tony_673

I'm sorry, I didn't realize your's was a daily driver. My car stays cozy in the garage all winter. Do you have a garage you can change your oil in?

Personally, the only people that I would trust any kind of service to is the dealer. (That way, I've got someone big to go after should anything run amuck. ) I really don't know of any Mazda Dealers around you that perform their own oil changes.

BTW, Where downtown do you work? I see two RX8's at my work regularly, but I've never had a chance to catch the owners to see if they're on here.

Machiavelli

I have a garage but unfortunately its very cramped. Just getting the driver's door open after pulling in is a challenge.

Anyway, I'm in the Playhouse Square area of downtown. Phantom Blue.

vcpatel

I live out in twinsburg and own a base tit. gray. Mine's recognizable, has ion fogs and aftermarket HID's... as well as a single sided HKS exhaust. There are a couple 8's in twinsburg, but i doubt any of them are on rx8club. I see a titanium gray GT as well as a red GT. There's a red 8 that i see parked at a factory right off of ravenna/broadway road. that anyone on here?

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

I own a red 8 and work near Broadway. I actually work for Rockwell Automation (formally Allen Bradly) at the corner of Highland and Darrow. I've seen a tit gray 8 drive by a couple times lately. I've been driving my new winter vehicle (91' F150 crew cab) past couple weeks to make sure It's ready for the winter months.

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

I have started seeing more and more 8's around here lately. Heck...I even got to park next to a Sunlite Silver one here at the office yesterday and a Velocity Red the other night at a bar both in Mayfield.

Gopherage

Saw a few this weekend myself. A black one driving down 303 in Hudson. A red one getting on the turnpike off of Rt 8. With a custom plate. And a pewter silver one that is always parked in a driveway in a housing development off of Stow Road in Stow.

tony_673

What color are you driving, DeViLvOi? I'm not too far away from you.

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

Galaxy Gray

tony_673

hmmm....Did I meet you at an Eastlake autocross this year?

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

Nope wasn't there

tony_673

Okay, must have been someone else.

You should come check out the SCCA Autocross events at Lakeland. The next one is on Sept. 9th. I'll be there. Registration is @ 9:00, first car off at 10:00.

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

We shall see what is goin on. Maybe ProChargerGT and I can go up there with some of the other guys from the office.

Update: Oops...forgot...the office has rented out Geagua Lake that day. Maybe next time.

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

Hey...where do you guys take your cars for warranty service?

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

I take mine to Cascade Mazda in Cuyahoga Falls.
VERY satisfied with their work and customer service.
But I'm sure that'll be quite a drive from Willoughby.

Machiavelli

I can tell you where I won't be taking it any longer. I took mine in for service to Bedford Mazda. I was just looking for an oil change (about 4200 mi) and let them talk me into their "5000 mile service." I know - there's no such thing, right? Well this was to include the usual litany of inspections that are essentially useless at this milage and a tire rotation.

I get the car back and when I'm washing it a few days later notice they didn't rotate the tires. I know this because the only mark on my "baby" was a small but very distinctive scrape on the right front rim that I had been sick over since it occurred. Anyway, that marked rim was sitting in the exact spot where it had been. I triple checked and the other three were pristine.

A call to the dealer first resulted in the Mazda manager politely questioning whether the service included a tire rotation. When assured that it did, he said that he would have the service manager (the same guy that wrote up my order) call me the next day. He did in fact call and confirmed that the rotation was supposed to have occurred, and said that the computer said it was performed. He promised to get back to me. That was about six weeks ago, and I haven't heard back. I did, however, get a lovely postcard telling me they would be proud to take care of all my service needs.

I'm not really mad about getting ripped off for the rotation so much as the lack of follow up. It would've been all good if they'd just have agreed to rotate the tires the next time I came in.

Sorry to answer your question with a rant. I guess if I lived in Willoughby I'd give Fred Vincent a whirl.

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

I bought in Bedford and wasn't overly happy with how I was treated in general. I had shopped at Fred Vincent and was appalled by what they call "customer service." I took it to Classic this morning and the dipstick wanted to put Synthetic Oil in my car. When I told him that the manual specifically states to never do this I got the "I've been here for 15 years speech." However, 15 minutes later it was followed by the "I'm sorry, I guess the RX-8 has something special to it that makes it so you don't use Synthetic." What a "Service Manager"...ggg. I was just hoping for some alternatives. With nobody seeming to know jack squat about Rotary engines I was hoping someone got lucky. Maybe I will just start driving to Cuyahoga Falls. Sounds like a good reason to let her rip down 271 anyway. :P

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

Sucks to hear that other dealers around Northern Ohio are treating people this way. I guess I'm lucky to find Cascade Mazda. And trust me, its not like I've had one issue with the car that they took care of, some of them know me by name. They would not only take the time to listen to my problems, but have also walked out to my car so I could show them when they didn't fully understand. Most "desk employees" wouldn't want to budge.
Story time: I also had an unfortunate accident diving down Rt8. It started to snow around 3am and I didn't see a semi's brake chamber lying in the middle of the road. It went under by bumper and smashed into the radiator causing a lot of damage. Almost $6,000 worth of damage when it was said and done. I had the car towed to Cascade and they did a wonderful job. I even had the car back within weeks of the accident (most parts had to be special ordered). You hear horror stories on how someone wrecks their car and its never the same again. This accident was over a year ago and I can say with confidence that my car still performs as new.

