Avante Mazda (Service)

[MrJWU]

I bought my car when MOT was Avante Mazda of Toronto and so when ownership changed, I was forced to do all of my rust proof services at Avante Mazda Richmond Hill.

Considering I live 2 blocks south of MOT, making the trip up to Avante was such an incovenience for me. But what can do you when you spend that couple hundred dollars for 10 years of rust proofing?

In any case, back to my experience last night when I went to Avante.

I was probably one of the last appointments of the day, since they dont' do servicing on weekends anymore I had to book a late appointment to get there after work. I get there, leave my key, sign the form and I am told it'll take approx 45mins to do the full rust/sound proofing inspection. 1hr 15mins later they say my car is ready and I ask the service guy,

"Did they find areas to spray? Took a long time....".
He gives me this look as if he didn't know what to say... opens his mouth and goes "Rust proofing is usually only an inspection, they have a small spray can if they need to spray".
I ask: "So did they have to spray or not?"
Service guy says: "I don't know"
I ask: "So can you check? It's been 2 years from the initial application and I'd like to know if anything need to be retouched..." (thinking I waited 1hr 15mins for nothing... )
Service guy says: "You know most likely they did spray it then"

At this point, I'm thinking you're an idiot, you didnt' even check with the guy who actually serviced my car and you expect me to believe you?

Considering it was late already and I was late for a dinner with my in-laws and I was going to be late for the Club Meet (at Commerce), I just asked for my key and left.

Going back to my car, I get in and drive off. I arrive late to my in-laws place and as I'm getting out I noticed my dash had some grease spots and then proceeded to look around and apparently, there were grease spots all over my center console, steering wheel and white stains from I'm guessing snow/salt all over the gear box and radio...

Apparently the guy who serviced my car left a freaking mess all over. I just cleaned my car 2 days ago and it was spotless.

After this service, I swear I don't want to ever go back to Avante. You'd think they'd have the common courtesy not to leave a mess in your car. I tried calling Avante today to complain but apparently the Service Manager, GM and Sales Manger are not in today. HOW SHITTY IS THAT?

Bottom line for me: MOT still rules. I will be removing my Avante license plate covers tommorow. Joe, I need MOT covers.. see you tommrow!

[wtom]

My bet is you were dealing with the older oriental guy, glasses, named Joe Wong I believe?

[TheProfessor]

Man, Avante has really gone down hill lately.

[MrJWU]

My bet is you were dealing with the older oriental guy, glasses, named Joe Wong I believe?

Bang on my friend! What a dumbtard!!

[MrJWU]

You walk into that dealershit and it just doesn't feel friendly and they people there seem like they don't know what they're doing...

Only guy I like there is Anthony Calamia. But then again, he's the guy who sold me the rust proofing! haha

[wtom]

Avoid Joe ... he does his job by the book. Deal with either Jose or Anthony (service), when I use to go to Avante for service, either of them would take care of me.

That and I honestly still stand by the idea that if they know you are active in the TM3 club/forums, they will treat you better!

[MrJWU]

I guess them knowing we're active in TM3 would help but in the end how can you leave a customers car in a mess? I think I was most upset about that.

[wtom]

... but in the end how can you leave a customers car in a mess?

Yep most definitely. I didn't mean to ignore that fact.

[sunset_orange]

Hey MRJWU, I also bought the 10 year warranty on sound shield, rust proofing, paint shield, and leather protection at Avante when it was at the current MoT location.

I believe the total price for this warranty package was $900 something, they gave me a paper that I have to have them signed when I do the inspection every year, if I missed the inspection, the warranty is void... is this something similar to what you bought?

[MrJWU]

Hey MRJWU, I also bought the 10 year warranty on sound shield, rust proofing, paint shield, and leather protection at Avante when it was at the current MoT location.

I believe the total price for this warranty package was $900 something, they gave me a paper that I have to have them signed when I do the inspection every year, if I missed the inspection, the warranty is void... is this something similar to what you bought?

That's exactly what I bought from those monkeys! Although I think I paid a little less cause I was bargaining a lot with them.

I actually missed my first inspection by 10 months. I was suppposed to go every January but ended up going in October of that year. They signed it for October in the first inspection box so I was ok.

[MrJWU]

Yep most definitely. I didn't mean to ignore that fact.

Do you still take your car to Avante?

