Dealing with warranty issues

So, I took the wife's 2007 Mazda5 to the dealer today for a couple of (what I thought would be) warranty issues. The seat adjuster that's not ratcheting properly will be replaced on them, but they were unwilling to fix this:

under the body rust-through coverage. Their contention is that it was caused by a rock chip, and it's my problem. The chip is located on the roof, above the driver's side sliding door, about half way between the side of the car and the center of the roof.

From the looks of it, it sure looks like a spot where the paint didn't stick properly when first applied, flaked off, then began to bubble.

So, what are my choices? Try another dealer? Suck it up and go to a body shop and crack my wallet? Burn the place down?

jg

Escalate the problem. Talk to the service manager, then ask to talk to the district manager. Be polite but firm, explain that there's no way a rock chip happened there and that you'd like Mazda to repair the rust and paint.

BUT, I don't think that qualifies under the rust-through warranty yet, as its not through the metal completely. Yes, that makes no sense, and yes, it'd be cheaper and faster for Mazda to fix it now, but if they want to get technical with you they probably win.

Sandpaper and blue painter's tape. Or a shotgun.

Sorry; couldn't help it.

Yup, bring it up the ladder to the Mazda district service rep. Be sure to remind him that you own 2 recent Mazda products and how disappointed you are with how this has been handled as it can't be a rock chip up there on the roof.

I don't know if you mind using this card, but I'm sure it won't hurt to let him know who you work for, too.

As pigeon said its not rust THROUGH until theres a hole. Is this a keep forever vehicle or a trade in a few years vehicle? If its not going to be around forever I'd touch it up and keep an eye on it. If its not in an obvious spot it shouldn't even hurt you when its time to trade it in. If you plan on having it forever you have two choices: fix it now while its small or wait and hope Mazda steps up when its a hole.

Is there only one dealer near you? Sometimes you have to drive a little to find a manager that isn't a doofus. I've had awesome service from Mazda Knoxville and made sure I bought my service items there ( I do my own work) and had a detail done (high profit for them, they do a great job to boot) whenever I went in for warranty work. If they were bad, theres another dealership a 1/2 hour away I could try but never had to. Here in Louisville KY Oxmoor Mazda is a bunch of tools. They not only didn't fix my warranty issues but denied the split top was even covered and got pissy when I needed a ride to and from work (no loaner offered). My car is in Knoxville right now getting a warranty top and latch and a clay bar and buff. See what I did there? I bashed the shiny happy people and praised the good guys. A good dealership will (sometimes) try to avoid bad reviews because it costs more to get back business than to just fix your car. Follow the steps pigeon listed above and casually mention the national bad/good press they might receive for helping you out. Don't threaten, just give them something to think about.

why can't it be a rock chip on the roof? rocks bounce pretty high off the road when dropped from teh back of trucks, kicked up by a car in front, etc. and what about that hard-edged little spot to the 10-o'clock of the big bubble? that's pretty obviously a chip, not a flake or peel. ever use the roof rack and ding it while loading or unloading a bike without a wheel?

if i ran the dealership, i'd have a lackey sand it down and touch it up, but i wouldn't run it through the bodyshop. then again, having seen your business card, i probably would, just to get the good press.

Sonic wrote: I don't know if you mind using this card, but I'm sure it won't hurt to let him know who you work for, too.

I was trying to avoid that, purely on ethical grounds. Although my ethics may loosen a bit if they continue to be unhelpful. Also, I've always wanted to say "Do you people know who I am?" to someone. Until this point, I haven't, because I pretty much already knew the answer.

The next thing I need to do is read the warranty paperwork and see specifically what it says about rust. I'm not sure if they specify complete perforation or simple scale.

The next closest Mazda dealer isn't too close, but I suppose I could find an excuse to make a little drive to see them at some point. I'm just not sure about how "linked" everyone is. If I go to another dealer, will they know that my local dealer already told me this was not a waranteeable repair.

jg

JG Pasterjak wrote: < The next closest Mazda dealer isn't too close, but I suppose I could find an excuse to make a little drive to see them at some point. I'm just not sure about how "linked" everyone is. If I go to another dealer, will they know that my local dealer already told me this was not a waranteeable repair. jg

Find out who owns the other store. Same owner=same answer 90% of the time.

