Downsview Auto

[Bean]

You should get in touch with TADA (Toronto Automobile Dealers Association) as apparently both of these places, are recommended by them and tell them what you saw with the cars. It wouldnt hurt

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Good point. That's one of my biggest concern about these places. The rolling back of the odometer. They mislead you about the history of the car. They mislead you about what is considered an accident. How on earth can you trust the mileage as accurate.

rolling back of the odometer shouldn't be too much of a concern with the mazda3 as you would need to hack the module in the gauge cluster to do so, or swap the gauge cluster with a car that has less KMs; however, the gauge cluster also contains the 2nd part of the key pair in the immobilizer and would need to be programmed by a mazda technician with a WDS.

it is still a possibility that a scrap yard and mazda technician could be on the take...but the cost of all that is involved isn't worth it.

if anyone is seriously considering the purchase of these cheap cars, go take a pic of the VIN (since no one pays attention to you in the lot anyway, the VIN is free game to be photographed) and then run a CarProof on it... only then will you know the real history behind the car.

[rick10]

I dont think the roll back the odometer as most of their mazda 3s are high mileage. Like others said customer service sucks , cars are not always in amazing shape. However you still end up saving a lot of money comparing it to a dealer.

Like i said before i bought my car for 3-4 thousand less than the dealer and i had to spend maybe 1000 (includint new tires). The car is in decent shape and i got nothing but compliments from friends for the shape the car is in .

Its a gamble.

Im 50-50 with this dealer.

[Darkfrosty7]

NEVER buy a car you can't test drive!! NEVER!!!

1+ best advice you can get

[mazdas3sporte]

it aint about being hard or easy, with time anything can be done, and rolling back a digital odometer is not impossible it just takes more time and money , if ur a crook and u want to make an extra buck on the car u will go the extra mile to do that, some people will spend the money to make as low of an ammount as 50 dollars on a car while some will make thousands by doing illegal things to make the car appear in good condition.
I dont trust private dealers at all, I;ll rather pay the thousands of dollars in premium and get a car from mazda canada dealer than risk spending hundreds if not thousands fixing a car or risking my safety. just watch some videos on youtube and you will be completly turned off of buying private dealer used vehicles, u can search W5 CTV and get a good idea of what I mean

[Bean]

Saw their ad today in the current Auto mart mag, it says they have Good service. HA

[Ant1loop]

They also re-use car images on AutoTrader...

You have to go look for yourself to find out...

[karlo]

seems like this place doesnt really get n e good reviews..


i checked out one of their mazda3's for 7000.. i looked in the glove compartment n found papers that the car came from quebec.
i deliberately asked them if the car was from ontario n they told me that he had to check. when he came back out, he told me that it was from ontario...

Yup, I had the exact same thing happen to me. The car was from Quebec but they told me it was from Ontario

[Bean]

Someone should report them to UCDA.

[01Racing]

In all due respect, there is only one reason why a used car dealer would be cheaper than a new car dealer and this is a classic example of why. As a new car dealer we will pay top dollar for a quality used or off lease car that we can verify the mileage accident history, province of original sale, owners history etc. We have turned down many of the Mazda 3's people are finding on these used car lots. As long as people keep looking for "the deal" these types of places will exist and flourish.

[krasyal]

Follow Up

Here are my comments after my Mazda purchase from Downsview.

- As stated their service good use improvement. However,

[krasyal]

Here are my 2 cents after purchasing my Mazda from Downsview Auto.

- YES - Service could use some improvements. However, within 2 weeks of my purchase I did have a minor problem that was fixed my their mechanic at no cost. YES -- a bit of a pain the the ass to head back to their mechanic and set up a reasonable to get this looked at .. but I was glad that the problem was fixed.

- I would not have bought the car without taken the car to get checked out my another mechanic. I was given an option to take the car to my local mechanic if he was in the area or take it to a Mazda dealerhship or even Canadian Tire .. I think this was option was GREAT ! Yes, I had to pay for it but it was well worth the peace of mind. I think buying any used car could be a bit of a gamble. However, having the option to get a 3rd non bias opinion gave me enough reason to go ahead with the purchase.

I quite surprise to head some of the negative feedback but I think it comes down to what peoples expectations are. I came in knowing I was buying a used car and had some sort of idea that car would not be 100%. I could live with a few minor scatches -- The car was 3+ years old !

Anyway .. those are my 2 cents ..

[rick10]

In all due respect, there is only one reason why a used car dealer would be cheaper than a new car dealer and this is a classic example of why. As a new car dealer we will pay top dollar for a quality used or off lease car that we can verify the mileage accident history, province of original sale, owners history etc. We have turned down many of the Mazda 3's people are finding on these used car lots. As long as people keep looking for "the deal" these types of places will exist and flourish.

Why would you say top quality used car or off lease car. How do you know the car was notr abuse???

Almost all lease cars have been abuse by their owners in some way... A used car is a used car no matter if the dealer sells it. Do you think they care if the car was abuse , they wont even bother as long as the car runs.

I seen enough people complaining of use cars they bought at the dealers. It is almost imposible to determine if the car has been abuse or not because all dealers fix up minor body damage and try to cover up as much as posible including dealers.

