Hi. I am the proud owner of a black, 6speed and it's time for the first oil change. The problem is, I'm very worried about my baby. I am very careful with my car and take good care of it. I don't want a tech person to take my car and joy ride in it. I just want the oil changed but no test drives.

What can I do or say to make sure that my car is not driven off the lot? Does the service advisor who fills out the service order have any authority over the techs who work on the car? Or do I need to speak to the techs directly about this?

 

When I go to my Mazda dealer for aneything. I tell them to warm up my car befor they pull her up and hand me the keys or I'll be pissed.
So if I where you I would tell the service advisor or MG. Let them know in a nice way.

 

If you're worried about the dealer taking your car for a joy ride, just right down the mileage when you drop it off. Make sure you let them know that "you checked the mileage" ... this way, they can't take the car for a spin... trust me, works everytime

 

Why would we want to joy ride your 8? We work on and pdi them all the time and there not that special.

 

aside from them taking it for a joy ride make sure they use the correct viscosity of oil and don't overfill it. i've had this happen to me.

 

I don't trust the idiots at the dealerships AT ALL! That's why I do all of my car maintenance myself. I am NOT mechanically inclined, but it is really, really easy to do oil changes filter replacements and spark plug swaps. You only need a few tools. If you don't know how to do these things, maybe you could find a friend to walk you through it the first time. Just a thought. Good luck!

 

Dealerships are there to sell cars. Period. If working on them was really simple, dealerships wouldn't constantly mess up oil changes. Look up how many people here have had oil overfilled, bs stories about oil weight (it actually doesn't matter but they only state things as an excuse and not fact), how many dealerships scratched/dented/wrecked their cars. The sad thing is that an oil change is about the single easiest thing in the world to do but they still get messed up by dealerships. Learn to do it yourself. You're better off.

 

rotarygod:
I agree that changing your own oil and filter is easy and that we'd do it right since we love our 8. But, aren't you worried that doing your own maintenance may cause problems in the event that you need warranty work? I ask because during the pick-up of my RX8 the sales rep implied/threatened that if I didn't go through Mazda for all my scheduled maintenance (and get my warranty booked stamped) my warranty may be void as I couldn't prove that the work was done right.

Any thoughts?

 

I have a great mechanic (Dean) at my dealership that works on my car. I can call him any time with questions and I know he is the only person who works on my car. He knowas his stuff and is up to date on the latest. I have to drive 40 miles to see him but it is worth it!

 

They have a lot full of RX8s and sometimes better cars. Why would they want to drive YOUR car? Like it's been said, change your own oil.

 

Yeah. You are worrying about the wrong thing. The dealer is packed with so many rx8s. As nice as the car is, it's not a rare exotic sports car, and they see so many they just want your car in and out of there ASAP. For oil change, just do it yourself. YOu do need to get over the joyride thing. If it was a small private garage changing oil, that's a different story altogether, and you would have every right to worry about it. Fact is that our car is a dime a dozen at dealership, so they look at rx8 as they would any old car.

 

There are countless stories of help at dealerships using or abusing customer cars that are in for service. This could become a long thread.

When I take a car in I tell the service manager no test drives, no lunch trips, parts trips, etc. I write the odometer reading on a sticky note and put it on the dash so they know I checked.

 

Oil change for dummies

Good thread with pics that I started on oil changes.

 

it's not about the number of 8's they have on the lot that they can beat on that matters, it's the sheer opportunity of the situation.

if they have a customer's car RIGHT THERE then it's easy vs. having to track down a set of keys, pull it outta the dealer spot, & justify the trip to their boss afterwards, then it's kind of a pain.

Instead they can just 'borrow' the customer's car that's right there since they have to move it anyway & then just BEAT on it cuz it's not like it's gonna be returned to the dealership or they're losing money on it (ie putting mileage on a dealer car). It's done & gone. whatever happens now is effectively not their fault since they can just blame the customer to a point (ie abuse, neglience).

 

I'm more worried when my car's state inspection is due and have to get it inspected. You have to go to these lube shop and they have to drive to car to test the brakes etc. Imagine someone with no clue driving your 8 around...scary. Those are they guys I don't trust.

 

Warranty book ? Stamped ?? WTF is that who elese has a Warranty book?

they track every vist by the vin # with there computer. They will know the history of all there services. Whe you change your own oil that will not show but who cares. Its your Car .. you own it. The warranty is there for when it breaks. No matter who has changed the Oil or roated your tires...

 

The people who say joy-riding is no problem because the dealer sees them all the time need to get a clue. This is a fun car to drive, and given the choice between this and a 97 MPV, which one do you think they'll take out for a little fun at lunch? This is no idle speculation on my part. I dropped the car off in the night-drop last night, and today when I get back to pick it up for nothing more than its first oil change, bam 12.2 miles extra on the odometer. And here I thought I was being paranoid to check the mileage. I'll bet those were the hardest 12 miles that car has ever seen, and I don't drive like grandma. At least the engine was broken in before they got their grubby hands on my poor baby. Tomorrow the General Manager will be hearing from me (it was after hours when I picked it up, so there was nobody to yell at tonight.) Write your mileage down every time and tell them you know the odometer reading every time. Otherwise, you stand a good chance of getting your car beat on.

 

there are no fun drives done at our dealer. Sorry that all dealers are not like ours. We are small and i am the only tech there and I do all the oil changes also. I am 1 on 1 with all my customers and alot ride with me when I road test. Btw rx8 doesnt get me pumping. The power of the cobra make sit look like a 323.

 

maybe if you had taken an 8 out for a ride you would feel diffrently

nice to see some shops are still trust worthy.

 

I drive 8's all the time and it is not a fast car. They do handle and brake good and thats what the 8 is about. I prefer to go fast though.

 

You want to go fast? Drive one off a cliff.

 

I'm worried about dealer abuse too, but not joy riding.. my dealer has this tiny parking lot and has damaged my vehicle(s) several times (door ding, door scratch) for that reason.

They don't let customers pull in there, that's how tight it is.

You drop it off almost on their driveway and then a skinny guy drives it on the lot.

When they dinged my door, I guess the regular parking employee had gained weight :-(

I just saw syntrix's oil change for dummies. Will try that next time.

-Peter

 

the paperwork i get back from my dealer has incoming and outgoing mileage on it...you can always write it down and check it for yourself...i agree with others when they say mechanics are busy...they do the same job every day on all sorts of cars....they have a boss on their *** to get cars in and out...the new of the 8 has worn off so they don't care to drive it around and get themselves in trouble....

 

humm not sure what you mean by fast. top speed of 145 mph is not fast enough? and besides how man straight roads without curves do you drive on??

Fast and Great Handeling is what the RX8 is about.. oh yea with great looks to

Eat your heart out buy a Rotery and learn to shift at 9k

 

Im about 1/4 mile time and i know the rx8 isnt. Im not trashing the rx8 as i like them and work on them.