Revolver

I stand corrected.

WhiteRain

Firstly, I did not complain. I made a factual comment that I had spent an hour reading through the service cost thread, and that I still didn't find what I was looking for. Most likely because the purpose of the thread (price) was not the same as the purpose of mine (quality). And I should have realised that in the first place and asked my own question, but it was fear of reprisal from people who bag others out just because they can't find the needle in the haystack, that made me read it in the first place to make sure that my question hadn't already been answered.

And what's wrong with expecting to find out information easily? Why is a phone book in alphabetical order? Life can be easier if you are proactive, so I posed the question, hoping that more knowledgable and experienced people would step up, instead of sitting back thinking "oh well, that’s the best I'm gonna get". FYI I did search, and did not find what I'm looking for. Maybe there should be a sticky with a search tutorial for dumb f**ks like me who can't use the feature well enough.

You like this forum, that's great. Do you think any of us hate it? You spend a lot of your time here, that's great. You learn a lot here, that's great. But don't forget other people have different lifestyles and different commitments and some of us funnily enough don't do things exactly the same way. I am sure you have posted many great things in the technical threads, but how does that help me find a good service place in Sydney? And the fact that there are 'hundreds and hundreds' of them, sorry I don't have the time to read that many. And if that means I shouldn' t be a member of this forum then please get a mod to cancel my account.

This is a really unfortunate way for me to start with you Gomez, as you seem to be a regular contributor to this place, but I couldn't turn a blind eye to your post. Nothing personal against you, I'm sure you love your car and have a depth of knowledge about it, but some of the things you said really got to me.

Anyway, thats it for me. *end rant*

timbo

Hmm, these forums are not a good medium for the organisation of information along the lines you (and others) are seeking. For that, a wiki or something similar is needed. Maybe a better approach in this medium might be to set up a poll relating to the dealers which are most geographically convenient to you, and getting members to provide feedback that way

Gomez has tremedous recall, but not even he can give you the easy answer you and many others might like, so sometimes a creative way to asking the question might get good results

kasar

I agree, we should have a list of good dealers in the first post of this thread. Otherwise we risk it becoming like the other 23p one and that takes ages to go through.

My personal experience with AMR in Leichhardt was pretty crap.
I asked them to do a service on the car...it was at 33K but hadn't had one since 27K while in the hands of the previous owner. They charged me for 5 litres of oil, but didn't give me any of the extra. When asked they just shrugged and said they used it all (which I find hard to believe). Since this was the first service after I'd bought the car there were a few things I wanted to get checked out. This included bits falling off the the interior. There was also a cover near the bottom of the passenger seat that was broken. I told them to replace it and was happy to pay for it (since it wouldn't be covered under warranty). They didn't fix this even though I specifically took the service manager through the car and pointed out the problems (because I knew most would forget).

The car had been in a very very tiny ding and some paint (about 3x2cm square) was peeling off as a result. I asked them to touch over it with paint or advise for a smash repairer but they didnt do this. Also, the front air dam had tiny bits of paint coming off the bottom (less than 1x1cm) and I asked them to touch this up but they didnt do this either.
The rest of the service was normal, and they upgraded the flash like I requested.
They charged me $283.
AMR is the closest dealer to me so I was hoping it would be good. Sadly I was wrong, so I'm going to go out of my way to take it to Rockdale next.

Say whatever you like about BMWs, but whenever I've taken my BMW in for servicing they've noted everything very carefully and fixed it. Mazda might not be BMW, but they actually charge more for their servicing so I expect better results!

WhiteRain

kasar, thank you for your response. it is precisely the type of answer i had requested in my initial post. and thank you to all the others previously who have posted similar responses.

takahashi

If you are here long enough, you will see 1000s of threads asking for the same thing: "why no torque", "what engine oil do I use", "tyre sizes", "wheel offset", etc. You get tired answering post and post with the same answer and argument, or even just reading the question :. You want to help but frustrating when people asking the same question 1000 times.

We are soft WhiteRain. Just imagine what the American response will be.

Just to warn you what may happen venture outside this little Australian corner .

Revolver

Taka, that's a good point but surely that's the nature of the beast.

Considering the search function isn't exactly fantastic and we're always attracting newcomers, questions will be repeated.

IMHO, I'd rather read the same question a few times (if only to see if a different answer pops up) than have the forum turn into a private club where nobody is game to raise a query for fear of upsetting the oldtimers.

Simple solution if you get sick of seeing the same old questions - don't read that particular thread.

takahashi

I know the search function is ****.

I still cannot find AMG wrecked yellow MX-5 . He attached a picture here before.

timbo

So, WhiteRain, let me get this right: you want "someone" (probably Gomez!) to produce, either by going through the existing Service Costs sticky, or some other means, and provide a summarised ranking of dealers and their servicing expertise?

I'm not saying that's not a valuable piece of information for everyone here, but the problem is that's not the way these forums are structured or work. Ever heard of the "free-rider" problem?

That's why I suggested a more practical approach might be to develop a poll thread thereby people will naturally self-select the dealers they like, rank their experience with them, and pass on comments

No one minds questions being repeated provided they are structured in a way that either gathers additional information that is meaningful for everyone, or enables existing information to be organised in a more useful way

Gomez

If this isn't a complaint, why did you use the word "still"?


