Help with recently purchase
Discussion
Hello fellow PH'ers. Recently I just bought myself a lovely 2021 Mazda 3 GT sport tech with a 6 speed manual and the SkyactivX engine as a company car.
I bought the car from a Mazda dealership as a mazda approved used, but the dealership is a 2 hour drive away from home. (I couldn't find the spec I wanted anywhere closer). I went to saw the car, test drove it, and was happy with it. The sale process went very smoothly and I took the car home on the 30th of december. After the 2 hour drive, I parked the car and started to admire it and notice a fair amount of condensation and water drops inside the drivers side headlight
See pictures below:
Here are some pictures of the headlight:
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/DsfvdbfQ.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/JztLMYsW" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/JztLMYsW.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/buUJNusM" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/buUJNusM.jpg)
I called the seller, and he apologized and said he was not aware. Fair enough he was very nice and wanted to help. He said as the car is still under the warranty and it should be covered, and that I can take it to any dealership to get it sorted, or I can take it back to where I bought where they will fix it but he appreciated it was a long drive.
I tried to book it with Mazda Milton Keynes as is close to my office. I got an email from the service administrator asking what was that I need to book the vehicle (service, repair, etc.). I gave him a call to explain the situation, and he goes very defensive saying this is not covered by the warranty, that it was either damage to the headlight (which is not covered) or that the car has been sitting in the dealership for long and condesation has formed. He suggested I should drive the car and the condensation will dissapear, which I said I thought it was unnaceptable as this amount of water doesn't seem normal and it could cause further electrical issue. Also modern LED headlights would never generate any amount of heat to evaropate the condesantion and vent it out. To my eyes the service administrator form the dealership is a teflon shoulders, and he refused to have a look at the car as he argumented "there is nothing we can do"
So my question is what should I do? speak to the salesman in the farther dealership and take it there to get it fixed. For me this is unacceptable, the car is covered by the manufactures warranty, I bought the car as a mazda approved used which will give me a 2nd hand warranty, and this should all be covered by the dealer network independently from where I bought the car. Quite annoying the MK dealership is not even willing to have a look at the car, as I was planning to do my services in the future with them.
As I have been looking at Mazdas for a while I've notice their customer service is not great as I been to the one close to richmond and had a bad experience with a salesman. The one I bought the car seemed like nice guys and I wouldn't mind taking it back, but I am not willing to drive 2 hours to get an oil change. Would you be able to reccomend a good mazda dealership around the london/hertforshire region?
Many thanks for your help, hopefully this gets sorted, as I am very happy and impressed with the car, but I do plan on complaining to mazda corporate about the bad service I got from the MK dealership.
I bought the car from a Mazda dealership as a mazda approved used, but the dealership is a 2 hour drive away from home. (I couldn't find the spec I wanted anywhere closer). I went to saw the car, test drove it, and was happy with it. The sale process went very smoothly and I took the car home on the 30th of december. After the 2 hour drive, I parked the car and started to admire it and notice a fair amount of condensation and water drops inside the drivers side headlight
See pictures below: Here are some pictures of the headlight:
I called the seller, and he apologized and said he was not aware. Fair enough he was very nice and wanted to help. He said as the car is still under the warranty and it should be covered, and that I can take it to any dealership to get it sorted, or I can take it back to where I bought where they will fix it but he appreciated it was a long drive.
I tried to book it with Mazda Milton Keynes as is close to my office. I got an email from the service administrator asking what was that I need to book the vehicle (service, repair, etc.). I gave him a call to explain the situation, and he goes very defensive saying this is not covered by the warranty, that it was either damage to the headlight (which is not covered) or that the car has been sitting in the dealership for long and condesation has formed. He suggested I should drive the car and the condensation will dissapear, which I said I thought it was unnaceptable as this amount of water doesn't seem normal and it could cause further electrical issue. Also modern LED headlights would never generate any amount of heat to evaropate the condesantion and vent it out. To my eyes the service administrator form the dealership is a teflon shoulders, and he refused to have a look at the car as he argumented "there is nothing we can do"
So my question is what should I do? speak to the salesman in the farther dealership and take it there to get it fixed. For me this is unacceptable, the car is covered by the manufactures warranty, I bought the car as a mazda approved used which will give me a 2nd hand warranty, and this should all be covered by the dealer network independently from where I bought the car. Quite annoying the MK dealership is not even willing to have a look at the car, as I was planning to do my services in the future with them.
As I have been looking at Mazdas for a while I've notice their customer service is not great as I been to the one close to richmond and had a bad experience with a salesman. The one I bought the car seemed like nice guys and I wouldn't mind taking it back, but I am not willing to drive 2 hours to get an oil change. Would you be able to reccomend a good mazda dealership around the london/hertforshire region?
Many thanks for your help, hopefully this gets sorted, as I am very happy and impressed with the car, but I do plan on complaining to mazda corporate about the bad service I got from the MK dealership.
Has the car been sat for long at dealership?
How easy is it to remove the headlight, some are just a couple of bolts & then ten mins with a hairdryer job done.
I would also be looking closer for any signs of damage as these would not be covered under warranty.
Phone MK dealership & tell them if they are not willing to look at your car you won’t be using them for services & not recommending them on this forum
How easy is it to remove the headlight, some are just a couple of bolts & then ten mins with a hairdryer job done.
I would also be looking closer for any signs of damage as these would not be covered under warranty.
Phone MK dealership & tell them if they are not willing to look at your car you won’t be using them for services & not recommending them on this forum
Edited by g40steve on Sunday 8th January 09:31
Many headlamps are vented, a drain hole allows moisture out.