[sunset_orange]

That's exactly what I bought from those monkeys! Although I think I paid a little less cause I was bargaining a lot with them.

I actually missed my first inspection by 10 months. I was suppposed to go every January but ended up going in October of that year. They signed it for October in the first inspection box so I was ok.

I am really not sure if this investment of 900 bucks was worth it or not, perhas I got scammed, I think the only protection i really need is rust proofing, the other protections are pretty much useless. The guy who sold me this package is working in MoT right now ehhe, I didn't even bargain for it, damn.... i was too young and didn't now how to deal with car salesman... darn it.

[wtom]

Do you still take your car to Avante?

Not any more. Not because they ever mis-treated me but because of a lot of stories I'm hearing from you guys here as well as a couple other friends who've taken their Mazda3's to Avante for service and gotten the run-around or just mis-treated.

Mazda of Toronto from now on! But one slip up and I'll be all over the individuals involved... here on the forum that is. ;) lol

[MrJWU]

Yeh the amount invested is kinda suspect. But like you, I was young and thought I needed to get this rust proofing, paint protection done.... Heck even sound proofing.....

I should have joined TM3 way before I bought the car! At least I could have saved some money

[Wild Weasel]

I should have joined TM3 way before I bought the car! At least I could have saved some money

HA!! And they all said I was crazy... :)

[MrJWU]

Mazda of Toronto from now on! But one slip up and I'll be all over the individuals involved... here on the forum that is. ;) lol

Let's just hope MOT never disappoints!

I really think Stanley and Vincent in service are great! Not sure about the other guy though!

Who is the new girl btw? Perhaps not new anymore...... Flippy?

[wtom]

Sara Costa I believe, been there for quite a few months now. I've yet to see who she is but I've heard she's quite a looker.

[MrJWU]

Sara Costa I believe, been there for quite a few months now. I've yet to see who she is but I've heard she's quite a looker.


Flippy.... still waiting =)

[Jeff-TheBiz]

The guy who sold me this package is working in MoT right now ehhe,

Can't speak for my prior employer... but I will say that I am so sorry that you weren't treated correctly, if I had been involved in your current experience, I can assure you that you would have been treated differently.

Again, sorry.

[FLIPDADY]

Flippy.... still waiting =)
Hey aren't you scheduled to come in for your next appointment soon? She'll call you to book it.

[RedRaptor]

Joe Wong wasn't too great to me either. I brought in my car last year after I noticed that the inner fireproof layer on my hood was ripped badly after an oil change. Joe kept telling me it was rodent and rats WITHOUT even coming out to look at my car. I asked him a few times nicely to just come out and look at it since the tech might have damaged it when he was changing the oil. He ignored me and passed me off to Ted (Service Manager) who came out and looked but even before he took a closer look, he blamed it on the rats. There are no rats in my residence nor did I park my car downtown long enough for that much damage. Now, its totally possible that rats caused the damage but I would have appreciate if they acted like they actually cared about my car instead of making up excuses already.

I haven't taken my car back to Avante since then.

[MrJWU]

Hey aren't you scheduled to come in for your next appointment soon? She'll call you to book it.

Most excellent. I'm due next month!!

[FLIPDADY]

FYI, we will do the rust inspection regardless of where you bought your car. No need to take it back to the dealer where you got it done. It's just a matter of touching up any areas where the rustproof is missing.

Any problems come see Dave or myself.

[MrJWU]

Joe Wong wasn't too great to me either. I brought in my car last year after I noticed that the inner fireproof layer on my hood was ripped badly after an oil change. Joe kept telling me it was rodent and rats WITHOUT even coming out to look at my car. I asked him a few times nicely to just come out and look at it since the tech might have damaged it when he was changing the oil. He ignored me and passed me off to Ted (Service Manager) who came out and looked but even before he took a closer look, he blamed it on the rats. There are no rats in my residence nor did I park my car downtown long enough for that much damage. Now, its totally possible that rats caused the damage but I would have appreciate if they acted like they actually cared about my car instead of making up excuses already.

I haven't taken my car back to Avante since then.


Just another example of how poor Avante's service is. Joe Wong is quiete the popular guy! I will never approach him again if I ever go back to Avante. I'd rather screw my 10 yr rust proofing coverage and get it done elsewhere.....

