Krans

So Here is the update:

I was pretty much ready to buy the car, we were going through the steps to transer money and titles

Then...

We were talking about oil, checked his last oil change which had been done by Firestone. Firestone had changed the oil with 5W-20 SYNTHETIC Blend. I knew from others and Mazda that synthetic seemed to be the consesus way not to go (and its in the manual). Checked with Mazda and they said if Firestone did in fact do that the entire warranty is voided.

Understandably both buyer and seller are now pretty angry with firestone, so we'll see where the process goes from here, if Mazda can guarantee the warranty the car will be bought, if not though i don't think i can buy an 8 with absolutely no warranty ,

augghhhh frustrating!

NautyOne

iTrader: (1)

That sounds very unorthodox. But then again, most stealerships will try to do anything possible to void your warranty.

As for trying to void your warranty with a simple matter of synthetic. You can always go and call up Mazda North America and complain. They will most definitely oblige you.

What dealership said this by the way?

Krans

I called JN Mazda, the owner called cutter and they both gave the same response, i can try call Mazda North America on Monday and see what they say (assuming not open on the weekends?)

If the synthetic is a big issue i can understand where they are coming from, BUT i can't believe Firestone would do something so stupid. The first tech i talked to was actually cool about it, recommended me changing the oil with mazda right away that way if anything went wrong in the future no traces of synth would be there, but since he had it serviced and its a service record its pretty impossible to cover up..


Has anyone else had similar issues? I feel bad for the guy selling as well, losing a 100k warranty is a huge asset to lose.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Mazda North America has never stated that synthetic would void a warranty. Period. The closest they have come is "synthetic has not been tested, and as such, we do not recommend it at this time". If I had to guess, ~30-40% of the people on here use synthetic with no issues whatsoever. There is a massive discussion regarding it, if you have time to read it:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/cumulative-synthetic-oil-discussion-52856/

Only recently has Mazda even been looking for service records before engine replacement under warranty, and that is because of the general economy nailing them hard, it's painful to keep spending money on engines. Up until sometime last year, there wasn't a single story of any dealer even questioning if service was done or not.

From a member that works within the Mazda chain, Mazda dealers make a ton of money off of engine replacements, regardless of warranty or not, because the only thing that changes is if you are paying vs Mazda North America. They still get a check. There is some pressure on dealers to limit warranty claims if they can find a reason for it, but the "synthetic voids your warranty" is a stretch that hasn't been taken before.

After oil has been in your engine for a few dozen miles or so, it will be impossible for them to specify exactly the weight, or type of oil used without tons of oil analysis. After a couple thousand miles, not even that would help them. And they simply don't have the time or money to contest warranties this way. Literally, the first thing a dealer will do to check for records is check the Mazda records system. Which you can add to on MazdaUSA.com, under the Owners section. How much detail you add is up to you, but just a list of dates and services done is perfectly fine, with no mention of weight or type, or such.

I promise you, they wouldn't be able to look in the engine and say if you are or are not using synthetic, or what weight. Dino oils don't hold their weight past ~1,000 miles anyway.

That being said, if there is any indication that the dealers will fight against honoring the warranty because of something like this, then steering clear is a good idea.

Shane82

iTrader: (1)

Just change the oil to regular 5W30 and don't tell the dealer that it ever had synthetic in it when you go in for service and it won't be a problem.

RxMadness

iTrader: (2)

this.

and if you really are worried about it find another 8. I've posted before about how much I dislike that generation Eclipse, and I'm sure after you drive both you'll know why. If you need something to compare the rx8 to look up the 350z, s2k and mustang, the Eclipse isn't even near the ballpark.

Krans

Well i failed to mention i had a 99 eclipse, and a 2006 Eclipse but a GS version. So the eclipse i was looking at was essentially the same but a GT over a GS. The eclipse has its pros and cons but overall i do love that car, it can be improved in some ways but since i don't go around racing it does the job.

Having said that, i like the RX-8 a lot too, im intrigued by learning about a different type of car (rotary) and having fun driving it around. As of now no new updates just waiting on the owner and Mazda (i emailed them) to hear any changes or confirmation on the situation.