Erin Mills Mazda (Mississauga) The Review to End All Reviews!

[r4mi5awi]

So one day I figured it was time to purchase a new car. My wife and I were in the market for a fun, fuel-efficient ride that was above all else, reliable. We wanted a car that would potentially last us 10 years, realistically 7+ with proper maintenance. In our possession at the time was a 2002 Hyundai Elantra with 291,000 KM, it was a beater both visually and mechanically but sadly its prognosis was grim with a probability that it wouldn't last through the winter or at most make it till spring.

After doing some research over the weekend, with year end promotions and such, only two cars were considered:

2013 Hyundai Elantra GL 4DR Automatic

vs.

2012 Mazda 3 GS-SKY 4DR Automatic

Only one would win:

We ventured out on November 19th and headed to the Erin Mills Auto Park. I'm not going to lie when I say this, my heart was totally set on purchasing the Elantra. Nevertheless, we drove straight to the Hyundai dealership. The showroom was clean with nice lighting, our presence was quickly acknowledged and we were greeted by a courteous salesman who seemed genuine and knowledgeable. After a test drive, we had a sit down to discuss the price. The whole process was very transparent with a print out of the price and costs shown. We opted for no options, however my wife wanted a remote car-starter. So I decided to seal the deal dependent on the car-starter being thrown-in for free, however he wouldn't budge. The salesman even tried to convince us not to do it because it would be a 2+ hour headache for the service team to install and the most he offered was a $15 discount... :S. We still opted for it. I was still a little miffed and with my interest waning, I gave one last shot and asked to see if I can get 3M clear-guard protection for the front or at least all-weather mats to be thrown in with my assurance that the deal would be MADE!

... "I can't I'm sorry, it's like sucking blood from a stone, I absolutely can't give anything away" ... was his response. I must've missed the part in the negotiation or miscalculated the math indicating "BARGAIN" OR "STEAL" since not one $ was reduced except for the $15 reduction on the car-starter. Judging by my lack of interest and dissatisfaction, I told him "I'd be a fool to sign the deal since Hyundai is the first dealership I've visited here at the Auto Park" WITH THE FOLLOWING "In 2 HRs time a car will be BOUGHT, so we're gonna take a short trip to Mazda to see what they can offer and we'll be back". I almost shat out my left nut for the deal to work and at the end, I had enough and he knew it. At the end, I smirked back and said "see what you can do about those all-weather mats, hopefully I'll see you later" :chuckle

We strolled down over to Mazda and honestly, I was completely demoralized and not interested anymore. I mentioned to my wife that we should just go home and shop another time but her spirits were higher than mine. Negotiating takes a toll on you and I guess the prospect of watching her man negotiate his heart out and fail was too fun of an adventure to pass-out, in her mind.

Upon walking past the row of Mazdas on the lot and heading towards the entrance, our attention was directed towards a man in a suit seemingly too eager to end an incessant chat on his cell phone to open the front door. We ushered ourselves in and scanned the showroom, it was dark and cluttered, low-grit sandpaper to the senses. Before I took a whiff of what I swore was the scent of vintage-old spice or brut, the man in the suit sprang to the front steps, turned on a dime and said "welcome to Mazda", I took a deep breath...

Lo and behold, this would be our salesman...

TO BE CONTINUED....

[Thrizzl3]

i hope you left...

[Kiyomi]

aww common. i was having fun reading your story, and then it just ends on a cliffhanger... :D

spoiler alert
nvm, just found through your other thread, you went with a mazda.

[r4mi5awi]

aww common. i was having fun reading your story, and then it just ends on a cliffhanger... :D

spoiler alert
nvm, just found through your other thread, you went with a mazda.

HAHA, damn it!

[killerbichon]

These auto malls dont consist of independently owned dealerships! Some guy owns the entire autopark. They don't care that much.

[Kiyomi]

HAHA, damn it!

still like to hear how the ending went even though the outcome is known.

