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I did mention to my manager about a demo. However, since they are so limited (some dealerships do not have any), we couldn't put one up as a demo. We have received 5 and I have helped customers get 4 of them.
Believe me, when you look at the whole scheme of things, it is just a car....I am not in love with the car....But I enjoy them and want them as perfect as possible for the next purchaser.
........................................................
If it didn't sound sincere, I did say those things in a sincere way (in my head, maybe not as well typing)However, there are some things that I do not need to apologize for, things I have no control over, like how people react.
I am not a person who likes confrontation. But I felt it was appropriate to go on and address the situation the best way I could. Many dealerships get bad rap's and don't deserve the reputation of treating people poorly.
We all need to realize that we are just like you, human. Be open to us, and even nice, you can pretty much get what you want. I like to think and respond to customers. That day was full of reactions...ones I couldn't counteract. Miscommunication happens. I understand that. I am trying to apologize.
But I guess for sales people, apologizing isn't enough...If I knew what I needed to do to fix it, I would definitely give it my all.
This will be my last post about this subject. I can't apologize for the million salespeople out there, because many, I couldn't apologize for!
Have fun!
How does your ownership experience prove you know how Mazda manages their company?
From a financial perspective, Mazda is increasing profits year to year as well as increasing sales, whereas Ford is losing money and decreasing in sales. How can that be if they run their companys the same way?
There are reasons why I can't share specific details. I can say that I object how they are handling the recent Mazda3 crisis on the car being unduly susceptible to break-ins. This is appalling. Mazda has other ongoing issues where their 3 for example, will die suddenly. This is affecting model years from 2004 to present. This is a very dangerous problem.
And FWIW, I have made no claims that I "know" how they manage their company. I have only expressed my [own] opinion.
Mazda is capitalizing on their Japanese name (and they should). They are making money because the Mazda3 really offers a lot for the money and it has a huge "fun" factor that a lot of people prefer. Heck, VW was doing well many years ago until their [poor] reliability finally caught up with them. Of course, that makes no difference to hardcore VW fans, as it doesnt to hardcore Mazda fans.
It is my opinion (from experience) that Mazda (at this time) is no better than Ford in terms of quality, reliability, and management style. I have had Fords, Chryslers, Honda, GM, and VW's. Mazda certainly doesnt appear to go by the Japanese approach where customers relations are a high priority, compared to Honda or Toyota.
To me, a Mazda is really a re-badged Ford and a lot of people are happy in buying and owning a Ford, but I don't consider Mazda being a Japanese car.
Honda on the other hand, has even repaired vehicles after the warranty expired under their unofficial "goodwill" policy. That's what taking care of the customer is about. I should've bought a Honda this time, but I didn't. I thought I would take a chance with Mazda and so far, I am not doing well with it...and if you believe in JD Powers, their data shows Mazda is not reliable.
May I ask what Mazda model you have? I'm a new 3 owner and by reading some of the comments, I hope I don't regret it! For me it was a tough descision between the Civic & the 3 & I know that the Civic is the better choice for reliability but I needed a car & the 3 was what I could afford plus it had alot to offer for an "economy" car. Also I did my research on Edmunds & Consumer Reports and the 3 rated pretty good. Its hard when you get different info everywhere!
Are the break-ins happening in the States or in Canada?
Except it offers a good bit less economy - more along the lines of midsize sedans instead.
As for the models made in Mexico, well that's another story. It's clearly hurt the Mazda6 and has done horrible damage to Volkswagen.
I definitely can't comment on Honda's "goodwill" policy as I've never heard of a company doing FREE warranty service after the warranty expired (except in rare cases of computer firmware/hardware upgrades, etc). I guess that's why it's, as you write, an "UNofficial policy" (which I had to chuckle at).
Just buy the car you like and feel good about. I like the Civic, I liked the Mazda3S a lot more (nicer interior, more exciting ride, Sirius radio vs XM, comparable reliability/reviews, comparable resale, better deal from the dealership). All of these informed my decision.
So far I am quite happy with it. Best of luck to everyone.
Yes, it's difficult but I think you're on the right track. As I read this and other threads it becomes increasingly apparent that there is more opinion than information being provided. One person's "facts" or "experience" is another's fiction. Reading other sources (like Consumer Reports) can help balance the picture by providing a wider perspective. Keeping a healthy skepticism also helps.
