Hi
3 years ago I bought brand new "Mazda protégé lx 1999 VIN#
JM1BJ2228X0123250" on 01/01/1999 FOR 15,500. It has just 36350 miles
on it its been very good till yesterday 03/31/2003 (or before 3 years
and 90 days). I have had all maintenance done on time including 30k
mile service and oil changes on time. I have only driven 36350 in
these 3 years, as my work place is located with in a mile from home.
Anyway day before yesterday, when i was traveling to my friend's
place, it started giving me problems, what happened is - When i step
on gas, it does not pick up, and after a while, rpm meter goes to 5
and then immediately comes to 2. And it gives jerks while speeding up
or down. Anyway after driving after 10 minutes or so, o/d light starts
flashing, and then when i was driving at 10mph it was taking so much
load like i am driving on a hill. Anyway i immediately took it to the
dealer, where i had my last 30k mile service done, he checked it and
saying it is transmission problem. He is saying it is out of warranty.
Just because it is only 3 months or only 350 miles over warranty
limit. Is this how Mazda cars work ??? .. It is so bad, it is just
like cheating. Right now my car is located at the dealer at Huntington
beach, CA (Heritage-Mazda). I think it would cost me 2000 bucks
atleast, can you tell me how to avoid that. I want to file a case
against mazda, but i dont want to pay fee to attorneys. Also fixing
and solving this can also take long time 2-3 weeks at least , how can
i avoid rental car cost. i am so much worried and depressed, i had
never thought of this can happen with my new car so soon. please help. |
Hello unclejohn,
Thank you for your question.
In my experience, particularly in today's economy, reputable companies
such as Mazda will go out of their way to retain customers and provide
good customer service, even after the warranty period. I contacted
Mazda on your behalf to see what I could find out for you.
I spoke to an excellent customer service rep named Grant who explained
how Mazda feels about "after warranty" major failures. He explained
that the process is to take the car to the dealer for diagnoses and
then to contact Mazda to have their district representative determine
what could be done after warranty.
The amount of their participation in this repair would be evaluated on
some of the following:
How faithful you have been in maintenance and service
How often you have performed oil changes
The mileage
The condition of the vehicle
Whether it was purchased new from a dealer
If you had been a previous owner of other Mazda products
The extent of the documentation and service records you have
How long after the warranty period the failure has occurred, and
The nature of the failure
He expressed his opinion that Mazda almost always will help with
covering a failure that occurs "just out of warranty" and this might
be covered 100% , but is under the discretion of the local District
Manager. I explained you have low mileage, and were about 90 days out
of warranty, but he corrected me when we looked up your VIN #. You are
actually 1 year and 4 months out of warranty if your car was purchased
01/01/1999 as you mention, The 36 month warranty would have expired in
2002. That being said, he still feels it is very likely that Mazda may
still participate in this repair cost.
We noted that you have contacted Mazda and have spoken to Heather
previously, perhaps as recently as today. Since Heather has opened a
file for you, she must be the primary contact for you as you begin to
investigate what can be done for you. The procedure that needs to be
followed now is:
Have the car diagnosed by a dealer - which it appears you have done
Call Heather at 1-800-222-5500 extension 1137 and ask her to send your
file to the dealer for after warranty assistance
Your dealer will then contact the District Manager and he will
evaluate the situation
Grant felt this process would take about 3 days to complete, and once
again, would be very much worth your effort as the odds are good that
Mazda may assume some of the costs for this repair.
Personally, I think it becomes a bit difficult since the car is
actually 1 year and 4 months out of warranty, but you have low mileage
going in your favor. If you have been faithful to maintenance
schedules and oil changes and have you documents, Mazda will most
likely assist you in the repair. I don't think "filing a case" against
Mazda is the way to go right now, but rather explore their generosity
in assisting with an "After Warranty" repair and see if they can help
to keep you as a happy Mazda owner.
Search Strategy:
www.mazdausa.com
Called Mazda customer service
I trust my research has explained this process for you for after
warranty consideration form Mazda. If a link above should fail to work
or anything require further explanation or research, please do post a
Request for Clarification prior to rating the answer and closing the
question and I will be pleased to assist further.
