Rx8Freehk

Holy christ where do i start!!

First of all just be happy you didnt buy your 8 in the states and then get shipped to germany and have to deal with Euro Mazda.

June 17 2004
Im comming home from spangdahlem to my house in Bitburg (25k give or take) im cruzing on the autobahn at about 190kph. I hit the exit ramp and was downshifting from third to second.......... BOOM!!!!!!!!!!! all the sudden the tranny was DONE!!! couldnt get it out of second.... AT ALL. Car was stuck.. not going anywhere. I get towed to Autojegen (german mazda dealer)...

June 20 2004
I get a call from John (GM) saying that yes they will honor my warrenty (SWEET) and that my tranny is shot.. DUH!! The second gear Syncro basicy disintergrated and of course took the rest of the tranny down with it. But good news.. he has orderd all 24 parts that he needs to fix it.
*****WTF******
Brand new car 9000 miles on it and these @#$@#$@ want to REBUILD my tranny?!?! No @#$@@#$ Way!!

June 21 2004
I called Mazda Japan directly and ended up talking with MAZDA Director of operations Isakawa.
He agreed with me that this was bullchit.
Mazda Japan does what can only be discribed at jedi mind trick.....

"You be replacing the transsmission on that car"

SWEET

June 22 2004
John calls me to inform me that the tranny is on order from Japan and should take 45 to 60 days........ WHAT!! GAY GAY GAY

I dont get a rental car, i dont get crap!

July 29 2004
John calls, "We have the tranny, your car will be done tomarrow" SWEET.......
45 mins later John calls back "I dont know how to explain this.... the tranny we recieved for your car is a MIATA transmision but we have now orderd the right one and should recieve it in 45 to 60 days"

#@$%#%!#@$!@#$@!#%@#$%3 YOU PIECE OF MONKEY
#$%@#4 LICK #$%^@# YOUR MOTHER #$%@#$%

August 22 2004
John calls "The transmission is in Belgium (45 min away) and is being checked to see if its the right one.".................. John calls 2 hours later "Unfortunatly we recieved the wrong transmission again."

@#$%@#$ %#$%@##@$%#$%@#$^%@#$%@#$%#$5 Kiss my #$%@#$% #$%@#$% TAKE YOUR TRANNY AND STICK IT 4@$#%#@$!@#$23 PEE ON YOUR $%@#$%@#$%@#$%@#$% SHOTGUN WE$R#$%@#$%@#$% FACE

August 22 2004
A very disgruntal (understandable Right?!!?) me calls Mr Isakawa in Japan and tell him the events that have unfolded to my current situation.

4 Hours later I get a call from Parkway Motors in Arkansas ... yes Arkansas. "Hey man i hear your getting the run around from Mazda Europe. Well we are **** AIR LIFTING**** your transmission to your dealership in Germany and it will be their No latter than Friday the 3 of September."

USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

This ladies and Gentalmen is why we rule the planet, USA takes care of our own.

Sept 01 2004
today..... no tranny..... no rental..... no free crap...... just a 2004 Yellow 0MT Rx8 with 9000 miles on it sitting at the dealership collecting mass amounts of rust on the break rotors....

WOW ok that actually felt good to talk about.... ill keep you guys updated.



Sept 05 2004
OMFG...... God Loves Stupid People... He made alot of em!
As you can see Friday has come..... and gone. NO TRANNY
Apparently there was a mixup and my tranny went out by boat out of Savannah GA on the 24th of August. They realized there mistake when the tranny didnt hit customs on the date it was suppose to. SO August 2nd they sent it out of Little Rock airport by air with an ETA of Friday the 10th. Now i have 2 trannys commin my way.... supposedly.

Why even get mad anymore.... do i own an Rx8? 3 and a half months later im ready to drive it off a cliff.. OH WAIT.. IT WONT DRIVE!!!. Oh well the on the 8th MNAO has to make another payment... I guess now they have an incentive to HURRY THE #@%$ UP.

-Da Freehk

***UPDATED***

Sept 08 2004
Get a call from John... "Your Car is READY!!!!" DING DING DING DING
Picked it up at 4 pm, drove it to the shop and put all my stuff back on it W00T Drives like a Champ.... and i no longer have that irratating whine in the gearbox while in neutral (updated Tranny version?)
Ill be takin it easy breakin in this bad boy for about 500-750 miles then ill have VOL 2 to post.... Vids of 150+ while on ze Autobahn's!! Stay tuned!!