It's fine to relate your experiences with Mazda on this board. However, to draw broad conclusions from your lone experience is foolish. I can point to numerous bad experiences from Honda and Toyota owners as well, but that doesn't mean that Honda or Toyota have bad reliability or bad service.
I would have to say, reading broadly on forums and such, that Mazda dealerships probably lag in terms of customer service. This may be due to having fewer Mazda-only dealers and also Mazda simply being a smaller company. Bad dealerships will reflect poorly overall on customer service as they are a major conduit for communication between customer and the headquarters.
The dealer told me it was up to Mazda and Mazda told me it was up to the dealership. What a joke - so I sent Mazda an E-mail - listed out all the service visits I had made with dates - what was done - bla bla bla - I also listed my calls to the 800 Mazda number - bla bla bla
This was not a nasty letter - no foul language - all just straight facts. My only question was - What do you suggest I do NOW to resolve these problems?
The response I got back from Mazda was - Go see your states attorney general. When I tried to send another e-mail to Mazda customer service I had been BLOCKED in their system. The e-mail came back undelivered. Later I determined I had been blocked for 90 days.
Mazda customer service is a joke.
The thing that is also important to know - every one of the problems I was having - eventually had a TSB issued - all but one of the TSB's did fix the problem.
The one that was not solved was the weak AC - first I was told it was operating as designed - then a TSB came out with a fix - I took the car in to the dealership - and after checking my AC was told MY CAR HAD THE PROBLEM and they would perform the repair. But the repair DID NOTHING to solve the problem - so then I was told my car was operating as designed.
Look how many MS3s are breaking motor mounts, in case anyone is wondering about Mazda quality.
Actually I don't see your point. It seems like some of the posts are from people who have not bought the car. The Mazdaspeed3 is also in its first year and we all know that any manufacturer (including Honda and Toyota) experiences the most problems with vehicles in their first model year. So, is it a surprise to anyone that there are some issues with the new Mazdaspeed3? No. Should owners expect that the problems be addressed? Yes. Is Mazda's reputation in jeapordy? Too early to tell.
A manufacturer should be given a reasonable opportunity to address a problem with their product before being labelled one way or another.
There are 3 of them. All Mazdaspeed 3's
Oh Please, gimme a break, there have been 3!
If you want to play that card, I will refer you to Civic Problems and Solutions board of this site. It think you will finds thousands of 2006+ Civic complaints. What does that say about Honda quality? Oh wait, but that cant be, Hondas are considered the best in the industry in quality, and every other car is not quality right? I don't think so.
My point, every car company has their issues, no car is perfect, not even Honda.
Moreover, for those who want to minimize the severity of this, what happens when your engine drops out going 75mph? Honda may have issues, but none that I'm aware of that could kill the driver, passengers, or other motorists.
You said look how many reports there were, so I looked and I answered you. Three. In a limited edition race car that has some obvious problems, related to the stress the much more powerful engine.
However, this issue does not affect 99%+ of current Mazda 3 owners nad never will, depite your alarmist overtones about Mazda quality
a 0.25% failure rate on a brand new model. Probably pretty good. The actual failure rate will be pretty similar considering most owners who experience problems do post on forums and such.
Honda doesn't have issues that would kill occupants of their cars? That's why they never issue recalls? Oh wait they they just issued a recall for their Civic hybrids:
link title
The defect in these cars could cause the engine to stop. What happens when your engine stops when you are going 75mph? This is an issue in over 45,000 civic hybrids. Not just 4 cars.
Obviously, this doesn't mean that Honda has poor quality or reliability. And yes, Honda is doing the right thing by issuing a recall.
Seriously, stop making blanket statements about a manufacturers reliability/quality based on small samples or single issues.
Oh, and here's a report saying Mazda tops reliability rankings (Honda is a very close second):
link title
Seriously, stop making blanket statements about a manufacturers reliability/quality based on small samples or single issues.
I could not agree more. The problem with Honda people is that when they do have an issue with their Honda, and they have been Honda loyal for many years, they do not like to admit they are having problems, hence the reliability rating. I have a good friend who is the service manager at our local Honda dealership, and he sees Hondas (newer ones) being repaired daily for major and minor issues. He is my source for Honda owners being in denial when they have problems. In his opinion, they are no better then Mazdas, and he IS a Honda owner.
