I had my 2005 RX8 towed to the Mazda Dealer. It had 55,000 miles on it. The dealer charged me $600. For a compression test. I was told I needed a new engine and it wood cost me $14,000 to be installed. The car is in mint condition. 😩

 

400 dollars excluding the tow? It's 1 hour or so in the Mazda book, how do they justify 3xing it?

14000 is also about 6000 more than the Mazda book. Either they're taking you for a ride or these aren't US or Canadian dollars.

Did they show you the actual compression test results?

 

$600.00 was the cost of the Compression test. I pad for the tow separately. They quoted me $13,980.74 to replace engine which labour was included at 3527.46, parts 9488.72, s.s 49.95 and taxes 914.62. This is all in US dollars. Mileage on it was 55,582. I had to walk away and sign the ownership over to them as I could not afford this. This is a Canadian Car. The Manager wants this car to work on for his daughter and made out a bill of sale to me for $540.00. This was basically to cover the cost of the compression test! What can I do? Compression test Rotor 1 Front - 6.9, 6.9, 6.8. Rotor 2 6.8, 6.7, 6.7. RPM 227 on both Rotor 1 and 2 - They said No Good

 

That's borderline compression but not the end of the world. The prices, on the other hand..... That's more than I think I've ever heard of. Definitely call Mazda North America to confirm they support this pricing. I'm not sure what you can do now that you've given them the car, might need a lawyer. What symptoms prompted the comp test in the first place?

 

I wonder if the guy wanted your car and scared you into signing it over to him?
That sounds like a shady deal.
Also, I drove my 8 with numbers worse than that for years.

 

The car at stops would take a bit to kick in which was not normal.

 

The Mazda RX8 is a 2005 with 55,000 miles on it. How much would it cost for engine or do you think it just needed new plugs and wiring. I can send the video to you that the Mazda dealer sent to me. I would need your email address.

 

I’m from Kincardine, Ontario and wintering in Naples, Florida.

 

I’m a lady and this is exactly what he did! My car is spotless! I feel sick about this!

 

Yikes. Sorry to hear that. Doesn't sound like a compression issue even. I believe the test results, but they wouldn't cause the issue you're having. Call Mazda North America. No promises but they should at least know that's how the dealer is treating their customers. Also visit the police or a lawyer to know your rights. Don't share the name of the dealer for now, but if you're out of options, may as well know who this is.

You can put the video on YouTube and link here.

 

I'm sorry.

Just from what you've posted, I believe this person took advantage of you because he wanted your car for his daughter.

Those numbers, while, technically, say it's 'failing' , they are not bad enough to justify him basically stealing your car from you.
A running 8 in good condition is worth AT LEAST $2000 without even looking at it.

I would do everything in my power to get it back.

 

SUZRX8

 

OMG.
That guy gave you $600 for it?!
You should try to get it back.
Seriously.
He's a con artist at best, or just a flat out thief.

 

It's beautiful. Call Mazda, this person should not be running a dealership

 

I'm actually angry about this.
😠
If it's true, he needs to be in the Bad Guy thread.

 

If it's in Florida now, but it was registered in Canada, it'll probably take a while for paperwork to be transferred.

Maybe get the Mounties on the case.

For real.

I want justice for SUZRX8.

 

@Shedden Let them know you realized you made a terrible mistake and want your car back.
If they refuse, maybe you could wonder aloud if there's a local TV station that has an investigative crew that would love a 'Gotcha!' story about the Big Car Dealer that ripped off an unsuspecting woman.

 

Wait... How would they even own the car if it wasn't imported to the US in the first place? Or was it?

 

A few other things to beef up your case: the 600 dollar comp test, aside from being wildly overpriced should have been quoted first so you could decide to spend the money or not. If they didn't give you a quote, you should (check Florida law) have grounds for a consumer rights claim for that amount. If they then used the price as leverage for you to sign the car over to them, once again there are laws against that (check Florida), as well Mazda dealer contract policies ( I don't know what they are but Mazda has rules for people dealing under their brand). This was a Mazda dealer right?

 

Just a few opinions from "the other side of the table":

If the dealer genuinely thinks that the engine is bad, then yeah, that trade-in value sounds about right. The real problem here is the conflict of interest. If the dealer gets the car and then proceeds to sell it off to a wholesaler(which is what happens to traded-in cars dealers don't want to sell to retail customers for one reason or another), it's a bit dumb, but that's one thing. The dealer owner clearly showed that he wanted the car for personal reasons; that would be what I use as a basis for my case, as I would think there is probably a law against that in a lot of places.

That's not looking at the brutally high rates charged for the compression check. As Loki said, you should have gotten a quote first. Just as a piece of general advice as well: unless you work at a dealer or otherwise can get dealer discounts, it's better to take your "special" Mazda to a local mechanic or specialists who know what they are doing. When I say special, I would include the RX and Mazdaspeed cars for sure, and maybe the older Miatas, too. Indy shops have better labour and parts rates, and they probably know these "special" cars better.

Not sure how much you can get from your legal recourse. Best of luck, and take it as a very expensive life lesson.

 

She didn't get 'trade-in" value.
They somehow convinced her she'd be better off letting them keep her car in lieu of paying for an overpriced compression test after telling her she needed to spend $14 k for a new engine.

That's flat out dishonest.

 

Oh yeah, this dealer is definitely scummy, but I am just saying that I am not too surprised by the trade-in value of the RX-8. We here see it as something special, but from a business perspective, it is an 18-year-old car(almost legal?) that has an engine that's on its last legs. Wholesalers probably won't give the dealer much for one, either, and it's gonna need comprehensive work before it can be sold to a retail customer.

Even in a more "honest" circumstance, that's likely what you would get for a low-compression RX-8 trade-in if the dealer accepts it in the first place. IMO the problem here is the conflict of interest as I mentioned, so the dealer is scummy, but not cleverly so(or they may have gotten away with scummy behaviours for far too long).

 

If someone here is in Florida maybe they could swing by the dealer looking for an rx-8 to see what the dealer says. Especially if it's in the lot.

 

If this went down as described, there are definitely legal avenues to pursue. Sign up a good attorney asap, and get a letter to dealer before car disappears. Sounds like the other side was a lightweight who might be fully intimidated by a couple of well worded letters showing up at his place of employment. One to him, one to the GM of the dealership, and Mazda NA.

 

Thank you for your reply! I feel sick about it. It was over the 2023 Thanksgiving Weekend and by the time I got to the Dealership I’m sure they had it all planned out. I got totally robbed by this Manager at Mazda in Naples, Florida