401-Dixie Mazda Dealership

[Queue]

I had recently visited 401-Dixie Mazda, used to be called Ontario Mazda. I had my headlamps replaced under warranty (known plastic hazing/melting defect) for my 2010 MS3 and had a great experience! The service reps were knowledgeable and friendly.

My main concern was if they were going to treat my slightly modified vehicle with the tender love and care we all want and expect for our cars. Apparently, to replace the headlamps, they would normally have to remove the front bumper and place the car on a hoist. I mentioned my concern because my vehicle is lowered on Eibach springs and has the Mz style lip kit. I obviously didn't want the risk of the lip being cracked from the hoist, plus the front lip was a potential complication if the bumper had to be removed.

Thankfully, the service rep Rachel (who recently used to work at QEW Mazda) mentioned she also has a lowered vehicle so she understood the concern and will take extra precaution if necessary and talk to the mechanics as well.

In the end, they didn't need to remove the front bumper or place the car on a hoist! Plus, they gave the car a quick wash. It was great knowing that a fellow enthusiast treated my car the same way they would treat theirs... with respect and care. Now I have new headlamps (lets hope the defect isn't present in these lamps) and the hazing is gone... so fresh and so clean!

[adubya]

When I had mine replaced, they informed the replacement headlights were made out of a different material that was not affected by the heat produced by the lamps so you shouldn't experience the issue again.

[TEDSTER]

i just wanted to introduce myself to the Mazda 3 Forum group and say that I am the new SERVICE MANAGER here at 401 Dixie Mazda.
Whether your experience is good or bad , I am always available to assist. i am happy to say we are ungoing a new facitility change and will
be open throughout the construction. Come in and see our new facility adn please introduce yourselfs to me

Ted Szilagy

[Booter22]

Gotta love Rachel, ive known her for years and shes always been into cars and moding, and believe me her turbo civic is no joke that thing can Move! Glad to know you had a postive experience with one of our colleagues and a good friend of mine! :thumbsup

[Dykowyda]

I have to say, that so far in my dealings with 401 Dixie Mazda for my 2010 and my new 2012 - this dealership is awful, right from the sales department to the service department, to the management.

Buying the 2012 was a disaster. Our 2010 was having issues, mainly a grinding noise at 1500rpm with light gas. Three dealerships couldn't identify the noise, and after visiting the new service manager at 401 Dixie, he advised me to check on this forum for clues. After finding on here that others were having issues with the tensioner, I brought that back to him and left the car for the day. Apparently no one checked it, and it wasn't recorded in their files that anyone looked at it so it was a complete waste of time. I took the car to Direct Mazda, and they looked, said the tensioner had a lot of play, and replaced it under warranty, no issues. Wow, that was FINALLY easy. After bringing up all my concerns to the service manager at 401 Dixie about the lack of service, and the mistakes that the other service advisors had made, he told me that maybe it wasn't the dealership that was the issue, it was me. He also told me never to bother coming back there since it was a franchise and he could pick and choose his customers. Well, the General Manager of the dealership and auto mall wasn't pleased to hear that!

A few months later, 401 Dixie wanted us to trade in our 2010 for a new 2012 Skyactiv, so we decided to go in and see what they would offer. The sales manager offered us the full remaining value on our 2010 (better deal than any where else we had already talked to) so we agreed. We negotiated not only full remaining value on the 2010, but also an upgraded mirror, half price rust protection, and a good financing rate. When we returned to pick up the new car, our bill of sale was COMPLETELY different from the one we had signed on accepatance. They had added the price of the mirror, doubled the rust protection, and included negative equity on the 2010. When we brought it to their attention, the sales rep and sales manager flat out lied to our faces and said they had never made these deals with us, despite us showing them the copy of the initial agreement. After fighting for hours, they finally removed the cost of the mirror, brought down the rust protection to the agreed price, and reduced the negative equity but refused to cover the full cost. :bang

We were stuck, since we had agreed and signed the preliminary documents already so we had to take the new car. I brought up our concerns to the general manager and also to OMVIC based on the lack of integrity and honesty from the sales department. Aside from my free oil changes, I will never use this shady dealership again, and have advised friends and family not to either. I actually got a call from them today, telling me to bring in my 2010 for service. Apparently the sales and service departments don't communicate and they didn't know we'd traded the 2010 in months ago. Wow, after spending all that time and money on a new car and they can't even keep the records straight. I would highly never ever recommend this dealership to anyone.