[MrJWU]

FYI, we will do the rust inspection regardless of where you bought your car. No need to take it back to the dealer where you got it done. It's just a matter of touching up any areas where the rustproof is missing.

Any problems come see Dave or myself.

I'm told that MOT can do the inspection, but if it require touch ups, I have to take the car to Avante.

After my experience last night, I called MOT and talked to Rick. He told me to come in tommorow to see him. I'm hoping MOT can do all my rust inspections and servicing in the future.

[FLIPDADY]

We will honor your current warranty man. If the service guys give you a hard time let me know.

[MrJWU]

We will honor your current warranty man. If the service guys give you a hard time let me know.

Now that's something to be happy about.. Going above and beyond for a customer!

MOT rocks!

[wtom]

Just called MoT and talked to the sweet voice of Sara to book my 56K km service; Saturday, February 17th at 9am. See you there Joe, Jeff, and anyone else who wants to show up!

[Jeff-TheBiz]

^ See ya then Warren.


Now that's something to be happy about.. Going above and beyond for a customer!

MOT rocks!

Glad we could help.

Now spread the word!

[MrJWU]

^ See ya then Warren.



Glad we could help.

Now spread the word!

I will! I'm coming by tommorow morning to put MOT plate covers on

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

[Fuman]

wow, never thought Avante be this bad, I went there for my first couple of service/warranty work, never had problems. I always dealt with Jose though.

But meh, I had my first MOT experience today. Its a further drive, but I don't mind. I just have to eat breakfast before going down at 7:30 again, lol.

[WLS ZMZM]

Wow, so much nagative feedback about Avante is making me a little nervous.. this is where I bought my car.... But I have to Say Emilio And Adam were both Excellent... really really nice guys... and there was no pressure at all!! Really liked the fact that Emilio was so laid back.... made me feel more comfortable... unlike alot of other dealerships where they watch you like a hawk.... and swoop in like a vulture!!

[Cardinal Fang]

I bought my car from Jeff when he worked at Avante Mazda. When I found out he left and turned up at MOT there was no question I was going to have his dealership look after my service. I'm glad I did. Not only do I get to say hi to Jeff when I can but I've come to know Joe in the Parts Dept who has been more than helpful when buying Mazda Accessories.

[yearoftherat]

Not only do I get to say hi to Jeff when I can but I've come to know Joe in the Parts Dept who has been more than helpful when buying Mazda Accessories.

I hear Joe is good at helping people spend their money :chuckle

[zoomette]

Thats weird.. I absolutely loveeeeeee avante. They're the only dealership that gave me the best price, awesome service and no pressure. I bought my 3 there and still go there for service. Absolutely awesome....Prima mazda....horrible.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

I bought my car from Jeff when he worked at Avante Mazda. When I found out he left and turned up at MOT there was no question I was going to have his dealership look after my service. I'm glad I did. Not only do I get to say hi to Jeff when I can but I've come to know Joe in the Parts Dept who has been more than helpful when buying Mazda Accessories.

Thanx mang... :bana2

[Wild Weasel]

Thats weird.. I absolutely loveeeeeee avante. They're the only dealership that gave me the best price, awesome service and no pressure. I bought my 3 there and still go there for service. Absolutely awesome....Prima mazda....horrible.

I'm in this boat so far. Very happy with the buying process (though I had the help of a broker). I haven't been there for service yet though.

Really, I'll most likely be going to MoT for service simply because of their presence here and they're definitely a more convenient location for me.

[bigfoot0]

I went to avante for servicing and, without asking, the took my license plate covers off and put theirs on..lol.

Now it looks like I bought my car from them!!!

Next time I visit I'm going to ask for them back.

BF.

[ds2chan]

Joe Wong wasn't too great to me either. I brought in my car last year after I noticed that the inner fireproof layer on my hood was ripped badly after an oil change. Joe kept telling me it was rodent and rats WITHOUT even coming out to look at my car. I asked him a few times nicely to just come out and look at it since the tech might have damaged it when he was changing the oil. He ignored me and passed me off to Ted (Service Manager) who came out and looked but even before he took a closer look, he blamed it on the rats. There are no rats in my residence nor did I park my car downtown long enough for that much damage. Now, its totally possible that rats caused the damage but I would have appreciate if they acted like they actually cared about my car instead of making up excuses already.

