(It's actually not the dealership but their service dept. And there is a question in this posting.)

4 weeks ago, I brought my RX-8 in for the second oil-change and a tire rotation and I also wanted the oil pan replaced (TSB.. I fall in the affected range). They had to order the pan which would take 3 weeks, so just the oil change and tires.

When I picked the car up, the rim on the left rear side was damaged badly by the power torque tool that they use. I guess it slipped. On the front left wheel the bolt where the lug nut should sit, was half broken off. They said they'd fix it next time, when the oil pan was there.

To give you a more complete picture, in the first week when they detailed my RX-8, they put a dent in it.

A year ago, they returned my Firebird (also purchased from that shop) with a scratched door. So far each time, they sort of fixed the damage. Little touch-up paint on the bird, dent-pro for the RX-8. Today they were supposed to put on a new rim, replace the broken lug nut and the oil pan. They called that they'd need the car until Monday.

So I go to Enterprise for the loaner. There I see my old Firebird! Boy was I touched. Turns out it was in the shop next door for a problem with the catalytic converter.

Note that exactly my dealership had put in this catalytic converter for $1780 (!!! $1480 original GM part, $300 labor) just last summer. The guy told me that it was not welded properly and that's why it broke again. The Firebird was still in the wholesaler's possession, so it had not been sold since I traded it in last September.

Now let's sum this up.... within ~ 12 months... my dealership...

- scratched my car and didn't mention it
- dented my car and didn't mention it
- charged $300 for cat labor not done well
- trashed a rim (yet to be replaced)
- broke a lug nut stud (yet to be replaced)

I wonder how the oil pan will be doing :-(

Boy am I down. It was like seeing an ex-girlfriend. I contemplated buying back the Firebird while I waited for my rental, a CAVALIER.
I'd love to go for a drive now but I don't have the 8 until Monday.


Oh, my question would be, I'm an idiot for going back there, hm? Umm, Never mind.

Can anyone recommend his or some Mazda dealership in the Bay Area? Preferably between Menlo Park and Santa Cruz?

That's some crappy luck. Find another service dept. quick before they blow one of your cars completely up....

dude you don't need to stay to that Dealership, go on the Mazda website and locate another dealership in your area !!! You don't have to take that kind of crap from any body.

What dealership did you have these problems at? I'm also in the bay area, but haven't taken my rx8 in for its first service yet.

wow soo many more bay area owners that I havent noticed. ANyways, what dealership is this, so I know to avoid them?

P.S. come out to the meets sometime, we would love more cars to show up.

Would that be 3Stooges Mazda? I would definitely stop getting service there - get the TSB resolved somewhere else.

LOL! That sounds like Casey Imports here in Newport News Virginia. I could write a book about my exploits threre. I went into a livid rage there twice, right there in the service bay, infront of customers too. I didn't care, I wanted to let everyone know what a screwed up place it was!

POC? Yeah you bet I was a POC!

POC = Pissed Off Customer!

I live in Capitola and my dealership is in Capitola, about a quartermile from my house. I rather not mention names, well.. ok.. it's "Marina Motor Company".

As I said, it's probably just bad luck, they've so far tried their best to repair shop damages.

I forgot to mention in my first post that 2 days ago I ran into a mechanic who had started his own shop and told me how they are honest with the customer, as opposed to the place where he was before... where the service department would charge for a full job when only a 1/3 of the job was actually necessary to be done (and only a 1/3 actually was done).

Yep, this person worked until very recently at Marina Motors. Might just have been the one who scratched my Firebird, who knows.

it's sad but nobody takes care of your car like you would. That why I would rather do all my own oil changes and everything else if I could.

Question thought why would they do an oil change now and I guess you paid for it, don't they need to drain the oil to replace the oil pan?

Originally posted by flatso
Question thought why would they do an oil change now and I guess you paid for it, don't they need to drain the oil to replace the oil pan?


see, I tried to apply that common sense, so a week before my oil change was due, I called them, told them about the oil pan and everything, so that they could order it.

I didn't know it would take 3 weeks. They said they'd give me a call then the oil pan would come in. Of course they did not call me.

And no, they were not willing to "just order that oil pan", they wanted to inspect the problem (???), and yeah, I got the BS about reproducing the problem and "we cannot go over 65 mp/h"

Now I get a second oil change, this time for free, I would hope! after only 1600 miles.

Peter

I would report the dealership to Mazda and the BBB (Better Business) and go to another shop.

try almaden, they are on your way too :D

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, I always feel like I'm playing roulette when I leave my car with someone.


Quick (stupid?) question for all of you. How do I get access to the TSBs? I have NEVER cared about a car this much and I want to make sure I do everything I can to keep her in tip top shape.

Thanks in advance.

Rosenthal Mazda (http://www.finishlineperformance.com/rx8/docs/index.html)

Well, just to close this up, I picked up my RX-8 today, and they had done a perfect job on the wheels. I had been worried that I might end up with 3 different wheel locks on the car now, but they replaced the lock nut on all 4 wheels, it's just perfect.

Cannot comment on the oil pan thing, I didn't drive fast enough this morning to reproduce this problem.

Just wanted to say that they regained my confidence in them.

Peter

really wish i could help you out there......but really, why did you keep going back to that crappy dealer?