Hi all, my 1 year old Mazda is due for a service and I was wondering if I should take it back to dealership or find a trustworthy independent mechanic? I'm just worried they will refuse a warranty fix in the future if I service elsewhere and also missing out on any software updates.
Appreciate if you could share your experiences thank you!
Use the dealership if you would like to pay more money. Use a trustworthy (check with family and friends) private (not franchise) mechanic if you want to pay less, and still get a great service. Just say that you want it to be logbook service and they will use parts that are OEM or better quality.
private (not franchise)
Disagree completely with this part
IF something goes wrong a franchise is best as you have a corporate head office to help you VS trying to convince one person to rectify the issue
Everything else you said i agree with :)
When i used a franchise they used generic fluids and wrong spec oil. It's a rapid turnaround at most of these places. Not sure if they are going to go into bat for you if a warranty claim comes up. It's between the dealer, owner and ACCC if there is an issue. Not really the mechanic if OEM or equiv parts fluids are done to spec.
I'm just worried they will refuse a warranty fix in the future
If it offers you any peace of mind, they will try to deny your warranty regardless where you service.
If it's a new Mazda, I think you do get access to fixed price servicing which is pretty decently priced - check their website for pricing. I suppose it also depends a lot on which independent mechanic you have access to and also which Mazda Service Center you would take it to. There are two that I've brought mine to before. One that I would hesitate to return to again, the other does an OK job.
With Mazda one thing to watch out for is the 'optional' items for your car service. By default they will tick everything unless you tell them not to. For example, air filter replacement is optional. You can do this yourself very easily for much less than they would charge. But by default they do it and charge you for it.
Ask them for the breakdown of your quoted service fee. Some dealerships do an extra 'brake safety check' which they will charge you for. This is also optional but included by default. I personally don't see much value this - it's one of those things that sounds important but doesn't add value. My local Mazda's front desk explained they basically check to see if your parking brake works and they brake the car at around 20 km/h to see if everything is OK (their words, not mine), then they give you a little printout to show you the results.
Not sure about your mazda
but looking at my CX5
Air Filter is required at 20,000kms (so not optional if i want to keep my warranty)
Brake Check is Required every 10,000KMS (so not optional… saying that Brake Check should be included in any service price, it is where i get my car serviced)
Cabin Filter is every 30,000 KMS
So i think checking the book for your particular model is important before just telling them not to do certain things.
Mechanic can not sign off on your service if they skip anything listed as required as per the schedule
To clarify : the 'optional' stuff I refer to is what Mazda calls 'Additional Scheduled Maintenance'. So like the air filter (every X KMs or X years).
Air filter for mine is every 3 years (can't recall how many Ks). But I just did mine myself. Took 2 minutes, no tools required.
The brake check I refer to is not the same one you're referring to (as you pointed out that one is included in the standard service). The one I refer to is an additional check/test that the dealership does. So it's not even listed on the mazda.com.au. I've never paid for this so it would not be on any of my invoices.
Yeah i know its easy as.. worked as a service advisor at a mechanics for many years.
The issue we used to have as directed by our bosses was is the "schedule" requires something to be done we have to do it or we are technically liable for a refused warranty claim.
Some cars have "additional" some cars do not
I know when Mazda switched to Mazda Access (12 months or 10K Kms which ever comes first) from the old 10K/6M they updated their schedules.
Thankfully we used a system where we would enter the rego and it would find the exact car (or we could find it manually) and it would show us what is "optional" and what is "scheduled"
Ah. That explains a lot. Thanks for sharing.
FYI, I think the extra brake test I was referring to is called "Safe-T-Stop". I can't recall what surcharge my local dealership was charging for this. I think it was about $50 or less.
what about for the software updates? Can we update it on our own?
Possibly, check youtube. BMW let you update your own car with USB transfer.
In short, not without a bit of faffing about :-(
So for maps, you can do it with an software tool + SD card reader which you connect to your PC.
For MZD updates, this was previously possible if you downloaded the right installation files and perform the update using a USB key. After a particular FW version, they blocked autorun from USB, which prevented updates via this method. There are workarounds, but they are not easy/convenient (More info: https://mazdatweaks.com/serial/#process). Installation files used to be posted on a popular Mazda forum.
As you have a fairly new car, I'm going to assume that the MZD version you have on your car already blocks this (but definitely check it out for yourself).
Independent mechanic you know and trust is 1000000% betterer then going to a delarship and being ripped of juts for a greece and oyel chang.
Dispite my uhmayzing spellinge, my cummant is seeriuz.
In the late 90s i took my Toyota Celica for its 100k service and they charged their usual exorbitant fee, next day, within 10kms travelling since service a sparkplug exploded out and dented bonnet!
NRMA told me it hadnt been screwed in properly. Many communications with dealership and headoffice followed and they never took responsibility. Ever since then i preferred to take my cars to professional independent mechanics who take responsibility instead of rushed dealership facilities with a dozen nervous trainees and slack apprentices and lazy bosses.
They're not all like that of course but just saying…
You will not find a "trustworthy" independent mechanic. They have possibly no idea how to work on a Mazda, let alone carry out computerised diagnostics.
You would be better off establishing a relationship with your Mazda mechanic. If in future you need to describe certain issues… they would most probable know exactly what you are talking about — where as your "local" mechanic would most probably have no idea and make out the cause is some extensive major mechanical problem.
Go Mazda
What a load of cobblers
I would get it serviced by the dealership for the first 2-3 years. For the peace of mind of anything happening to the car and them saying you didn't take care of it properly etc under warranty. Just make sure you know exactly what they're doing to the car by checkpoint before it happens and if they do anything extra you have to be notified before they do and how much it will cost. If you think it's too high get a second opinion.
For 1 year service best to go back to dealership
They wil have some checks they need to make.
I would think your car comes with capped price servcing - check it out.
Might work out better going to the dealership anyway
After this one use a local mechanic, ensure they carry out log book service specifically as listed, and get them to stamp and sign the log book.
they can't refuse the warranty fix under the ACL.
Take it to an independent mechanic, must ensure they are VACC accredited.