CanadianRedRicer

Anybody who wants to leave any comments or tips, thank you. Constructive critisism will be appreciated, I will ignore any trolling and/or negative remarks. Thanks.


Well, I have owned an 8 for a little over a month now, (2006 Shinka copper red) and I can say without a doubt that I have had an absolute horrible experience with not only the car, but the horrible customer service at Mazda...
Don't get me wrong! This car was a blast to drive within its 5,000 kilometer lifespan, but the fact is I have owned the car for a little over a month and I may need to potentially pay out nearly $8,000 in repairs.

Now before anybody jumps the gun and yells "neglected!" I would like to say:
- Only turned off when fully warm
- No redlining while cold
- Never below 94 Octane
- Oil changed as required and recommended
- New Coolant, Differential, and Transmission fluids
- Redlined at least once per drive
- Bought at Certified Mazda Dealership


So let's get my story straight.

I bought this 8 for about $20,000 after tax with verbal promise of new rims and summer tires, a set of winter tires, and extended powertrain warrenty. The vehicle was bought with just over 50,000km on it so it was assumed the 48,000km maintenance was done on it.
Well, eager to get on the road and a smile on the used cars sales manager reassuring I will be well taken care of, I drove off as happy as a clam.



Now, my friends, this is where the nightmare starts...

---First Week after purchase---
I was told the summers will be put on momentarily and I should sign the contract right now and finish the deal. I wanted to save some time, so I agreed. They put on the summers and pulled the car around the side. Right then I noticed the OEM rims were completely destroyed... scratched and black spray paint placed randomly on them. I complained about the rims and they said, "It's a used car, you can't expect it to be perfect." Well, I figured they were nice enough and I can always go aftermarket after. I asked about the winter tires and was told that they never agreed to giving me a set of winter tires, he pursuaded me that we had talked about winter tires but he never agreed to including them. I drove off a bit agitated about a few things but that soon became obsolete when I was cruising in my 8.

The following day I showed a few buddies and they noticed the rear tires were bald. By this time the clutch pedal was beggining to squeek aswell. So, I went back to Mazda and asked them about the rear tires and the clutch pedal. They told me the rear tires "passed safety" but adviced me to get new tires very soon, and the clutch squeeking was nothing to worry about and just needed a bit of lubrication. They lubricated the clutch pedal and said it would take a while before the squeekiness would subside.

*** For the next few weeks I would be going back and forth to Mazda to get some of the interior fixed that was broken. Within this time, only the shift **** skirt was replaced. Replacements still due : the plastic in the center console is torn off, part of the emergency break is snapped off, some of the leather is ripped.

---About 4 Weeks after purchase---
I figured that I should check the oil and see if I need to put new in or when my next checkup should be. So I drive to Mr. Lube and tell them to check my oil and also, out of curiosity, check what other fluids needed to be changed in the near future. *Gasp* Well it turns out all of the fluids that were supposed to be done at 48,000km weren't, and going back to Mazda I was told that none of the maintenence over 45,000km was ever done. Going back to what I said earlier about assuming the 48,000km maintenance was done, I told Mazda it wasn't done and asked if they would cover it since I bought it with 50,000km on it... they simply said "No. We legally arn't obligated to doing that." So, I figured, "OK I should have done my research a bit better." paid my dues.

---About 5 Weeks after purchase---
This is where my 8 begins its slow and painful death. Just after the 1 month limited warrenty too. I was driving in rush hour with my buddy doing anywhere between 20kph and 40kph on a sunny, clear day. Suddenly, the engine temperature gauge jumps to hot within 20-30 seconds, so I pull off to the nearest parking lot instantly and shut her off. I opened my hood and took off the plastic Renesis cover only to see light white smoke coming from what appears to be the radiator. Moments later, coolant floods the ground beneath the RX-8. I get my 8 towed to Mazda, only to find out I do infact need my radiator replaced for $800. I asked if they could cover this since it was just barely after the 1 month limited warrenty... nice and quick responce, "No."

Monday, May 31st, 2010. R.I.P. After waiting the weekend to get my radiator installed, I finally got my 8 back. I drive for about 1 kilometer only to see the engine temperature gauge jump to hot within 20-30 seconds. I quickly pull into a parking lot only to hear a slight explosion along with white smoke and coolant bleeding all over the ground. I got the car towed to Mazda and they said that they never agreed to an extended powertrain warrenty and the engine detonation was due to my mistreatment of the engine. So now the cost for a new engine plus what I put into the 8 is nearly half the purchase price of the car - all in 1 month and 1 week after purchase.

