Advice Please: Dealer Scuffed the Paint on My CX-5

Took it to the dealer because you saw sap on the car, now blame the dealer for trying to get the sap off. That's like blaming the knife when it cuts you.

Shoulda bought some bug and tar remover and done it yourself, huh? Now you're stuck with going back to those morons again and again until they make it better.

Polish it and give it a good coat of Carnuba. If that doesn't help, he ****** up your clearcoat and there's no going back, only forward to a paint job.

In my experience, once you cough up the dough for the down payment, they don't give 2 s**** about you OR your car. Don't ever bring your car to the dealership unless it's something you can't fix yourself and something that's under warranty. Those guys are idiots.

I watched the mechanic at my local Mazda Dealer (Ocean Mazda in Santa Cruz, ca, now renamed Subaru of Santa Cruz, even though they still sell Mazdas too) back my 1 month old Miata into a FEDEX truck. He hopped in, fired it up, dumped the clutch and POW. It took all I had to not run over there and curb stomp him. Never again the dealership for me.

To be clear, it looked like the paint was bubbling. Had no idea it was sap. Thanks.
 
OP, sorry to hurt your feelings, forget it. I thought some common sense would prevail over the expectations of whatever customer-vendor relationships should be. I've never being anyone's buddy on this forum, by the way, nor a troll.
I've just had being in business long enough to see a lose-lose situation here. Saw that before.

Not hurt, bud. Was just hoping for some civil discussion on a forum where I assume everyone would be -and would act like they're- over the age of 16. Though, as is very evident, I'm reminded that, regardless of age, some people think that being an a$$hole to strangers is normal and acceptable on any platform. Dog bless the internet and anonymity.
 
... some people think that being an a$$hole to strangers is normal and acceptable on any platform. Dog bless the internet and anonymity.

Just wow. I have never referred to YOU in any of my posts, and now I'm acting like an a$$hole towards you? Dude... Dog bless you, as per your quote...
 
My #1 reason for never consider Mazda is dealer experience. So even in a top auto market you cannot get a good dealership. So tread wisely.

That's quite a generalization on Mazda dealerships there. Maybe it's a Texas thing, I don't know. A little unfair either way I'd say.
There are good and bad dealerships everywhere, from every car maker.
I've been around a few years, and have had my share of experiences, good and bad, with different dealerships.

If you're going to paint all Mazda dealers with the same brush, then I would have to do the same with every Honda/Acura dealership I've had the (un)pleasure to visit.
Everyone of them were brutal, and is one of the reasons I'll never buy a Honda product.
As for Mazda, they were actually one of the better outfits to deal with when I was shopping for my 6 last fall.
Most disappointing?: Toyota dealer. They couldn't give a s*** about my business.

FYI, the salesman that sold me my 6 has been in regular contact with me, and asked if I was interested in seeing the new 2018 turbo when they get one.
No pressure to upgrade. He just wants to show off the car and let me drive it. I'm taking him up on his offer.
 
You can be nice about it. If they don't set it right you have to weigh both options. Fixing yourself will cost some money as you need a rubbing compound, wax, clay bar etc. And time.

My #1 reason for never consider mazda is dealer experience. So even in a top auto market you cannot get a good dealership. So tread wisely.

So I guess that is true about Lexus and BMW? I had some crap experiences with these brands so i guess all the dealers are bad for these brands.

And my local Mazda dealer sells and services Kia, Honda and Nissan at the same location, so if mazda dealer is bad, so must be Kia, Nissan, and Honda as it is all one dealer.

Thanks for putting things in perspective - be wary of Lexus, Mercedes, Nissan, Kia, Honda and Mazda.
 
So I guess that is true about Lexus and BMW? I had some crap experiences with these brands so i guess all the dealers are bad for these brands.

And my local Mazda dealer sells and services Kia, Honda and Nissan at the same location, so if mazda dealer is bad, so must be Kia, Nissan, and Honda as it is all one dealer.

Thanks for putting things in perspective - be wary of Lexus, Mercedes, Nissan, Kia, Honda and Mazda.

