Mazda CX-3 Breakdown - Can't Get Loan Car

Hello OzBargain,

Just looking for some advice from you guys.

I have a less than 2 years old Mazda that just died on a Friday night after work. It just wouldn’t start. I have roadside assistance, so called them up.

First mechanic comes around, jump starts it and says it’s not the battery but the alternator and the car is not safe to drive and it has to be towed. Tow guy comes, jump starts the car, I drive the car for 300 meters to somewhere some spacious and second guy says it’s not the alternator otherwise I wouldn’t be able to drive it at all but the car is not safe to drive.

I have the option to choose where to have the car towed to. I choose the dealership but service department is closed on the weekends and car will be towed on Monday and be stored somewhere over the weekend. I think all is good, I’ll get an Uber home ($50 dollars but ok), and will call the dealership on Saturday to organise a loan car while the car is being repaired.

Dealership 1 says they don’t have any loan car available, try dealership 2. Dealership 2 says they don’t have any loan cars available either and call Mazda roadside assistance again to see if they can organise a hire car. Roadside assistance says my policy doesn’t cover it. Insurance company (comprehensive) says my policy doesn’t cover it either because it wasn’t an accident.

Any ideas here? I appreciate any advices.

Tl;dr: New Mazda breaks down on Friday night. Mazda doesn’t have any loan cars available. Insurance and road assistance are a no. I need a car. What to do?

Thank you!

Comments

  • +25

    new Mazda breaks down

    A 2 year old car is not new.

    When cars break down or need repair it is nearly always inconvenient and costly. You just have to deal with it. It comes with the territory.

    • +2

      Sorry, I meant I bought it new.

      • +21

        I need a car. What to do?

        Uber or hire a car.

        If you borrow a friend's car please confirm their insurance coverage before driving it.

        • Uber will cost me 100+ a day to and from work.

          • +22

            @desertsand:

            Uber will cost me 100+ a day to and from work.

            Go hire a car then.
            $25~ a day nobirds artarmon for a basic car

            That or public transport.

            • +2

              @cwongtech: It's not that hard, when your car breaks down, you have to hire a car at $25/day or ride a bike or borrow a car. With the added cost of repairs your gonna be out of pocket hundreds or even thousands, pay up and move in with your life

          • +2

            @desertsand: Never heard of public transport?

          • @desertsand: I used Rent-A-Bomb for a couple of weeks at one point. crummy looking shitbox, but it got me from A to B. something like $20 a day iirc.

            of course my daily driver was a crummy looking shitbox at the time anyway. so it wasn't really too much of a downgrade. mine did have a much cleaner interior. the rent-a-bomb was very worn out inside.

          • @desertsand: I guess this is why you have two cars…..one you daily and a backup car in case your daily breaks down like this one……

        • +1

          If you borrow a friend's car please confirm their insurance coverage before driving it.

          AND that it is actually registered… (And this even goes for hire car vehicles. Check the registration, people.)

    • +50

      Well OP did not say its brand new and the definition of new is a relative general term and varies by the type of product.

      If you bought an iPhone 12 and if its break down in a month, I would assume that most people would say "my new iPhone" broke, although technically its not brand new as it was used for one month.

      Type of the item matters and that's whynNew Houses have 7 year warranty, new Cars have 5 warranty but a new phones have only 1 year warranty.

      In summary for cars two years is relatively new and definitely not old

      • +3

        Phones generally have 2 years warranty in Aus

        • Not sure why you got negged. While the company says "1 year warranty", there are inherent protections under ACL that cannot be overridden by warranty terms.

      • +1

        If you bought an iPhone 12 and if its break down in a month, I would assume that most people would say "my new iPhone" broke, although technically its not brand new as it was used for one month. Type of the item matters and that's whynNew Houses have 7 year warranty, new Cars have 5 warranty but a new phones have only 1 year warranty.

        This is completely irrelevant. OP's car is already being fixed. This is not a warranty issue at all.

        It is like saying that your phone broken, so you took it to the Apple store to get fixed and expect them to give you a free phone whilst you wait for your phone to get fixed.

        • It is like saying that your phone broken, so you took it to the Apple store to get fixed and expect them to give you a free phone whilst you wait for your phone to get fixed.

          Google will do this. They give a replacement phone immediately while investigating the one you sent back.

          • @Blitzfx:

            Google will do this. They give a replacement phone immediately while investigating the one you sent back.

            Only if you purchased directly from their website. If it's via a retailer they won't always do that.