AngryCorvair wrote: why *can't* it be a rock chip on the roof? rocks bounce pretty high off the road when dropped from teh back of trucks, kicked up by a car in front, etc. and what about that hard-edged little spot to the 10-o'clock of the big bubble? that's pretty obviously a chip, not a flake or peel. ever use the roof rack and ding it while loading or unloading a bike without a wheel? if i ran the dealership, i'd have a lackey sand it down and touch it up, but i wouldn't run it through the bodyshop. then again, having seen your business card, i probably would, just to get the good press.

I suppose it could, and I'm not completely saying it isn't, but the amount of rust under the paint vs. the exposed area is what makes me suspicious. I've painted enough things and dripped sweat/oil/bbq sauce/Astroglide on them while I was painting.

Honestly, what I may be more hacked off about is not their unwillingness to do anything about it, but their general response of "Not our problem—screw off." Had they come back with "Our interpretation of the warranty leads us to believe this is not a covered repair, but here are some options and some prices and some timeframes for fixing it." I'd have probably been a customer.

jg

In reply to JG Pasterjak:

if i had a decent camera i'd take pix of the rust on the top tube of my steel road bike frame, which looks just like the texture of your roof photo. i'm not sure what caused the initial break-through, but it happens to look just like that where the sweat drips off my chin and hits the tube. and since you live not too far from the ocean, i gotta believe you've got humidity and salt in the air.

i agree that they didn't handle it perfectly for you or for themselves, but i'm still gonna say that they're probably not wrong in denying it as a warrantable repair.

In this economy, surely one of the saddest things a business person can possibly hear is that if such-and-such hadn't happened, "I probably would have been a customer."

I wish you success finding a more far-sighted Mazda place.

And, for what it's worth, that sure doesn't look like a rock chip to me.

JG Pasterjak wrote:

Sonic wrote: I don't know if you mind using this card, but I'm sure it won't hurt to let him know who you work for, too.

I was trying to avoid that, purely on ethical grounds. jg

Ethics schmethics. Drop the card.

You'll get nowhere until you talk to a Mazda rep. I don't believe dealer-level people are going to have (or want to have) the authority to make the call on a repair like that. Because if Mazda denies it when submitted, they are screwed.

Tough claim to get paid on, I'll be honest with you. But from a customer service stand, I think they'd be wise to pony up, regardless of who you work for.

I'm with JG here, the attitude displayed by the dealer very much indicates that maybe the money should be spent elsewhere in the future. The problem with a lot of the larger dealers seems to be the usual focus on this quarter's earnings rather than "if I look after the guy he'll come back and spend more money here later".

Plus of course they forget about the "Internet multiplier" when it comes to bad customer service.

JG Pasterjak wrote: Honestly, what I may be more hacked off about is not their unwillingness to do anything about it, but their general response of "Not our problem—screw off." Had they come back with "Our interpretation of the warranty leads us to believe this is not a covered repair, but here are some options and some prices and some timeframes for fixing it." I'd have probably been a customer.

Er, welcome to the world of car dealers. Not sure how you've missed this. The response you got is normal in that world.

If you want to flesh it out the rest of the way, have your wife go in alone. Record the way they treat her.

foxtrapper wrote: If you want to flesh it out the rest of the way, have your wife go in alone. Record the way they treat her.

That's how my neighbour ended up with a quote for some bodywork repairs on her car that was about four times the going rate according to a friend of mine who has a bodyshop...

I don't know if you caught my rant about the local mazda dealer in another thread a few weeks back, but I have a feeling you won't be getting much of anywhere with this unless you pull the business card. My mom's 5 had a severely leaking right rear shock, and they would only replace one corner on warranty vs. the whole pair, which was quite surprising to me, given that every dealer I know would refuse to replace a single shock instead of a pair if a customer ASKED them to do it. I know some vendors won't even sell singles. At this point I'm pretty confident that the other one is going to start leaking at 36,001. And my dad is actively looking to trade it in now, based primarily on his frustration with the dealer.

Start looking around to see if this has been an issue, and how they're handling it.

I saw a fairly new Mazda 3 recently that was rusting around the taillights, bottom of the doors, hatch, and door handles.

My guess is it's not an isolated incident. New cars just don't rust, even up here.

The dealership I went to turns out to be the only one within about 60 miles. It's not where we bought either car at (the 5 came from Jacksonville and the Speed3 came from Orlando). It's one of those Mega AutoMall type places, and the service department is a multi-purpose facility that handles probably 5-6 brands.

