Kaiserhead
09-12-2008, 07:46 PM
I've been enjoying reading the dealer reviews and had to add my two cents. My family has had 6 Mazdas with various purchase and service experiences.
Here we go......
Downtown Mazda:
I bought my first Mazda here (a 2000 Protege SE) in May 2000, my parents liked the car so much they bought their own in October 2000, a loaded Protege LX. Mark Kazik was the salesman for both deals and was excellent, very laid back and protected your interests from the managers. Not sure what happened to him, last I heard he was at Guelph City Mazda.
My Protege spent three years in Florida and came back in 2003. At that time I needed a new oxygen sensor and had Downtown Mazda price it out during an oil change. The service manager made me wait in the lobby until half an hour after the place closed on a Friday and then starts wheeling and dealing over the price saying he can get a cheaper Ford sensor but it might violate the warranty. I've always maintained my cars to factory specs and will pay for it, no idea why he was so greasy. I got my car keys back ASAP and had it replaced at reliable local shop with Mazda parts.
Went back to Downtown Mazda is 2006 to check out a Mazda6 and Mazdaspeed6 on a Saturday afternoon. Observed customers openly arguing with managers and sales staff, the receptionist that had no idea who was working the floor, and the showroom looked like they were going out of business. Managed to get someone to give me the keys to the Mazdaspeed6 demo, took it through the Portlands and brought it back only to have no one to talk to, left the keys with reception and went home.
Overall impression: Shady. Someone put this place out of its misery.
Gyro Mazda:
Brought the Protege here for three years after the Downtown Mazda sensor fiasco. At this point the car was spending most of its life in a parking garage downtown and making grocery runs to Loblaws. I parked the car during the winter months and had Gyro do the storage prep in the fall and inspection in the spring. No problems whatsoever. Sold the Protege in spring of 2006.
In November 2007, I took over a lease on a 2006 Mazda6 GT. Brought it to Gyro the first weekend I had it to bring the mainenance up to speed, no problems aside from front brakes needing to be replaced in the spring.
In February 2008, I noticed that the ATX transmission was shifting poorly and wanted Gyro to look at it during the next oil change. Service staff booked an appointment in March and said that an inspection was no problem on a Saturday. The appoint ended up on a same day as a major snow storm and Gyro didn't want to test drive the car (no problem), instead, they checked for codes and didn't find any but told me to keep a record of what I experience.
In June 2008, I schedule another Saturday oil change and tire rotation and advise them that the shifting issue is getting worse. They tell me that it no problem for them to look at it. I bring the car in and Richard tells me that they don't do diagnostics on Saturdays and that I had to bring the car back on a weekday. I specifically asked about this when I booked the appointment and they told me that they could do it. I also ask about the tire rotation and he tells me that the best tires were on the front and they didn't need to rotate the tires. I ask him about the brakes as they told me in the fall that they would need to be replaced in the spring. He tells me they are ok and I ask him how he knows that if they didn't take the tires off. He insists they are ok (they didn't provide one of those inspection reports that Mazda dealerships usually provide.)
By the end of June, the transmission is bucking and undriveable at highway speeds. After some diagnostic work and trial and error, they determine that transmission needs to be replaced (Mazda has a TSB on this, Gyro handled this very well with minimal disruption.) When I brought the car in it was spotless, when I picked it up, the plastic seat cover was still in the car, there were dirty hand prints all over the fenders (don't they cover these?) and greasy boot marks were left on my floor mats. But, the worst of it was the shop rag that was left in the engine compartment by the fan and belts. Who knows what kind of damage that rag could have caused?
I think Gyro is a good shop, but they have grown too fast and need to work on their bedside manner. Their new service advisors are rude to customers, especially Richard, I witnessed him arguing with a customer in front of other customers in the waiting room over something that would cost them nothing. I brought the Mazda6 in after 5000 kms and he gives me some lip about the car being ok for 8000 kms (umm, shouldn't a dealer encourage people to take better care of their cars???) And, is it really that hard to spray off the cars and check the interiors before you hand them back to the customer?
Overall Impression: Need to work on customer service, focus on the fact that its a long-term family business.
Oakville Mazda:
The Mazda6 was originally leased from Erin Mills Mazda but when the original leasee called them to find out how to transfer the lease, they said they had no interest in helping him out (so much for wanting any repeat business, don't them guys remember the leans years in the early 1990s? Pickering Mazda actually folded in 1995!) He called around to various Mazda dealers and Oakville Mazda said they would do the transfer. There's no benefit for Oakville Mazda doing this, in fact, its a loss for them because it ties up their staff. But, they were more than happy to do it. We scheduled a meeting with Ryan Coleman (great guy, straight shooter, no BS) early Saturday morning and he went through the paper work with us, they even offered us free coffee. A few months later, a friend of mine wanted to check out a Mazdaspeed Miata at Oakville Mazda, again, no BS and just straight talk. As we were leaving, the owner of the dealership came by with a tray of freshly baked cookies he was passing out to the other customers, it left a good impression.
