Mazda Rant
 

Just gotta get this out of my system. Lunde Mazda in Fargo, North Dakota is trying to bend me over for $900. The cost includes: new plugs and wires, MAF sensor, new belt, a replaced flange gasket for the exhaust, oil change, and the cost of labor. Not to mention there is a small oil leak which from my own mechanical opinion appears to be a bad seal for the harmonic balancer...none of that is included in this cost because they said they aren't going to fix the leak because they aren't positive of where they leak is coming from. I knew from the moment I noticed an issue with the car that it must be a problem with the spark. And I should have just gone with my gut and rolled up my sleeves and taken care of the issue myself. Now I'm stuck without a car until Monday. I told them that I want all of the old parts that they replace back. I'm going to inspect the MAF sensor to make sure that it really is bad. I did a bit of research and the OEM MAF sensor is $200! I could buy a quality MAF sensor for between $60-$80. OEM Mazda parts are way overpriced across the board. Next time, I think a little bit of research and patience will save me a lot of kicks to the head and I know now not to piss around with Mazda dealership servicing department. Such a simple fix should not cost this kind of cash. Lesson F'in learned.

What lesson did you learn?

Hard lesson learned. Dealer prices are crazy but that is common knowledge so you have no one to blame but yourself.

I highly doubt the MAF is bad, they very rarely go bad. The MAF the RX-8 uses is used on Many Mazda's, Toyotas/Lexus, etc. Plus looking at it will tell you nothing unless it is physically broken. Try reading the thread linked under my sig pic.

I took the car in to a different shop last week. They did a diagnostics test and told me that it didn't throw any codes. So when I go back and ask them how they discovered the bad sensor, I'll probably call bullsh*t if they say diagnostics test. And yes, that was what I was implying when I said I wanted to see the old sensor for myself to check for physical damage.

Well with no codes they would have to be wizards to determine the MAF was bad.

The lesson was...

Don't be a noob, do the research, take the extra time and do it yourself. It's many times more rewarding when you fix a problem with your own two hands. If my 13 year-old self could travel to the future and meet me right now, I think he would call me a little b*tch and show me how to get things done.

Yes well I guess wizards get paid pretty damn handsomely.

I'm from Minot and I Haven't found a shop in the state that wont try to bend you over and have their way with you. North Dakota needs good, reliable tuning shop for us to go to.
Micheal pm me if you ever need help with anything or make your way to minot!

Well, it is tough anywhere to find a good reliable mechanic that will actually trouble shoot and not fix things by the process of elimination. Even in a large city like mine there are no reliable and knowledgeable rotary mechanics. This is why I learned to do 90% of the things on my car myself.

I have had some luck with auto shops here in Fargo, it's just the dealerships that tend to screw me over. Honda dealership here had their way with me a couple years ago when I needed a new transmission. Anyways, Tuffy's Auto took good care of me when I had some exhaust work done. The main issue is that ND doesn't have specially shops that are experienced and willing to work on rotaries.

thats what I am planning on doing. I've only been in the rotary game for about 5 months now, so far i love it. just wish there was some local tech support i could go to.

Well said. I've invested in a service manual.

Thats why I am going to install my exhaust my self. the dealership here in minot helped me out pretty good when my secondary shutter valve was stuck open. I may have to take a trip to fargo and check out Tuffy's

5 months would be about the same for me. And I share your enthusiasm for the car as well as the frustration of professional service.

could you guide me in the direction of one please, been looking all i found was a wiring book haha

There are many PDF versions of the service manual available for free. I'm still in the process of tracking down a hard copy version.

Check it:

M A Z D A

I also suggest you read this:

i don't understand what exactly u are bitching at.

you were lazy and u got bit, that's what i read.

another about Mazda parts, i can tell u what i had experienced, i replaced my maf sensor cuz the after market version is so cheap, like 60-70 bux i got a new one not even remain, so i was like why not? and it gave me a cel, at first i thought it was something else, swap back the Mazda part problem goes away.

i probably got a lemon ... who knows

Mazda parts are expensive but honestly, they rarely fail out of box and if u know where to get them, its not as bad as getting rip by stealership