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Comments
Just thought it needed it's own thread.
Unless this is a recurring problem, point taken, but there is nothing more that could warrant a recommendation to not buy a CX-9. Sorry for the troubles [sranger] had, but show me a TSB, a recall for this problem, or links to other owner complaints, and than we are onto something of interest for the general forum participants.
The press is just loving the CX-9, from MotorTrend to Popular Mechanics to Car & Driver. No seat complaints, end of story.
Very simple, they are not in the lobby with the other brochures and the sales people claimed they didn't know anything about the 08' model, such as pricing, new equipment etc.
It was not until I insisted that even the Mazda website had the pricing (as a PDF document) information that the salesperson walked inside and pulled a brochure from behind the manager's desk. Once I said I would not accept an 07 under any conditions, he walked inside again and came back with pre-ordering information, delivery dates, etc.
I can understand the game in the interest of clearing the stock of 07's, but even as a game, it should be played with more grace.
If the customer already stated that he understands the discounts available for the 07 but made an informed decision to buy an 08 based on data already available on the Internet, it is just unprofessional to act clueless about their existence. What is the reaction they were expecting? "Oh, you must be right, they must not exist, so I better buy this 07 and enjoy it until December 31st, when the world will come to an end?"
Right now, I am less inclined to believe anything that this dealer says, and could even consider buying from some other dealer who is more forthcoming. I am old enough to understand which dealer is more likely to make their money.
ALL dealers want to make their MONEY...
The 08's cost $700 more but they come with the 3.7 engine. Sweeeeeeet.
It does feel bad to "relieve" the dealer of an 08 at invoice (they confirmed that they would honor the S-plan) but I figure I probably would buy a Saturn Outlook if it were not for the discount, so Mazda wins anyway.
Checking the 08 brochure, there is an mirror with a backup image overlay, which we later learned to be a package called 1RV (Back Up Camera w/Auto-Dimming Mirror Display.)
Does anyone have any experiences to share about it? Is the image too small to be useful? Too much ripping of the interior panels to pass all the cables?
The listed price is $675 (without installation) which seems to be a somewhat questionable deal compared to the total of $2100 for the navigation system + backup camera.
You have to be kidding about those comments. In the shoes of the dealer you should make money, absolutely. But not in a way that compromises integrity! Do business the right way and people will come back again and again!
Perhaps, but they are not doing a quality job.
Quality is conformance to customer requirements and the dealer was pressuring the customer to buy a vehicle that did not conform to his requirements.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
How many times we find that one favors one dealer and others don't care for this same dealer.
In my many years of expirience in buying cars I try to keep those transactions as impersonal as possible and learned NOT to trust anyone no matter how honest they appear to be.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Then you need to escalate to corporate, and I don't mean calling the customer service line.
Email me at brucem105_AT_comcast.net, and I will give you a copy of a letter I have used over and over to get results, and it's never failed me or anyone else I have given it to. You'll need to customize it a bit for your particular situation.
Then you FedEx where I tell you to send it, and you WILL get a high-level response in a very short amount of time. Now, I don't know you or the problem you are describing, so I can not promise they will consider it a a real problem, a fixable problem, etc. But you'll get a response and you will not need to take it any higher, as it'll come from the CEO's office.
Good luck!
Bruce
p.s. This is not some stupid email scam, I don't charge for the letter, etc. Just trying to help, and it makes me feel good to see people get results using a method I created from a problem I had a long time ago.
Good luck lets us know since you have voice your discontent to all winds is only fair that you keep us all updated...
I don't even know why we're rehashing this now - sranger, i thought you fixed the thing. Maybe you should have some service done that requires an overnight stay, and demand a CX-9 loaner. Then you can drive it for the duration and see if it really was just YOUR seat. If the other car is comfy, then you have ammo for Mazda. If the other car hurts, well... then it's just "irreconcilable differences" between your bum and the Mazda seats. :P
Chances are that if someone here is mentioning the problem then there are many others "out there" who are also experiencing it. And it wouldn't necessarily be only those who drive long hours every day. One size does not fit all when it comes to car seats.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
FWIW, I've made 10-hour drives in every car I've ever owned, Mazda CX-7 included, without wishing the manufacturers would replace the seats. Most of those cars did not accumulate more than 12,000 miles a year.
Unless I use a cushion over the seat that is at least 1" thick of soft foam, My rear will get so sore over time that I cannot drive it. This usually happenes after two or three days of driving 4-6hr per day. I have owned many cars over the years and this is the only one that has caused this type of issue. My 2005 Mercury Mariner did not cause this problem. I also have a 2005 Mustang GT. When I am not carrying much demo equipment I drive it and I have never found it to be uncomfortable. In fact it gives my rear end a rest from the CX-9 seats.
There are other people who have contacted me with the same issue. I admit that their discomfort does not seem to be as pronounced as mine. Most prefer not to post here because of all the flak I got.
I did find out Friday that Katzkin Leather offeres seat covers for the CX-9 for about $1,000.00. I am going to work with a local upholstry shop to see if I can solve this issue once and for all. It will cost me a couple of thousand dollars, but it will be less expensive than the money this I would lose on trade. ( also the Katzkin seats look great )
P.S. I will email the guy who offerest to help, but I really need to get this issue resolved soon...