Overall Impression: Straight talk and fresh cookies guarantees a return customer when the lease is up.
Here we go......
Downtown Mazda:
I bought my first Mazda here (a 2000 Protege SE) in May 2000, my parents liked the car so much they bought their own in October 2000, a loaded Protege LX. Mark Kazik was the salesman for both deals and was excellent, very laid back and protected your interests from the managers. Not sure what happened to him, last I heard he was at Guelph City Mazda.
My Protege spent three years in Florida and came back in 2003. At that time I needed a new oxygen sensor and had Downtown Mazda price it out during an oil change. The service manager made me wait in the lobby until half an hour after the place closed on a Friday and then starts wheeling and dealing over the price saying he can get a cheaper Ford sensor but it might violate the warranty. I've always maintained my cars to factory specs and will pay for it, no idea why he was so greasy. I got my car keys back ASAP and had it replaced at reliable local shop with Mazda parts.
Went back to Downtown Mazda is 2006 to check out a Mazda6 and Mazdaspeed6 on a Saturday afternoon. Observed customers openly arguing with managers and sales staff, the receptionist that had no idea who was working the floor, and the showroom looked like they were going out of business. Managed to get someone to give me the keys to the Mazdaspeed6 demo, took it through the Portlands and brought it back only to have no one to talk to, left the keys with reception and went home.
Overall impression: Shady. Someone put this place out of its misery.
Gyro Mazda:
Brought the Protege here for three years after the Downtown Mazda sensor fiasco. At this point the car was spending most of its life in a parking garage downtown and making grocery runs to Loblaws. I parked the car during the winter months and had Gyro do the storage prep in the fall and inspection in the spring. No problems whatsoever. Sold the Protege in spring of 2006.
In November 2007, I took over a lease on a 2006 Mazda6 GT. Brought it to Gyro the first weekend I had it to bring the mainenance up to speed, no problems aside from front brakes needing to be replaced in the spring.
In February 2008, I noticed that the ATX transmission was shifting poorly and wanted Gyro to look at it during the next oil change. Service staff booked an appointment in March and said that an inspection was no problem on a Saturday. The appoint ended up on a same day as a major snow storm and Gyro didn't want to test drive the car (no problem), instead, they checked for codes and didn't find any but told me to keep a record of what I experience.
In June 2008, I schedule another Saturday oil change and tire rotation and advise them that the shifting issue is getting worse. They tell me that it no problem for them to look at it. I bring the car in and Richard tells me that they don't do diagnostics on Saturdays and that I had to bring the car back on a weekday. I specifically asked about this when I booked the appointment and they told me that they could do it. I also ask about the tire rotation and he tells me that the best tires were on the front and they didn't need to rotate the tires. I ask him about the brakes as they told me in the fall that they would need to be replaced in the spring. He tells me they are ok and I ask him how he knows that if they didn't take the tires off. He insists they are ok (they didn't provide one of those inspection reports that Mazda dealerships usually provide.)
By the end of June, the transmission is bucking and undriveable at highway speeds. After some diagnostic work and trial and error, they determine that transmission needs to be replaced (Mazda has a TSB on this, Gyro handled this very well with minimal disruption.) When I brought the car in it was spotless, when I picked it up, the plastic seat cover was still in the car, there were dirty hand prints all over the fenders (don't they cover these?) and greasy boot marks were left on my floor mats. But, the worst of it was the shop rag that was left in the engine compartment by the fan and belts. Who knows what kind of damage that rag could have caused?
I think Gyro is a good shop, but they have grown too fast and need to work on their bedside manner. Their new service advisors are rude to customers, especially Richard, I witnessed him arguing with a customer in front of other customers in the waiting room over something that would cost them nothing. I brought the Mazda6 in after 5000 kms and he gives me some lip about the car being ok for 8000 kms (umm, shouldn't a dealer encourage people to take better care of their cars???) And, is it really that hard to spray off the cars and check the interiors before you hand them back to the customer?
Overall Impression: Need to work on customer service, focus on the fact that its a long-term family business.
Oakville Mazda:
The Mazda6 was originally leased from Erin Mills Mazda but when the original leasee called them to find out how to transfer the lease, they said they had no interest in helping him out (so much for wanting any repeat business, don't them guys remember the leans years in the early 1990s? Pickering Mazda actually folded in 1995!) He called around to various Mazda dealers and Oakville Mazda said they would do the transfer. There's no benefit for Oakville Mazda doing this, in fact, its a loss for them because it ties up their staff. But, they were more than happy to do it. We scheduled a meeting with Ryan Coleman (great guy, straight shooter, no BS) early Saturday morning and he went through the paper work with us, they even offered us free coffee. A few months later, a friend of mine wanted to check out a Mazdaspeed Miata at Oakville Mazda, again, no BS and just straight talk. As we were leaving, the owner of the dealership came by with a tray of freshly baked cookies he was passing out to the other customers, it left a good impression.
Overall Impression: Straight talk and fresh cookies guarantees a return customer when the lease is up.