RX8Carnage

I dropped off my car for the recall work and when i went to get my loaner they sewnt me to enterprise rent a car and i was told i would get a kia rio. I was sure i read somewhere that it would be a a car of equal class and i ended up paying because the only pay about $24 a day. Am i just expecting too much or is this some BS i should have fought i ended up paying to get a truck all in all $32 out of pocket.

Aseras

take the rio get the damage waiver, and have a LOT of fun.

maybe something like this

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/users/gparmer/articles/neon/

NoTears316

Yep, that's what I got.

hoosier

From the following it looks like it depends on your dealer. Mazda re-imburses up to $30 OR $50 to the dealer and the dealer either bites the rest or passes it on to you. Looks like yours went cheap. Notice that the letter says "please clean the interior and exterior of the customer vehicle and top off the fuel tank", evidently not mandatory.

Dealer Letter

RENTAL CAR
A rental car may be provided to the customer if eligible based on the terms and conditions of the Rental Car Reimbursement Program, policy 12.0. Rental car reimbursements are available only on 2001 and newer vehicles within the mileage and time limitations under the New Vehicle Limited Warranty. If the customer was placed in a rental car while the campaign was being completed, submit a separate claim/problem using the standard rental claim information.

Up to $30.00 per day for the number of days customer had rental car
Rental expenses exceeding the two-day limit will require prior DCSM Authorization, as outlined in the Rental Car Reimbursement Program policy.

Dealer Letter Subsequent

TO: Mazda Dealership General Managers, Service Managers, and Parts Managers

DATE: August 2006

SUBJECT: Subsequent Programs to 2004-2006 RX-8 Voluntary Emission Recall Campaign 4206F

Dear Mazda Dealer:

Your cooperation during this recall campaign is appreciated, especially your participation in providing customers with a Mazda rental car and complimentary cleaning and fueling of the customer vehicles for return delivery. We are sure these programs will minimize the customer’s anxiety and promote a sense of customer satisfaction not only with Mazda, but with your dealership.

After completing the RX8 Voluntary Emission Recall 4206F and prior to returning the customer’s vehicle, please clean the interior and exterior of the customer vehicle and top off the fuel tank. Until March 1, 2007, Mazda will reimburse the dealer per the guidelines below for these tasks to ensure an ideal return delivery of the customer vehicle.

Until March 1, 2007, Mazda is offering two rental plans:

1. Dealer participates in the MCode Program and supplies the customer with a CX-7 to drive OR supplies the customer with a Mazda loaner vehicle from an outside rental agency while their car is in the dealership where Mazda will pay up to $50.00 per day

2. Dealer uses outside rental service where Mazda will reimburse the normal rental reimbursement of up to $30.00 per day.

Further details will be provided by Mazda in a separate communication.
After March 1, 2007, rental vehicles will be provided per the Mazda Driver’s Assurance Plan.

RedSheDevil

oooh i'd like to try out the CX-7!

shahram72

You guys should be thankful to get a car, and not just the free repairs. It would be nice to get something nice, but it's not like you are driving a Mercedes. And please be nice to rental cars. Someone actually buys those cars someday (I own one, and it's a good car). Of course I know it's way past some people to actually give a crap about people they don't know, but then that's what's wrong with society today.

BunnyGirl

Very true, no respect for anybody/anything.

On topic, I haven't scheduled my appointment yet because they are still waiting to receive my sunvisor. They told me I get a CX-7 if they have them available at the time I come in.

NoTears316

So, with this thinking, if you go to a restaurant, order some food, and the waitress comes back and just dumps it on your table with no plate... you should be thankful that you at least got your food, right? If I'm paying $32k on a car and they recall it for services... I'm still paying for that car, so yes, I absolutely expect to get a loaner. How can you even justify NOT getting one?

Q121825

"Rental car reimbursements are available only on 2001 and newer vehicles within the mileage and time limitations under the New Vehicle Limited Warranty."

At 73,000+ miles, I'm out in the cold. Mazda can go to hell over this recall since I'm not about to pay for my own loaner while they fix their mistake.

tlniec

I'm a little upset with the response I got from my dealer *cough - Carousel Motors, Iowa City - cough* -- I just scheduled my appointment for the 18th (the soonest they could do it, because they're only diagnosing ONE RX-8 PER DAY). I was planning to drop the car off in the morning, grab a loaner/rental/whatever, and head to work for the day (I work about 30 miles from the dealership). When I asked about a loaner, I was told that they could only give me a free rental/loaner if they decided the car had to be kept overnight (otherwise, Mazda supposedly won't reimburse them for it). So while they spend 2 1/2 to 4 hours diagnosing my car, I guess I'm supposed to just sit there. I was cool and civil about this on the phone, but I'm not too happy.

