Raptor75

I have just read the um-tenth tread about an RX-8 failing under warranty through apparently no fault of the owner and Mazda refusing to fix it under warranty because of "abuse".

Am I the only one who finds this very disturbing? I realize that there will be times where abuse can be confirmed but it seems in most the threads the problems are not due to abuse. Also the frequency of this response from the dealers would indicate a coordinated effort by Mazda to avoid pay legitimate warranty work. Often a Mechanic will look at a part and label abused with out any proof.

It’s things like this that leave Mazda in a very poor light and will prevent me from buy another Mazda in the future. It is such a shame that such a fine car is tied to such a poor company. Maybe I’m wrong what do you think?

stickman

Personally, I have not had any problems with my dealer; but then, I have not had any problems with my RX8, at least not this one. I had an 04 that had the usual teeth cutting issues well documented in this forum and my dealer handled them well. The only thing they couldn't to work to my satisfaction was the air conditioning, it never cooled well enough for me but they did try a lot of things to get it working better. No complaints from me.

mysql101

I haven't had any problems either, but my friend Abbid has been getting it in the rear end by mazda, and I know a local guy who also had clutch issues mazda refused to fix (Clutch pressed all the way in and still engaged, extremely hard to press down). His car didn't even have 10k miles on it.

terrypk1

TEETH CUTTING ISSUES??
Never heard of it. lol
i am fairly satisifed with my Mazda dealer. They do a good job and covers my stuff under warranty.
one of my wheel was cracked (like a 4 cm long crack, very small). they replaced that wheel immediately.
well, many car companies do what you mentioned. sometimes, they refuse to cover your car under warranty. but that is just a very small portion.
besides, car compaines are not GODs. sometimes they do make unrecoverable mistakes in their production lines. so if you got a car like that, you are very unluky. if the company can help you, that is great. but if they can't, you just have to bit the dust. it does happen.

New Yorker

This is my fourth Mazda with no major problems. (Well, one—which they addressed promptly.) Sucks that you're having unresolved problems.

You're not gonna have this car much longer, are you? I give you three months.

Ike

Get used to it, this is starting to be commonplace with a lot of car manufacturers.

dmp

As profits fall, Businesses tighten whichever belt they can.

Thank, in part, Autoworkers unions.

Unions = the devil.

RoXanneBlack8

"Get used to it, this is starting to be commonplace with a lot of car manufacturers"


ill second that.



and when an rx8 comes intot he dealer with "rx8club" stickers and soem weird body kit and an intake or what have u, think they wont deem it abuse? its called stereotyping. they put u in the pile of loser kids with mufflers on their civics and deem any work abuse bc u must be street racing with it. on the verge of anything as serious as engine/transmission overhauls, u bet ur nuts they r gonna come hard on u. its business, it sux, im sorry, we all get the short stick sometimes. me included.


dont blame mazda,im in it for the long haul, better or for worse. go mazda!

Tigster

You think Mazda is bad, there are 100 times more evo's running around with the same claims by mitsubishi

Ike

In most cases those Evos probably are abused.

Tigster

I never understood how a car company can make, market, and sell cars that the owners are buying and using it for what it was actually designed for.

Chrisbert

Dang, I thought this thread was about abusing goats.

Seriously though, I've not had any issues with my dealer in GA or TX. I don't baby the car by any stretch either. I hit the beeper at least once in every trip.

Paul_in_DC

28,000 or so miles and no major problems. My favorite Mazda dealer/shop (Rosenthal Arlington Mazda) has done a fine job every time they've had it.

Just out of idle curiousity, I wonder how many people actually have abused their cars, then bitched when Mazda balked at them? Maybe some of them are actually using Mazda as a scapegoat for their own irresponsibility.

Red Devil

It's all kind of analogous to crying wolf. The one's that truly abuse their car and whine and complain and put up a fight are the ones that ruin it for the rest of us.

torbee

Yeah, we'll all get much higher quality workmanship from uneducated Mexicans making 32 cents an hour in an unregulated factory south of the border

05whiterx8

there is no coordinated effort, this isnt' a conspiracy and mazda is not out to get you....some dealers probably are to quick to use the abuse tag due to the looks and condition a car is in, but how many of those cars are actually abused....the owner isn't going to come on here or to the dealership and say.....yeah, i abused my car...mazda caught me...my fault...it just isn't gonna happen. Nobody wants to pay for things they damaged if they don't have to. i'ld say only about half of my customers will own up to something they did...even if it is a clear cut case they still argue.

