Revolver

They probably added an oxygen levy - it's rarified air on Sydney's northside you know.

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

Cheers,
Hymee.

EZZY

and your point is.....?

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

No point. Just being blunt.

Gomez

It's too bad you feel that way. I started this thread hoping it would become a one-stop shop for those seeking info on which dealer provides a good service at a good price.

The more that post of their dealer experience, the better.

azzaboynt

Just took my 8 in for it's 20000km/12mth service.

Actual KM's: 8800km

Eurocars Artarmon.

Total Cost: $439.30

Labour for Oil filter & Change $67.50
Replaced Engine oil and filter, checked and reset all levels and rifilled washer bottle, reset all tyre pressures as per factory specifications.

Checked vehicle hard start, replaced spark plugs, starter moter as per bulletin NS029-05 - Warranty

Washed and Vacuumed

Parts:
Oilfilter $17.85
Gasket sump plug $3.08
3 X 5L Rotary motor oil $214 (total)
Spark plug leading, trailling, starter moter $warranty

Courtesy car (auto mazda 3 HATCH) $35.00
Workshop supp/ enviro levy $15.55

The good: very friendly, listened to my problems about the slow start and replaced it for me, no questions asked (John newell always refused). Also told me they had ordered some engine mounts for me and will call to get me to bring the car around again so they can fix it (do the engine mounts go bad after only a year and 8000km??). Also gave me a box of chocolates. Supplied the 10L of oil as I asked.

The bad: Cost. Very expensive. They had a problem with their computer so every time they punched in my Rego number they got a DIFFERENT CAR, as in a totally different car every time they entered in my rego number. Took them 30min to sort that one out (how many mazdas are there driving around with the same rego as mine??).

However on the whole, very happy with the experience. Note that I was in a good mood today and didn't really mind the waiting around while they were trying to figure out how in the world I had so many cars and the fact that the company picks up the entire service bill it wasn't so bad.

Gomez

Nice well detailed post there, Azza!!

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

Atta boy, azza!

takahashi

I can see there is too much variation in price of oil filter?

I got into Ringwood Mazda it was $9. When I did one in Berwick it was $13. In the City Mazda, it was similar price.

Don't they have a set price for an item?

And note that Azza has cheaper engine oil...

$21X for 3 x 5L = just over $70 per can... A dollar cheaper than City Mazda

Revolver

That's it! I'm gonna get up Crookie for not giving me choccies.

Actually, Artarmon is VERY exxy when you consider the billable work was really just an oil change and "safety check". I also can't get to your total from the breakdown you gave us. what else did they charge you for?

azzaboynt

erm. lets see:
oil & filter change (labour): $67.50
oil filter $17.85
sump plug $3.08
rotary oil $71.40 X 3 = $214.20
engine oil problend? $46.17 (pro-blend engine oil?)
Rounding $0.01
courtesy car $35.00
workshop supp/enviro levy $15.55
gst $39.94

Total: $439.30

mmm so they charged me gst on the rounding they added to the bill......


Eurocars Artarmon was never the cheapest by any means, however they are the closest to me and if i have to travel from the north shore to rockdale, or john newell in the morning rush hour it takes ages. I've used eurocars service for 10 years (with my astina) and never a fault they have caused (the sales guys and pricing of the actual dealership is another matter however as I found them the worst people to deal with).

I'm happy with the service centre. The only couple of times I've taken the 8 to another service centre was because I thought having purchased the car from the attached dealership they would treat me right. JN did the 1k service, the 6month service and the safety heat shield recall, and every time they had the car they forgot to either put stuff back on properly, or didn't stamp the logbook etc... When I highlighted the weak start problems I was having, they blamed my frequent low KM trips as the cause and simply refused to take a look at the starter motor (something that was highlighted here numerous times). I just casually mentioned it to the service guy at Eurocars and it was done pronto.

The engine mount thingo is another point. I hadn't even thought about it. I know some others here said they had problems however my 8 was still silky smooth like the day I bought it with low KM's still on the clock. The fact they checked it either means that there is a bulliten out about it that they checked or that they had a few others out there with the same issue.

I will pay an extra 50 or 100 bucks or whatever to make sure the job is done right and that being an owner of the current flagship model car from mazda that I'm treated like a VIP or if not then treat me with some respect. I may not know as much about cars as I do about computers but I shouldn't have to argue, plead and beg to have a known issue fixed. Note I do not have to pay for my service as my company has agreed to foot all car related expenses, so if it was a bill in the thousands I would have paid with a sunny smile on my face, no questions asked!

Cheers,
Azza

ps. I forgot about the starter motor being replaced and when I switched on my baby this morning I had a bigger smile on my face than normal. Fired up within a secone! none of that 5 second long crank before the engine decides to come to life anymore! Zoom baby zoooooom!

Revolver

Think this was left out of your earlier post. Actually, I'm a bit mystified about what this item is, assuming one of the 5l MRO bottles was used in the oil change. Or did you buy 15l of spare engine oil?

If so, it's gonna take you a while to get through it. I read somewhere else that some bloke is at 20K odd and is only half way through his first 5l bottle for top ups between services.

azzaboynt

mmm I wondered about the pro-blend.... I asked for them to chuck in the rest of the unused oil into the boot, and to add another 10L. For some reason I seem to go through a LOT of oil (used about 3-4L in the last 6 months).