Should I start calling other Mazda dealerships in the area? Or maybe call Carousel back and be more demanding? I'm a bit outraged that I dropped $30K+ on Mazda's flagship model at Carousel, and they aren't willing to risk eating $30 for one day of a car rental.

-edit-

I suppose I could eat the $30 myself for the rental... but, as a matter of principle, I really don't want to. I already have to go out of my way to get the car to them, due to a manufacturer's recall. I don't think alternate transportation should be made my problem.

RedSheDevil

my dealership has always supplied me with a car whether it be loaner or rental. i'd ask to speak to the manager and nicely ask for one. if you demand one, you can pretty much guarantee the answer is no.

Huhwha

Jeeze - I thought I had it bad. I'm now the proud driver of a base Corolla with 70 miles on the odo. Reminds me of the old days of car ads - R&H (radio & heater) - that's about it! Crank windows and manual door locks. The guy at the rental place said I could have a Camry for 10 bucks additional. Man, if you're that hard up for 10 bucks, just hold out your tin cup and ask me.

At least they just called and said I don't need an engine! On the downside, the dumbasses did not order my parking brake lever, so I get to go back to have that fixed. They will get my customer service lecture this afternoon.

tlniec

Yeah, "demanding" was probably too strong a word. I think I will give a call, and see if I can't talk (nicely) to someone further up the chain.

Design1stCode2nd

Going to be taking mine in on Tuesday. I might wait but then I’m getting the “Marbles in a blender” checked out as well. If I don’t wait then I have the option of a Camry, Corolla or Yaris (it’s a Toyota/Mazda dealership. I tried to get a MX5 but they just listed the Toyotas. Would have taken any of the Mazda’s over it. I actually want to try a 3 with grand touring.)

BunnyGirl

I don't know what I would get if they were out of CX-7s at the time I set-up my appointment for. If it's only 2-4 hours tops and can be done bright and early on a Monday morning I can always just sit and wait. I know when I was taking it back for its coating the day after I bought it (picked it up Sunday and service was closed) they offered me a free loaner car which they said I could pick a demonstrator from any one of their dealerships. Hmmm.....I wonder if that would have applied to Gran Tourismo also. They were going to give me a Honda Civic. Since I wasn't needing to do anywhere during that time I just dropped it off, had my mom pick me up and then bring me back to pick up my car. The CX-7s look really nice so I wouldn't mind getting one of those. It just seems kind of silly to get a loaner if it's only going to take them two hours, though.

tlniec

I'm still not getting a very positive response from my dealer -- their new suggestion is to drop it off the night before, and catch a ride with someone. :P

What's strange about this is, like BunnyGirl mentioned above, I took my car back to the dealer for undercoating/environmental protection shortly after purchase, and they gave me a Mazda6 as a loaner, no questions asked. So why are they now so damned adamant about NOT giving me a loaner? As far as I recall, that day's appointment didn't include an overnight stay.

I guess my choices are:
a. Impose upon someone to drive me around, and drop the RX-8 off.
b. Pay for a rental
c. Sit there and eat up several hours of vacation time from work

This probably seems like a petty little thing, but it REALLY irritates me. I HANDED this dealership the sale -- I went in knowing that I was buying an RX-8, and that it would most likely be from them. And now, it feels like they don't give a crap about me as a customer.

RedSheDevil

You know this thing happened at my dealership this summer. I asked the service guy and he said his dealership (I don't know if it applies to others around the states) was told to get rid of all of their loaner cars and go strictly with Enterprise rentals. I wonder if some finance guy at corporate crunched some numbers about the costs of owning the loaners vs renting from Enterprise. I bet with all the business Enterprise is now getting that there was a nice little deal struck in there about not charging full rates to Mazda. Total speculation on my part, but it does seem plausible.

yes, it sounds like they aren't really earning your repeat business. I would take it somewhere else if you could.

YT1300

It is invariably cheaper for the dealer to rent from some little operation than have a fleet of loaners for you to flog around whilst the 8 is in the shop. This would explain why only luxury brands like Infiniti, BMW, and sure, even Volvo put you in their brand of loaner, and not some awful subcompact atrocity like a Rio.