*** May I remind everybody that the parts promised at purchase for the interior are still on "back order."
*** I also learned that the rear tires were installed backwards.
*** Update --- The clutch pedal no longer squeeks! YAY



I know that nobody here can do anything for me. It was my stupidity to not put absolutely everything in writing and now I have this big mess to deal with. I may go to OMVIC (Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Counsil) and file a complaint against this Mazda dealership and hopefully can get my money back or at least reimbursed for the work that obviously needed to be done before selling me the car - at least this is what I am hoping.
Sorry for the length, I wanted to go into great detail so everybody could understand. I appreciate those who took the time to read the post of a very frustrated 8 owner.

Thank you all,

CanadianRedRicer


*** Forgot to add, I got a lot of moisture in the taillights about 2 weeks in and went to Mazda to have them replace my taillights. I was told, "We get so many cars coming into here with moisture in their taillights. Because of this, we will not replace them. We only recommend you drill a hole in the bottom of each one to drain any build-up of water."


***UPDATE***
As it turns out after some diagnosis, it was the radiator and somesort of chip or circuit board that controls the regulation of temperature and pressure within the radiator. It's a bit technical and I dont quite understand it, but I am trying to explain it to the best of what I understood. The good news is though, they said they would cover the cost of what needed to be done for the radiator!

In other news, I finally lost it today and told them I will be going to OMVIC and the Press about this, and they finally got off their high horse and told me to come in tomorrow with receipts and such, so I hope they will give me some deserved compensation. I also asked about the interior parts and if they were at the dealership yet, and I was told that they were in weeks ago and I neglected to ask for them. They obviously lied to me because I had asked about these parts every time I visited Mazda, which seems like a second home by now.

I pray that tomorrow goes well and isn't another scheme. I have a funny feeling that they will try to work their way around my receipts to help aid them in refusing to pay for anything. Any ideas from anybody?

***UPDATE***
Going this weekend to sort the details out, wish me luck! I will post the results.

***UPDATE***
The Manager I needed to speak to was not in the past 2 times I had been in. Still waiting, and to make matters worse... the engine on the 8 is making a very loud and distinct engine knocking. If knocking means anything similar to cylinder engines, then I am seriously in trouble....


*****UPDATE***** ---- JUNE 24TH 2010 ----
A really bad experience, just turned WORSE.

I finally managed to speak to somebody, apparently the manager I was dealing with "no longer works at this Mazda Dealership." - Wierd how all of his pictures were still in his office and he was still on the schedual. So I got to speak to this new, very pleasent manager this time. Here is the wonderful *cough*sarcasm*cough* update with Mazda.

So, I managed to finally go into the Mazda dealership again. And to my great luck aswell, while driving there the engine check light turned on.... great! So anyway, I waited about 10 minutes for this new manager to speak to me. Once he comes to greet me, we sit down in an office to chat about all the problems and issues of the RX-8 we had bought from them about 2 months ago. I noticed he was rather defensive and hostile from the start. I brought a pen and a piece of paper to quote this person because, frankly, I honestly don't trust anything that spews out of anybody in this dealerships mouth.

So, we get into his office and he asks me what's wrong.

1. The first thing I tell him is why the 48,000km maintenance wasn't done on the car prior to purchasing it. (purchased with roughly 49,950km on it) and was told, "Since you did not agree to it on the bill of sale, then we are not legally obligated to any maintenance due to neglect of the prior owner."

Things were already begining to get heated, when trying to ask him a question about it, he spoke loudly over me saying I had a question and I was being rude for interupting him.

2. If that couldn't be done, then I figured I would ask about the Center Console that was agreed to on the bill of sale. This is where I made a huge mistake of not checking the bill of sale for the EXACT writen agreement to replace this. So I was told, "Our records show that the center console was never agreed to on the bill of sale. So, no, we will not be replacing it. He also said that if my bill of sale says it was too be replaced, then they will replace it. So I suppose I was ripped off again...

By this time, things were quite heated up and I was begining to really get annoyed. He was literally shouting at me and I attempted a few times to speak over him to no avail.

3. I asked him about the headlights or the broken passenger window and he said that because it passed inspection, and because I neglected to take it to a secondary mechanic, then there is no legal proof that it broke prior to the end of the warrenty.