            Source: personal experience

            • @cwongtech: Yeah, best service I've seen. Didn't expect that to happen when the phone broke.

              But I was showing the analogy is not valid.

          • @Blitzfx: Yeah, Apple just replace the phone straight up.

    • +17

      Sorry, but less than 2 year old car should be covered under warranty.

      I would jump and complain to get a loan car until it's fixed.

    • +34

      Nope. A two year old car should not fail like this. It is under voluntary warranty. It is within ACL (~7+ years).

      The dealer is a moron for not offering a loan car. Behaviour like this creates posts like this which cost Mazda sales hence money. Worse still, this site is unmonitorable by Mazda so they can only hope OP reaches out directly so they can solve this to remove OP's claim that brand new Mazda CX-3's fail after two years.

      OP needs to complain on Facebook, tagging the dealer and Mazda, on their personal page and both the dealer they bought it from and Mazda's page. OP needs to stick to the facts and screen shot anything written.

      OP will get a call back usually in ~30 minutes and should have a loan car organised with in two hours.

      Dealerships can budget ~$1000+ per car on advertising spend. Manufactures can budget significantly more. The damage done by this post alone would be at least $10k as I am sure it would have made at least 10 people reconsider buying a Mazda.

      This is currently a 'minor issue' for OP, but is very likely to escalate to a major (new cars don't just fail in two years). OP needs to document everything as this car will likely fail again and need to be bought back by the dealer at full retail cost (so they can buy something not faulty). Partial refunds are dodgy ways of retailers skipping out on their responsibilities under ACL.

      • +3

        Doubtful, every product has ones that break. I wouldn't expect a courtesy car (really how many can they have?

        • -3

          Most dealerships are poorly managed and have ~$10 million in stock. They have plenty.

          • +4

            @This Guy: 10 million stock, of that only x are demos and of that only x can be lent out because you can't run without your demo cars…

            Your expectations are unrealistic.

            • @Slippery Fish: No manufacturer will provide enough demo bonuses to demo every trim in every model. They use trade plates.

              You also don't need all three demo Mazda 3's to sell off.

              This isn't my expectation. It is standard practice for the industry.

      • +3

        This post was going so well until the end when you said it is likely to fail again. There is absolutely no statistical basis to say that.
        I had the fuel pump die in a 1 year old car. Taken to dealer on a tray truck and fixed. Never happened again. Likewise the OP can have their alternator / voltage regulator / whatever it is replaced.

        • I generally agree.

          But it is an electrical fault in a two year old car. Two tech's said it is not the battery and alternators don't fail in two years.

          There are too many variables and nowhere near enough onboard monitoring to find the cause of the issue.

      • +1

        As someone who used to work in automotive customer care, this comment is 100% on the money. The more noise and pressure you put on Madza the more you will get in return.

    • It was a CX-3 mate. Not a Territory. ;P

  • +9

    What type of Mazda is it?
    New as in you have recently purchased it from a Mazda dealer?
    If it is 2 years old then it should be under Mazda warranty so it'll cost nothing to fix (if it isn't a battery)
    In relation to a hire car, unfortunately you have to take alternative transport

    • +1

      It’s a Mazda Cx-3. And yeah, it’s under warranty.

      • +10

        It's unfortunate that the alternator is cactus.
        If Mazda does confirm this diagnosis (that it is the alternator), then push for a replacement battery as the faulty alternator causes the battery to drain.
        It is practically a new car so esp the alternator shouldn't die so quick
        It seems like there is a backlog with dealership loan cars

          • +6

            @Sean8802: Lol. Please read my comment above.
            Replacement Battery. Not car lol

      • I have a CX-3, love it! Not a single problem. My battery died a few days before my warranty ended and they replaced it for free.
        Were any lights showing up on your dash??
        It’s up to how helpful the dealership want to be. I love the dealership where I bought my car, they would jump through hoops to help you out. Absolute quality service.

    • Honda, Toyota and Mazda all all known for their issues on particular models. CX-3's aren't one of them.

      But Mazda is known for an amazing sale experience then a horrible after sales experience if something slightly unusual goes wrong.

  • -7

    Thank you for your replies so far. It just seems a bit unfair that I’m not entitled to hire/loan car because mine is faulty. If I was involved in an accident (even if it was my fault) both insurance and roadside assistance would have me covered.

