I have a 2004 Mazda 3 with 153,000 miles. Bought it with 120,000 miles. When I bought it, it was smooth and tight as a freaking speed 3 (almost) but as the shocks/struts deteriorated I started hearing thumps and rattles. The car had 1 front blown shock and another going and one bad rear strut and probably the other going. Bottom line, the car never had them replaced so it was about time.
A month and a half ago I replaced my front shocks and coils and rear struts and coils. I also replaced a front passenger axle and front passenger wheel bearing as well. For a few days the ride was slightly better but now the ride is horrible and I mean horrible. There is a bad, hollow thump on the front driver side whenever I hit an uneven surface or pothole and I believe I hear it in the back as well. The car is also loose on highway exits or regular tight sharp bends. I used to be able to take 40mph bends and exits with ease and the rear never got loose. Now when I take a sharp corner at 35mph 40mph I can feel the rear skip sideways, kind of dangerous. I also believe 2 of my front mounts are gone because the engine shakes a lot.
Other than that, what the hell can I assume? Garbage, cheap parts? Wrong parts? A friend of mine who works for Mercedes worked on it but maybe Mazdas are not his forte. Or did I get gypped??? I can vouch 100% that this car dose not drive like it did when I bought it. It drove so comfortable and sporty but now its a horrible mess.
With his "discounts" I paid $1300 for the parts and labor. That's shocks/front springs, struts/springs, passenger axle and passenger wheel bearing and those are regular parts, I believe OEM or so he says. But come on, an axle and wheel bearing are about $160 without any discount and OEM KYB shock/struts/springs probably $400 altogether; and that's before any discounts and I know shops get 35% off or more. He definitely did not pay more than $500 for all the parts. My fault I didn't check his receipts. Doh!! why didn't I check the receipts (bang) . And its an older car, nothing fancy. Any ideas guys? I am so heated (pissed) . I paid $1300 that I needed badly and I cant express how excited I was to get in my car, turn it on and be like (nana) but NO. it drives like.. !! I wanna cry...
A month and a half ago I replaced my front shocks and coils and rear struts and coils. I also replaced a front passenger axle and front passenger wheel bearing as well. For a few days the ride was slightly better but now the ride is horrible and I mean horrible. There is a bad, hollow thump on the front driver side whenever I hit an uneven surface or pothole and I believe I hear it in the back as well. The car is also loose on highway exits or regular tight sharp bends. I used to be able to take 40mph bends and exits with ease and the rear never got loose. Now when I take a sharp corner at 35mph 40mph I can feel the rear skip sideways, kind of dangerous. I also believe 2 of my front mounts are gone because the engine shakes a lot.
Other than that, what the hell can I assume? Garbage, cheap parts? Wrong parts? A friend of mine who works for Mercedes worked on it but maybe Mazdas are not his forte. Or did I get gypped??? I can vouch 100% that this car dose not drive like it did when I bought it. It drove so comfortable and sporty but now its a horrible mess.
With his "discounts" I paid $1300 for the parts and labor. That's shocks/front springs, struts/springs, passenger axle and passenger wheel bearing and those are regular parts, I believe OEM or so he says. But come on, an axle and wheel bearing are about $160 without any discount and OEM KYB shock/struts/springs probably $400 altogether; and that's before any discounts and I know shops get 35% off or more. He definitely did not pay more than $500 for all the parts. My fault I didn't check his receipts. Doh!! why didn't I check the receipts (bang) . And its an older car, nothing fancy. Any ideas guys? I am so heated (pissed) . I paid $1300 that I needed badly and I cant express how excited I was to get in my car, turn it on and be like (nana) but NO. it drives like.. !! I wanna cry...
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