-Da Freehk

zoom44

that is a seriously slow plane. we could bomb the dealership with a plane from nevada in like 6 hours. not that i am advocating such extreme measures. its good to hear that mazda japan responded so well even thought there was a mixup on the which transmission was needed. let us know if it gets there on friday.

Tamas

iTrader: (1)

I still fail to understand why "Europe sucks" based on this ordeal.
Unless they ORDERED the wrong transmission themselves, it was Mazda Japan who sent the Miata part (twice).

zoom44

true that- he would probably had to go thru the same ordeal in ths states or canada or the UK. dealership service by and large seems to be the same the world over from the stories i have read here and on the UK forums

moatz

Rx8Freehk,

Maybe you should talk to the dealer and try and get the car covered by European Mazda Assistance, then when you break down you should get a rental for the duration of the repair.

I know this is the case, at least in the UK. My ABS Pump went and I had a rental delivered to the office the next day (as it was a Sunday). I had the car whilst mine was being repaired.

With the inconvenience caused to you by Mazda and/or the dealer, this is the least they could do.

Hope it gets fixed soon.

devoid

At the rate its going...this estimate may not be far off! Sorry to hear about the bad luck....hey, maybe since you are in germany you should have asked for a porche or BMW tranny?

Mr M

The policy in Europe is to repair transmissions, not replace them. I don't know how your dealer got the transmission assembly (there is not even a part number in the parts catalog), or why the warranty was accepted (not normal on an import), but these two facts indicate yours is a very special case.

It is unfortunate, and there has obviously been some misunderstanding regarding the transmission part number, but you really should consider yourself lucky. One, you are getting a new transmission, and two, you are getting it for FREE!

I know you must be frustrated, and you have a right to be. But slandering the Mazda organization for one special case, in very unique circumstances, is a little harsh...They tried, they messed up a little, but at least they tried. More than I can say for some manufacturers.

Chin up!

zoom44

agree with Mr. M^^

Feras

iTrader: (1)

i thought the transmission in the rx8 was the same as the one in the miata...

Rx8Freehk

OK, let me clear some things up.

MAZDA Europe is who ordered the wrong transmission.... TWICE (they refuse to give me his name)

MAZDA Japan Trumps anything that MAZDA Europe says and MAZDA Japan has decided that US Military Members Overseas WILL have their warrenty Carried over to the new Host nation. They also agreed with me that having a rebuild on a tranny with less that 9000 miles is complete Crap.... New Tranny. What they didnt do is hook up a rental car but i will definatly look into the Europe Assistance Program (Thanks Moatz!!)

I have NEVER gone through anything like this in the states. I owned a First run Tribute and ended up having the engine replaced 600 miles into it..... I had a new engine for a New car in 2 weeks.

I tried so hard not to put anything negative on these boards but this broke my composure. Completly.

HOWEVER, Today about 4 hours ago i recieved a call from MAZDA USA. Because Of what just happened I am here to say... IM SORRY. I tried not to say anything for the longest time, i got overly pissed and vented here. Ill keep you guys posted on when i get my 8 back up and running






.... And for those who are curious..... Im getting $1450 credited to my Loan from Mazda American Credit!!!!!!!!!!! (the total of my car payments since this started) W00T!! Wonder if Mr Isakawa had anything to do with that!!!

-Piece
Matt

Rx8Freehk

nope, i wish

Rx8Freehk

They did!!! But even so you are correct, It was uncalled for and hince has been removed

I, Claudius

I feel your pain. But I gotta say anyplace that lets you drive 190kph per hour or more legally has something going for it. I'm glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor about this mess.

Rx8Freehk

dont let it fool ya, it my defense mechanisim ;P

Herkypilot

-Man, you can vent all you want. You were right the first time - the USA is great - we make things happen!.!. (and don't let anybody tell you otherwise!) :D



Herkypilot

Mr M

I'll say it again, but Europe doesn't have a part number for a transmission assembly, the US does. That is why the US could respond quicker, definitely not through some superhuman power! :D

The only way for Europe to source a transmission as far as I can see, would be straight off the assembly line, or out of the US parts system....Which is what happened in the end. How did the US dealer know of your trouble? Probably Mazda Europe/Japan called them? Someone must have been proactive.