Regards,
-=clouseau=- |
Request for Answer Clarification by
unclejohn-ga
on
05 May 2003 11:03 PDT
Hi Clouseau
Thanks for the answer. I talked to the dealer, he is saying, company
is agree to pay only for the transmission but not for the labor which
would be $900+ , looks like mazda knows it is there fault. I called
many times Heather she is never on her seat. But I have told dealer
that atleast start working (ordering transmission from mazda )for my
car (as more days waiting means more cost), and he is saying he will
get the part on wednesday and should be done by friday. I have most of
the records of oil changes , that I can show. I want to speak to the
district manager of mazda, can you find his number for me. Clouseau,
can you suggest me what to do, so that I wont end up paying for my
worst decision of buying mazda. So far I have spent $80 for towing,
$60 for renting car , $30+ for google :) ...
please call me if you can at 949-394-0106 ... thanks a lot again ...
|
Clarification of Answer by
clouseau-ga
on
05 May 2003 11:15 PDT
Hello again unclejohn,
I'm pleased to hear that Mazda is at least paying for your parts and
therefore eliminating more than half of the cost of your repair for
you. I think being out of warranty 1 year and 4 months, this is
excellent customer service.
I do need to note that Google Answers researchers are not permitted to
have personal contact with our customers and I am not able to call
you.
The only way to have contact with the District Manager is to have a
Mazda Customer Service Rep arrange contact for you. Do leave a message
for Heather. If she does not return you call by this afternoon and you
really do want to make this arrangement, you might try calling for
Grant and explaining that Heather is unavailable and that he was very
helpful to your Google Researcher last week and could he help to have
the District Manager contact you.
Personally, I think Mazda is being extremely considerate in picking up
the parts bill for you after this amount of time. I feel their
response has shown excellent customer service and instead of an
admission of fault, it appears they are going out of their way to
retain you as a customer.
Best of luck with a satisfactory resolution to this problem and
repair.
Regards,
-=clouseau=-
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
unclejohn-ga
on
06 May 2003 14:21 PDT
Hi Clouseau,
Thanks for your answer, Today I called Mazda, and talked to somebody
else(dont remember her name), I asked her , why mazda is not paying
for the labor, she told, this is what only the company can do, If I am
not satisfied then comapny can revoke previous offer of paying for the
parts. And I told her okay I am satisfied. but it realy hurts paying
1000 bucks for something I should not pay. And I have to admit it was
my luck or mistake of buying mazda, or not buying a
real-genuine-japanese car. Which means, what ever I feel about mazda
cars but I can not say anything now, neither good or bad. If I would
have been so rich (having more than 4000 in back acount ) or who dont
care 1-2000 bucks then I would have definelty sued mazda for selling
such cars.
Clouseau, although your answer is good but I feel it is what i was
already doing like calling mazda. It looks like I am paying the price
of bad mazda cars. My question was more towards a way of getting rid
of any cost associated. and I also asked direct questions like "Is
this how Mazda cars work ???" , "how can i avoid rental car cost." If
it will take a lot of your time that may be question price was too
low, I feel your answer realy didnt help, also please dont call mazda
because I dont want end up paying $2000 more.
Thanks
|
Clarification of Answer by
clouseau-ga
on
06 May 2003 14:37 PDT
Unclejohn,
I must disagree with you.
In your question, you did not mention that you had called Mazda
previously and try as hard as we might, Google Answers Researchers are
not psychic. I detailed the method for you to get the best possible
resolution for your problem. You also stated you were 90 days out of
warranty, when in fact you were one year and four months past the
waranty on this car. That is quite a difference.
I personally feel Mazda is going out of their way to make you a happy
customer by absorbing the parts cost for you. A car is a mechancial
device and they do break. They have gone beyond the call of duty by
warranting the parts almost 50% longer than their stated warranty.
As to "rental cars", that is something that would be up to the
discretion of the District Manager and to his ability and desire to
provide you with a loaner. Or the Service Manager at the dealership.
But it is not a requirement for either to do this for you, but rather
would be another show of exemplary customer service if they should
choose to.
I have a hard time understanding why you would continue to desire to
sue a company that has appeared to bend over backwards to assist in
the costs of this repair for you. If you really do wish to pursue this
method and avoid lawyer's fees, then you can file a claim in Small
Claims Court for a nimonal fee and sue for up to $5,000. However,
being so far out of warranty, my personal opion is that you do not
have a case. However, I am not a lawyer nor do I have access to your
records on maintenance nor have I seen your vehicle.
I think if you re-read your question, I have provided you with very
good information on dealing with your situation.
I wish you the best of luck with a satisfactory resolution no matter
how you choose to proceed.
Good day,
-=clouseau=-
|