[eSS]

And now we wait...:pop

[Proudfoot]

I'm enjoying your writing.
Another member awaits the conclusion.

[Nooby31]

Really good narrating! Even though someone said the outcome I still look forward to your epic adventure!

[peterm15]

spoiler alert
nvm, just found through your other thread, you went with a mazda.

Way to ruin the ending asshat. Lol.

I feel like we should all be sitting in a circle on the floor listening to the kindergarten teacher tell a story. ( I mean that in a good way. It's a good read and looking forward to the ending)

[VertigoM]

Nice story... Please continue :)

[Sparcas]

My last "service" encounter @ Erin Mills was a pleasant one, but the sales personnel was almost non-existent...

:pop Continue...

[r4mi5awi]

Thanks for the feedback guys,

Expect the conclusion on Monday! :)

[peterm15]

Thanks for the feedback guys,

Expect the conclusion on Monday! :)

Monday? Dammit. This is kindergarten class.

Is this gonna end like the sopranos?

[eSS]

Is this gonna end like the sopranos?

Don't piss me off, lol

[eSS]

It's Monday. Still patiently waiting...

[TayTay]

.... i am guessing ... so you decide to wait for couple more weeks to see what's the x'mas promo ...

[TayTay]

if you have paid MSRP on the Elantra, then you are going to be laughed at in this forum .... you do know that ! :D

[sw33tb3rry]

This is a public service announcement !!!!

Stay far and clear from Erin Mills Mazda!!!

I warned you in advance!!

[r4mi5awi]

PART 2

...my wife smiling at me, barely holding herself with LOL from the resultant expression on my face after witnessing the 'WTF just happened' moment. I respond with a stutter, "Hi, we're looking for a 2-2-2-2012 Mazda 3 with the 84 month/0% finance promotion, specifically the automatic Skyactiv sedan model in black..." Before the last consonant rolled off my tongue, the salesman inclined us to sit down and talk terms, I for one wanted to show my wife a Skyactiv model on the showroom floor.

Being a conversationalist, I presumed that our salesman must've spent long hours honing his fine inter-personal skills with a door knob. Our subsequent conversation, a conversation that demands so much substance, was riddled with intermittent interruptions, awkward pauses and blank stares one only experiences when going off into the void. I quickly felt my time was being wasted and the feeling of hurrying back to Hyundai was just the more enticing. The salesman proposed a test-drive to which I refused, however my wife objected and begged otherwise. I suspected she was prolonging our encounter in the advent of having to miss work. I hinted she should call, she affirmed and notified she won't be coming in.

What seemed like 15-20 minutes of waiting for our test drive, I acquainted myself with the CX-5, the Mazda 2, and an exciting argument between one of the managers and the desk secretary. Eventually our salesman arrived and presented our black Skactiv testing-chariot idling out front. Following him towards the car, he began with illustrating such particulars as the engine cover under the hood, showing the alloy-rims, trunk space, etc. I expressed my lack of empathy by staring into my smartphone, I was having none of it. After he had his fun, I signaled my wife to take the drivers seat. Finally, after waiting an eternity we started exiting the premises when our beloved salesman said "please go into the gas-station over on the right, I have to fill-up the car with gas". NEVER have I contemplated reclining my seat so much and with so much force as to abuse an individual before! My wife and I yelled "NO, we'll just drive it to the end of the road". Sadly, I did not remember the test drive at all. Being in a dark fugue of rage, I was too disturbed to appreciate the interior and all it's subtleties. Surprisingly, my wife on the other hand enjoyed it more than the Elantra from what I remember sitting back at our salesman's desk.

The negotiations were under way. The process, well, there wasn't any. The MSRP of the car wasn't shown, no options were laid out in a print-out as I had witnessed earlier at the Hyundai dealership. Again, my wife wanted her remote-car starter and I wanted to GTFO. This being my first new-car buying experience, I felt I was prepared than most first time car shoppers but still felt a little underhanded. I went with the venerable, "add ________ in for free and we've got a deal" route but our salesman countered by upping the bi-weekly payment, slammed the pen down on the desk, and extended his hand with a smile having me believe he conjured a deal out from under the table. I respectfully declined.

