Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer?

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Wed 6 Nov 2024 08:52
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - NickosWirral

Hello,

With some great advice off these forums, I bought a Mazda 6 in Jan this year. Really happy with it - all I have had to spend is £40 for a new roll bar. Servicing is coming up, and so far it has always had a main dealer service, until its last one at the second hand car dealers.

Is dealer servicing worth it? I just want to make sure all the service items are properly addressed. Is it worth seeking out a decent independent?

Cheers!

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Wed 6 Nov 2024 08:58
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - elekie&a/c doctor
It’s not a high value car , so can’t really see any point of having it dealer serviced . Find a good independent repair shop and ask them to use genuine Mazda service parts .
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Wed 6 Nov 2024 09:31
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - Andrew-T

Can't see any point in spending quite a bit more to get dealer stamps in the service record - unless that dealer is specially convenient for where you live. A trusted independent will charge less, and will get correct dealer spares if he needs them. As long as your car has been serviced regularly it won't matter at 10 years old where it has been done. Just keep all the records.

If you haven't found a local indie, ask friends for recommendations. Any garage - dealer or not - is only as good and reliable as its management. They all vary quite a bit.

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Wed 6 Nov 2024 09:51
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - FP

I faced this issue when buying a 2014 CX-5 in 2016. There is no physical logbook/service record with Mazdas.

I have used a totally reliable local indie for years and wished to continue with him. However, he has no access to the Mazda service database, where all "official" servicing is electronically recorded. He could gain access for a fee, but it's not worth it when he doesn't specialise in Mazdas.

In the end I decided to continue with the indie and keep all paperwork, assuming I would be keeping the car for a long time. As Andrew-T says, after a while it doesn't really matter where servicing has been done.

I still have the car, which has been super reliable; the only repair as such has been the replacement of a stabiliser bar mounting. Every other expenditure has been for consumables.

Edited by FP on 06/11/2024 at 09:52

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Wed 6 Nov 2024 10:05
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - Andrew-T

As Andrew-T says, after a while it doesn't really matter where servicing has been done.

I would only add - ... as long as the servicing HAS been done. It's not unknown for work to be skipped, even at dealerships. Really suspicious owners leave secret marks to show what nuts etc. have been looked at.

I used my most conveniently local indie for a year or two until I found how careless they could be : [a] ignoring the work list I had provided, doing (they claimed) a normal service instead, and [b] failing to refit the sump guard which had to be removed for the oil change. They offered the next service FoC, which I declined.

A good indie can have the advantage - not often available at a 'proper' dealership - of getting to know the person doing the work. If the same old Mazda comes back regularly for work, it can become a kind of partnership.

Edited by Andrew-T on 06/11/2024 at 10:08

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Wed 6 Nov 2024 22:32
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - bathtub tom

as long as the servicing HAS been done. It's not unknown for work to be skipped, even at dealerships.

Yes! Mine was (supposedly) serviced at a main dealer for its' warranty period. They scratched it, lost the GB plate and various other things I weren't happy with. It was widely reported main dealers weren't using the recommended oil grade, they claimed the stuff they were using was acceptable/ weren't aware of manufacturers' recommendation!

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Wed 6 Nov 2024 10:08
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - catsdad

Our 2012 Mazda 3 had a full online service record which our generalist indie was able to update for the last three years of our ownership. When I traded it in at a Suzuki dealer last year the salesman kept only the print outs from online and wasn’t interested in my full sheaf of service and repair invoices. We only got £2k for it which was much the same as online sites. I doubt that an official dealer Mazda history would have got me more.
My advice would be to stick with a good indie and if you can get it updated online then that’s a bonus but not essential for a car if that age.

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Wed 6 Nov 2024 10:16
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - Andrew-T

When I traded it in at a Suzuki dealer last year the salesman kept only the print outs from online and wasn’t interested in my full sheaf of service and repair invoices.

I reckon a full bundle of paperwork for a 10-year-old car will only interest a private buyer. A trader will probably send the car straight to auction, and the bundle into the bin.

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Wed 6 Nov 2024 10:52
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - catsdad

Yes I am sure thats normal so it’s not worth stressing too much about service evidence on older cars at trade-in time. They are not interested other than ticking a box.

Having said that I don’t think ours went to auction as I found our Mazda being advertised within a week at an independent small dealer local to the Suzuki dealer at over £4k. I was mildly surprised that, if intending to move it on locally, he hadn’t retained the invoices as part of his onward pitch. But again it shows the trade just want to keep it simple.

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Wed 6 Nov 2024 11:12
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - Andrew-T

I found our Mazda being advertised within a week at an independent small dealer local to the Suzuki dealer at over £4k. I was mildly surprised that, if intending to move it on locally, he hadn’t retained the invoices as part of his onward pitch. But again it shows the trade just want to keep it simple.

