MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

The Mazda Sportscar Club of Washington is having a "tech session" at that dealership on the 29th. Maybe was can rough-up all of the techs while we are there.

I don't usually hand my keys over to anyone, let alone a stealership's tech, but I am considering a rev limit circuit built into my E-Manage installation that will make it impossible to take the car over 2500 RPM.
That way, I can throw a switch and the only thing they can do is move it around the lot.
I can see that call:
"Uh, Mr. Abrams? This is Joe Schmoe over at Buttfuk Mazda. Yeah, your car is having a serious problem and we may need to keep it for a while.
What is the problem?
Well, the car can't be driven normally...
Why would I want to drive it?
Uh, well, we normally test drive after warranty work..
Uh, no the radio isn't usually test driven, but...
Yes, I know your car was in for the A/C TSB, but we test..."

dmp

Any updates today???

twisty7867

I wish there was a rev limiter with the valet key. I valet my car with relative frequency and the valets are sometimes a bit too 'enthusiastic' for my preference.

afeldman327

Update:

I went into the dealership yesterday (left work early for this) and tried to speak with the GM. They kept telling me he'd be back in a few minutes from wherever he was, but I waited for 45 mins and he never showed up. They kept sending different managers, i.e. Sales Manager and the same Service Manager I already spoke to. They were totally dicking me around and did not want to get the GM involved.

I was very calm and diplomatic when talking to the Service Manager, and he became very irate and defensive. This was the best of his quotes, after I asked him if he thought his service techs drove my car for 40 miles like a grandma would drive:

"My technicians are skilled drivers with these automobiles, probably better at driving a manual transmission than you are. The RX-8 is not a true high-performance car, and is not meant to be driven like one, and our technicians don't drive them like one. We work on many powerful spoerts cars in this shop, and I assure you that your RX-8 is not one of them."

Can you believe he actually said this?! Besides being totally irrelevant and circumventing the real issue, which is that he lied to me, he insults me as an RX-8 owner. And not only that, do you think this is what their sales counterparts tell prospective RX-8 owners...that it's not a true high performance machine? I guess this means their salesman sold me the car under false pretense!

He basically just continued getting frustrated with me because I kept harping on the fact that he lied and he wouldn't admit it. He finally asked me what would make me happy, and i said that a warranty on my clutch would make me happy. He proceeded to call me "f-ing crazy" and stormed out.

I got a call today out of the blue from him, after I filed a complaint with MNAO, and he said that he spoke with the GM, and they agreed to give me a new clutch when it needs to be replaced! He was very apologetic! a total 180 degree reversal!

So, I guess i"m happy...hopefully he'll still provide the free oil change/maintenance and gas fillup.

What do you all think of this?

sidenote: I brought one of my buddies with me to the dealership when i went...had him dress up in a suit and remain silent, told him to appear very attorney-like and not to answer any questions about who he is. Maybe they thought he was someone from MNOA...who knows...

Tamas

iTrader: (1)

Get it in WRITING, signed by him and the general manager.

NVMYGT

I love that you brought "the suit". Glad to hear that they finally gave you what you wanted.

dmp

Bingo - but.....make it IMPORTANT :D

dmp

The more i think about this, the more pissed I become...

Here's what i'd demand: Fire the service Tech. Give you $(amount of clutch + labor) service credit.

RX-8fan01

wow .... i took my car in for warienty work it was there for 3 days and they put 250 miles on my car and did **** about it .... never will i goto a dealership again for any work .... But im turbo now so i dont have to worry about warienty work

the dealership was russel mazda in baltimore

Shane

fluque

cr@p..... I did not noticed this thread befor and just took my car to Rosenthal for an oil change.
I'll check my mileage

BlueEyes

I just read this thread, it has me enraged
Im sorry this happened to you, I know I would be freaking out if I were in your shoes. Im glad to see you got some form of compensation in the new clutch. If anyone is going to get into the low 14's in the 1/4 mile, it should be you. haha.

I was especially pissed when I read that they said their service techs are better drivers than you, WTF is that.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

hmm, i guess i should check the odometer when i get the car back from the said dealership

Zipgun

IMO everyone should dump this dealer.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

well not so fast, i haven't yet reported back about my visit to this dealership, so let me detail what happened and THEN you can make a judgement

so i brought my 8 in for a few warranty-related items, i stated the following items:

- engine hard starting
- film deposit inside headlight housing
- squeaky brakes
- white foam on dipstick
- squeaky driver seat

how they addressed each one:

- reflashed (!) my PCM (even though I'm not in the MSP04 VIN range )
- gave me the 'cannot reproduce' response
- replaced front brake pads with updated ones
- replaced dipstick with the new dipstick assembly
- re-tightened all bolts on driver seat

so 4 out of 5 ain't that bad, plus I wasn't really sure on the 'film inside headlight' thing either, so I guess I'll just try again in the future lol

I dropped the car off around 9 in the morning, they had all the work done by 2

wasn't charged a single dime, since they were all covered under warranty :D

anyway, so because of this thread, the first thing I checked once I got the car back was to check the odometer reading, and it is about 20 miles more than what the original odometer reading as stated on the repair invoice . Granted I had them do the brake pad replacement TSB, so I was expecting them to test drive the car a bit to bed in the pads a little. 20 miles seems a tad high, but then again, i've already done things in my 8 that NO ONE should be able to do on the street without causing body damage, so I just go *shrug* :o

overall I had a no-fuss experience with them, nothing spectacular but nothing terrible either. I guess the YMMV cliche applies here :o

RosenthalMazda

ANY issues with service should be taken up with Steve Miller. If you feel like he's not getting it done, I'll have a name for you. But I can't imagine anyting less then a rectified situation.