You're in the military? I dealt with the military in Japan when I worked for Chrysler, and the warranty negotiations were through the Military Services, not the local distributor. This was because the warranty aggreement was between the military and the manufacturer (in your case probaby MNAO, not MC or Mazda Europe).

Everything I dealt with was a special case, a special warranty claim, lots of phone calls to the US, all manual and nothing systemized because it was all unique. Luckily in Chrysler we had a person in the US who was dedicated to supporting these military claims, I don't know if they have someone in Japan who does the same.

All in all, you started with a complicated situation, and the worst came of it. That's a shame, but it is not unthinkable considering your situation. No manufacturer can provide the same service to you where ever you are in the world, whatever car you drive, because the world is such a vast place and the cars from market to market are so different. But the Military promise to support you, so your best friend there should be the guy in the vehicle services division in this case, not the dealer.

Hope this shed some light on the situation...

Rx8Freehk

***Updated***

magixpuma

mr m i have the strangest fealing you dont like the us to much......

B-Nez

Mr. M, what I got out of his original post was that he bought the RX-8 in the U.S., then PCS'ed to Germany. In that case, the Military Sales jurisdiction to which you alluded would not apply. Or do they also do warranty work on non-Military Sales-purchased vehicles? I ask out of genuine inquisitiveness, as I am thinking of moving to England in a couple of years.

Rx8Freehk

Correct

Correct Again
OFFICIALY.
MNAO ="Officially we are not required to provide any type of warranty work or compensation, but we at Mazda have decided that taking care of our troops overseas serves our best intrest. Therefore We will provide you with all the parts you require for any and all warrenty repair that you recieve for the duration stated in your warranty."

Take what you will out of that

-Da freehk

Mr M

Sorry if my post gave you that impression, I didn't intend it to be taken that way at all. I added some smileys to lighten it up a bit.

Rx8Freek - Wow, that's news to me. I wasn't aware the source of purchase made a difference (the question of where the vehicle was purchased never came up in the discussion when I worked for Chrysler).
This statment from MNAO sounds suspiciously like they will pay for parts, not labor. Maybe worth verifying with your dealer.

I just read you update - man, I don't care where you bought your car you do not deserve this!!

If a new car is off the road for x amount of months, I think you have a right to ask for a new one. Trouble is it will be a European spec, so you may end up with the same problems when you get back to the US!!

Send a letter to MNAO customer relations. Your months off the road and patience are definitely at a cost, I think it should be a new car. MNAO probably can't provide that, but it would be interesting to see what they can offer instead.

If you need more advice/help, PM me. Good luck!

Nubo

If this is the case then I suspect the delays may have more to do with resentment with customer pulling strings via Mazda Japan and a little "ugly American" sentiment than anything else. Two wrong transmission shipments is a little too much to believe.

Rx8Freehk

Ya ok.... guess who won..... **** with resentment or "Ugly American" mmmm lets see.

Minus's
Didnt get to drive my car for 3.4 months... ya that did suck

Plus's
Had car for 5 months... put 10k miles on it.... 3.4 months of milage savings

MAZDA North America has made 4 car payments for me (i still payed mine on top)

I didnt get a Rebuilt Tranny for a brand new car...
** I cant believe you guys in Europe put up with that chit... i mean honestly what kind of jacked up buisness practices is that?!?!**

ahhhh whatever.
I got my car back... im happy. And in the future guess what im gonna do... go right back to MAZDA Japan untill the crap gets taken care of the way "I" want it done. Rule #1 Customer is always right

-Da Freehk

Mr M

Glad to hear MNAO made some payments on the car while it was off the road.

Also glad to hear your car is back on the road. I hope this hasn't dampened your enjoyment of the vehicle?

Safe driving. :D

Nubo

Glad to hear the ordeal is over. Didn't mean anything negative with my comment; just speculating on why the service experience was so weird.

Does raise an interesting question about rebuilding the transmission vs. a new one. The question of which is better may sound obvious to us. As Americans we tend to think "if it's broken replace it" and "new is better" and factory-new above all. On the other hand I guess a case can be made for only replacing the parts that are demonstrably bad and not replacing ones that have proven themselves in service and in diagnostic measurement/testing. This, as opposed to getting a whole new unit which may itself have latent flaws.

Again, not criticizing, just an interesting difference in regions. Glad you got it fixed the way you wanted.