Then, with the grace of a bat-shit monkey, the sales-manager swooped in and switched seats with our salesman. This.. is where strange things started to happen... This is where the fun started to begin... At this point, I was starting to warm up to our salesman. I grew fond of him. I could tell he was trying hard. His lack of salesmanship by no means equated to his good-hearted, hardworking, aim-to-please kind of nature. There was only a sense of pity I felt towards him watching him try his hardest, like watching an injured bunny caught in a snare trying to escape, but I digress.
“Tell me 3 things you want”, said the sales-manager, “do you want a sunroof?” writing those words down on the paper. Figuring there’s a catch, I quipped with “no… what we do want is a remote starter, front and rear mud-flaps and… yes, all-weather mats”. The sales-manager obliged but not without increasing the bi-weekly payments as I had earlier suspected. After 5 minutes of back and forth negotiations, he proposed a concession throwing the 3 aforementioned items all in for free. For once, progress was made, but I still wasn’t satisfied. Not because of the deal, but because of the whole experience and waste of a day that left a bad taste in my mouth.

There was a great sense of tension that was built up all along from constantly having my guard up. I had to break it and requested a couple of minutes to regain my senses and think about it. My wife was questioning my motive, “What’s wrong with the deal? We should take it”. Ah, I was all alone now, just as I feared, they got to her. The minutes felt like hours, I literally noticed my right hand shaking, all the while noticing the sales-manager eyeing me like a hawk perched behind a CX-9, then atop of a Mazda 6, then a CX-5, stealthily inching closer thinking I wouldn’t feel his breath on the back of my neck. I waived him over. Eye to eye, he states “What is it that you don’t like? Tell me what you want”. My wife nodding her head next to me, ”Yeah, just tell him what you want”. Staring at the word ‘SUNROOF’ previously crossed-out just moments ago, hearing it whisper to me “what’s wrong baby?”, I let it SING! No more reservations! I told him our experience at Hyundai, that the Elantra was the other mistress.

With no more than a second from hearing that filthy word, he confirmed his fears. Staring back at ‘SUNROOF’ hearing her whispers “What were you thinking? You don’t want me?”. Indeed, what was I thinking? “If you give me the sunroof, then the deal is YOURS.” At long last, a deal was made. The ordeal was done. Knowing full well they would recoup their losses over at Finance. I finally had a chance, just one moment in the day, to revel over the fact… I finally got my all weather mats…

Oh, and the car is cool I guess :P

[eSS]

Excellent write up man. Sounded like quite an emotional experience. From the review I've read at Erin mills most people have a negative experience. I'm glad to see yours went well congrats on the purchase!

Great writing skills too

[Kiyomi]

bro, awesome story. you should become a writer, because your writing engages the reader so well.

congrats on the car,. now i need a new story to read! :D

[Stretch]

My favourite part was when the sunroof started whispering to you. I imagined a foxy brown kinda voice.
eric

[r4mi5awi]

bro, awesome story. you should become a writer, because your writing engages the reader so well.

congrats on the car,. now i need a new story to read! :D

Thanks, haha my wife tells me that! I think I'm in the wrong profession :P

[r4mi5awi]

Excellent write up man. Sounded like quite an emotional experience. From the review I've read at Erin mills most people have a negative experience. I'm glad to see yours went well congrats on the purchase!

Great writing skills too

realistically it wasn't a constructive review, more of a review of the events that happened. I'll get around to my criticisms of EMM when I can sometime.

[r4mi5awi]

This is a public service announcement !!!!

Stay far and clear from Erin Mills Mazda!!!

I warned you in advance!!

Too bad you didn't :( If only I found out about this forum before I went buying

[r4mi5awi]

I forgot to mention, the sales-manager also threw in 1 year of oil changes. Then also at Finance (which is another story), I managed to get 3M hood protection for free. Still think it was a fair deal on both ends, dealership and customer won.

