I wanted to let you guys know about my experience with Roger Beasley Mazda North so that you can make an informed decision as to whether you want to take your car there.

When I first went there in hopes of buying my Protege 5, I was told that the only way I would get leather on it would be to pay their aftermarket installation prices, even though I had seen in on the website and knew that it was not only available from the factory, but at a price far lower than what they were trying to charge me. Since they kept insisting that they were correct and refused to even look for the availability of leather, I went on to another dealership, Big Billy Barrett in Dallas.

My salesman in Dallas was WONDERFUL. He didn't have what I wanted, but he did a search and found it. Aware that it would price it out of my range to have it transported in, he gave me the information of the dealer that had the car (also WONDERFUL, Anderson Mazda in Lincoln, Nebraska) so that I could contact them and deal directly with them, then drive it home.

Back in Austin, one day shy of a month into ownership, I took my car to Roger Beasley Mazda North, figuring that I was just having an exhaust heat shield rattle fixed, so they couldn't screw it up too badly, right? Besides, service is separate from sales, so that should reduce the odds of widespread idiots?

Wrong! Here's the dents that were in it when I got it back from them, with only 2150 miles on the odometer:

http://www.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/17752/

http://www.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/17753/

http://www.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/17754/

They have offered to "fix" it, but I am totally unsatisfied with that solution, especially given the trouble I went to get it. I'm not willing to take a depreciation hit for body work at trade in either, especially given that it is a BRAND NEW car.

What would you do??

 

I'd have them make me a check for the damage or sue them or something, then take it ELSEwhere to get it fixed, i dunno what else there is to do.

oh btw, mazda doors arent as sturdy as you think, so be VERY careful.

 

damn, that sucks. nothing i hate more when shopping than bad cs. yeah, i would get cash or something and totally ditch the "fix it for you" option (isn't that what you came in for in the first place?). ask around at other mazda dealers and explain your predicament and see what they can offer you.

what i don't get is how they could give it back to you that way? damn. my friend has two dents (non dealer related) that they are gonna charge him $75 to pull out. it's a farily easy process i guess, but i'm guessing your're pissed at their cs.

 

I would definately tell them that you want an outside firm to repair the car at their cost. Or I would talk to a lawyer about getting a replacement vehicle from Mazda. I would also contact Mazda Corporate as they would probably like to hear about your experience. I am having some problems with my dealership here in haggling over cost, but that is neither here nor there.

Good Luck.

 

since you don't want to take a hit on the depreciation due to body work, make them get a new door, have it painted and install the interior on it. You should be able to have it done anywhere since they screwed it up. Definetly let Mazda USA know whats going on as well. My '99 GMC Siera was swide swipped with 15,000miles and it was fixed at the dealer as they have an awesome body shop. It looked great to me. I tried to trade it in on a 2001 Siera C3 (Denali) and on the apprasial sheet there was a deduction due to it being in an accident. Don't take the hit I had to take. I still have it because I can't get a decent trade in. The truck is in perfect condition save the accident repairs. Good Luck!!!

 

Well, I'm surprised to see my dealership who sold me my car at the center of attention here.

Both Mazda North and South have really bad reputation amongst various Mazda owners. I personally had a bad experience with Mazda South with my previous Mazda 323. They changed my oil and just forgot the most important part of an oil change... putting fresh new oil back into my engine ...... If I didn't already have a bottle of oil additive handy that day that I liked to add in after a fresh oil change I would have been driving around town with an empty engine... makes me mad just thinking about it.

Because of that and one other problem they had failed to fix many years ago ... I hate Mazda South.

For some reason I hear that RX-7 owners here prefer Mazda South. I personally haven't had much problem with Mazda North, but I have heard customers (while waiting in the lobby with me to get their cars repaired) tell me some horror stories about how Mazda North people treat their vehicles.

One guy who drove a Mazda truck said he noticed Mazda North folks had driven his car for over 60 miles .... and he had only dropped it off a day to get an oil change......

I bitch a lot at Mazda North and I go back to them when I THINK my car is not right. I believe I'm fairly reasonable with my complaints for the most part. I even let them get away with scratching my little console door underneath the Kenwood unit and part of the imitation carbon fiber panel surrounding the unit after they replaced the z828 with a new unit.

Reading how they dinged your car door makes me mad and I feel like I should go and have them replace what they did to my car... but it's been a few months already...

In any case, I can't believe dealership folks can be so irresponsible when handling someone else's car.

Mazda North did show more "professionalism" than South ever did towards me. Although, North did try to swindle the idea that my stereo system had no problem when I took it back for them to fix (3-4 guys came out together to tell me it was no big deal). After me laughing at their ignorance (I really laughed out loud right after they said they didn't feel like my system had any problems with it) and showing proof that there was a problem with the system, they gave in and found the problem 5 or 6 hours later that day.

