I'm trying. Not easy. I want one with a "Mazda Trained" background. Heck, I'm even willing to pay them a small retainer, I'm so damn desperate. I just don't want anything major to go wrong where I get stuck being forced back to a dealer. I wish Mazda Corp would just do their own thing. I really do. I should not say this but I would even be willing to pay more for service/maint/repairs if Mazda would just break out and change the game that way.
There has got to be a former Mazda Man/Woman somewhere out here with their own shop and who I can trust because they are trustworthy. Funny, everywhere I go out here I see dedicated Volvo shops and dedicated Honda shops. In fact, one general auto repair shop just went full-on dedicated Honda and staged a Grand Opening last week! What the heck gives! Why can't we get any dedicate Mazda shops like that where I live.
No, no, no. I don't want exotic creatures operating on my vehicle. I prefer the Humans and especially the Professional and well Trained types. I don't even mind of the Human little experience as long as they are supervised by someone who does have sage wisdom on Mazdas.
I had to call three BMW dealerships out where I live, just to get a test drive of the X5 M during my research phase. I settled on the X5 XDrive50i but dumped it as a comparison platform for the XC-90 because Volvo made it so darn easy to test drive their vehicles! Gee, ya think that would effect any future decision I might make later.... hmmmmm. I walked into the local BMW dealer out where I live (a really bid name around these parts) and nobody approached me for 10 minutes as I stood flat foot in the middle of the showroom floor with that "Won't somebody please hep me" potential customer look on my face. My Wife, actually laughed aloud and said: "Are you serious! Are they going to say anything to us." I said, I don't know honey. They were all sitting behind a desk in their cubes doing what appeared to be absolutely nothing at the time we walked in. I walked outside, around the corner to the service desk and asked someone if they could show me an X5 M. The service rep said, hold on a minute let me go inside to get someone to help you. I told him that I just came from inside and nobody even bothered to look up. He said (and I quote): "I don't agree with it, but I've heard that before from people who just walk in."
The problem I have with the Automotive Industry right now is not just with brand - it is with the entire Dealership Model. It is flat broke in the Unite States. It either needs to be fixed or it needs to be replaced. This does not apply to all Dealerships, however.
Went into the local McLaren Dealership and it was like walking into a International McLaren Research Center. I was immediately greeted, told to examine anything I wanted, told to simply ask for a test drive anytime I wanted, was handed a business card and then told to enjoy my stay at McClaren. Wow! I was blown away. I must have stayed in that dealership for at least 2 hours that day, exploring what McLaren had to offer just as I was asked to do. No pressure. Just exploration. It was a wonderful McLaren experience. Similar experience with Bentley, Rolls Royce and Porsche. So, not every single Dealer is broke - but the vast majority of them are.
Yet, people here are telling me that the amount of money you spend does not matter. Rubbish. It matters alright to certain companies. McLaren certainly understand this concept an they handling it very well in my experience. This was back when the 650S was brand new and really hot. It is till really hot, IMO. Though, I think the 720S is more P1-like and thus more enthralling.
Indeed. Any buyer at any level deserves (at minimum) to receive outstanding Customer Support After the Sale - especially after putting on tens of thousands on a brand new vehicle.
I've reasoned this way myself internally, but have stood by my guns on having the Mechanic be a former Mazda Wrench. It is mostly because Mazda does truly innovative things. My goodness - the Rotary Engine as just one example. The whole iSkyActive synergy concept where a component in one area of the vehicle is at least logically connected to another component somewhere else in the vehicle in order to bring about a fully connected experience for the driver. Mazda talks about this all the time as being the purpose behind SkyActive Technology. It is supposed to be about Whole Vehicle Synergy. Some of that is Marketing, but some of it is actual Design Engineering as well. So, having a Mechanic understand that or at least be aware and cognizant of the synergy and connected nature of the whole design, seems like it would be an important thing.
This is the first Japanese engineered vehicle that I will (at some point) actually work on myself, doing minor things. Things that can be done safely DIY. I've owned Japanese made before: Cordia L, Eclipse GS, 3000GT SL and a highly used RX-7 GSL SE. However, I did no work on them and was not really interested in maintaining them. I had a heavy corporate lifestyle back then, or I was still in college and focused on studies. So, wrenching on my own cars is not something I had time for. However, ever since my C5 and Viper, I took a keen interest in knowing more, learning more and doing more of my own work. Then I created my own business and went back to working obscene hours each week for years - losing the time to work on my own vehicles. Now, I'm back in the DIY Wrench group again, only this time on an SUV that I really like (my first SUV at that).
Thanks! And, congrats on locating yours! It must take a load off to know you can trust someone like that.