    • +11

      You are entitled but the dealerships have loaned it out to others.
      The issue here is that you have to wait until that becomes available however you are pressed for time as your car is not running

    • -1

      How would Roadside assistance help you in a car accident?

      • They cover up to 21 days car hire if I couldn’t drive mine due an accident or theft.

        • +2

          Roadside assistance does? Well I'll be a monkeys uncle.

        • yeah but you pay for that privilege

          when you bought your car, there was nothing mentioned about a loan car (i assume)
          their (the seller) liability should just be the warranty

    • +23

      Dealership loan cars can be booked out weeks in advance, they don't just have licensed cars sitting around doing nothing

      • +17

        Absolutely this. When I was a service manager, we had service loan vehicles booked out for months. I had people delaying their service appointments weeks until they could get a car for the day, only to drive it 5km to the CBD and leave it there all day…

        Most of the time it was their safety blanket. They didn't "need" the car… they just "wanted" a car…

        • +11

          I think how one uses the car is besides the point. To me if service cars are booked out for months then it sounds like dealships are not keeping enough loan cars.

          • +1

            @JungliChilli: And they have a lot of cars coming in for repairs…

            • @smartazz104: Yup. Keeping less loan cars is just a tactic to keep the dealerships costs low. Some people would wait months until one is available but theres way more people who would just be like meh ok whatever and still go in for servicing.

          • +1

            @JungliChilli:

            it sounds like dealships are not keeping enough loan cars

            Only if people are changing their buying decisions based on this information.
            Would you buy a Hyundai because Mazda didn't have enough loaners?
            Would you take your car to a non-dealer for servicing?

            If not, the dealer is playing the game correctly.

      • Yes they do. Undriven demos. Staff driven demos. These cars are discounted by the manufacturer for customer use. The smallest monthly allocation I have seen for a top 10 brand was 8 fresh demos per month. Most require 15+. All of these were registered and left in the new car sales yard (usually without plates to hide that they are demos).

        Plus there are 50+ near new used cars that will barely depreciate that are sold at a premium because the used car lot is attached to a major brand. If your used car manager has half a brain, they will buy ex lease, fleet and hire cars though manufacturer only auctions. The only way to loose money on those is though pure incompetence.

        This should have been raised internally to the GM and they should have fixed this. If they have an issue with demos they need to raise this internally with Mazda. This makes both the dealership and Mazda look incompetent when really it is either a short sighted internal policy or a manager too lazy to do their job.

    • +1

      They dont have fleets of cars sittin round doing nothing incase someone needs a loaner.. or as said all loaners may already be loaned out

      • +2

        It's a dealership … the very definition of cars sitting around doing nothing all day!

        They are a pretty crap dealership if they don't have traded vehicles in the back lot they could loan out.

        Of course, the dealership would use insurance as the reason why they don't …

        • +4

          I don’t agree with that arrangement, if I bought a second hand car from a dealership I would hesitate to buy if it was being used as a loaner.

        • Insurance is a lump sum.

          There is no reason they can't loan something out.

      • Top ten branded dealerships usually have 15 to 50 registered demos sitting on their lot at any one time (depending on how big and how many brands they sell).

        Most will have another 10+ driven 'demos' by staff members. Then their are the driven used cars by lower staff members. There are buy backs, aged stock, manufacturer auction cars… there are alot of cars that could be loaned in the case of a two year old car failing. Worst come worst, put them in a different brand or price bracket and try for an upgrade.

        Yes, their might only be 3 to 5 loaners per brand, but those are for service customers. A GM or a DP would be stupid to let a new car buyer leave their dealership without a car for a 2 year failure. Especially for a CX-3, an easily out growable car that is regularly traded in at 3 years.

    • -2

      Read your warranty. I'm sure you can get a loan car, surely if the car is less than 2 year old and has a fault.

      Complain, make noise, fuss, speak to a manager, speak to the managers manager higher up. Tell them your not impressed about it breaking down and it's not even 2 years old.

      The squeaky wheel gets the oil.

      • +1

        He (probably) can get a car, the problem is 2 separate dealerships apparently have zero cars available, due to being already loaned out to other customers who's cars have also broken down.

        • Loan cars are for service customers, not break downs. New, non diesel, cars rarely brake down with in warranty.

          • @This Guy: Mitsubishi are taking a gamble then lol. 10 years

            • @Slippery Fish: The years don't cause wear, the km's do. That's why it is limited to 200,000 km, and only if you service with them.

              • @This Guy: Really?

