mention the battery tie down. Being warranty good for 100k, not sweating alot until I got home. They have respond, luckily the wife works around the corner from them.

 

[inlinev]

Dealers almost always power wash engine bays. Some use a steam cleaner with degreaser.

 

[KimGT]

Again, I don't know if a power wash would have removed all that corrosion. Mazdadude brought up a really good point, the battery was replaced an its a 2014 with 25k miles. Maybe the old battery exploded in the car and the previous owner simply removed and replaced the battery, didn't bother to wash off the old battery acid.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

Imo, looks like traces of some previous fluid leak or battery incident. Especially looking at the metal. Which state do you live in?

 

[MikeM.]

Best guess, previous owner killed the battery and it was overcharged causing acid to spray out or explode. I don't think you're getting a low enough price to accept potential future problems (warranty or no warranty). All it takes is for one drop of acid to have leaked into one electrical connector...

Keep looking. This car has been in the hands of an idiot which can bring future heartache. Most problems are caused by human "error" or more accurately deemed human "idiocy" since it's so easy to maintain modern cars properly.

 

[Unobtanium]

First I've been a mechanic for 10 years, worked in dealership for 1 year (hated trying to push people to get services they didn't). Now I work on cars by word of mouth as a side gig. while I don't have the Snap on VERUS computer, I do have high end tools that allow me to diagnose problems vs being a parts replacer.

Wife wanted a mazda 3, she has never had a newer-ish car in her life and it was time to change that with her 06 Scion TC with 180k showing it age. Frankly I was tired to wrenching on it to.

Found this Certified Pre-Owned 7 years/100k warranty out to 2020 (2014 model that was bought in 2013). We bought it last night. 2014 w/ 25k miles, paid 22,300 out the door on Grand Touring. Carfax showed it was maintain very well, with oil changes every 3,800-4,500 miles. I was driving home with the tunes up when my Iphone switch playlist there was a moment of silence for a few seconds. That lend me to pick up a slight whine. Thinking it might be the stereo, I turned it off. Still there. By this time I'm at a stop light in downtown (been driving for 25/30 minutes) Light turns green and I take off, notice the whine is RPM dependent. Hmmm

I get home and look up TSB's. I found the bearing issue in the transmission and my Vin/Tranmission code falls with in the range.

I go out to look at the transmission to see if it had been replace. This is when it get interesting.
I Immediately y notice ALOT of corrosion and oxidation. My civic (145k miles) does not exhibit anything close to what I saw. No I do not wash the engine bay. Emailed the dealer (not open yet) that we are returning the unit, however I hope we could reach a solution to keep her in a cx-5.

Screw that. Get rid of it, find one that's not questionable. Simple as that. Dump a car at the first sign it's a problem child and you'll be much happier, because otherwise you're just going to be that poor sap that says "Well, after I fix this, it should be good to go!" Yeah. No. BTDT with Infiniti, Chrysler, GM, and others. They all make "one" like that. Dump it.

Friend had a Lexus with corrosion issues. Screw that. NO!

 

[Srad600]

I'm with the others on this one, take it back and find yourself a better example. To me, it wouldn't matter what issues created the situation, I wouldn't want to take on the resulting potential for future problems.

 

[xtrailman]

Looks like salt damage to me?

And I wouldn't want anyone power washing my engine bay, I bought a 10 month old Primera, dealer prepped the car by power washing the engine, spark plugs where swimming and the engine kept cutting out, eventually a new ECU was fitted, water and electronics don't mix.

That engine has been exposed to extreme weather, as some one said maybe its been under water.

 

[thiguys65]

It's defiantly battery acid. Went to pool store and grabbed a PH scale. Took some scrapping of the corrosion and place it in water. In another vial ran plain water, as a control. It lit right up when I put the test chemical in.


When I saw this I new the car was going back, no mistake about it. Meeting with dealer this afternoon to talk about solutions. I already made it 110% clear, we are not taking this unit.

For those that ask, I'm in North Carolina, US.

 

[CX-5um]

It's defiantly battery acid. Went to pool store and grabbed a PH scale. Took some scrapping of the corrosion and place it in water. In another vial ran plain water, as a control. It lit right up when I put the test chemical in.


When I saw this I new the car was going back, no mistake about it. Meeting with dealer this afternoon to talk about solutions. I already made it 110% clear, we are not taking this unit.

For those that ask, I'm in North Carolina, US.

Hey wait a minute. Did you just create a new profile lol. Good luck at the dealership.

 

[thiguys65]

Hey wait a minute. Did you just create a new profile lol. Good luck at the dealership.

My profile got ding by our security here at work..made a new one with IT help so I would be able to post..LOL

 

[GAXIBM]

If it is battery acid from old battery why is it also deposited on the new battery? It is not corrosion on plastic/rubber parts as they don't corrode. Some salts will turn acidic when placed in water. My guess is it was used near a place or driven on a dirt road to a place that salt stuff came from the road.

 

[RG_Flyer]

I wonder about the corrosion, and also I see some strange areas where dirt has collected say maybe after a high water event?

High Water event = PC for FLOOD! (lol2)

I bought a new CX-5 in High Point, NC last month. Probably not the same dealer, eh?

 

[thiguys65]

Bad thing is the wife and i had sign the papers last night, wasn't until I heard the noise and started checking for TSB did I look under the hood.

Sent email first this morning, the saleman was off but came in. Some young kid around my age (27) and cocky as hell.

Briefly met with one of the owners. Fiance manager and salesman aren't having it, will not accept a return.

3 choices 1) keep it 2) find another pre-own 3) trade for a new one 1 and 3 are surely not happening.

So Owner and my self are going to sit down and try to work it out. Salesman and Fiance manager win douche of the year. Not going to stop, keep pushing. Depending on how the meeting goes tomorrow depends on how I had the next course of action.

 

[Unobtanium]

Bad thing is the wife and i had sign the papers last night, wasn't until I heard the noise and started checking for TSB did I look under the hood.

Sent email first this morning, the saleman was off but came in. Some young kid around my age (27) and cocky as hell.

Briefly met with one of the owners. Fiance manager and salesman aren't having it, will not accept a return.

3 choices 1) keep it 2) find another pre-own 3) trade for a new one 1 and 3 are surely not happening.

So Owner and my self are going to sit down and try to work it out. Salesman and Fiance manager win douche of the year. Not going to stop, keep pushing. Depending on how the meeting goes tomorrow depends on how I had the next course of action.

Most states allow a 72 hour return by law, for any reason. They don't want it because it's a POS and they took your head off. Call your lawyer. It will be far cheaper in the long run to pay him for a touch of advice and a letter than to own this thing.