[sarujo]

Finally managed to get in this afternoon for an oil change (supplied my own oil). Much to my happy surprise, Rachel was in and swiftly took care of things and I was in and out in 30 minutes.

The place is a complete warzone with all of the construction, so keep this in mind if you are planning to take in your ride. Perhaps the funniest part of the entire experience was going to the bathroom in the sales trailer and the light bulb immediately blowing when turning on the switch - thank god my cell phone had a light on it! :chuckle Of course, Rachel was awesome, and she immediately picked up the phone after mentioning it to make sure it was changed.

So my first and very basic service went ok with them and I was in and out quickly, but I must admit, I was quite apprehensive at first, and then arriving to see the construction. This is quite understandable, given the overall difficult of finding good Mazda service, and coming from QEW/Budd's I was already used to a certain level. Will likely try out Direct Mazda down the road a bit more to see how it compares next time.

Rachel will be going away in the near future (baby on the way) so I'm not sure how things will be when she is gone - she will be missed!

[RTEnthusiast]

I have to say, that so far in my dealings with 401 Dixie Mazda for my 2010 and my new 2012 - this dealership is awful, right from the sales department to the service department, to the management.

Buying the 2012 was a disaster. Our 2010 was having issues, mainly a grinding noise at 1500rpm with light gas. Three dealerships couldn't identify the noise, and after visiting the new service manager at 401 Dixie, he advised me to check on this forum for clues. After finding on here that others were having issues with the tensioner, I brought that back to him and left the car for the day. Apparently no one checked it, and it wasn't recorded in their files that anyone looked at it so it was a complete waste of time. I took the car to Direct Mazda, and they looked, said the tensioner had a lot of play, and replaced it under warranty, no issues. Wow, that was FINALLY easy. After bringing up all my concerns to the service manager at 401 Dixie about the lack of service, and the mistakes that the other service advisors had made, he told me that maybe it wasn't the dealership that was the issue, it was me. He also told me never to bother coming back there since it was a franchise and he could pick and choose his customers. Well, the General Manager of the dealership and auto mall wasn't pleased to hear that!

A few months later, 401 Dixie wanted us to trade in our 2010 for a new 2012 Skyactiv, so we decided to go in and see what they would offer. The sales manager offered us the full remaining value on our 2010 (better deal than any where else we had already talked to) so we agreed. We negotiated not only full remaining value on the 2010, but also an upgraded mirror, half price rust protection, and a good financing rate. When we returned to pick up the new car, our bill of sale was COMPLETELY different from the one we had signed on accepatance. They had added the price of the mirror, doubled the rust protection, and included negative equity on the 2010. When we brought it to their attention, the sales rep and sales manager flat out lied to our faces and said they had never made these deals with us, despite us showing them the copy of the initial agreement. After fighting for hours, they finally removed the cost of the mirror, brought down the rust protection to the agreed price, and reduced the negative equity but refused to cover the full cost. :bang

We were stuck, since we had agreed and signed the preliminary documents already so we had to take the new car. I brought up our concerns to the general manager and also to OMVIC based on the lack of integrity and honesty from the sales department. Aside from my free oil changes, I will never use this shady dealership again, and have advised friends and family not to either. I actually got a call from them today, telling me to bring in my 2010 for service. Apparently the sales and service departments don't communicate and they didn't know we'd traded the 2010 in months ago. Wow, after spending all that time and money on a new car and they can't even keep the records straight. I would highly never ever recommend this dealership to anyone.

After your experience and the service manager clearly telling you "not to bother coming back", why would you give them the time of day by actually going in to take a look when they sent you an offer for the trade-in?

If I was insulted like that at a dealership, you can bet your ass I'd never go back.