I haven't taken my car back to Avante since then.


what the.. same thing happened to mine.. but mine was serviced at MoT.. I think I noticed this after the 2nd oil change.. Vincent said it was probably a squirrel.. but I couldn't prove anything since I didn't check under hood before bringing my 3 in for the oil change.. so, I honestly don't know if it was actually a squirrel or not.. but I never really saw any squirrels in the parking lot of my apt.. not that big of a deal but kinda looks crappy everytime I pop open the hood..

[MrJWU]

Thats weird.. I absolutely loveeeeeee avante. They're the only dealership that gave me the best price, awesome service and no pressure. I bought my 3 there and still go there for service. Absolutely awesome....Prima mazda....horrible.
I've just had bad experiences with they're servicing. They're sales staff has always been nice to me.

Hope you continue to have good feelings about Avante. If not, you know MOT will treat you right!

[zoomette]

I think they're so nice to me cuz I've sent them 4 people after me to buy 3's

[chinsterr]

Stay away from JOE WONG at AVANTE ---- all i have to say is .. CROOK ! Joe has first dibs on all the asian clients, or so it seems .. stay away from this dood.

go to Anthony or Emillio.

[Wild Weasel]

I've only talked to one service guy there so far and his name is Ted. Seems more than nice enough on the phone.

[WLS ZMZM]

Emilio has to be the nicest guy in the world!! When I first showed up he shook my hand.. immediately, even though he was already with a customer, and said if I had any questions to feel free to ask him. Really really nice guy!! second visit... I asked to take the car out... he said sure no problem.. now most dealerships the salesmen go with you.. nto the case here.. he asked if I knew richmond hill well.. said yes... he tossed me the keys and told me to take my time.. again no pressure at all.. He was just so honest... I'm a little nervous to check out their service department... but.. I'll give them a chance... im very satisfied so far.. but that can change very very fast!!

[Mazda Boy]

Avante is good to have your purchase and service experience there as I worked there as management, the owner concentrates to make the best possible efforts to customers. Feel free to try it out there.

[Mazda Boy]

sorry, i forgot to turn the "thumb up":)

[TurboEight]

i agree....joe wong is stupid....wanted to do some recall work on my 8....gives me this crap about..i gotta pay a inspection charge...WTF...i m going to Mot who should i talk to=)?

advice?

[FLIPDADY]

i agree....joe wong is stupid....wanted to do some recall work on my 8....gives me this crap about..i gotta pay a inspection charge...WTF...i m going to Mot who should i talk to=)?

advice?
416-642-7777

[TurboEight]

416-642-7777

that's your #?=))?

[WLS ZMZM]

yikes.... alot of bad comments about avante.... Ted is a really nice guy!! When I bought my 3 there was a mix up and they put on the wrong tires... it was no problem, they still let me take the car, so i put about a weeks worth of km's on them when I said I felt bad driving the car, there response was "its not your problem Will, we made the mistake, so we'll order the right tires and put them on as soon as they come in, don't worry about the ones on the car now." Now that's service!! Went in last Thursday, Spoke with Ted (really nice guy) took care of me... had the tires on the car in less then an hour, even tried to buff out a scratch i noticed on the car. They did a great job, the tires looked amazing.... As I was leaving even said to say hi to my dad, cuz he was there with me when I bought the car and Ted was introduced to us. Again.. when I got there went to see Adam, was welcomed given coffee etc etc.... and even Emillio who sold me the car saw me waiting in the dealership came over spoke with me and started asking how i liked the car... all I can say is bravo!! Excellent service so far...

[FLIPDADY]

that's your #?=))?
That's our dealership's direct number.

[TurboEight]

That's our dealership's direct number.

great...btw...my front suspension sqeuks....and makes noise going over speed bumps...as mentioned in the TSB....and i want to get that fixed up..

I got them done once already before at avante don't know what they did, but it was gone for like maybe 1 month..then came back, now I just took off the winter wheels to put my new wheels on. I noticed they scuffed my painted caliperss!.

My GF was PISSED off, cause she helped painted them. We re-did all 4 NOW...

Who do I speak to when I am at the dealer? give me someone who will take care of me like he took care of all our fellow memberS!!

Give me a advisor name and I'll go speak with him directly=)

Thanks GUYZ!

[chinsterr]

My GF was PISSED off, cause he helped painted them. We re did all 4 NOW...


