Hi all, seeking advice from Mazda owners / car experts here
I’m the first in my family to purchase a car, so still quite new to car ownership. I recently bought a second-hand PARF Mazda 3 with about 3 years left, mileage around 110,000km++. Intended use is as a family car, so reliability and servicing are very important to me.
Recently, quite a few issues started showing up:
- Side mirror (driver side) – no longer folds in, passenger side works fine
- Driver seat adjustment – power seems weak and very clunky when adjusting (shared between my father, brother, and myself)
- Loud engine sound on cold start – noticeable when starting the car, but I’m unable to diagnose further (https://streamable.com/vguh2a)
- Blue temperature warning light – takes close to 5 minutes to disappear; I usually wait for it to go off before driving (not sure if this is normal across cars)
- Car veers to the left – tested at low speed in an empty carpark, when I release the steering wheel, the car consistently pulls left
- Aircon not very cold – compared to colleagues’ older Toyotas, cooling feels weak
- With all these issues, I went back to the AD (Mazda). They told me the previous owner did not service with them, and the last recorded service was Mar 2020.
They quoted me:
- $210 checking fee
- $2,075 for a “120,000km / 6 years Major Service Package”, which includes:
- Engine oil & oil filter
- Decarbonising service
- Spark plugs
- Air-con filter, air filter, fuel filter
- Brake fluid replacement
- Brake service & inspection
- Wheel balancing & rotation
- Alignment check (adjustment +$80 if needed)
- 21-point inspection
Additional quotes:
- Side mirror motor replacement: $255
- If whole mirror assembly jammed: $675
- Any other wear & tear parts found during servicing will be extra
I understand cars are expensive to maintain, but honestly I didn’t expect the cost to be this high. My colleague bought an older COE Toyota with only 3 years COE left, and he hasn’t encountered such issues and spends max $100+ on servicing each time.
To add on, I recently changed the capacitor at Mazda for $2199.69, as I kept getting dashboard error messages. Mazda diagnosed it as a faulty capacitor.
My questions to seniors here:
- Are these issues normal for a Mazda 3 at this mileage/age?
- Is the AD major service package reasonably priced, or am I better off going to a reputable workshop?
- In terms of safety / not breaking down. Should I proceed with the servicing? My friend urged me to just ignore them and as long as the car works, its all good.
Appreciate any advice or sharing of experience. Still learning, so please go easy on me
Thanks in advance!