[Thrizzl3]

hahah that story is epic...descriptions killed me lol.

left the dealer staring at my smart phone..dgaf. i like it

[Nooby31]

Beautiful write up! Oh and congrats on a new car :)

[r4mi5awi]

Thanks guys, I'm glad you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it :D

[r4mi5awi]

P.S. They made my wife hit that metal DONG. Did anybody have to go through that embarrassment too when you bought your car?

[sw33tb3rry]

P.S. They made my wife hit that metal DONG. Did anybody have to go through that embarrassment too when you bought your car?

Yep I had to hit that exact same metal DONG. Soo embarrassing

Congrats on the new car.

[loosecannon]

P.S. They made my wife hit that metal DONG. Did anybody have to go through that embarrassment too when you bought your car?


Yep I had to hit that exact same metal DONG. Soo embarrassing

Congrats on the new car.

Do you guys mean a GONG?

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/12/18/2ypusa2a.jpg

DONG is Vietnamese currency.

[peterm15]

All I can say is wow. You are a great writer.

I'm glad you feel good about the deal. That's really what matters.

[VertigoM]

That was a great read! Thanks for the story and congrats on the new car.

Although I must admit this is the first time I've heard of negotiations being done without knowlege of the MSRP of the vehicle :)

[r4mi5awi]

Another one of many reasons as to why I wouldn't recommend. After the free oil changes are done, I'll be heading to Budds' Mazda.

[VertigoM]

My experience with Erin Mills was when I was there looking for a new car and I told one of the sales guys the price offered at another dealership he basically called me a liar and said "no way you can get that price". I immediately left to the other dealership and signed the papers that same day. I felt like going back to Erin Mills with my new ride and laughing in their face.

[sw33tb3rry]

Do you guys mean a GONG?

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/12/18/2ypusa2a.jpg

DONG is Vietnamese currency.

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA that just made my day. Yes I meant GONG but I would also like some DONG.



Another one of many reasons as to why I wouldn't recommend. After the free oil changes are done, I'll be heading to Budds' Mazda.

+1. wonderfully put!!

[Noisy Crow]

WTF? You gave these guys good money?:loco

[r4mi5awi]

WTF? You gave these guys good money?:loco

Of course not, or tired not to at least. It was a learning experience as a first time new car buyer. Have I had known of this forum, the dealer reviews, and unnecessary dealer fees and the markups on rust protection, etc. I would've saved more. :(

Hopefully, the goal of this, not just for me but for future readers, is to learn from the experiences and mistakes of I and others have made. Any car I ever buy in the future, first thing I will do is hunt down a forum for some precious and money saving info. This forum is a jewel, I can guarantee not many Mazda 3 owners know about it until only after the fact :)

[mazda72]

Be careful with this dealership , apart from their terrible sales tactics, their service is just as bad. I had to endure long waiting times and their tech didnt screw on my oil cap properly and it almost fell off on my way back home!

I used to go there but never again. I f you care about your car, stick to the the better dealerships like Direct Mazda, Budds mazda and Burlington Mazda.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

Great write up entertaining to read...

I along with some of the other members are surprised you still bought there after all that.




Of course not, or tired not to at least. It was a learning experience as a first time new car buyer. Have I had known of this forum, the dealer reviews, and unnecessary dealer fees and the markups on rust protection, etc. I would've saved more. :(

Hopefully, the goal of this, not just for me but for future readers, is to learn from the experiences and mistakes of I and others have made. Any car I ever buy in the future, first thing I will do is hunt down a forum for some precious and money saving info. This forum is a jewel, I can guarantee not many Mazda 3 owners know about it until only after the fact :)

Yeah... too many people find this forum after their purchase....

[r4mi5awi]

You got a long line of disgruntled customers waiting to buy from you Jeff, I for one included. If the next time I'm in the market, I'll pm you :)

[Aitch]

Yes I meant GONG but I would also like some DONG.

Signature-worthy.