Marietta 8

Dang, you guys are makin me feel bad about the times I have taken customer cars to Philly to get a real cheesesteak! Those boys at Rosenthal are soon going to figure out how to disable the vss.......

CALM DOWN!!!!! I WAS JOKING. Test drives of more than a couple miles should require permission with valid reason for trouble shooting.

griffj10

I bought my 8 at Rosenthal Arlington and have found their service department to be better than average. The service team leader keeps me in the loop on what is going on and they get the car back to me ASAP. Once they did not have the part, a catalytic converter that was broken, and they gave me a rental for 3 days until the work was done. There were no additional miles on the car. Everyone was professional and courteous. Their sales people were morans and could not tell the difference between an 8 and a miata but their service department was comparably good. Perhaps I just have low standards or have had enough bad experiences with other shops that when someone acts like they are trying I appreciate it. Plus, I know the GM and he is an old rotar guy. He is a good guy who really gives #!@#! about his shop.

thew

wow 20 miles. here in SB thats a trip to the other side of town.. a good mechanic would take my car for a drive like that to feel it, hear it and such.. as long as it comes back with out a scratch i want my guy to test drive it.. Hell i race mine on the track.. i need to know its not going to fly apart on me..
Dont be to hard on them guys a test drive is a good thing.. better to test drive it then give you back a car that will kill you when the Wheels fall off.


Rosenthall is a First Class Dealership I am sure this is an isolated event..
But do keep us informend.

Mikelikes2drive

too bad they wont price match their mazdaspeed stuff...
and their return policy is stupid...
last time i ever purchase anything from them :/

RosenthalMazda

I won't price match anything 2 weeks after the sale. Do the research before hand and I'll beat any Mazda dealer's advertised price on any factory item.

The return policy is apparently something you must have failed to read prior to your purchase? Just my opinion but one should always read a return policy before making a purchase. You would be amazed that no matter how many don't even though you make it possible to read it from every single web page on your site.

However the policy is in the middle of an overhaul anyway. Hope to have it updated soon.

afeldman327

Like I said before, Rosenthal Mazda has been very good to deal with overall. Just this last experience with them had me aggravated.

Most things in life don't bother me. One of the few things that does bother me, however, is being taken advantage of and being lied to. This was a prime example. It's one thing to drive my car 40 miles without authorization, but it's another thing to lie about the reason behind it. Car dealships are stereotyped as shady businesses for a reason, and no matter how tight this particular operation is run by their GM, there is still a resonating component of shadiness. The service manager could have admitted guilt, and offered me any number of things to quell my dissatisfaction and assure me that my car is unblemished in any way. Yet all he did was gave me a knowingly BS story and offered me a free oil change.

Sidenote: One of you mentioned Steve Miller, the service manager. He cursed me out when I initially asked for a warrantied clutch. He called me "f*^!ing crazy" and stormed out of the room. Now I have a letter from him authorizing a new clutch at a very minimal price, should it ever wear out. Rectified situation? maybe, but certainly a painful process.

I will take my car into them again mainly because of the convenience factor...I live in the Ballston neighborhood and I can walk there. Plus I trust their technicians who work on rotaries. I just want to publicize my experience so they realize their mistakes and will not take advantage of any other customers.

Good luck with all of your dealings with Rosenthal, and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

-A

JodoKast

First off, it sounds like this has been resolved, glad to hear it!

Now, my two cents: There has been times where I've taken a car in for service and I wish they would have taken it out on the road, put a bit of mileage on it, so they could actually find out what the problem is. I had an odd rattle in the engine bay of my Isuzu Rodeo that only existed while under load around 3000 RPM. I had the fricken thing into the dealership three times, and all three times they said they could find no problem. Finally, the fourth time it was in, they mentioned that they couldn't find the problem, even with it up on the lift, being rev'ed to 3000 RPM with a tech under the car. I then asked "have you actually driven the car?" to which they answered "no" so I took the service advisor out for a spin. Sure enough, the rattle showed up, and he said "Holy Crap, wht is that? We haven't heard that yet!" Well DUH! I told them under load for a reason.
Turned out to be a cracked heat sheild around the exhaust manifold. If they had only driven it to find out the problem it would have saved everyone a bunch of time. I've also got a similar tale with the Celica I had, but I think I've gone on long enough :D

AC8

Write the letter to MNOA, explain the situation and how you were treated, and what was said and who said it. Nothing may happen but it will give some closure. I'd cc the GM who would not even come out to see you, your idea of the "lawyer" may have scared him off. I don't think that a police report "was" a dad idea....then, but not now. Who knows what may come up wrong with your car, but you know who you will blame, so let them know in adavnce-what happened!

Lschiavo

You went too far dude, relax ok?