                • @Slippery Fish: The time portion of a warranty is basically saying the cars won't rust from a manufacturer defect and the rubber/plastics won't fall to pieces in that time period.

                  Most rust is from paint damage, and the seals that do wear usually aren't covered (like window and door seals…)

                  • +1

                    @This Guy: I also notice the I'm on servicing is 150k 🤣 cheeky

                    • @Slippery Fish: And as soon as you finish the capped price service you need to ask for quotes before dropping your car off as the price skyrockets.

          • @This Guy: Then they should take the service customers cars and give it to the OP.

            Service cars are only for an hour to a day.

      • Complain, make noise, fuss, speak to a manager, speak to the managers manager higher up. Tell them your not impressed about it breaking down and it's not even 2 years old.
        The squeaky wheel gets the oil.

        And the Karen gets the viral video.

    • But you'd pay an excess on your insurance if you claimed

  • +16

    There is no obligation for car makers or dealers to provide loan/courtesy cars for a warranty repair until they have looked at the problem and assessed it cannot be repaired within a satisfactory timeframe. If they look at it Monday after their regular booking, and if it’s the alternator, and if they can get it overnight and repair the car for Tuesday, then that is fine. If the part needs to come from WA via road freight (5 days est.) or Mazda Japan (2-4 weeks est.) then that may be a valid reason to request a loan car.
    Without knowing the diagnosis from a qualified Mazda technician Mazda is not going to offer a car.

    • +4

      You are right. But it is negative publicity that requires increased ad spend to overcome.

      Even if a dealership sends them out in an undriven demo, I have never known a sales manager to mange their stock well enough that this would cause any deprecation to their fleet.

      Right know OP is putting out there that CX-3's fail after two years and Mazda will leave you without wheels if your Mazda fails under warranty.

      There is no reason to put OP in a position where they feel the need to complain on a public forum.

      • +2

        All mainstream car companies will leave you without wheels if your vehicle fails under warranty when their service departments are closed

        The dealer that the vehicle was purchased from, or possibly getting service by, may have a spare demo on hand. But the sales manager will have little to no idea if this is a genuine service request, or just someone looking for an "uber rental" for the weekend.

        • +1

          Most dealers use dealer management software. You type the client's name in the computer and it shoots out any contracts of sale.

          Most sales people play dumb, know how to value a car and test for major faults. If it comes in on a tow truck, and it won't start when you try the ignition, most know to check the battery (you know, because a yard of a few hundred cars tends to get flat batteries pretty regularly).

          If the person bought a car from another dealer and the sales manager is skeptical, the sales manager (and often sales people) has the brand's regional rep's number and can get them to check.

          And if they are still suss, there are still usually a few crappy registered used cars the dealership doesn't care about that they will send out instead of risking a car worth something.

          The only time I have heard a weekend break down turned away without a loan car before OP was an incredibly suss couple that beat the tow. They were still given a lift 30 minutes home.

          Ford have a range Ford owned, registered stock on hand at most dealers partially for this issue (Ford 2nd Car). Most of the other brands have minimum demo holdings and holding periods partially for this reason too. I don't know Mazda's number, but most of the top 15 all require at least 8 demos and conditions like registered for a month and/or 500km or more to earn a demo bonus (Two top 10's just have minimum holdings). Brands like Isuzu and Suzuki offer loan cars though their road side program, but they don't break down in warranty so I have never heard of anyone using it (or who supplies them).

      • "it is negative publicity" - it seems that most commenters on here think otherwise.

        With your other posts on here, would I be able to expect a Kia Sorento temporary replacement car if my 6 yr old Sorento breaks down and needs repair? And I need a Sorento or similarly sized car to carry all my stuff.

        • -1

          Sales would be dumb not to. The upgrades are significant. You're under a 7 year warranty.

          It's also a KIA sales strategy.

          • @This Guy: I don't at the moment have a 6 yr old Sorento but well I can tell you that when my 2012 Sorento went back to Kia at 4 yrs old for an oil leak and I was told that I will lose the car for 2-3 days (I was told the engine had to be removed for fixing), I did not get a replacement car. I admit though that I didn't push very hard as we are a 2 car family and adjusted.

            I supposed that if I had made a lot of noise or maybe booked in advance for a loan car, I could have received one. However, the take from most is that you would have to act like a Karen to get one.

            Lexus on the other hand had a UX200 for me for the day when my 2013 IS went in for the day for diagnosis of a blinking infortainment screen. Different expectations here though.