[loosecannon]

Signature-worthy.

LOL

[eSS]

Signature-worthy.

+1

way to be Agnes:chuckle

[sw33tb3rry]

ALLLL YOU SICK PERVERTS I MEANT I WANTED SOME VIETNAMESE CURRENCY!!


+1

way to be Agnes:chuckle


LOL


Signature-worthy.


HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA that just made my day. Yes I meant GONG but I would also like some DONG.




+1. wonderfully put!!

I like DONGs too though

hahahhahah MY god i just died laughing!!!!

[r4mi5awi]

Glad it made it to signature status :) LOL

[r4mi5awi]

As I said in a previous post, I would complete the write-up with an actual objective review. Categories that I have deemed appropriate to scrutinize will be awarded on a point based system from 0 being non-existent/lowest to 5 being exceptional/highest. Lets begin:

Professionalism: **
Courteous: ***
Transparency: *
Integrity: *

Pick-up: ****
Follow-up: ***
Customer satisfaction: **

Overall Experience (not an average): 3 zooms out of 5

Pros - Encountering a quality salesman is hit or miss. Unfortunately our salesman was too eager to please with astounding levels of courteousness at the expense of maintaining professional consideration for valued and costly customer time. Having to wait an unforgivable amount of time for a test-drive solely for the purpose of finding an exact colour model, then requesting to fill-up at a gas station is not a pleasurable experience. Our salesman did stay more than 2+ hours after his shift in the late evening to facilitate our pick-up of the car and worked very hard to make sure the experience was satisfactory. I greatly appreciated the accommodating gesture.

In general the staff was highly patient with our questions and answered with utmost respect. Very friendly and courteous but not cognizant of maintaining customer rapport or awareness.

Cons - The dealership is cluttered with dim lighting, nonetheless this isn't a review on show-room aesthetics. Moving on, the sales-practices of both the salesman and sales-manager was horrid at best in terms of sale transparency, discussing only bi-weekly payments only and not once mentioning MSRP and other costs, taxes and associated fees incurred in the process. Buyer beware. Sales tactics were deplorable, continually insisting on a forced hand-shake without waiting for customer feedback leaving me to demand a minute to THINK.

Lastly, agreements on said free-incentives weren't free on follow-through or was recouped via dealer-markups and questionable fees, giving this dealership a massive hit on integrity. The buyer's remorse and feeling of shock once reviewing the purchase agreement post sale is devastating. If you don't see the MSRP within the first minute or don't see a print-out of pricing, etc. demand it or WALK-AWAY. If your negotiating skills are minimal at best, kiss any notion of advantage you have as a consumer good-bye once you're thrown into the shark-tank of questionable sales-practices. If you ever at some point, are convinced or talked into the feeling that you're getting a good deal here, you're NOT. You have to see it to believe it, hence if it's not on paper it doesn't exist regardless of whatever verbal agreement was made during the sales process.

Note: In the end the onus of due-diligence was my responsibility and I am at fault for my transgressions during point of sale. I am not looking to gain any sympathy from this forum, on the contrary I expect an odd insult or two from lesser forum members, hopefully with this review, my aim is to be the last customer to be laughed at either here and most importantly in the dealership when purchasing a new Mazda.

Conclusion: You're better off going somewhere else :sad

[citrus]

Interesting read... I'll count myself lucky that I had a good experience. I did use a 3rd party to negotiate the price on the car though (http://www.unhaggle.com/) so maybe that spared me the crap.

[JoeBoxer]

I had my car in there quite some time ago for service and would not go back. I hate to say it, however being told I need a transmission flush, alignment and everything else they could try to get me to buy on at that time my Maz3 with less than 30k on it was a bit of a shocker. It also took forever to get in and out of the place. I refused all the additional items, and when I went to another mechanic at my regular Mazda dealer was told I do not need any of the the above services yet.

[Mangtoos]

That experience would have made me walk out for sure. The second I feel pressured I take all the information down on paper and bail. Saved almost 3 grand (Mazda 5) on my last purchase doing that.