I am sure most franchised dealers keep in touch with their local indy traders, who probably pay them their £2k (maybe a tad more) for your car, giving them a margin of £~2k to allow for haggling and the cost of any basic warranty they might offer (but probably don't). Sounds about normal to me. And of course some figures will be 'optimised' for the VAT man.

Maybe SLO will give us the inside story ?

Edited by Andrew-T on 06/11/2024 at 11:15

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Wed 6 Nov 2024 12:43
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - SLO76

I found our Mazda being advertised within a week at an independent small dealer local to the Suzuki dealer at over £4k. I was mildly surprised that, if intending to move it on locally, he hadn’t retained the invoices as part of his onward pitch. But again it shows the trade just want to keep it simple.

I am sure most franchised dealers keep in touch with their local indy traders, who probably pay them their £2k (maybe a tad more) for your car, giving them a margin of £~2k to allow for haggling and the cost of any basic warranty they might offer (but probably don't). Sounds about normal to me. And of course some figures will be 'optimised' for the VAT man.

Maybe SLO will give us the inside story ?

I used to deal with our local Citroen and Daihatsu dealerships. Anything sub £2k that came in was my bread and butter. They told me what they needed and I said yes or no. I was a home trader so without a glass palace to boost prices I was working off a margin of between £500-£1000 usually. But when I was a salesman and buyer for a large multi-site dealership in the distant past we often had part-ex’s underwritten by other local dealers, particularly high end stuff that wasn’t our bag, or high risk stock like Land Rovers/Range Rovers. At the time Kia was a rather bland budget brand which we found hard work to sell, so we always had them underwritten by the nearby main dealer who took them off our hands at a price that gave them a margin and allowed us to offer better money than most rivals. Worked well for both of us.

Edited by SLO76 on 06/11/2024 at 12:44

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Wed 6 Nov 2024 12:37
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - SLO76
On the assumption that it’s a petrol model then I’d use a well regarded local independent for servicing. Dealers are money grabbing via their service departments more than ever thanks to declining new car sales. There’s no value gain to be had on one of these from a main dealer history. Good cars, but keep an eye on rust underneath, if it’s a good car and you want to keep it longterm it’s worth spending a few hundred quid with a specialist having it undersealed. These are brilliant cars, the petrol motors are very robust and they’re a nice rice. Highly recommend.
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Thu 7 Nov 2024 10:53
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - Falkirk Bairn

My 1999 Mazda Xedos lasted 15 years in my ownership - 4/5 years Mazda service and the rest a good Indie.

Repairs minimal - 3x callipers, rubber bushes, rust treatment etc etc - less than £1,000 repairs in 15 years.

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Thu 7 Nov 2024 12:08
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - Andrew-T

3x callipers ? Seems a lot, my Pug has had discs and pads, but never any work on callipers ?

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Thu 7 Nov 2024 20:49
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - SLO76

3x callipers ? Seems a lot, my Pug has had discs and pads, but never any work on callipers ?

It’s a weak point on Mazdas, particularly the MX5 for some reason. Not hugely expensive to sort.
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Fri 8 Nov 2024 08:04
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - Falkirk Bairn

3 callipers were the most expensive parts I had to buy - 2 were genuine Mazda parts.

Mazda then stopped production. The result?

A 3rd party re-furbished Mazda part was 50% more expensive than the new ones!

Cannot complain too much - 15 years use, never broke down at the side of the road and under £1,000 for repairs was magic!

Edited by Falkirk Bairn on 08/11/2024 at 08:06

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Thu 7 Nov 2024 16:41
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - Will deBeast

Our local Mazda dealer is a family owned business. I've met one of the owners a few times, and know that he goes out of his way to support his vulnerable customers. I'd be very happy to pay a small premium to have my car serviced there.

In your position, I'd just look around for a well-regarded local business.

Edited by Will deBeast on 07/11/2024 at 16:42

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Fri 8 Nov 2024 07:17
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - FoxyJukebox
Here’s a suggestion. If you do a low’ish mileage-just have a big service done every two years.
The annual MOT is a useful guideline check and I keep reading that oils are easily competent for 24 months these days
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Fri 8 Nov 2024 08:48
Mazda 6 - 10 yr old car with FSH. Do I maintain with dealer? - Big John
Here’s a suggestion. If you do a low’ish mileage-just have a big service done every two years. The annual MOT is a useful guideline check and I keep reading that oils are easily competent for 24 months these days

I think all engines in the Mazda 6 have cam chains so service every 24 moths is a bad idea. I'm not sure whether the original posters car is petrol or diesel but if the latter then even more regular oil changes a good idea as the DPF implementation is poor and they are known for polluting sump oil with diesel.

Edited by Big John on 08/11/2024 at 08:49

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