Very disappointed in Town North Mazda

[altiain]

So... dropped my car off last week to have some warranty items taken care of. One of the things on that list was replacement of both headlight clusters, since mine had solvent cracks in the outer housing.

When I got the car back, the new headlights were great... but they were both pointed directly at the ground, about 25 feet in front of the car. Apparently, in their rush to get all of the warranty work done in one day (Mazda would only reimburse them for one day's rental car), they installed the headlights but neglected to align them properly.

Fast forward to today. I had an appointment at 5:30 this afternoon to have the headlights properly aligned on the car. Were they able to get it right on the second try? no.

Apparently, if I want it done right, I'm going to have to do it myself. I'd heard good things about Town North in the past. This was my first experience with their service department, and so far I'm not impressed in the slightest.

Why is it that I can throw a brick and hit a half dozen Honda dealers who can all get the work done right the first time, yet there doesn't seem to be a single Mazda dealer on the planet that knows their ass from a hole in the ground? I like Mazda cars, but their dealer network is absolutely pathetic.

[MiataMike]

I'm sorry to hear that. Believe me I feel your pain. I personaly have had horrible service from nearly every Mazda dealer I've been to. Good thing the cars are reliable; and fun to drive =-D

[johnwag]

My first experience with town north was good. My last two were not. I got charged for them to wrongly guess what was wrong with my car. I ended up finding out the problem on my own.

[Treibenschnell]

When did you buy a VW?

[altiain]

When did you buy a VW?

It ain't the car... it's the monkeys turning wrenches at Town North.

Heck, I didn't even really care about having the headlights replaced. I happened to point out the solvent scratches to the service advisor, and the next thing I knew they'd ordered me two new headlight clusters under warranty. If I'd known Town North was incapable of doing the reinstallation properly, I would have preferred to keep my old, perfectly aligned but ever so slightly scratched headlights.

Ironically, the biggest reason I took it in was a rattle in the steering wheel which matched a published TSB. Of course, my car is outside of the VIN range, so they refused to do anything about it (even though the TSB fix-it parts are less than $20). They'll order over a thousand dollars worth of new headlights and charge 'em to Mazda over a really, really minor issue, but they won't order $20 worth of parts on their nickel to keep a customer happy. I ended up fixing the rattle myself, using the instructions from the TSB that didn't apply to my car.

I'm don't think that they're complete idiots, but it sure seems that way.

[Treibenschnell]

It ain't the car... it's the monkeys turning wrenches at Town North.

I'm don't think that they're complete idiots, but it sure seems that way.

Like I said...

[MadMonkey]

Eh, Mazda dealerships just don't have enough practice fixing problems

[MiataMike]

Eh, Mazda dealerships just don't have enough practice fixing problems

+1

But they sure are good at making them

[sammm]

Even though Mazda's are good cars, they are still playing 3rd fiddle (at least) to Toyota and Honda.

[altiain]

Even though Mazda's are good cars, they are still playing 3rd fiddle (at least) to Toyota and Honda.

+1. Huggins Honda managed to daignose the problem, order a replacement, and install a new transmission in my wife's Accord in four business days, from the time I dropped it off saying it was having trouble shifting to the time I drove it home. Hiley Mazda took over six weeks to fix the radio in my '99 Miata.

It really isn't that hard. I readjusted the lights tonight in less than an hour, and I don't have a lift (you have to remove the front wheels and the inner fender liners to get to the headlight adjusters) or a service manual (I spent fifteen minutes just figuring out how to get to the headlights and adjust them). Yet Town North couldn't get it right with all those tools in two tries.

I like Mazda's cars. Heck, I've owned five of them. But it really shouldn't be this hard to get the job done right the first time. Sigh...

[apex2apex]

Iain, Town North did the same thing when I had my headlights replaced due to foggy housings. I had to bring the car back to them to reaim, and I think it's OK now.

I am going to try Freeman over at Irving for my fogged up rear left taillight next week.

Wish me luck.

[Radio-Active]

Honda trans-missions?

My cousin recently had his replaced on his honda van.

I had to fight with Honda cars of Mickiney and rusty Wallis over the transmision in my 04 Civic Hybrid. Both of them told me it was the electronic gremlins in the hybrid. After the 5th time of bringing it in, they replaced it at 20,000 miles. I started having problems again at 36,000 miles and traded it in on a Mazda.

[trickyrix]

Iain, Town North did the same thing when I had my headlights replaced due to foggy housings. I had to bring the car back to them to reaim, and I think it's OK now.

I am going to try Freeman over at Irving for my fogged up rear left taillight next week.

Wish me luck.

Good luck w/Freeman! They seem about as dumb as a box o' rox - at least in parts. I hate to say it, but pukey service may be a common trait... even from (hang on to your hats!) Big Billy Barrett! Had a '93 RX7 TT that we took in for a graunchy 5th gear synchro and delicate paint... well, they managed to keep the car for over a month while they rebuilt the transmission (it never shifted right after that) and repainted it TWICE - good times!

I love Mazdas as used cars (hell, I've had 6 RX7s alone), but I don't think I'd want to rely on dealer service to get me thru the night... which is a shame, seeing as I've been craving an NC Miata here lately. Should I wait 10 years and pick one up for 4 grand? Hmmmmm...