It seems they are just playing games to clear out '07's. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Retail $143.47 + tax
On national back order until end of August.
I finnally found a upholstery shop that seems to know what they are doing. They successfully removed the heating element from my seat and cut off about an inch of the ultra hard foam in the seat bottom and replace it with a softer material. They re-attached the heating element and it works fine. This was their first attempt to cure the seating problems that I have had with the CX-9. I do not know how they did it, but they also softened the leather in the seat bottom. I could not believe how much better the seat felt after this modification.
However, the side bolsters with the hard seam down the middle are still too hard and uncomfortable to live with on a daily basis.
I am going to have them completely replace the covering and the foam in the the side bolsters. By the way the materials in the side bolsters are vinyl not leather. To get rid of the hard seam, they are going to make the side bolsters out of a single color of leather ( no seam ). We decided to use a charcoal leather to match the color scheme of the rest of the interior. The color is a little darker than the graphite color accent in the seats. It is closer to the color on the door panels. I do not know why, but the darker charcoal material seemed to look better than the graphite. This way we will not have to worry about it matching the puddy ( sand ) color leather in the rest of the seat. They are confident that they can re-use the materials in middle section, sides and back of the seats.
I am going to have this done to the front and second row seats so that the interior will match. ( I just could not stand the thought of a $35K car with mismatched seats... )
These guys do high end interiors for show cars. I met them at a local car show. They are booked through the 10th of Sept, but said that they could fit me in on the week of the 10th.
It is going to cost me a couple of grand to solve the problems I have had with the seats, but it will still be less than what I would lose if I traded vehicles. Once the work is complete, I will post some pics and let you guys/gals know if it worked...
This is the best I have felt about the whole situation in months. I have confidence that these guys can deliver. I just might get to enjoy my CX-9 after all...
P.S. I was going to use Katzkin Leather covers for the seats, but they are only avaliable as replacements for cloth seats. The foam in the leather seats is completely different from that in the cloth seats...
-c92
I am waiting for the '08's to show up and see if thru the normal course of manufacturing maturity, that they may have done some cosmetic to the seats.
Jim
Jim
I ended my misery today... :shades:
A local dealer had a loaded AWD Ford Edge SEL Plus on their lot with 800 miles and made me a good deal. It was configured exactly the way I wanted it. It is black with a tan leather interior. The trade cost about the same as I was going to spend having the seats altered in the CX-9. The dealer threw in a 4 year 75,000 mile ford manufactures extended warrantee. After many hours of trying to decide what to do, I decide to trade the CX-9 rather than try to get the seats repaired. The seats in the Edge are so comfortable that they won me over. I was still a little worried that the seats in the CX-9 would still not be comfortable to me even after the modifications. I also knew that the modifications would most likely hurt the resale value later on.
I will miss a few things about the CX-9. It handles a little better than the Edge, has better brakes and the trans was a little smoother. As for features, all I really gave up was rain sensing wipers and a power lift gate and rear view camera since I never needed the third row seats anyway. Although the speed of the wipers on the Edge are variable ( not just the intermitiant ) As your speed increases the wiper will sweep faster. Also, unlike the cx-9, the lights will come on automatically if you turn the wipers on. However, the hugh vista moon roof in the Edge more than made up the difference. This is the best moon roof I have ever seen. It is reasonably quite at 70mph with the roof open. It has an excellent wind diffuser. I also did not realize how much I missed the trip computer. The Nav system in the Edge also seemed to work a little better ( Still not as good and the Garmin Nuvii ) I also hated the way the door locks worked in the CX-9. I could not understand why the doors would not lock or unlock if any one of the other doors was open. The Edge will also lock the doors as you start to move. I think this is a good safety feature for any car. I also like the fact that the seat memory in the Edge includes the side mirrors and the seat heaters have a high and low setting.
I know that many of you will be happy since I won't be posting here any more. However, I do sincearly hope that all of you guys/gals enjoy your CX-9s.
I am also very happy to hear about your trade ,which was very smart, because I have been debating if I should go with the CX 9 or the EDGE and even thou some have said that the EDGE is like a CX 7 I happened to disagree. I think the EDGE for the price is extremely competitive and a good value. I also believe that for the additional $7K in the CX 9 it should have a lot of the stuff that is so simple and included in the EDGE.
Good luck to you and please fo some posting about your expiriences on the EDGE forums..enjoy the ride in good health.
You can disagree all you want, but only one of the three vehicles you mention has a third row. The CX-9 is a behemoth compared to the Edge, and size/capacity is what a lot of people look at first. I can't really comment on the features. It may be that sranger just didn't need the space of the CX-9 after all, but I'm glad to hear he's got chairs he can stand now.
I'm glad that got hooked up sranger.
Hit the Edge forums now.
The new ETA for DVD Remote is 9/18/2007. This sucks.
Maybe I can give MPV DVD remote a shot and see if that will work.
Hey, the DVD remote from the MPV just may work!