I could not agree more. The problem with Honda people is that when they do have an issue with their Honda, and they have been Honda loyal for many years, they do not like to admit they are having problems, hence the reliability rating.
I think the pot is calling the kettle black, aviboy. You just made a blanket statement about Honda owners here, one with which I don't particularly agree. If we Honda owners were as you say we are, why would there even be a very active maintenance and repair forum for the cars? When I have had an issue with my vehicle, I've posted there, and gotten some solutions. My Honda isn't perfect, and my friend's Mazda 3 isn't perfect, but saying "Honda people this" and "Honda people that" is doing exactly what you were condemning.
You eliminated your credibility with the statement "I couldn't agree more" and then turned around and made your own blanket statement. You can't have it both ways, so let's just not have it.
This isn't necessary, from either camp (Mazda OR Honda).
Uh, put on the turn signal and coast to the shoulder?
Seriously, stop making blanket statements about a manufacturers reliability/quality based on small samples or single issues.
Oh, and here's a report saying Mazda tops reliability rankings (Honda is a very close second):
Is this a large enough sample for you?
http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.asp?ID=2006133
Notice how the Honda Civic is tops in its class and Mazda doesn't even place. Notice how Mazda is below average in long-term reliability and Honda is above average. More fanboyism from the Mazda partisans to suggest otherwise.
BTW, a component has a low defect rate if it experiences failure at a rate of 1 part per million, not 5 out of 2000.
Talk about taking a limited sampling to base their opinion upon? You don't even have any evidence to back yours up, just second-hand anecdotes.
However, this issue does not affect 99%+ of current Mazda 3 owners nad never will, depite your alarmist overtones about Mazda quality,
Sorry, there are still 4 and 1 probable. It is NOT a race car, despite the fantasies of Mazda fanboys to the contrary. Ever heard of engineering and product development? Apparently, neither has Mazda, or they wouldn't be putting dangerous junk on the road without properly testing it for component failure and poor design first.
99% of Mazda3 owners may not experience this problem, but a fair number of 'Speed3 owners will. How many 3 owners are experiencing the garbage Mazda calls A/C? Of course a "racecar" doesn't need that. LOL.
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=28532.0
I happen to believe that the quality and reliability of both Honda and Mazda are on par with one another. I speak from ownership of both brands. I have said over and over that both Civic and Mazda3 are excellent choices, to which I know you have witnessed.
And what is your response to the thousands of Civic Hybrids that can turn off when traveling at a high rate of speed? Would you call those cars "dangerous junk"? How about "poor engineering"? Has Honda ever heard of "engineering and product development"?
NO, NO, and YES.
No matter how many times you test, test, and re test a vehicle, things are bound to happen. Picking out 3 or 4 cases of incidents where a really bad thing happened in not a way to judge a vehicles quality. I bet if I dig I can find a bit more then 3 or 4 instance where something terribly wrong happened to a Honda. But, I think you would disagree with me if I made a statement so absurd like "Honda puts junk on the road" or "Honda does not develop or engineer a car to well".
I've gotten to the point to where I want to skip your posts because they are just utter nonsense.
We're content with Honda and Mazda inour house.
Mr. & Mrs. Sandman
Also, JDPowers is about 'newer' cars with owners reporting. What if Honda owners just don't believe it "broke" - it still is under the warranty? What if they just don't report the problems? There are to many "ifs" you need to consider if you want to form a balanced opinion.
On the other hand, a largest insurance study of actual claims is, probably, the most reliable source of reliability rankings.
I already pointed to other reliability surveys (consumer's report, and the link in my previous post) that contradict that JD powers report. You can't simply look at a single survey even and come to conclusions.
5 out of 2000 isnt much compared to 100% now is it? Nor is 5 much compared to 45,000.
LOL, you picked the wrong day to knock Mazda's reliability compared to Honda's.
That report is very flawed: Check out from post 53 on:
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=15282.30
In life, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics.
Also, any dealership even Toyota will see all sorts of problems because that's what they do, fix cars. If no vehicle had any problems there will be no need for dealers to have service advisors and mechanics. Therefore, it's a irrevelant that a Honda Service Manager says he sees lots of Hondas in every day. The fact is, there are lots of Hondas out there. There is absolutely no make and model out here that have little repairs going on. The old Maytag commercial is only a fantasy.
