DIY vs Dealers
 

I need to change my coils and spark plugs. The Mazda dealer told me that will be $321.96 for the spark plugs and $465.00 for the coils, so I said no and took my car back. Looking in this forum I found a lot of inofrmation abou how to DIY. I bought the coils for $139 + $10.71 for S/H, the spark plugs for $88 (S/H and taxes included) and the spark plugs wire set for $24 (S/H and taxes included).

Mazda dealer = $786.96 + taxes
DIY = $261.71 + beers and pizza

On Monday I'll do the work and will let you know how was everything.

Thanks for all the info that are on this forum.

glad to see another person saved from throwing a ton of money at a dealership.

Damn, beer and pizza even before u start the work!

pizza mmmmmm

glad to hear you didn't pay those outrageous dealers costs.
GL

Where you at in Florida?
Anywhere near Melboring?
I'll help out for free............errrrrr.........okay, well maybe for some pizza and a few beers.

Thanks but I'm south, in Boca Raton area, thanks anyway.

I made the work yesterday and the car is running like brand new.

When I went to the Mazda dealership they said that in addition to the spark plugs and coils, the car needs engine decarb ($195.00) and throttle body cleaning ($129.95).

Could I just ride hard the car for the engine decarb or I need follow this procedure? https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-mazda-zoom-power-engine-cleaner-engine-cleaning-seaform-142852/

And about the throttle body cleaning, I found in this forum different opinions. Some people said that isn't really necessary, other people said that use the "seafoam" while the engine is in idle, and other said that remove the throttle body and clean it with WD-40 then dry it and then install it back. What should I do?

Thanks

Make sure you keep the receipts for the stuff you bought in case you ever need to prove that you did the maintenance.

Never have done the Seafoam, but plenty of people have done it on here. You might want to use a gas additive decarb lubricant like LCD FP (Fuel Power) Plus going forward after you have seafoamed.

And why did this dealer say this de-carb was necessary? Was your idle erratic? Were you having some power issues?

If you did the maintenance and your car is running fine, you don't need to go through the whole de-carbon process. Also, since you don't really know how to go about the actual de-carbon process (via vacuum nipple on the engine itself AFTER disconnecting the ESS), I wouldn't recommend it.

Just go redline the car a few times after you warm it up properly. It should clear things out. Also......the golden rule:

Why try to fix something that isn't broken?

You do know that dealer was just wanting MORE of your money right there.

Totally agree. Kudos.

Remove the intake tube and clean the TB with some TB Cleaner from Autozone. Then run a can of BG44K thru the gas tank...

Thanks.

The dealer told me that when my car started with the bad coils symptoms. Now the car runs very smooth after I changed the coils, wires and spark plugs, but I guess that created a lot of carbon in the engine because the misfire, I guess... :dunno:

Sound easy, thanks.

DIY is almost always better : ) We recently had the heat go out in our Saab 9-3 and the dealer wanted to charge $700 for parts and labor. I did it myself in under 2 hours and didn't need a new part, just a little Zep to lube things up and get it moving again.

Sites like this and helpful members who take the time to post up pics on how to DIY deserve a lot of thanks. Glad to hear you saved some cash : )

Dealer's thought process:

That damn DIY bastard took $500 in profits away from us. And beer and pizza no less! I say we choose two simple, yet difficult to prove if unnecessary, processes to charge him with.

After all, who can resist advance techniques such as "clearing out the carbon with seafoam" and "cleaning your throttle body" :lol:

Someone at the dealer didnt know what they were talking about , they tried to pull that bull with me after I denied them fixing my car and fixed it myself. Took it to another dealer and everything checked out fine, and that was the same day driving it to another dealer redlining the whole way of course!

surely a certified tech might know how to do these things better than joe schmoe...but they just dont give a shit. Give me some clear directions and I can do better than any of those dealer techs, because I actually care about my car. Everyone should know how to perform basic car maintenance. With the internet you can pull DIY's on just about everything.

btw: as far as logging DIY maintenance (as well as the rare dealership), I use the "Owners/My Mazda/My Vehicle/Service History" section of MazdaUSA. I peridically print out the website listing as my record of service should I need it for a warranty claim. They should recognize their own service logging system with no issues. Of course receipts for personally procured parts/fluids are a plus as well.

My car is running in excellent conditions so I'll clean the Throttle Body with some cleaner from autozone and then the BG44K thru the gas tank.

I finally got rid of the fish tank that was in my tail light thanks to another DIY on this forum. Thanks guys :score:

All this DIY with photos are so easy to follow that a caveman can do it... :lol:

congrats on diying its always better to do stuff you can yourself not only because of the price but because i do not trust the dealers at all unless i have to i wouldnt use one