Dealer experience is not bad, but there is something even worse - what Mazda stands for and what its dealer experience has been does not overlap. Add to that the fact it seems Mazda is trying to move upscale towards an older demographic complicates things. Its not 1 dealer, I have tried two - dealers in DFW. Problem is they are Chevy - Mazda / Hyundai - Mazda or such family of brand dealerships and of these they take the identity of other brand. So what works for Chevy / Hyundai works for Mazda. We are going to see both brands as same.

"I have never heard of Moly? Mazda does not make any oil? We have the mexico oil filter, it is the best in market" - this kind of junk I would expect for a Hyundai / Chevy - but it does not overlap with what Mazda sells.

You can only love a brand so much before you realize you need to encounter daily realities. Toyota has not been a problem, i find atleast 2 good ones in a small radius, with Mazda - its 25 mile drive to get the o.k. one. 40 mile if i go where yrwei does. Plus like the OP - if you find a good dealer and for some reason need to boot them out - good luck finding another one.

Mazda can make the best car out there, but if their dealer experience does not align with the brand image - then there wont be repeat buyers in the market. BMW / Lexus are very defined what they stand for and their dealer experience aligns. Exceptions are true but it seems in general very few dealers have stand alone Mazda franchise. Infact even call centers are common for both brands at my dealer.
 
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Dealer experience is not bad, but there is something even worse - what Mazda stands for and what its dealer experience has been does not overlap. Add to that the fact it seems Mazda is trying to move upscale towards an older demographic complicates things. Its not 1 dealer, I have tried two - dealers in DFW. Problem is they are Chevy - Mazda / Hyundai - Mazda or such family of brand dealerships and of these they take the identity of other brand. So what works for Chevy / Hyundai works for Mazda. We are going to see both brands as same.

"I have never heard of Moly? Mazda does not make any oil? We have the mexico oil filter, it is the best in market" - this kind of junk I would expect for a Hyundai / Chevy - but it does not overlap with what Mazda sells.

You can only love a brand so much before you realize you need to encounter daily realities. Toyota has not been a problem, i find atleast 2 good ones in a small radius, with Mazda - its 25 mile drive to get the o.k. one. 40 mile if i go where yrwei does. Plus like the OP - if you find a good dealer and for some reason need to boot them out - good luck finding another one.

Mazda can make the best car out there, but if their dealer experience does not align with the brand image - then there wont be repeat buyers in the market. BMW / Lexus are very defined what they stand for and their dealer experience aligns. Exceptions are true but it seems in general very few dealers have stand alone Mazda franchise. Infact even call centers are common for both brands at my dealer.

I guess things are different here in my part of Canada.
All Mazda dealerships around here are standalone Mazda only.
They are not combined dealerships with other brands.
Maybe the combined brand dealerships like you have is an American thing? I don't know.
The local Mazda dealers I dealt with are smaller establishments as well. Face it, Mazda has a smaller lineup, so they don't need to be huge in size.
The big boys (Chevy, Ford, Toyota, etc) dealerships around here are the worst ones. They are physically much bigger, and correspondingly more sleazy.
There's something to be said for smaller is better in this case.

Short story: I accompanied a friend of mine last year to a major Acura dealership here in Ottawa.
Her RDX suffered a major breakdown, and when she tried to get some kind of a break on the repair (blown transmission), they treated her like a scab.
Their only solution was to try and push her into a new RDX, and to screw her over on the trade in value on the old one. She bought a BMW instead.

Anyway, no matter what, you can't really generalize about dealerships in the manner you have done. They're all different.
 
Do you know anyone in the car detailing business? They might be able to look at it and give some recommendations.

Sadly, no. I suppose I could pop by a shop to have them look at it and give me a sense of the severity of the damage. Might help in my conversation with the dealership.
 
Sadly, no. I suppose I could pop by a shop to have them look at it and give me a sense of the severity of the damage. Might help in my conversation with the dealership.

I think you are over analyzing this. You and others are gearing up for war without even talking to the dealer first.

If the service manager tried to help at no charge for something like tree sap (in no way covered by warranty) then he wanted a happy customer. I find it hard to believe that he would turn you away if he sees his fix is causing a problem.

If you don't want to fix it yourself, take a deep breath, relax, and talk to the dealer. They usually have someone that does minor detail work and they can probably have you fixed in 15 minutes.
 
Try to fix it yourself. Surly you don't want to be the jerk who punishing someone who tried to help you. Fix it yourself or forget it. Ed
 
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