Dealer tend to give you a better service however you are paying 1000s more to buy it off them.

For example , i bought my 04 mazda 3 gt with 40 000 at 12000 and the dealer had it at 14500. I probably spend 1000 in repairs and thats including 4 brand new tires i bought for the car. I still ended saving 1500 ( maybe more because the dealer was not going to give me a use car with new tires) .

BTW my mazda just passed emissions and it passed with flying colours, i took it to the dealer for a transmission oil change and they said the car was in perfect conditions except for minor scratches.

I wouldnt say downsview has the best service however you do have the OPTION of taking the car to the dealer and verify everything is ok.

So far almost everyone who bought it there does not seem to have many issues with their cars. Hell i seen more issues posted on cars bought at the mazda dealers than i see people complaining about used dealerships

[stalona]

I don’t know why all you guys criticize Downsview auto, I bought my car from there my brother bought a car from there and a couple of my friends, they all are happy with their cars and they saved a lot of money compared to the other deals that were around, if your concerned about the km just do a car fax, my car was checked by my mechanic and he said its in great condition!

THIS MEMBER HAS BEEN CAUGHT POSTING A FICTITIOUS REVIEW OF DOWNSVIEW AUTO AND POSTING FROM THE SAME IP ADDRESS. IT IS HIGHLY PROBABLE THAT THIS PERSON IS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS DEALERSHIP'S INTERESTS. PLEASE BE AWARE OF THIS WHEN TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT THE VALIDITY OF THE COMMENTS.

[lucian3]

I wanted to add some more information to this Downview Auto thread. Yes! Their service is horrible and they really act like they don't give a damm. Also can somebody please tell me what the $250 administration and $350 other charge is for. They are already making a markup on the car, so what with these other charges. Hoping somebody can explain this to me..Thanks

[Amanda]

I just purchased a car from downsview. I pick it up this week but I don't think the service was that bad. my only complaint so far is that I think its rude that the guy was smoking the whole time.

[mazdabetty]

I just purchased a car from downsview. I pick it up this week but I don't think the service was that bad. my only complaint so far is that I think its rude that the guy was smoking the whole time.

uhhhhhhh...............






That's your only complaint??? lol.... that's beyond rude.... hahahaha I can't believe how sketchy this place is... I'm blown away that people actually buy from there.

Hope you scored a great car though, congrats!

[Bean]

A friend of mine went there the other day just to look around and did not like the cars. He stated they had rust on them and not one person came out to talk to him. He is not buying a Mazda afterall, I told him to get a Honda and he is.

[Thrizzl3]

i wonder how many people on here bought their car from downsview auto?

[Amanda]

Well I pick her up tomorrow- so maybe I'll have a complaint then haha

uhhhhhhh...............






That's your only complaint??? lol.... that's beyond rude.... hahahaha I can't believe how sketchy this place is... I'm blown away that people actually buy from there.

Hope you scored a great car though, congrats!

[Amanda]

Administration & Transaction Fee- $255
Safety / Emission Package- $350

I wanted to add some more information to this Downview Auto thread. Yes! Their service is horrible and they really act like they don't give a damm. Also can somebody please tell me what the $250 administration and $350 other charge is for. They are already making a markup on the car, so what with these other charges. Hoping somebody can explain this to me..Thanks

[Reaper]

Downsview Auto is the worst dealer you can buy a car from...period..here's a story of what happened to my friend's car...they sold him a vin washed car and later when he found out they had to exchange it or lose their license from OMVIC...they buy the worst mazda's from rental companies and such. Most of their cars have extreme rust and if I were you Amanda I would car proof that VIN number..and wth is admin fee and such..just another way to rip off ppl's hard earned money..those shysters!

[kevcol74]

$350 for a safety and emission Package?? What BS! An e-test is $35, and a safety, less than $100!!! Besides, that should be in the price of the car!! What a crock! I'd tell them to shove their fees up their @55 and walk away!
If you have time Amanda, run the VIN through Carproof (not Carfax). Its worth the piece of mind. As stated many time, alot of their cars are rentals. And by law, they HAVE to disclose that information.

[mzkaye729]

$350 for a safety and emission Package?? What BS! An e-test is $35, and a safety, less than $100!!! Besides, that should be in the price of the car!! What a crock! I'd tell them to shove their fees up their @55 and walk away!
If you have time Amanda, run the VIN through Carproof (not Carfax). Its worth the piece of mind. As stated many time, alot of their cars are rentals. And by law, they HAVE to disclose that information.

That's what I had thought too -- that the cost of the safety and emission is supposed to be incorporated into the price of the car.

When my dad and I were planning to buy from them, they offered to take out the admin fees for us but seriously, no test drive ?

Amanda, there are some people on the board who have bought their car from Downsview Auto and they didnt have any problems with the car. I wish you and your car well and I'm hoping everything goes great from here on out ! Do not skip out on CARPROOF like what kevcol said. Do not use Carfax, use CARPROOF instead.

[Amanda]

Thanks everyone =)
ummm
so Do I have to pay for this carproof thing ? or just use the lemon thing?

"Great news! This vehicle was never registered in the United States and has no "lemon brand"."


& yeah they took off the $350 charge for us.. my dad did all the talking and everything. i dont really know alot about cars