Washing, winter, standing or driving in the rain can cause it. Using the car, headlights and summer will clear it.
But likely to return, and probably not considered a manufacturing fault. Nearside usually suffers more.
Washing, winter, standing or driving in the rain can cause it. Using the car, headlights and summer will clear it.
But likely to return, and probably not considered a manufacturing fault. Nearside usually suffers more.
Edited by PositronicRay on Sunday 8th January 09:42
InitialDave said:
I think it's worth calling the dealership you bought it from again, explain the difficulty you've had with the local dealer, and ask them to lean on the MK branch to get it looked at.
I think this is the angle you need, I’ve done this before, ask them to sort it out with the local dealer, or at least one a bit nearer, I suspect they can indemnify the MK dealer in the event the warranty doesn’t pay out.Most modern headlights do seem to mist from time to time, as they aren’t fully sealed and led and xenon doesn’t generate as much heat as halogen to assist in evaporation, but yours is ridiculous. I’d check that the cover isn’t missing from the back of that.
Rough101 said:
InitialDave said:
I think it's worth calling the dealership you bought it from again, explain the difficulty you've had with the local dealer, and ask them to lean on the MK branch to get it looked at.
I think this is the angle you need, I’ve done this before, ask them to sort it out with the local dealer, or at least one a bit nearer, I suspect they can indemnify the MK dealer in the event the warranty doesn’t pay out.Most modern headlights do seem to mist from time to time, as they aren’t fully sealed and led and xenon doesn’t generate as much heat as halogen to assist in evaporation, but yours is ridiculous. I’d check that the cover isn’t missing from the back of that.
PositronicRay said:
Many headlamps are vented, a drain hole allows moisture out.
Washing, winter, standing or driving in the rain can cause it. Using the car, headlights and summer will clear it.
But likely to return, and probably not considered a manufacturing fault. Nearside usually suffers more.
As well as a drain hole they have air vents to allow air circulation. That should mean a hair dryer would be able to clear some of the moisture by warming the lens.Washing, winter, standing or driving in the rain can cause it. Using the car, headlights and summer will clear it.
But likely to return, and probably not considered a manufacturing fault. Nearside usually suffers more.
Edited by PositronicRay on Sunday 8th January 09:42
loskie said:
I imagine if the MK branch does warranty work for Mazda that Mazda will crucify them on the normal hourly rate. Therefore if they have enough work at full price why would they choose to do cut price work when it's not a customer of theirs? Should have bought the car locally.
I would imagine there is a contractual obligation as part of being a franchised dealer to take on warranty work on a cab rank basis, and part of the point of buying a car still in manufacturer's warranty is to be able to make use of that warranty.Hi all thanks for your all the comments and help.
Regarding the damage, the picture I posted has a reflection that makes it look like the headlight has a crack, but I can confim it doesn't (please see more images below)
Certainly something is going on as the other side is perfectly normal. I called earlier this morning the MK dealer again, they said they will see and call me back, again not very proactive. I called the salesman and he said if I bring the car back to Leicester they will be able to have a look and what they normally do is dry them and make sure there is no damage, and if that is the case they would ask me to monitor if condesation re-appears. For me is just annoying I can't use any other dealeship from the network.
I called Mazda corporate, and let them know the bad experience I am having and they told me they would investigate, speak with the MK branch and they will contact me to book the car in. Let see what happens...
Regarding the damage, the picture I posted has a reflection that makes it look like the headlight has a crack, but I can confim it doesn't (please see more images below)
Certainly something is going on as the other side is perfectly normal. I called earlier this morning the MK dealer again, they said they will see and call me back, again not very proactive. I called the salesman and he said if I bring the car back to Leicester they will be able to have a look and what they normally do is dry them and make sure there is no damage, and if that is the case they would ask me to monitor if condesation re-appears. For me is just annoying I can't use any other dealeship from the network.
I called Mazda corporate, and let them know the bad experience I am having and they told me they would investigate, speak with the MK branch and they will contact me to book the car in. Let see what happens...
lord trumpton said:
It's had a bump on that corner at least
The bumper has either had a smart repair or full paint. Maybe headlight cracked underneath...?
I can tell from pics its been repaired.
I'd say large amount of assumption here.The bumper has either had a smart repair or full paint. Maybe headlight cracked underneath...?
I can tell from pics its been repaired.
Clearly not cracked, the lens is designed with that marking.
Ignore warranties, they are on the whole pretty useless.
CRA 2015 is your way in here if you start calling up the dealers. Used car must be sufficient quality, as described and fit for purpose. You could call them out on the sufficient quality here as there is too much water ingress and its likely to only get worse, and it was likely there at purchase. You should try and call up and give them the opportunity to rectify the fault.
Obviously if this was a 15 year old car you would expect things like this and it would be a bit of a spurious claim. However for a 1-2 year old car where you have only one headlight doing this, I think you are entitled to make a claim around sufficient quality.
As usual with any customer complaint, keep your cool, know your rights, state facts, play back anything they say to you and confirm whats agreed over the phone.
CRA 2015 is your way in here if you start calling up the dealers. Used car must be sufficient quality, as described and fit for purpose. You could call them out on the sufficient quality here as there is too much water ingress and its likely to only get worse, and it was likely there at purchase. You should try and call up and give them the opportunity to rectify the fault.
Obviously if this was a 15 year old car you would expect things like this and it would be a bit of a spurious claim. However for a 1-2 year old car where you have only one headlight doing this, I think you are entitled to make a claim around sufficient quality.
As usual with any customer complaint, keep your cool, know your rights, state facts, play back anything they say to you and confirm whats agreed over the phone.
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