Spin9k

well put......What was that famous phrase.... "Me thinks thou does protest too much." esp. when a car company calls their bluff and they see the bill.

This isn't the case 100% of the time surely, but car manufacturers, not being born yesterday, have seen most every abuse, know what's right and wrong with any car model, statistically and paractically from repair frequency.

It does make business sense to cover a lot of this doubtful stuff as any publicity gets filtered down to "XXXX didn't cover my warranty work" regardless of the merits. And people depend on that. But I don't think any well run business should just lay back and swallow it for every obviously abused car either.

SilverStreak

If you look at the repair records of essentially similar cars built in the same plant like the MX-6/Probe the Mazda version tended to have fewer repairs than the Probe. Do you think that they would have similar repair records? One likely culprit, more Probe owners were the younger buyers who may have been more abusive to the car. Unfortunately, there could be some stereotyping going on when the dealership sees a younger 8 owner come in with clutch issues, etc.

Magic8

You will be surprise what is manufactured South of the Border or East of California and the level of quality they can achieve. Quality is NOT proportional to wage of the workers (especially since Purchasing Price Parity isn't accounted for.) Quality is CONTROLLED by a quality system (i.e. Toyota Production Systems or Lean Mfg.) These systems are inherent in the company's culture and infrastructure not the worker. Mexican (or any worker around the world) workers can do very high quality work regardless of wage.

rodrigo67

Toyota's are mostly made with non unionized workers, how's thier quality? Hyundai's have a higher quality rating then all american companies. I'd say that unions don't add or take away from the quality of any car, thats what quality control and precedures are suppose to do, but unions do have an effect on the profits or lack of profits a company makes...

Ahhh, magic beat me by 1 minute...

torbee

Well hell, let's just chain'em all up and put the little buggers to work then! I mean, who REALLY needs a living wage? As long as the company owners can pocket a few mil per year and sell their product cheap enough for Americans to buy, it's all good!

RoXanneBlack8

"i'ld say only about half of my customers will own up to something they did...even if it is a clear cut case they still argue."


so true man. about a month ago we had a guy in a mazda3 come in for an oil change and the lower engine cover was completely torn up. there was obviously an impact because the bolts to the ac compressor were bent and its housing was cracked. when we informed the customer of the obvious damage and gave him a price for a new shield (175 bucks) a new compressor (480) and the new clutch assembly (525) he nearly lost it. he wanted us to warranty it and he asked "how do i kno u guys didnt just do that?!"

i was like yeah man i whipped out my hammer and started bashing the crap outta ur compressor and nobody else in the shop dared ask why.

he clearly nailed somethin during driving and he wanted us to warranty it? thats not how it works. in the end, we did put it thru the warranty and he didnt pay a dime. I was so annoyed, the service writers could care less bc they still get paid great,wether its warranty or
cash.


just YESTERDAY we had a guy come in with a mazda6, it had 99 miles on it and two tires were popped and three rims were bent. when we asked him what happened he ADMITTED to letting his 16 yr old son drive it and he jumped a median and ruined the tires and wheels.

no he didnt have the optional tire warranty.

out of goodwill we warrantied it. dont ask me, i wanted to bend him over backwards for being a dumbass but once again, the service writer warrantied it. 2 tires (200 a piece) and three rims (dont even ask) later, he was on the road and carefree of his mistake.

all the techs were taking bets as to when hed be back and want it warrantied again. poeple are messed up and they ruin it for the rest of us. bc when any rx8 with an aftermarket strut bar comes in to a shop and has a shifting issue, ur screwed, but ******** like that 6 and 3 owner can get away with anything. business is awesome, i love it.

captain mercury

it sucks to think that owners pay for their warranties, yet are nearly afraid to bring their cars in for fear of the "abuse" flag. customer service, from target to mazda, should never be scary.

Matt RX8

Car companies should offer a warranty opt out option. I'd rather save a few bucks when I buy my car and then just pay cash when something breaks.

captain mercury

thats a bold statement! when it comes to a large investment like a car, i want that thing protected.