play hardball
Give them the impression that they have a choice: they can see you at least every month, or they can give you another one.
Here's a link to a long-term test of a '13 CX5 that you might find a tiny bit useful as a frame of reference:
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2013-mazda-cx-5-touring-awd-long-term-test-review
330 miles
That can be explained easily as it could have been a dealer trade. Most dealer trades they just drive the car from one dealer to the other hence the 330 miles. Demo cars have several thousand miles on them not just 330.
Not sure what you expect if the tires make this feeling. Did you test drive the exact same car before purchase? I make these comments as I used to work as an auto tech at Chevy dealer and would have complaints like this which we would “broom” out the door. What will happen with the brakes they might just say its normal or maybe turn the rotors on the car. Unless its real bad I would leave it alone. The radio buzz the tech will just laugh. But good luck.
rotors
Took it back this morning and we determined that the rotors were glazed with rust, causing both the brake shuddering and the vibration under speed. You could see the rust through the wheels. Car had been on the lot for several months and this has been a heavy road salt winter here in Western PA.
The service manager confessed that virtually every car in their lot had suffered some of this due to them being on a long narrow lot, perched between a highway and a steep hillside, so the spray from the passing traffic gets on all the stock and they have had to constantly wash them. They are grinding the rotors for me and will come pick me up tonight when it is done (they drove me home to get my other car).
The confusingly configured odometer screen lead me to believe the car had over 300 miles on it but while driving it back this morning I realized the display was the computer’s calculation of the remaining range of the fuel tank (based on analyzed MPG). Kind of wondered when I noticed the number going down rather than up as I drove. Turns out it only had less than 50 on it when I bought it, and it was transferred from a dealer about 20 miles away so that’s not too bad.
I’ll wait to pass final judgement on it til I drive it again tonight. Am wondering if I should go for the 2.4 liter engine now , though. I would sacrifice the FWD and manual transmission, though.
brakes can get ruined
If someone doesn't bed them in properly.
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=85
I'd assume most manufacturers do this, but not if left to dealers.
I have driven some horror stories off of dealer lots. Torsion bars adjusted unevenly, crooked (dealer-installed) rear bumper on my truck, mis-connected wiring on my (dealer installed) radio, dealer putting the wrong oil in the engine and overfilling it.
I'm sure there are very good ones, but I have very little trust in automobile dealerships, but what are you gonna do?
Don't upgrade the motor just because of the review, those guys at car and driver have one-track minds.
Torsion bars and sloppy assembly
What you said about torsion bars reminded me of something. In 1995 I took my brand-new Chevy Blazer to a dealership to get the front suspension leveled. I'd been noticing that one side of the car looked higher than the other, and I finally took measurements of the suspension and it was no illusion. The guys at the dealership were surprised that anyone would care whether the right and left springs provided the same ride height, but I figured that's a pretty basic expectation and asked them to make it right. They didn't try very hard to get it right, but they got it reasonably close.
At about that same time and for the next two years, I noticed that *every* Chevy Blazer of the ZR2 style (that was their spiffed-out off-road version, not the same as the regular version that I had gotten) had the front suspension out-of-level by a much greater amount. Each one of them leaned in the same direction by about three inches. That seemed to indicate an assembly-line error and sloppy quality control to me.
3" was what I got also
First I had to stand next to the vehicle and point to where the front bumper met my leg. When that didn’t work, I had to ask for a tape measure. Even then I about had to threaten to bail from the sale.
it is a miserable experience most of the
time. I NEVER will get it.
OTOH I went car shopping with my mother the other day to a very nice VW/Honda dealer that prides themselves on customer service. She's older, female, and savvy, I just went along for the ride. I've had my car repaired there in the past and they got me when I told them "it just needs to run safely". The dealer was so low-pressure we almost mistook it for indifference. We drove two cars, he gave us a brochure and his card, and didn't ask for our contact info, our "bottom line" or what we were trading in. He just said, "give me a call if you find you're interested".
I got home and googled the dealership, and nothing but similar reviews.
Do NOT use the cheap add-on from the
auto parts store. They leave big dimples in the roof that don’t come out.
squared away
They machined the surface of the rotors this afternoon and they are shiny now and don’t catch – car drives and brakes better now. And as mentioned before, the 300 plus miles is actually the gas gauge computer telling me that is the driving range left (the number goes DOWN as I drive). Car only had about 50 miles on it but it has sat at a dealers lot for nearly 5 months.
No, I did not test drive this model, only the automatic trans one, because the dealer did not have the 2WD manual in stock – transferred the only one within 200 miles from a dealer across town. I think it will be fine.
And I did get the factory roof rails – they threw them in with the deal.
I’ll transfer my battered Thule components onto them on Saturday. My motorhead nephew may be appalled at the rack sullying the gleaming lines of the new ride. But if I can’t haul boats with it, what good is it?
Most rotors surface rust
Most rotors acquire a surface rust over them in humid areas if not driven, especially OEM which are merely parts from the cheapest bidder. I’m also in PA and both of my cars will get a slight surface rust overnight. My Jetta sounds like it’s falling apart just backing out of the driveway. It is cleared off with the first normal braking that you do.
It compounds when a car sits on a lot for a good period of time.
vibration gone also?
Hope so. Good to hear that the dealer followed through.
That is a nice looking small SUV. Mazda has a design theme translating to “soul of motion” that they’re carrying though all models since the split with ford. I like fords but put your CX5 next to the new Escape. Two vehicles that were twins at the last generation, but this generation, the mazda is so much better looking.
soul of motion
Doesnt translate to, see out the back.
seems better
didn’t notice a lot of vibration when i brought it home last night. It does seem to have a little bit. I will have my mechanic check the alignment. Could be a tire break in thing. Not thrilled with the Yokohama tires.
As to looks, I can’t see it when I am driving so I admit I don’t really care that much. The interior is not as nice as the Hyundai I had. Kind of don’t like black (prefer tan or grey) but i know for night driving there is less distracting reflectance on the windows from the cabin with darker interior. And looking at the river mud stains I am going to have to clean off the Subaru’s carpet and seats this weekend in order to spruce it for selling, maybe black is better for me. I did spring for the rubber rear hatch mat, which is fantastic - has deep wells at both rear corners that will collect a lot of runoff from wet and muddy gear.
but that’s true about many cars
today. It's why backup cameras have come into favor. Even the new VW Golf has one.
What bothers me more are the high door sills, side windows start at neck level.
Rotors
OEM rotors are not the cheapest around. When I replaced the rotors on my wife’s car a couple years ago, I bought OEM grade rotors from NAPA. The were ‘composite’ rotor, a steel hat with a cast iron disk. Cheap, Chinese made one piece cast rotors were available for less that 1/3 the price.
Another point, rotor rust due to “Lot Rot” - dealer term for problems resulting from sitting undriven for a long time is more of a problem with new car brakes than used. There is a small amount of transfer of brake pad material to the disks that among other things fills the pores of the iron and reduces exposure to corrosives.
Regrinding the rotors, then putting the car into normal service should result in a reliable fix.