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Old 12-31-2010, 12:44 PM  
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Albany, New York
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 9 | Kudos: +10
Capital District Area Car Dealers. Good, bad?

My beef is mostly with Cooley Mazda in East Greenbush, NY and Mazda Corporation.

We purchased my older son's car, a brand new 2006 Mazda 3 at Cooley Mazda. Then returned to Cooley and purchased a new '07 Volkswagon Jetta
from Cooley for our youngest son a year later.

In late October 2010, I get an urgent call from Justin who owns the Mazda 3 and who is currently attending graduate school in Florida. "Dad, my car is doing some strange stuff! The lights and windshield wipers are all on when I start my car and I can't turn them off. Also, the car smells like it's burning!
What do I do?"

Well, I instructed him to get it towed to a Mazda dealer in Florida. It turned out that the relay/fuse control module had gone bad. (My thoughts are that this was a manufacturer defective item.) This car had a manufacture warranty for 4 years, 50,000 miles. He had 60,000 miles on it at the time. Also, there were no after market electrical items added. Completely stock.

The repair cost me $700, I paid it because he is going to college.

I tried to get some relief through Mazda by calling their corporate customer relations department.

Their response was, "We're sorry, your warranty has expired and you didn't show customer loyalty by getting your oil changed with the dealer."

Basically, this was the same response I got from Cooley Mazda. I didn't show customer loyalty by getting my oil changed with their dealership.

WASN'T PURCHASING TWO VEHICLES FROM COOLEY CUSTOMER LOYALTY?

Also, what doe's having your oil changed have to do with an electrical problem?

Your experience or thoughts?
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Old 01-01-2011, 11:41 AM  
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Albany, New York
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 9 | Kudos: +10
Not to make things sound all bad. Bought my 2010 Jeep Wrangler in October from Armory Garage on Central Avenue in Albany. My first Jeep and I've been having a blast with it. So far I've been very happy with Armory also. I hope I can continue to give them kudos!
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Old 01-25-2011, 08:53 PM  
Junior Member

Albany, NY
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 9 | Kudos: +10
Never did get a good vibe going into Cooley. Looked at a couple used cars there, but never bought. Never dealt with the service dept though.
That being said, dealers make very little on the sale of a new car, unless they rook the customer, but with the internet and information therein, I think it's getting more difficult. The $100/hour and mark up on parts is a profits center for them. If the car was out of town I could see not going back, but if it's local, why not? They usually have deals on oil changes and basic maintenance for your car. They are also trained to work on your brand of vehicle. (I know, minor point, oil changes aren't difficult) But I've found that going back to a place and being "loyal" is beneficial when it come to major hurdles/problems that could crop up in the future, whether your going to a dealer or an indie. The sales manager and the service manager are two different people, both with bottom lines to manage. If you have a good relationship with the service manager/advisor you'll reap the benefits in the long run. Figures that this happened just after the warranty expired and out of town to boot. If you were in town and a regular service customer they might have been able to go to Mazda for a little help on your behalf, especially if it was a known issue. If your planning on keeping these cars out of warranty (especially the VW), then make nice with an indie or the dealers service staff and you'll be set up for anything else in the future.
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