I was pretty steamed by now but still able to try to keep as much cool as I could. Seriously, this is complete bull.

4. After that I asked him about compensation from the blown radiator. My brother had gone into the dealership that time and told me they did everything they needed to do and it was infact the radiator that needed replacing, they gave him a ballpark quote. My brother called me and we decided to take it to another shop that will install the exact OEM radiator for about $300 cheaper - trusted company that we know personally. Well anyway, the manager went to go speak with the service manager - this took about 15 minutes. Both the manager and service manager came back. The service manager told me that my brother rushed into the dealership, and demanded the car be taken away before any true diagnostics could be done. Why on earth would my brother ask to have the RX-8 towed to that dealership, just to have them check it for 10 minutes, then demand it to be taken out without full diagnostics? Especially since we had to pay to have it towed and the car was there for at least an hour.
I asked both of them this, and the manager said that it's on record that there was no full diagnostics because the client demanded it be taken out of their garage. So once again, a big fat no. But he said, and I quote, "You are making false accusations against my maintenance department. I know the law, and I can have you criminally charged for such accusations. You want to play a legal game, I will play it."

***Might I add, I have kept away the entire time from the words: legal, sue, lawyer, etc. I have yet to even consult a lawyer so why would I threaten somebody not knowing why I am doing it?

5. I told him that I was told, by the manager I delt with before, that the entire car shaking was due to the fact that it was a sports car and it was completely "normal." He told me that the car passed its inspection to prove there was no shaking. He further said, "You look young, you know the reputation with young drivers and sports cars. They drive very aggressively and end up ruining their engines." By the way, I am 22 years old and have been driving since I was 16. I have always driven standard. Been through 1 clutch on my other car with over 250,000km on it. Anyway, so once again, no.

6. We were very heated by now and he told me , "You come in here and threaten to take legal action against this dealership with no grounds to do so. My wife is a lawyer, I know all about legal action and you cannot do anything." I was shocked that he accused me of saying that I was going to take legal action because I made sure I didn't say anything like that. I just wanted a bit of compensation where it should have been. So, I called his outlandish bluff and he said, "I have photogenic memory and you told me exactly that."

By this point, I was very angry and very rarely do I ever feel like punching somebody in the face, but I felt like it. So I got up and said that this is over and I am leaving. On the way out he said, "You are not allowed at this dealership again. I am not dealing with you."

And thats that...


Now I am calling OMVIC, consulting a lawyer, and depending on taking advice from OMVIC/Lawyer, I may end up going to the local media about this dealership.

By the way, Everything in BOLD with quotes is a direct quote from that manager.

***UGHHHH*** The car was a 4 year lease and sources told me that a car of that year off lease has a buyback value of around 10-12k. They sold it to me for 17.5k . They have done about $50 worth of work to it and abudently refuse to take any responsibility for the wreck they sold me.

Kaiser bun

iTrader: (2)

Sometimes these things happen, im sorry that you had a bad experience with the rx8 that you purchased. However, I dont think that is a broad view of mazda, if i were you i would consider taking to a different dealership because they sound like huge a holes.

kjb

Wasn't it a Canadian Mazda dealer that recently lost their franchise after selling a used 6 to a woman for 150% of the new MSRP? It sounds like you need to get with OMVIC and maybe ask Mazda for some help. The dealer sounds like a horror story, especially the radiator problems. Of course, you can toss all the rest of the denied promises on top, but if the radiator held up, the car would at least be driveable. With two overheating episodes, you may be testing that 8 year/100,000 mile warranty extension.

Mr.ThunderMakeR

Thats a horrible story, I'm sorry to hear that. All I can add is maybe try calling Mazda North America. Sounds like a horrible dealership. You should deffinitely file some complaints.

ambulanceonfire

iTrader: (3)

The extended warranty for the engines isn't valid in Canada?

Also, call Mazda Canada and explain everything to them. See if they can help out or not. 1-800-263-4680

Mazurfer

Yeah.......nothing we say is gonna make you feel much better. Sorry about your luck.

For sure call Mazda Canada and let them know what up.

Makes me suspicious that the dealer knew the car had issues when he sold it.

It's true that.......................some car are just jinxed(car specific, make doesn't matter), some people just have bad luck, and some dealers just really suck ***.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

WOW....


