Broken8

So a few weeks ago I was having trouble getting my local dealership to honor the 100k warranty. You can read the story here:

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/need-some-help-getting-warranty-work-227857/

Anyway, I decided to call around to see if I'd have better luck with another dealership. I called one about 1.5 hours away from where I live and the guy I talked to was very supportive and told me to just bring the car in and they'd do everything they can to get me a new motor. I dropped the car off in the afternoon and got a call the very next morning saying they had gotten approval from Mazda to replace the engine. I didn't need any receipts, no BS repairs or part replacements, and they didn't give me any trouble about the minor aftermarket parts I had on the car (RB intake, LS2 ignition coils, grounding kit, and stereo system). They even got me a loaner to drive around in for the two weeks it would take to finish the job free of charge. The dealership I had been going to wouldn't even give me one for half a day when I took it to get checked out.

Fast forward 2 weeks and I just brought my car home with a shiny refurbished engine. They even went so far as to reconnect the aftermarket wiring and secure it to the factory wire loom so it all looked nice and clean. My RX-8 runs and even sounds like a completely different car. I couldn't be happier with the service I got from these guys. So for anyone that's getting the run around from their dealership, call around and try to find another. Good dealerships DO exist.

And for anyone that lives in the Atlanta area, definitely take your car to Jim Ellis Mazda in Marietta if you're looking for a dealership to do some work on your car. These guys are great and will do everything they can to take care of their customers.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Yep, which dealer you go to definitely makes a difference. I had a new dealer built right by my house when I first got my 8 years ago and they wouldn't even change a broken sun visor under warranty, they said I broke it. Then I took it in for the low power issue after the extended warranty was announced and they said it compression tested fine but wouldn't give me the results.

I filed a complaint with Mazda and took the car to my current dealer and since then they have replaced the engine twice and fixed countless issues without too much hassle. If they want to help you, they will, if not you are screwed unless you go elsewhere.

Rotary101

what mazda dealership is this?

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

He said the Atlanta area.

pistonhater

so this story proves one more time that it's up to the dealer - as opposed to the idea that it is Mazda (corporate) that screws people up.

YaXMaN

RIF... it's in the post.

Jim Ellis Mazda in Marietta

kingdan2

Congrats on the reman engine! Hopefully it lasts a very long time. And I don't understand why some dealerships don't want to do warranty work. Mazda pays them full price for the labor and everything so its not like they lose money by doing them. Maybe its the extra paperwork that they don't want to do? laziness? either way I wouldn't want them working on my car..

Rotary101

Thanx

Broken8

I've never understood this myself. Same thing goes for dealerships that refuse to perform service due to aftermarket parts. The only thing I can think of is that Mazda only pays a certain number of labor hours for the job and the dealerships would normally charge more than that for a paying customer. I can't imagine there would be more than a few forms that need to be filled out for warranty work. Maybe dealerships are only allowed a certain number of warranty claims per month?

monchie

Not fair to the other rx8 owners out there. All Mazda dealerships should have the same policies altogether. I don't understand why other Mazda dealerships have different policies than other Mazda dealerships out there.

blaz15

How did u file the complaint, cuz my 04 took a dump and the guy said it was out of warranty since november 2011 buts its not 8 years? What should I do?

monchie

Try calling the Mazda USA Headquarters and start from there, good luck.

RadRedR3

It very well could be out of warranty. Call Mazda's customer service number and find out what the original "in service" date was. Just because the car is a 2004 doesn't mean it wasn't originally sold and placed into service in November of 2003. If that's the case the 8/100,000 engine core warranty would've started then which would make it expire in 11/2011.