As Erin mentioned our 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 recently came due for its first service. We anticipated the 7,500-mile interval to set us back about 65 bucks. This visit includes an oil and filter change, tire rotation and various visual inspections.
We called Long Beach Mazda to schedule an appointment and nobody picked up. The operator directed us to the service department twice and the phone just kept ringing. So we just showed up without an appointment. An advisor approached us immediately, wrote us up and told us the car would be ready in about an hour.
He wasn't kidding. In about an hour our phone rang, "Sir, your car is ready for pick up." Before we could finish paying the cashier our car was pulled around to the service drive. It was a very pleasant dealer experience. By the looks of things, business wasn't exactly hopping. But less business meant more customer service in this case. I'll take that every time.
Total Cost: $41.60
Days Out of Service: None
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 8,685 miles
powell_jr says:
05:23 AM, 03/12/10
I've always had great customer service from Mazda. Even on a very busy Saturday without an appointment they sent a technician out with me to my car to see if he could help me. My problems were small and he was very informative. He fixed both the hood latch and the trunk lid opener and didn't charge me.
hybris says:
07:24 AM, 03/12/10
This is a nice change of pace compared with say Mini's service.
somberlaine1 says:
07:46 AM, 03/12/10
dealer experience varies and has nothing to do with whether it's a mazda, honday, or whatever make. I personally had a bad experience with a Mazda dealership here in Alexandria, VA.
brn says:
07:59 AM, 03/12/10
It's nice to see Edmunds finally has an experience that equates to what 90% of your readers experiences are with oil changes.
rascal99 says:
08:02 AM, 03/12/10
Well, the car sure looks happy about it.
stovt001 says:
08:17 AM, 03/12/10
$41 is pretty decent for a dealership service.
santiagofdz says:
09:35 AM, 03/12/10
I agree with somberlaine1 in that the brand does have some say with it's procedures and guidelines, but it's up to the people of that dealership to really give good or bad service. Personally I have had great service with my Mazda dealership, but I'm well aware I'm lucky and that there are plenty of people out there with a shoddy dealership.
Let's not forget this blog's issues with the nav system in the Mazda 6
90in55 says:
11:05 AM, 03/12/10
What, they didn't charge you an extra $100 for "labor"?
stephen987 says:
11:18 AM, 03/12/10
Long Beach, not Santa Monica.
ocramidajzj says:
02:37 PM, 03/12/10
Count me as another Mazda owner who has had A+ service form their local dealer for 8+ years and counting. Service is always excellent and the cost is always below what I expect. If people had as good an experience as me I think they'd ditch those jiffy lube hacks and be loyal to their dealer.
srlracing says:
04:03 PM, 03/12/10
Mazda service departments have always treated me very well. Good service puts the S in SOLD. Just like I will never buy another BMW product after my experience with Irvine BMW.
allthingshonda says:
04:13 PM, 03/12/10
A dealer with no business in the service department means they sell reliable dependable cars that only require maintenance.
slickersdrip says:
09:47 PM, 03/12/10
I've rented a Mazda5 to bring a few friends and myself from Austin to Florida for Spring Break and right now (halfway there) the car has been so comfortable and pleasant (despite the painful lack of power, but a Mazdaspeed3 would fix that) that in the next couple months when I'm getting serious about getting a new car a Mazda will definitely be on my list... even with that joker-esque face. I hope all of the dealerships will be about the same.
I've lived in a few places around the country and all of my Honda dealerships (in Tallahassee, FL, Round Rock, TX, Northampton, MA) have all been fantastic, which is why I still want to give Honda a chance. Unfortunately none of their products excite me. Thus far the Dodge dealerships I've used (In West Palm Beach, FL, Tallahassee, FL, Austin, TX, and Georgetown, TX, [though the dealership in Panama City Beach was more crooked than a barrel of snakes, which ironically was where I bought the car]) have been very friendly as well, which is why I still maintain hope for Chrysler. On the flip side, whenever getting my mom's Trailblazer serviced, the Chevy dealerships have been consistently terrible in customer service (particularly Champion Chevrolet in Austin, TX) to the point that my father has held off buying a new Camaro in lieu of a new 5.0 Mustang GT. I like the new GT too much to point out the terrible dealership we dealt with in Tallahassee... though the one we had in Fort Wayne, IN, was really quite friendly.
roadburner says:
09:57 PM, 03/12/10
The two Louisville Mazda dealers are beyond hopeless with respect to sales, service and parts(at least they are consistent). For some reason they are reluctant to hire anyone who possesses opposable thumbs. I bought my MS3 at Kings Mazda in Cincinnati and I also use them for any major service or warranty work. Kings is a first-rate operation all around.
roadburner says:
10:00 PM, 03/12/10
One other thing, I usually use a 5000 mile oil change interval, but I ran my last sump full of Mobil 1 5W-30 ESP out to 7000 miles. UOA from Blackstone to follow...
firstwagon says:
01:07 PM, 03/13/10
"By the looks of things, business wasn't exactly hopping"
I agree with allthingshonda
I'd prefer not to see a service bay packed with cars waiting to be repaired. A car that need a lot of repairs (or service) isn't really a selling point for me.
ms3fun says:
03:51 AM, 03/14/10
I have to agree, dealer performance isn't connected to the brand but to the owner and managers. First place I went to when I was ready to purchase my MS3 was Riverside, CA Mazda. I was there about 5 min before I walked out in disgust. The guy was unbelievably condescending and made me feel I had to thank them on my knees for offering me the car for $500 below MSRP. I went to John Hine Mazda in Temecula and it was like day and night in terms of service and price. This was my first time buying a car from a dealership and it was a good experience. I actually see a lot of Mazdas around Riverside with Temecula Mazda license plate frames.
Just to show there are good and bad dealers of any brand.
One other thing about the missing coolant temp gauge:
I hate it and can't understand why Mazda went this route, but to their credit they at least didn't just put a simple idiot light in......It's a smart idiot light.
It will light up when the temperature reaches a critical level and it will start blinking when actual overheat temps are reached.
At least like this you get a warning before the engine actually overheats....But I still hate it
cr_driver says:
10:26 AM, 03/15/10
Wow, so cheap!!!! So fast!!!!
Can you believe the car is smiling about it too?