When I got my Mazda 3 in 2005 I came prepared with what features I wanted, and how much the dealer cost was compared to MSRP. I think I was fair and pretty much went to the middle of both and went through the numbers and said "This is fair for both of us, so I'll pay this", and within 10 minutes I had a deal. Too bad the rest of my experience was absolute hell :P

[r4mi5awi]

UPDATE:

This review has garnered some attention from management at Erin Mills Mazda. To my surprise, the General Manager: Ravi Menon contacted me and affirmed constructive improvements would be made to the dealership. On the realization that it's not ever so often a General Manager acknowledges your bad experience, I seized this opportune moment and expressed my aspirations, hopes and dreams. Particularly the Sales-Agreement. Never have I loathed a yellow piece of tree, hearing the car salesman's laughter echo through my nightstand, keeping me awake at night for the past 3 months.

In short time Ravi contacted me via telephone, after reviewing said agreement, and offered an olive branch. "We didn't get off to a good start, but we can start to be good", and offered free tints as a courtesy. I was touched by the good-will gesture and was overwhelmed Erin Mills Mazda still cares about their customers. This is a short blurb and I'm well aware this is an atypical case, however after losing faith in my local Mazda Dealership, I can say some is restored.

It's been well over a week now since I received the tints (20% all-around) and I'm impressed with Ravi's effort to make right. My car is being serviced this Saturday, on my wife's insistence that we should take advantage of our 3 free oil-changes offered when we purchased the car. My finger's are crossed. But overall, kudos to the management. Only time will tell how my relationship with Erin Mills Mazda grows...

[r4mi5awi]

FOLLOW-UP:

This post doesn't have as much flair as the others as I'm pressed for time so I'll make it quick.

Taking all the negative reviews of the service department into consideration, I scheduled an appointment for the 1st milestone (8000 km/4 months) maintenance interval not too long ago and proceeded this morning for a round of 'Russian roulette' with my vehicle.

Much to the chagrin of most of you, it was a pleasurable experience. My wife was notified the day prior via telephone for our scheduled appointment. This morning, we were quickly taken care of at the service desk. The staff were warm, impressionable, and knowledgeable. I brought my warranty booklet just to cover my ass in the event of unforeseen "warranty mishaps" and requested the schedule interval section be filled in. After signing off the work order, I was notified it would take around 1 hour and a 1/2. Fair enough, I wasn't pressed for time neither was I expecting to be told how long it would take. The lounge was comfortable with free wifi, coffee and other amenities. My salesman recognized and greeted my wife and I. We were also greeted by the GM and we struck a short conversation.

Shortly thereafter, the car was ready, washed and ready to go. No surprises were awaiting me nor extra work was performed without my consent. Just to make sure, at the lot, I checked all bolts on the rims and oil cap under the hood to make sure they were tightened. All were screwed on tightly. Driving home, I was impressed with the service.

I guess I missed the bullet this time...

[Mazdy]

Just bought my 2013 ms3 from them.....
Not gonna write a story and make this short...

Im gonna say that everything from the service to making a deal with them was an average to quite good experience..

Really got a good deal from them...

The financial advisor also mentioned that he also read about peoples review on forums including this one and they did say that theyre making improvements......plus I guess they gave me good service and took extra care for me because the fact that when I pull up in the parking lot..they saw my TM3 plates...so maybe thats why :chuckle

[r4mi5awi]

Funny you mention it, I was just there today for my 8 months/16,000km service. Uneventful experience, save for taking a little under two hours for an oil change but I digress. Reviews like this, good or bad, come along once in awhile to reflect the experience one expects from a dealership. The sales team was highly corteous, unfortunately I was blinded by it and mistook it for professionalism. Ultimately I chalked it up to a good experience when my sales agreement proved otherwise. Glad you had a great experience. I'm glad this review helped and continues to help, buyer and seller, even if it is something as small as creating discussion and being acknowledged by an employee in the middle of a sale ;)