Rx8 owners I need help...
 

Folks, I thank you all so much for all the wisdom here on this forum. It has allowed me to be an educated customer and makes me love my car even more. O.K. so the problem now is that my local dealership has been unreliable EVERY time I have brought my car in for service.
Let me go back to the beginning when I had less than 1k miles on the car and I took it in to get the TPMS looked at. They called me to say that they had messed up my wheel when they put it on the wheel machine and they had painted it and it was fine...(glad they thought so). So when I got there I looked at it and they had painted over the dirt and the finish was awful so I asked for a new wheel. After a big fuss the Service manager finally conceded and ordered a new one. After a week they called and said the wheel arrived. Again what should have been a quick in/out took forever because they said that "...actually the wheel didn't arrive so we just replaced it with one from another rx8 on the lot". Oh well, no biggie.
Next came the fuss over the M reflash which I don't have to go into except that they pretty much called me a liar and thought I had photochopped the TSB which I had in my hand but after a loong wait, calls to mazdausa, etc...
These are just a couple of examples but the latest episode is regarding the A/C cycle which I have read about here. I have taken it to them 4 times to fix it with no success.
The first time I said to check it out was in conjunction with a regular scheduled maintenance and they "forgot" to do it.
The second time I left it with them all day and when I picked it up, they said it was fine. I got in and checked it and it wasn't. They told me that all they did was pull another vehicle off the lot and ran both of them side by side and listened for the sound of the A/C compressor cycling. When they both sounded the same, they determined mine to be "normal". (this is a master tech mind you...). I had to get the service writer to sit in the vehicle with me with their hand against the vent to believe me.
The third time I brought it in, they called to say that the part was in and I took it in, they ended up installing an amplifier from another car on the lot! (sound familiar?). When the part didn't fix the problem, I was told that it was probably because the car that they jacked the part from was probably affected as well so I would have to wait and order a new one from the factory. After installing the new one, and it still didn't work, I took it in again last week and they called mazda technical and replaced the evaporator and expansion valve all together $1500 dollars of warranty work this time. And guess what? Still warm/cold every 5 seconds. I called them again and the guy said that they would replace the compressor because thats the last thing in the system and to bring it in again.
Let me also mention that whenever I took any of my other vehicles to the dealer for service, they would clean it up. These folks have never done that. As a matter of fact, last week when they were doing the service write-up I asked them if they wouldn't mind cleaning it up and they said sure for 29 bucks. So I said no problem but when I went to pick it up they hadn't touched it. When I asked the service writer he acted like he forgot and then ran over to the cleanup guy who said he was backed up and to bring it in sometime in the next few days so I told him to forget it.
I talked to the customer service guy at the dealership regarding all of these things he said that the cleanup guys were just so busy and they normally don't clean customer cars only new ones being sold etc.
I just don't get why my I get treated better for my toyota minivan than the brand new mazda. As a soldier in the army I have obviously been very busy the past couple of years and just don't have the time or patience to be in constant maintenance mode with my car. I'm tired of being at their convenience and they have done absolutely nothing to compensate.
Well this post is already long enough just know that there are many more little things that have happened that have brought me to the end of my rope. Also, I have read the Georgia lemon law and even though its just the air conditioning system, I believe this qualifies. I'm just not sure these guys take me seriously or their work and need some of your thoughts.
Am I just whining or should I take this further? -Thanks guys

Paragraphs can be your friend, you know ;) I gave up halfway through that.

LOL, Me too!! :D

(But I shouldn't talk, I am the king of run on sentences!!)

sorry bout that. I didn't really focus all my thoughts together when I wrote that I just kinda free flowed :)

Getting closer...maybe try throwing some blank lines in there? :)

About your problem...sounds like your dealership is terrible. Is there another dealer you can go to?

No problem for me. When I have a problem that gets my blood pressure up, explaining it coherently is almost impossible.

Wait, even when I'm calm and coherent putting my thoughts in an organized fashion is next to impossible.

I blame it on the fact that I'm a lefty!! :p

The thing I like about this forum is that people are exceptionally understanding and helpful!!

Just re-read your post and this is what stands out to me. This is unacceptable. If I told my boss that I was just too busy to do my job correctly, I would be out on my a$$ in a second. To tell a customer this, leads me to believe that you need to find a new dealer to do your service work. I would also find the name of your zone service manager and send him a letter expressing your dissapointment.

I would not let up until I was statisfied that someone was fixing this situation.

If I buy a coffe maker for $30, I expect support for the purchase.

For a $30k car purchase, I'm will be a pain in Mazda's butt until things are worked out to my satisfaction.


Good Luck !! :)

Some times a simple letter, like "I'm concerned, how can you help me" can do wonders - when it's printed on a lawyer's letterhead. The nicest letters can get remarkable results that way. ;)

Unfortunately, its the only mazda dealer in Savannah. I'll be moving to Monterey, CA. in a couple of months so maybe I can stick it out. Its just a shame. You know Saturn and Kia treat their customers better. Mazda has too much invested in this project to lose so much. If they're trying so hard to please rx-8 owners then why aren't the dealers following suit?

mazda full circle service plan says they clean every car after service.

I would write a letter to mazda headquarters and detail every incident you've had with the dealer. Then email it and send a certified letter, and copy the dealership. If they value their dealership any, they will be try to do better. If they just shrug it off, report them with the BBB as well, and copy them on that letter. Let them know they suck, how much, and that your letting others know they suck.

Customer Satisfaction or CSI (CS Index) is extreemly important to all the major companies. We at Yamaha Motors USA are extreemly concerned about CSI. We bend over backwards to help our customers and all dealers are sent CSI ratings.

I bought my RX8 from a dealer where a friend mechanic works (Jim Ellis in Marietta). He tells me that he is docked $$ everytime a customer returns a CSI form that is not marked with high numbers. I am sure that Mazda has some reward system for the dealers. So start complaining, but keep it professional and to the point with as many details as you can. No generalities or emotions as that will not help.

Good info guys. btw what is full circle service? Are all owners entitled to it?