Was anyone else watching the news story this morning on CBC? I was flippin channels when I saw the Mazda logo and tuned in to see what was going on. Apparantly someone had a complaint or something and CBC went to test it out, the dealer of choice: Jim Gauthier Mazda. What was to be a routine maintinence that should cost $280 or something around there ended up to be $700...then it got changed to $500-$600! This isnt the only dealership that got tagged, all over Canada, they were quoting over $450, and when Mazda Canada spoke to them, the lowest was $250 now but still ranged up to $500 in Vancouver!! Just thought I should give you guys a heads up if you are going in for a tune up or something...not trying to bash any dealerships or anything but that was the dealer they profiled

 

You know what... those stations (CBC as mentioned) should be given extra kudos for doing this kind of thing... There are too many companies taking advantage of under-knowledged people out there... I know it's Buyer Beware, but still, I for one, wouldn't have a clue as to when a dealership is ripping me off on service.

This is my fist new car, and I don't want to miss out on maintenance and void my warranty, therefore, I simply take my car in, and when they give me a total, I pay it... I hate being in this situation, but I don't know a way around it.

I say that any business caught being fraudulent deserves to be posted all over National TV... have you ever noticed, that when they do, they never comment... That's a guilty plea if I've ever heard one.

There's my $0.02 and I know there's people out there that will argue my position, and I welcome it.... I'm sure theMan will be here any time now.

 

for reasons like that, my 323 will never see the inside of the dealerships garage.

well that and i'm not too sure if they'd know what to do with a 323 with a 2.5 V6 in it.

 

This brings me to another question... I have a good buddy who owns his own shop so getting cheap and reliable service is no problem, so is there any servicing that HAS to be done at Mazda?... is there anything special that is Mazda related? Richard, you said that you have an independent "Mazda" mechanic... Is there anything special he does that a regular service shop may not know of?

 

Perfect... Thanks Richard!!

 

I hear you Soma, but really, who knows if they aren't all like that... I guess it just comes down to trust! And knowledge!! I'm sure if CBC probed all the stealerships in the city, they'd find something dirty on each one of them!!

 

I know that all dealerships are scam artists....i'm just super pissed off cause i really thought that i could have trusted them for my after warranty work

 

The CBC I Team did that report over 3 months ago.
They been showing the repeat and update all week. My dealership was the worst one when they did the first report, then they fixed things up when they got rid of 70% of the service staff. Mazda Canada already reemed out all the dealerships 3 months back, now everything is back to normal. (That was the last part of the show that everyone seems to ignore)

 

Soma: when they probed all the dealerships they found that they were all overcharging. It wasn't just us.
We were targeted because we were overcharging the most. But that doesn't mean that what the other dealerships was doing was right.

And that report was orginally done before you had your MP3, so dont worry, you didnt get ripped off. I looked at your service records to make sure buddy.

 

correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't the service manager at Gauthier the owners son????? I used to take my old 626 to gauthier and i found that they were always fair to me..

 

well, so far the service has been ok, but i've never had to pay for anything....its all been under warranty (and i'd never give in to there "reccommended inspections" every how many miles...i'd just do it myself...i do find thought that they do charge a bit more for their oil changes....i can't wait til summer unntil i can do them on my own

 

I have always avoided dealerships since my gen 1 dx. I only went back for warranty related work on my mp3 (cluncking & vibrating windshield, anyone?). I have an amazing mechanic in TO who is knowledgeable & honest. I won't say he is the cheapest around, but certainly cheaper than dealers and is also willing to explain alternatives.

Now that I'm new in Calgary, I haven't got any good referrals yet. Therefore, I will be going back to North Hill for my next scheduled maintenance (either this week or next week). Anyone has other suggestions?

 

Eltonr: The only service managers I know in the past were not related to the owner. They were the ones who drove the service dept into the ground, which is kind of funny since one of them went to Destination.
The new Service Manager at Gauthiers is Wally, and hes doing a good job trying to restore the department. Hes a fair guy, if you have a concern you can straight up ask him. Tell him Brett sent you.

 

Soma: I want to do my own oil changes in the summer too, and I will admit I dont know how
We got to get together and you can teach me.

 

hey, thats no problem kuba....we'll just wait for a nicer day