Dealership are crooks by the sound of things....and will all those problems you should have some recourse with a used car ......

ambulanceonfire

iTrader: (3)

Also, complain EVERYWHERE you can. Local tv stations, newspapers, etc. Make your voice loud enough and they be forced to help you to save face. Maybe even get a bunch of friends together and picket the place as often and as frequent as you can.

???

Mazurfer

No so-called Canadian Lemon Law? Even on a used, there should be some recourse.

CanadianRedRicer

Thanks for the swift replies....

kjb: Yes, it was here that a Mazda dealership got in trouble for selling one of their vehicles for the price of a mercedes.

ambulanceonfire: It is valid in Canada at the dealerships discretion. I made the mistake of not putting it in writing...

Mazurfer: Ya, the Canadian Lemon Law is 1 month limited warrenty. Luck should have it everything major goes 1 week after the warrenty ends.

jasonrxeight

well getting the engine changed will be the solution.
when buying a car you dont need to rush, if you dont like it dont buy it.
also ask for service history. I believe mazda offer free full inspection you couldve used that to make sure all the fluids were changed.

CanadianRedRicer

jasonrxeight: Yes, I agree. It was my stupidity that ended me in this slump. I never knew that a dealership would go this far as to completely and utterly ripping off a customer and neglecting them thereafter. But, as the old saying goes for Mazda... "Short term gain, long term pain."

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

you obviously got screwed by some dishonest dealership. HARD.

and ur thermostat got stuck, thats why the temp went from 0 to overheat.

nothing much you can do, see if bitching at Mazda corporate would work.

CanadianRedRicer

nycgps: I am hoping OMVIC can help with this situation. I learned that the used car sales manager at that dealership is the SON of the couple that owns that particular dealership. I was wondering why he was so young to be a manager already...

Roidz

Ouch, that's terrible. I hope it works out for you. Good luck.

BigMikeATL

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the powertrain is warrantied for 60000 miles and the engine core for 7 yrs/100000 miles.

You should double check to see if this is covered under warranty. Perhaps try another dealership. I would also contact Mazda North America about this in writing. Provide them with all the details you can. It's possible that this dealership has screwed other people as well.

In light of the dealership that was banned by Mazda, you could also try contacting your local news investigative team. They might be able to do some good if you are lucky.

CanadianRedRicer

BigMikeATL: The extended powertrain warrenty (at least in Ontario) is 100% at the dealership discretion. I didn't put it into writing and there is no proof of a verbal agreement, so I am pretty much out of luck in the warrenty department. :/ Thanks for your comment!

EdwardLenczowski

Hey im sorry to hear about your car! Listen in life you have to question every little detail wether ur buying a fridge or a car. Just pretend like you were selling a faulty car. Wouldnt you make it sound great and promise things? Used cars are very tricky to buy because you have to look at every little detail. If your not a mechanic or a just cant judge frame work or oil leaks, then get a good mechanic to check it out. O and rule #1 Just because you bought it at a dealership dosent mean ur safe or that the cars been "inspected" by them! Dealerships are a business... THEY WANT AS MUCH MONEY AS THEY CAN GET!

silverkillrx8

iTrader: (1)

sorry dude all i gotta say is try a diff dealership and idk if this helps at all but the motor should be under a 100,00 mile warranty no matter who the owner is but idk ive had some good customer service with mazda and some very bad its all on the dealership.. but good luck on whatever you decide to do.

CanadianRedRicer

EdwardLenczowski: I was under the impression that Mazda had a reputation for good customer service!!! I honestly didn't think I would get screwed over this much.... :/

jasonrxeight

the factory warranty has nothing to do with the dealer. if its there, they fix, simple as that.

CanadianRedRicer

jasonrxeight: I was told that the extended warrently is dependant on a dealership to dealership basis. I am not sure how it works, but I am really annoyed that all Mazda has done is reneged on as much as they possibly could and leaving one of their customers in the cold while they swim in my money. :/

silverkillrx8

iTrader: (1)

if i was you i would read the fine print within the warranty you do have because the warranty is on the motor extended warranty or not unless there is somthing the dealership is hiding i would deff look into it more because to me sounds kinda wierd how they are acting.

CanadianRedRicer

silverkillrx8: It is... I am going to OMVIC and I pray something will be resolved... I seriously didn't expect to pay nearly $30,000 for this car nearly right off the bat.

tubingchamp

iTrader: (3)

I think you should give MNAO a call, and talk about the engine core warranty..

As long as you have your own oil change receipts it should be enough for a new engine, but take it to a different dealership.