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

Maybe the person that was back working on my car was the best rotary guy in Ohio...but until the front of the house proves that they are back there I won't go. I'd drive my car out of state for service if I knew that I would be treated right. We have a special car...and that takes special service.

Machiavelli

Hmmm. My daughter and I looked there at Mazda 3's and VW Rabbits for her, and they treated us really well. I guess the inconsistency in and of itself is a warning sign.

Sucks about Classic also. Some folks on this forum make a case for synthetic, but with your guy it sounds like a case of pure ignorance/arrogance.

Cascade sounds great, but it's pretty far from Strongsville. Anyone have any experience with Worldcars in Medina? They are actually very close to me but their Mazda operation looks so small that I worry that they might not know their way around a rotary. I know that they're not an authorized Mazdaspeed dealer, for whatever that's worth.

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

At Fred Vincent I asked to go out in a test drive to make sure I would fit well into a Touring. After talking with the "RX-8 Specialist" I got shuffled off to "the owner", who has been confirmed since to not be, for a test drive. Didn't talk to me the whole time...didn't let me open the car up...nothing. Then again, when I went to Mazda of Bedford they wouldn't even let me take the 8 they had on the lot for a test drive. Mazda is lucky I love the car so much...otherwise I would have headed off to some other brand that knew how to treat customers right.

devoid

hmm...I bought my vehicle from Fred Vincent. Mark Rice is the primary Mazda guy. They are really nice guys out there. No BS, not trying to sell it at MSRP...back when I bought, I got offered 500 over invoice right off the bat, but I had ford plan anyway. I liked the no BS financing...that's what finally hooked me. Plus, at that time, Mark was leasing one, and knew the car inside and out. That was what made me comfortable.

(Personally, Mazda of Bedford, and Fred Vincent are the only 2 dealers in Cleveland you should deal with. Sounds like Cascade as well. Make that 3. Classic doesn't have a friggin' clue about the car.)

I can't speak to the general techs at Bedford, but one of the specialist mechanics is a part owner of the dealership, knows the rotary cars inside and out. I've called him up on occasion for help.

Gopherage

DeV that's crazy that they wouldn't let you take it out for a test drive how do they expect you to go out and decide that you like it.

I test drove 3 cars the day i decided i like the Rx8 the most, a 350z and Mustang where the other two. The Z made me motion sick because the gas pedal was to touchy and i felt lost in the Mustangs interior.

However i went to Cascade Mazda and they let me take the Rx8 for a spin through the Valley which was amazing because of the windy turns, it was only about a mile each way however it was enough to get you to feel the car and decide you liked it. They even let me take on the Grand Touring's out even though i told them I didn't have enough for it. I was actually afraid they wouldn't let me even drive it because i'm younger then most people at 20, but i'd saved my money since I was 15 to buy some car and i knew i could afford a used base one maybe. Anyways the guys at Cascade let me drive that Rx8 and i even burned it out in reverse because it was parked on a down hill and i didn't want to roll it into a wall so i gave it alot of gas and let the clutch out quick. So i was impressed they didn't kick me out right there. Anyways i got back from ride and they said they had a Red 8 on the back that was just a Touring, but wasn't marked at any specific price because it was Brand New but it was a 2005. They ended up selling it to me brand new with a warranty for $9k under the list price, and now i love Cascade. And the sales guy was incredibly nice and actually not pushy.
Sorry I know nobody asked for it but since you are all talking about Cascade i had to tell of my good experience with them.

tony_673

I, too, cringe every time I have to take the car in for something.

I was usually a customer of Classic, but I'm searching for a new place to take it. I didn't know that mounting tires and performing an alignment was a three day procedure That's right, it took them three days...even though I had scheduled the appointment a week in advance.

Every time I go there I'm strongly disappointed by some aspect of their service. When I had my motor replaced under warranty, I picked up my car a month later. It was absolutely filthy and the technician left some pretty oil stains from his hat on my headliner. A custom touch maybe??

It doesn't seem like these dealers even care.

I do know one thing, though- We NEVER recieved poor service when we took my wife's Audi TT in for service at the Audi dealership.

It's a damn shame.

Gopherage

Oooo i got new local news/question who has the Shinka Rx8 in Akron? My girlfriend calls me telling me she's seen some Rx8 in Akron as she always does and that she likes the dark redish purplish color, which instantly makes me think wtf...is it a Shinka? And i told her to look for any badging so indeed it is a Shinka in our area, i only wonder if they are a memeber on here?

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

Yea...who knew an oil change could take an hour and a half. What was it...Lube Stop that said 10 minutes? Sheeeeit. You even get free refills there. The more and more I think about it the more and more Cuyahoga Falls sounds like a nice drive.