Using JD Powers, which is more credible, IMO than Car and Driver, clearly shows that the Mazda is less reliable than a Honda.
Unfortunately, many people think that the Mazda3 is a "cheap car" and therefore, dismiss any issues with their car because they feel it is cheap. At the same time, some people will buy a problem plagued Range or Land Rover despite knowing that and most British Cars are incredibly unreliable.
At the end of the day, do your own research and decide what you want.
I said "newer Hondas in for major and minor repairs..." They have just as many repairs as the next car... :P
You continue to confuse Initital Quality with reliability
Are people willing to concede that Mercury cars are more reliable than Honda based on JD Powers summary?
As for the warranty survey, what is so flawed about the survey. The link you directed us to really gave no insight as to what was really flawed with the survey. I could only find one guy who was complaining about the fact that only idiots would buy an extended warranty from warranty direct (so only if you are an idiot who buys Mazda, you'll be ok, but if you're an idiot who buys a make that doesnt do so well, your reliability drops.)
Here are the pros and cons of the warranty survey that I see:
Pros:
they look at time points beyond 3 years
they only look at major repairs
they include true owners of vehicles (the vehicles are actually coming in for repairs, not just complaints or false reports, etc.)
cons:
their sample is limited to people who buy their warranty (is this sample biased in any significant way? I don't see how it is.)
they are in business to make money (they might skew results to make the most money)
they look only at major repairs
For JD Powers:
Pros:
they try to maintain an unbiased sample size using industry approved methods.
they try to make sure that owners are true owners.
they ask over 200 questions in some of their surveys and cover many aspects of owner satisfaction
Cons:
they are in business to make money (results could be skewed for their own interests)
they include things beyond major repairs in their rankings
they are not very clear about how survey results translate into their rankings system.
ex_tdier, it's not wise to give more credence to one survey just because it jives with your personal experience. My own experience with Mazda and Honda doesn't agree with JD Powers at all, but I don't disregard JD Powers results.
As I said before, I don't take one survey and use those results as a Bible. Instead, try to look at what each survey is really looking at and come to your own conclusions.
I think you can throw Consumer Reports in that mix. However, I have to say their long term reliability seems to be fairly accurate.
Can anyone help with a real world comparison ?
Not sure what you are really looking for though. If you want a sporty sedan, the 3 is a good bet, but not nearly the size of the Sonata. If you need a family-size car, I'd go for the Sonata. If you need a sporty family-sized car, look at the Mazda 6, Ford Fusion, and Honda Accord.
Mazda6 is built in Flat Rock, MI. Mazda6 4cyl have been very good, much better then the V6.
My confusion upon reading about the Ford Fusion (and European version, Mondeo) built in mexico and built upon the Mazda6 platform.
http://www.topgear.com/blogs/planettopgear/024-cant-get-no-satisfaction/
This is in Europe, guys, but still interesting:
1 Mazda 8.04%
2 Honda 8.90%
3 Toyota 15.78%
4 Mitsubishi 17.04%
5 Kia 17.39%
6 Subaru 18.46%
7 Nissan 18.86%
8 Lexus 20.05%
9 Mini 21.90%
10 Citroen 25.98%
11 Daewoo 26.30%
12 Hyundai 26.30%
13 Peugeot 26.59%
14 Ford 26.76%
10 Citroen 25.98%
11 Daewoo 26.30%
12 Hyundai 26.30%
13 Peugeot 26.59%
14 Ford 26.76%
15 Suzuki 27.20%
16 Porsche 27.48%
17 Fiat 28.49%
18 BMW 28.64%
19 Vauxhall 28.77%
20 Mercedes 29.90%
21 Rover 30.12%
22 Volvo 31.28%
23 Volkswagen 31.44%
24 Jaguar 32.05%
25 Skoda 32.12%
26 Chrysler 34.90%
27 Audi 36.74%
28 Seat 36.87%
29 Renault 36.87%
30 Alfa Romeo 39.13%
31 Saab 41.59%
32 Land Rover 44.21%
33 Jeep 46.36%
It is amazing how different surveys give different results on the same vehicles. However, they top 10 are usually the same top 10, just in a different order. Same goes for the bottom of the list as well.