However seeing as they charged me for 15L (of which there were 2 full 5L bottles in the boot and a 5L bottle with about maybe 1/5 left). I assumed they used one bottle for the oil change. <shrug> I'm still a happy camper so I'll let it go. Life is short.

Took my 2month old into the office today, all the commiepinkonazitreehuggingfasists in my office were suitable impressed with her cuteness and now they are all walking around with a sunny dispossition and smiles on their faces. Much better than the usual "I wanna kill you because you are a MAN" look they normally have I work for a company with 5 male employees and 90 femails, all highly educated with masters and stuff from reputible universites, and all indoctorinated into the "i'm a feminist, you are a man and a minority and therefore I am right cause i use long words and all men are bastards".

phew. I'm chatty lately for some reason. I'll leave it there. bleah still can's spell if my life depended on it. I work for a book publisher for gawds sake.

MMM if I don't manage to use up all the oil i'll keep it for an investment. the way the prices of crude oil is going up and up i think i'm sitting on a gold mine here! Wonder what 5L of MRO be worth in say... 100 years?

Rotor Convert

Hi there

Got some prices myself for the 10,000kms service....

Adelaide sure is pricey!!

Paradise Mazda $248 without paying for the courtesy car
City Mazda $185 without paying for car and getting Castrol Magnatec oil
Australian Motors $205 without paying for the car.

Seems to me that if all they do on this service is change the oil and the filter...add a sump plug thingy and wash it....albeit not well...that's a fat healthy profit!!

Nope I will take the car to WD for servicing...we have an ABN and I know that he will treat my car with kidd gloves and do a bloody good job.....

Had my manifold heat sheilding done last month so it was connected to the Mazda God box so all is cool for now!

Seems to me that there is a shirt load of $$ that goes to these dealers!

mikeyr

Just got the 30k, $299 at Eurocars in Artarmon. Pretty good service and they rang me to tell me that they wanted to change the engine mounts cause they were a bit worn!

Free wash and vacuum and used the drop off and pick up service. I'll be back, they knew all the RX8 kinks and didn't make a murmer on squeeky seat fix etc!

toddman

I just did my own 30K service, and saved a TON of $$$.

Autowest Mazda in Roseville quoted me 649.38 plus tax for the service and an additional $500.00 to replace the spark plugs!!! That would have totaled over $1200.00

Here is a list of what was done:
Inspected tires
Inspected brakes and all brake lines
Inspected belt and hoses
Inspected fuel lines
Inspected all lights
Lubricated all hinges and locks

Stuff replaced:
K&N Air filter P/N: 33-2284 - 54.44
2 NGK IR Plugs P/N: RE9B-T trailing plug - 20.87 ea.
2 NGK IR Plugs P/N: RE7-L leading plug - 21.32 ea.

Fluids replaced:
2 Gallons Zerex 50/50 Antifreeze - 5.74 ea.
8 0z. Castrol GTXLMA Dot 3 synthetic brake fluid - 3.89
4 Qts. Castrol full synthetic 75w-90 gear oil - 5.13 ea.

Total cost: $174.71
Had my oil changed about 1200 mi ago, and the tires and wheels are brand new, so no work was needed there. The cabin air filter was replaced on my $300+ 20K scheduled maintenance done by Autowest last year.

Biggest cost item was the plugs. If you can get them at/near cost, they are only about 20-25 bucks each. Otherwise expect to pay double that...

A couple of things to be aware of.

1. You do not need to remove the cover underneath the front to flush the coolant. There is a hole there to access the radiator drain plug. Yes, I started down the wrong path before noticing it...

2. You can see and reach the spark plugs quite easily from underneath the car with it up on ramps. When you are draining the trans oil, look on the drivers side in the opening next to the wheel, you will see them there. The leading plug has an 'L' marked on the rotor housing and the trailing plug is marked with a 'T'. Also note that the plug wire for the trailing plug is marked with colored tape. When you install the new plugs be sure the check the gap and apply some anti-sieze to the threads before installing.

takahashi

$500 to replace spark plugs... what are they made of Gold?

The best spark plug I can find on earth only cost me $250.

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

Well done. This is a Aussie thread. Sorry.

Cheers,
Hymee.

toddman

oops! freakin noob!

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

No harm done!

skc

Thanks for sharing the DIY information. I am sure it would be helpful to some.

skc

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

Excellent point!

yellowrx8inoz

..and most of that was parts...

$280 labour (I asked them to check out a lot of little stuff)
$50 injector clean (after my discount/credit voucher)

Parts 'biggies' were:
$140 for 10 litres of rotary oil (5 litres in the car and another 5 takeaway)
$90 for air cleaner
$312 for four spark plugs!! (it's the first time they get changed, at 60,000km, and mine were apparently stuffed - be ready for this one, folks...)
$35 for new wiper blades (I forgot to go to Kmart but these will last longer anyway)

New engine mountings (three I think he said) and a new CD player are on order as warranty fixes.

My CD player has never been right from day one - sometimes it simply refuses to play a CD. I thought of paying the diff for the mp3 player but I have the ipod wired in which works great for me - no disks to burn!

Finally I'll be going back to the Midas shop that fitted my Hymee catback because they didn't seal it very well - they over-splayed the pipe end, the dealer said. I noticed that it's been blowing at the joint the other day.

Aaahhhh the cost of fun! Still, I don't have the time or inclination to do it myself.

Gomez

They didn't change the fuel filter then, Will?

Which dealer, mate?