Actually it took some going around to get them to fix the seat adjuster as well. The height adjuster on the seat had stopped ratcheting. It usually has 4 pulls up and 4 pushes down of height adjustment available, and it is now "locked" in one ratchet range. If you pull up it goes up, and if you push down it goes down, but only within the range of that single pump. I had two phone calls telling me it was working fine, only to have me explain the failure to someone different each time. I finally asked them to go out to the lot and see how a new one worked.

I think my next approach is to go to our body shop and see if they can do a spot fix for reasonable money. If I can be rid of the problem for a couple bucks it's worth it, and I know it'll be fixed right.

In the future, though, I'll probably go back to the dealerships where we bought the cars for any service issues. Both had fantastic sales support, so hopefully that's a good sign.

jg

Just F.Y.I. paint / glass / upholstery is pretty much out of the hands of the dealer, and has to be seen by the factory guy. The dealer can prep him by telling their opinion, but usually can't authorize repair.

I would write a polite letter to Mazda and appeal to them. I had an issue a long time ago with a Mitsubishi dealer and a set of crunchy synchros... after refusing to fix it on the grounds it was abused - I wrote a letter and the dealer called me with a different attitude and took care of it.

It doesn't hurt to ask and and all they can say is no. You don't have to tell them you have an 800lb gorilla up your sleeve.

It looks like a really simple DIY fix if all else fails.

Well, so far, there are twenty-two posts on this issue (counting mine). The forum doesn't tell me how many views but you can probably find that out. That would be an interesting bit of ammunition to pull into your discussion with the dealership.

JG, I understand just wanting to get it fixed and move on. But as an automotive journalist this is an opportunity to explore the industry. I'd recommend trying to get resolution and document it so you can report it to your readers. I would do it without revealing your credentials so it is representative of efforts your readers can take.

1. See if Mazda really is having issue with their paint. Also, read the warranty fine print.

2. Try the same dealer. Go up the management chain and see what happens. No luck?

3. Try another Mazda dealer, hopefully a smaller one. Still no luck?

4. Go directly to Mazda.

5. If still no luck, then maybe drop the anvil of national exposure. But that would be as much a business decision for the magazine management.

Just a thought. Good luck in any event. It's too bad, as Mazda gets my recommendation to all my friends.

David

car39 wrote: Just F.Y.I. paint / glass / upholstery is pretty much out of the hands of the dealer, and has to be seen by the factory guy. The dealer can prep him by telling their opinion, but usually can't authorize repair.

This.

25 years as a service advisor. The mfgs got tired of paying for rock chips etc or refurbishing used cars so they clamped down on paint repairs etc. You would not BELIEVE the number of times people have bought a car a t a dirt lot somewhere and they told the buyer that the factory warranty would cover paint chips etc. Even DSA (Dealer Self Authorize) dealerships have to document paint problems with pictures and be prepared to back up their decision with the service rep.

Having said that, the service advisor screwed up, he or she should have offered to make an appointment for the problem to be evaluated by the Mazda service representative.

JG Pasterjak wrote: The dealership I went to turns out to be the only one within about 60 miles. It's not where we bought either car at (the 5 came from Jacksonville and the Speed3 came from Orlando). It's one of those Mega AutoMall type places, and the service department is a multi-purpose facility that handles probably 5-6 brands. jg

I think I know the place. They couldn't/wouldn't fix a vibration with my Dad's MPV so he ended up saying screw it and traded it for something else. We've had 14 Mazdas between the two of us over the last 9 years. Guess which store will NEVER get our business again? BTW its ALWAYS a better idea to go to the purchasing dealer. It also doesn't hurt to have your services done there. Yes its more expensive but its cases like these that it pays off in the long run.

If it was the 3 I wouldn't hesitate to turn it into a full-blown journalistic exercise. I'd even dress up like a pimp and do hidden camera interviews. But being my wife's car I don't want to tie it up unnecessarily any more than I have to.

Besides, when I take her car, she has to take my car. She called me yesterday on her way to work and said "Wow, this thing is fast!" and in the background I could hear the "FFFYYYYSHHHH... FFFYYYYSHHHH... FFFYYYYSHHHH..." from the BOV every time she shifted. I don't need that stress.

I think my next move is a call to a service adviser at he dealership where I bought the car, and emailing the pic. If they have to go to Mazda anyway, they'd probably just email them a picture, too.

jg