Dealer going against Mazda

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Too may people live their life out of fear or take it on authority and don't bother to question that dealer X knows what's best. or manufacturer X knows what's best, period, and no one else knows a better way. Do what is best for your car based on all the information you yourself can gather. :2cents:

I hear this all the time with VW. People say VW approved means the best oil available on the planet. Not VW approved means it will quickly ruin their car. Better to educate yourself and make an informed decision.
 
Originally Posted By: saaber1
Too may people live their life out of fear or take it on authority and don't bother to question that dealer X knows what's best. or manufacturer X knows what's best, period, and no one else knows a better way. Do what is best for your car based on all the information you yourself can gather. :2cents:

I hear this all the time with VW. People say VW approved means the best oil available on the planet. Not VW approved means it will quickly ruin their car. Better to educate yourself and make an informed decision.


i agree with you, i strongly support people learning things for themselves. you'll find out that with all the energy spent [censored] and whining and 'taking the nessecary steps' on some heirarchial model, one could easily be making themselves 'intellectually sovereign' so to speak. i really cant stand it when people tell others "well you're not an ________ so you shouldnt talk or think about it, or i wont consider what you have to say because of it". really? i'm not a chef, but i cook for myself every day
 
Originally Posted By: badtlc
Originally Posted By: webfors
dealer and mazda customer service = dumb and dumber.

Both spit out nonsense imho. Most bitogers could smell the [censored] a mile away.



To be fair, both of the Mazda dealerships I have dealt with in Kansas City have been excellent. Both adhere strictly to Mazda's specifications. They don't ever try and push service specials that are unnecessary. They also charge very reasonable prices. They send monthly coupons for oil change and full circle inspections including fluid topoffs for $25. Or, if you want to bring your own oil and filter, for $10 they will change the oil and still perform the full circle inspection including fluid topoffs.


Agreed, I meant in this particular instance, not Mazda dealers in general.
 
My take is: Stick to whatever the MANUFACTURER recommends while under warranty. After that do whatever you please.

I don't trust anybody, especially the dealer, that tells me to go against what the manufacturer recommends. If things go wrong, who's gonna pick up the bill? Dealers care only about one thing, their profit!!

Dealers can be very quick to come up with excuses to deny warranty work, leaving everything up to you to prove you followed the manyfacturer requirements.

For anybody to suggest to just trust the dealer as they know best, proves that they never lifted the hood on their car or actually bothered checking owner's manual.
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
My take is: Stick to whatever the MANUFACTURER recommends while under warranty. After that do whatever you please.

I don't trust anybody, especially the dealer, that tells me to go against what the manufacturer recommends. If things go wrong, who's gonna pick up the bill? Dealers care only about one thing, their profit!!

Dealers can be very quick to come up with excuses to deny warranty work, leaving everything up to you to prove you followed the manyfacturer requirements.

For anybody to suggest to just trust the dealer as they know best, proves that they never lifted the hood on their car or actually bothered checking owner's manual.


I agree with everything KrisZ has said here. Today, the rep did not return my calls after leaving several voice mail messages. I don't believe my car is at risk but they have probably lost a customer and my opinion of Mazda is going down, though I'm very happy with the car itself. Very perverse really, they can build a car from scratch that I like yet can't handle the first servicing of the vehicle.

This is a broken thing that can be fixed. There is even more I left out about the service manger telling me "I'm getting an even better oil", I stand there listening and thinking is this the best business model for you...and me?

My car is fine but I'm [censored].
 
Except for the 1st. oil change, I've never let Mazda touch my 6, even with the free oil changes they've offered. I've always done my own, this way i know it's done right, with my own choice of oils, including synthetic if i choose. I've done it this way since it was new, and that's even with an excellent service dealer. (Delray Mazda)
 
After I got my 3 from the dealer, I said, "Seeh Ya!". And never returned.
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I've gotten ZERO oil changes and will continue to get ZERO oil changes from the dealer. I'm hoping the next time I see a dealership is when I'm ready for another new car.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I've gotten ZERO oil changes and will continue to get ZERO oil changes from the dealer. I'm hoping the next time I see a dealership is when I'm ready for another new car.
This is what I do.
thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I've gotten ZERO oil changes and will continue to get ZERO oil changes from the dealer. I'm hoping the next time I see a dealership is when I'm ready for another new car.


Me too.
 
Today I talked with the Mazda rep.

I'll get straight to his return call after the first intolerably rude first call.

It does a NOT matter that the dealer put in non-specified 5w-30 M1. He said they are an independent business and can make their own calls relating to service.

When I told him the service manager told me that my warranty would still be valid, he side stepped the question and said only manufacturer specified oil can be used.

When I questioned him on the use of M1, he said that it was MY interpretation that it was OK to use and that Mazda has not tested it and does not recommend it. He made it clear that "recommend,” meant, if you use it your warranty is in jeopardy. I pointed out the owner's manual clearly states: Only use oils "Certified For Gasoline Engines" by API, ILSAC. I told him there is no mention of synthetic oil in the manual either way. He said we don't specify a lot of things...if someone uses their Mazda 6 for towing that would void the owner’s warranty...even though they don't (he says) specifically say that.

He handles warranty claims and was speaking from a position of power.

Further discussion in effect eliminated my other options, doing my own change, having someone else do it with the Mazda filter, etc.

Next oil change I'm going to put in M1 5w-20 with a Mazda filter and drain plug gasket and document it. If that's not enough then [censored] them.

Thanks to all for your input!
 
That rep sounds like a real "donkey bottom". I'd report him and the dealer to corporate. The Dealer contracts with Mazda for warranty work and proper service - they aren't THAT independent.
 
You can do your own OC without warranty problems - just keep all documentation (I even keep the remove oil filters and boxes for proof and write down the oil lot #s off the bottles.
 
There are quite a few dealers that just buy bulk drums of 30wt and use that in every change they do no matter what the manufacturer recommends. Then they put on the invoice whatever weight the car specifies. I've seen this happen at plenty of places and know quite a few people that wrench for dealers and have told me the same thing. The dealer I used to work at had the oil tank in back filled with 30wt. That's what was used for all oil changes. What the manual said only applied to capacity. I've talked to a whole lot of techs at different dealers that do the same thing.

Unless you have a major oil related failure they're not even going to question it if you tell them what they want to hear.

If for some reason you did have a major failure due to oil... by the time they called the manufaturer for a rep to come check it out the oil that was in the car would be long gone because the tech would have drained it into the shop oil drain that has all kinds of junk in it. They wouldn't be able to test the oil in your car if they wanted to. I had several engine replacements that I had to have a manufaturer rep sign off on before I could do the repair. Never once did they ask for an oil sample or even ask what was in there. If I had ytp pull the pan off to check the engine the oil was long gone.

Unless you dump gear oil in the thing and then blow it up you don't have anything to worry about and are just being paranoid about it IMO.
 
Your points about the circumstances that would happen if there was engine failure are excellent given your experience.
 
Change oil yourself...use 5w20 synthetic and a factory filter and keep a log with mileage, dates & receipts until your warranty is gone.
 
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