Basically there was no bass coming out of my sub (turned out to be a faulty Kenwood z828 unit) and they had originally insisted that there was nothing wrong with it. Sheesh... it was very difficult to explain to them what BASS sounded like ... that was why I thought it was funny at the time ... something so simple to understand and they could not make clear of it.

A friend of mine who owns a Miata had problems getting Mazda North to fix a transmission vibration. They continued to tell her it was how ALL Miatas felt like.... but it was funny how they didn't take her advice when she asked them to take a BRAND NEW Miata on the lot and drive it around to compare with her Miata to see if that was indeed the case. After some dedicated research from her part, and (albeit) lengthy explanation from her to the dealership ... they finally asked one of their mechanics who dealt more often with Miatas to fix the problem that ... in all sense they have fixed dozens and dozesn of times on other Miatas before.

It just comes down to having some proof and some knowledge as to the type of problem you are having with your car before and after you take it in. Dealerships all over the country are very similar, except in some rare case ... and I believe most are just too lazy to want to work on a car.

And if you are a woman, don't let those scum bags B.S. you into thinking a problem from your car is a FEATURE of the car. Even as a male I had to stand firm and be so stubborn about the proper repairs ... getting a dealership service shop to work on your car is almost as difficult as purchasing a NEW car at a fair price.

Lastly, both Mazda dealerships here in Austin deal with B&B Body & Paint. I had a minor bumper accident last month. Had it fixed by B&B ... they did a great job and they were patient with my questions... they made sure to inform me by calling me at home of the repair progress. I did a lot of research for the right bodyshop to work on my car ... it was difficult since credible information was not easy to come by. Several co-workers had experiences with B&B many years ago and recommended them. The insurance company who was paying for the bill also recommended B&B .... Of course Mazda recommended them too. Finally, I saw a poll of Austin Chronical giving B&B an award a few years ago for Best Repair shop of the year ... or something like that.... LOL

My time was running out so I quickly narrowed it down to B&B, Heritage (I believe), Collision Body and Paint, and maybe one or two others I can't recall right now. Any case, I think B&B did me right for now... just have to wait and see how their paint last in the long run.... but it's lifetime warranty as long as I own the car (not transferrable).

Good luck there!

 

Sorry, I think I meant to say that MIATA owners prefer Mazda South ... NOT RX-7 owners... it's late ....

 

If you really feel you have been done wrong by a dealer, contact Mazda corporate. I have had good results with that in the past (other makes), as most manufacturers don't want poor dealer performance damaging their brands.

 

You should be compensated for diminished value also. I've posted this before but a good site for info when your car is damaged.

Wreck Check

 

I mentioned that I was active on several web forums when I went back and showed them the damage, asking them if they wanted me to let the local Mazda enthusiast groups know what happened. Their Customer Relations guy, Jesse something, said yes, that he did want me to tell people what happened, so here I am.

A VW dealer in Atlanta tried to sue a guy for posting his story of crummy customer service sometime last year, and in the end, they dropped the suit because the bad PR wasn't worth it. I can't imagine that this dealer would find it to be a wise idea to sue me for recounting my story either That story is here: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=52126

 

They run http://www.mazdastuff.com too. I didn't have a very good experience with them when I ordered my strut tower brace but they were cheap. It took forever to get the right parts so I could install the thing.

 

I would suggest calling Mazda Corporate and telling them of your situation. Tell them pretty much what you wrote on this board. Tell them of your bad experience and extreme dissatisfaction with the Austin dealer and how you will never buy another Mazda vehicle from this dealer.

Also add a good plug for the Dallas dealership. Dealerships get awards and also get raises and first pick of cars and more picks on the special edition cars with the better service they provide and the number of cars they sell. Thus, creating more potential $$$$ for the dealership. It really is in the dealer's best interest in the long run to take really good care of you service-wise and also to sell lots of cars (meaning better prices or deals).

You should probably give them dates and tell them where you can send a formal letter of complaint. Send one copy to the Better Business Bureau (this tends to put some fire under their asses). Putting the BBB into the mix makes them go above and beyond not to mention makes things happen a lot quicker. Add pictures of the damage done, and tell Mazda Corporate what you would like them to do for you.

I would ask for no less than a new door installation given the circumstances of the dents. Do not allow them to try and make a deal with your insurance company.

 

For sume reason I can't look at the pictures of your door, but if there are any dents on any creases don't let them fix it! They'll just bondo it and slap on some paint. Like every one said new door and you can always take them to small claims court and sue them for I think up to 5k.

 

On a nother note, while we have a few centeral TX nuts here we should meet up for lunch one weekend before the summer is out! Maybe make a run out of it. Let me know if anyone is up for it.

 

holy thread revival