Thanks GUYZ!

LMAO

[TurboEight]

LMAO

LOL...damn you +P....


i only missed one letter=(..

no i m not gay she is a gurl(incase she reads this)

haha
EDITIED**

[chinsterr]

LOL...damn you +P....


i only missed one letter=(..

no i m not gay she is a gurl(incase she reads this)

haha
EDITIED**

Im just goofing around ... pretty bored at the moment

[irietek]

My bet is you were dealing with the older oriental guy, glasses, named Joe Wong I believe?

AHAHHAHA I almost choked on my water!
I seems that I am not the only one to experience his behavior.


I agree Jose and Anthony are NUMBER 1! oh and Ted and Dave!
ehhe

[silversurfer]

well I've been driving all the way to Avante because I thought they had a good reputation. Last week I thought I would give MOT a try since it's marginally closer. Closest would be Markham Mazda but there's no way I'm going there. Anyway when I showed up at MOT it turns out they didn't have a record of my appointment...a few mins after taking my car in they told me they wanted $30 extra to jack up my car since it was lowered. I'm only lowered on H-techs...I wonder how they service a mazdaspeed 3....maybe they charge more for that. Anyway, I'll be forced to go back to Avante since they have the lifts required and never charge me to jack up the car.

[floating_weasel]

Not any more. Not because they ever mis-treated me but because of a lot of stories I'm hearing from you guys here as well as a couple other friends who've taken their Mazda3's to Avante for service and gotten the run-around or just mis-treated.

Mazda of Toronto from now on! But one slip up and I'll be all over the individuals involved... here on the forum that is. ;) lol


I had a girl / friend (note the slash) who leased from Avante and hand Anthony C as her rep. She was treated so badly and so chauvanistically that she swears she is never getting a Mazda again. When I told her I was getting one she did her best to get me off Mazda and we ended up reaching a compromise that I wouldn't go near Avante. Now that is a dealership experience that is for the books. Can you imagine what must have happened and how she was treated for her to go to that sort of effort to make sure I didn't have to suffer the same fate ? (and no she is not a bitch, she is actually a really sweet girl) I think Avante needs to pull up their socks a bit.

F-Weasel

[irietek]

I had a girl / friend (note the slash) who leased from Avante and hand Anthony C as her rep. She was treated so badly and so chauvanistically that she swears she is never getting a Mazda again. When I told her I was getting one she did her best to get me off Mazda and we ended up reaching a compromise that I wouldn't go near Avante. Now that is a dealership experience that is for the books. Can you imagine what must have happened and how she was treated for her to go to that sort of effort to make sure I didn't have to suffer the same fate ? (and no she is not a bitch, she is actually a really sweet girl) I think Avante needs to pull up their socks a bit.

F-Weasel

They need the Biz back!

[FLIPDADY]

They need the Biz back!
Ummmmmmm














No! We'll keep him thanks.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

Sorry... I like MoT too much...

[JonsMazda]

should I bring my car to MoT when I need oil change?

[FLIPDADY]

should I bring my car to MoT when I need oil change?
I can't tell you where to take your car but sure go ahead!:)

[irietek]

errrrrrrm =o

[MattC]

I just got my oil changed at MoT and no issues. got to bug joe for 20 mins while they did it... so their service seems pretty good, and atleast you get to hang out with people you know.

They have pretty good prices, as long as you dont get em to rotate your tires... just watch where they spray anti-rust stuff, i found it in pretty strange areas.

[Candyman]

Hey MattC,

Did they charge you $30 to jack your car for the Oil Change?

[avanteparts]

Thank you for all the support (and critique) this car club has given us the past few years.

Due to rising costs of doing business, we can no longer offer discounts to the car clubs that we have proudly supported. We hope that we can continue to provide great service to everyone.

Raymond Kwan
Parts Department
Avante Mazda

[BiG-ED]

there were deals @ avante?

[FLIPDADY]

there were deals @ avante?
Yes the TM3 discount was honored in Parts. It's not Raymond's fault guys it's just the way dealerships operate sometimes.

Thanks for the announcement Ray.

[Fuman]

Yes the TM3 discount was honored in Parts. It's not Raymond's fault guys it's just the way dealerships operate sometimes.

Thanks for the announcement Ray.
I never knew they had either.
But yeah, thanks Ray. I wish you were more active on here!