            • -1

              @x d: If it was to happen again, next time ask if sales has a demo they can borrow out for a few days. They should give you a change over figure when you come back in.

              Acting like a karen at a dealership might get you a job offer.

              • @This Guy: So you are suggesting that I should lie to the sales department that I am interested in buying a new car to get a vehicle even if I am not at a stage to buy? Sounds like it really isn't the norm to be provided with a vehicle when the car breaks down and needs repair.

                What if the repair process will take say 2-3 weeks? I should hardly expect Kia to allow me to keep the demo for the 2-3 weeks duration.

                • -1

                  @x d: Nope. You like your current car and would appreciate to see how the new version fits in your life while your old one you bought new from them is being repaired.

                  But you shouldn't have to ask. It is literally a KIA sales strategy under their FLC (Family Like Care) service department program. And unless you are using Great Western KIA (which outsells most other dealerships by double), no KIA dealership sells enough cars that won't have a spare demo for a week.

                  And even if the KIA department somehow has only one of each model, one of the other brands attached to the dealer will have a demo and no General Manager worth their salary ($200,000+ if they are hitting their targets) or Dealer Principal (they guy above the GM who invests their own money in the dealership) with half a brain, would let a new car break down, bought from that dealer, leave without a loan car of some sort.

                  And it works. People will throw away $20k to upgrade a few years if the model change is compelling (and with KIA the major refreshes have been compelling for the last decades).

                  All this is ignoring the very real threat of your car turning out to be a lemon and the dealer being forced to refund the complete purchase price of your car. Put out demo's with paid demo bonuses and minimum km driven before sale restrictions or risk loosing ~$200k each year in refunds…. It is far easier to say to a customer, "trust me, we have looked after you every step of the way" and propose a market value buy back, than pull that poop when they have stuffed over a client every step of the way.

                  • @This Guy: Interesting. Thanks for the eye opener. Will try next time if I am ever in the same situation and report…

    • There is a Mazda spare parts facility in Campbellfield Vic

  • +5

    I predict public transport in your future.

    My car just broke. It's taking a while for the mechanic to figure out the issue. The mechanic left me with a bomb to drive if I need to. I've chosen to walk instead.

    If you really need a car and you can't figure out how to get companies to give you one for free, talk to your boss and see if they have a spare car you could use for the time being. Talk to family and friends. Failing that, rent one.

    • The mechanic left me with a bomb to drive if I need to.

      Surely a loan car from a mechanic should be good condition at least; if it's a bomb I would question the experience of this mechanic.

      • -1

        I think Australia's infrastructure is so poor that even a bomb is > public transport.

      • I sh*t you not, my neighbour came over and said, "If you drive it, duck down. You wouldn't want to be seen driving this."

        It's got one of those really crappy matt black paint jobs, so it looks way worse than it is. It's also an old car. It doesn't have power steering. I think the last vehicle I've been in without power steering was a hunk of junk jeep we had like 30 years ago.

        He's a good mechanic. Maybe it's one of those things like hairdressers always having the worst hair. I dunno, my hairdresser has good hair.

        • well at least it wasnt a girly looking hatchback….

  • -7

    Personally I wouldn't accept "we don't have any loan cars". If I was in the same situation I would insist that they need to find a "loaner" as a two year old car shouldn't break down and you shouldn't be out of pocket or disadvantaged. I still have a relationship with the salesperson that I purchased my Mazda from as I have referred friends and family and I know that they can always find a loaner even if it's a "demo".

    • -2

      Can "insist" all you like. If there is no loan cars, there are no loan cars. And a 2 year old car is hardly "new".

      • +2

        And a 2 year old car is hardly "new".

        Well not everyone can upgrade their car every year so for the majority of people, it would feel like a new car.

        • +1

          I would describe 2-year as 'sort of new'. And I'd definitely expect my car to run way over 2 years without suddenly being designated as un-safe to drive. I'm going to bet 99% of Australians can't afford an upgrade every year or two lol.

    • +5

      You're assuming that OP is back at the selling dealership, has serviced at the same dealership, and has a relationship with them.

      Unfortunately many people don't see the advantage in that situation

      • +1

        I did

      • there an advantage to going back to your dealer to fix your car issue?

        • To request things like loan cars, yes. The above commenter was able to request a loan car from the selling salesperson because they built up a relationship.

          • +1

            @spackbace: oh in that case I guess that would make sense…unless the dealer sales/service person doesnt like him….

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