As I pointed out earlier, that is not the case. The sticky is about price and quality of service....two essential ingredients needed in a good service shop.

For the record, I didn't bag you for not searching. You were an unfortunate casualty during the blitzkrieg. I bagged Revolver because he used the "W" word. The word that makes me want to rip the windpipes out of every second 14 year old. They seem to use it constantly. It's plain I let fly at Revolvers comments......I quoted him in that post.

Nothing. Type the dealers name into search.

The answer to Q1 is no. The answer to Q2 is.....it doesn't. The point I made is that effort begets reward. Once again, I was directing my comments mainly at Revolver.

Stick around. There is some good **** in here. Good people too. I'm one of them, actually... .


All of that is true. <holds out right hand> Lets shake and put it behind us. 99% of the time I'm a kitten, just don't use the "W" word.......

Dave (Revolver) is a mate of mine. He sends me lots of good junk mail. As he is a mate, I feel the need to occasionally assert the pecking order in our friendship. Let him know who the Alpha Male is, as it were.

Can't let these Sydney ******* feel they're superior just 'cos they live in Coathanger Central, can we......

Cheers,

Gomez.

auzoom

How about....A thread on each dealer?

xxup

I don't like the way this is going...

Dealer servicing is a difficult topic because, like all businesses, the quality goes up and down over time. Unless you drive 10,000kms a month you are unlikely to get an consistent view of servicing quality or the dealer's manner around delivering that service.

The only thing we can really say is that at the time, I paid this much money for my service and I was happy/unhappy with the service for these reasons. We can then reasonably compare our experience over with others - this is what the other thread, started by Gomez, provides for you.

I don't support separate threads for each dealer as you lose sight of any impact that the car itself has on the servicing. One model car may be very difficult to service and may have reliabilty problems - looking at this car on a single dealer posting might suggest that there was a problem with the dealer.

My personal experience is that my Mazda service quality started on a high, went to a very deep low with the second Mazda, a very high with the third, started on a high with the 8 and is sliding down.. On the other hand, some of the other forum members go to the same dealer, they are clearly getting better service and are very happy. So, I am confident that the dealer's current quality problems, as experienced by me, are fixable and at sometime in the future I will be able to report a high again..

The problem can sometimes be you and not the dealer..

timbo

IME, most dealers for most brands are pretty similar -- that's based on experience with Mazda, Honda, BMW, Volvo and Range Rover. Their biggest, most consistent weakness is an inability to fix the problem the first time. What differentiates dealers is how they respond to that. The 'prestige' brands are better, presumably because they have more 'margin' and mfr customer service budget to play with, but any dealer that's selling a model range from $20k-$70k struggles to educate its service team about value vs price

Thanks for clarifying. So THAT'S what an Alpha Male looks like

Revolver

Whatever...

Revolver

Not fair - Crookie would be the longest by a mile.

Gomez

Hahahaha.....

auzoom

Why is a single thread on each dealer any different to the a whole thread on every dealer? Why is any info you would put in the dealer specific thread any different from what would be in consolidated one?

All people want is an opinion on what a dealer is like, how much it cost them for a specific service of their rx-8 and the quality of the service they received.

all posts should written with clarity and explaination whether they are in a single thread specifically for that dealer or a generic thread for all dealers.

I think the single thread options makes it a lot easier for people to research and keep on topic. As well it makes it easier for a moderator to control what can be a delicate subject.

Andrew

timbo

No, it can be done with 3 or, max, 4 threads which are polls -- one thread for Syd metro, one for Melb, one for Brisvegas, and one for the rest. The poll lists the dealers and you vote for the one you had a positive experience with, and place any comments as a post in the thread. It's simple and it works

auzoom

Not saying what you are suggesting couldnt be valuable, but it doesnt achieve what people are after and that is crtiques with information to back it up.

Anyway, I just wanted some segway into anotehr argument on having sub forums here :-D Kidding!!!

WhiteRain

No Timbo, that's not what i've asked for at all. I simply asked a question in a new thread and hoped that people with an opinion could give me an answer (that was related to what I asked for).

I'm really struggling to understand how, by starting a new post and asking a question, I have suddenly wanted 'somebody' to get this information for me and summarise it on a silver platter. Thats not what I wanted at all, I just wanted any input that people had to give. If there was none, then so be it, replying isn't compulsory.

Anyway, I'm done with this. I am over the arguing.

And as for Gomez, *shakes hands*, lets just put this behind us. Hopefully the next time I ask a question it won't peeve off so many people.

kunz

I got my 10k service done last week @ Westend Mazda blacktown.

They scratched my drivers side window while trying to fix the window rattle (still not fixed). The good thing was they rebooked my car for monday to get a replacement + re-tinted after a quick call. (I only noticed the scratch after I got home).

Otherwise, pretty happy with the service. Ended up paying ~$250 including loan car for the day and remaining oil was left in the boot.

suz6964

Rockdale Mazda - best in sydney - will also give you a service discount if you a rx8club mbr