That's been the biggest take away from my experience in all this.
I've been in the service business my whole life, so I know how it feels to be on both sides of the situation.
I'm not a bad customer or person to deal with. On the contrary, I go out of my way to be accommodating and pleasant to work with.
I seldom get my back up when dealing with this kind of thing, and it takes a lot to get me ticked off, but the attitude and pettiness of both dealers and Mazda Canada really irked me.
I was willing to bite the bullet and make a deal to pay for some if not all of the repair cost, but these guys just made me walk away.
Quotes from both dealers were within $10 of each other. Same parts prices and same labour rates I guess.Another strategy you can do if the independent shop really isn’t an option is to get a service repair quote from your usual Mazda dealer and get a quote from the other one with the premise that you’re getting the best quote from them to earn/maintain your business vs other repair shops but you’re actually pitting them against each other to getting the lowest deal. Similar to buying a vehicle...
The main problem is the rotors. They are shot. I might be able to get away with re-using the pads.I think I would get install some new pads, carefully bed or break them in, and not visit that dealer unless absolutely necessary.
Although the type of thing you mentioned above certainly does happen, IMO it's the exception and not the rule. Keep in mind that they will have to pay (parts and/or wasted time) for their screw-ups, and they will not stay in business very long if it happens more than just occasionally.….
I'm not confident that an indie shop will know about the service mode requirement, and will ruin my calipers. Most indie shops don't train their techs on specific brands, and most of those guys are old school and just do what they think they know.
I'm afraid they'll just try to push or twist the caliper piston in like they're used to doing.
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I don't mean to put down every indie shop. There are lots of good ones out there. Sorry if it comes across that way.Although the type of thing you mentioned above certainly does happen, IMO it's the exception and not the rule. Keep in mind that they will have to pay (parts and/or wasted time) for their screw-ups, and they will not stay in business very long if it happens more than just occasionally.
However I believe it's unfair to generically put down all indy shops based on whatever negative experience you might have had in the past.
Pretty much all brands with electric parking brakes have some type of 'maintenance mode' for servicing brakes. A busy indy shop should be up to date on how to get in and out of these maintenance modes. I like the idea of leaving a print out
Just replaced all brakes and rotors on my 2018 Mazda6 took about an hour each wheel. Bought the raybestos e3 better than stock. Front rotor was shaking at 30k. Could’ve just returned but Raybestos made a lot more sense. Hardest part of job is loosening bolts easier than any Toyota or Honda.
Good to know and thanks for the feedback! Seems like a reliable MY so I shouldn’t be too concerned abt esp the diff bet mine and the 2018 I was looking at is only a yearI’ve had no issues its driven daily on a sales route and is the turbo. I have put on 40k miles since new December 2018. I’ve replaced spark plugs as part of the schedule pm. Spark plugs are now available at auto parts store NGK as opposed to the exclusive dealership and the brakes just because I had a shudder when stopping from 50 mph. I do 5k mile oil change using Quaker state full synthetic along with either wix or purolator one filter. I use regular gas from Costco or Valero and sometimes Sams club. i have experimented with premium but noticed no difference to justify 40 cent price difference mpg stays the same 27 overall. On highway I average 34.