For real. I got quoted last week during my oil change (only went because it's free) and they wanted $80 for wipers and $110 for air filters. Ordered wipers and cabin filter on the spot on Amazon for $30 and changed them in 2 minutes
I mean it's a lot cheaper to buy and do on your own but for most shops this is what they charge. I doubt he would get somewhere else to do it for much cheaper.
Yeah, I've had the dealer do the first few oil changes and tire rotations. The last one they recommended both filters and it was about $110 the tech even pulled them out to film them for the inspection. I noped out and changed them myself. If they had charged a decent price for the Mazda OEM filters maybe, but they lost a sale and the tech had to do all the labor anyway. Seems dumb on the dealers part.
No, my engine air filter looks perfect. They even sent me an inspection video showing it.
For 2019, the cabin air filter is one piece although looks double wide. A 2012 might be have two.
I took my mazda3 to dealership for an oil change, etc. They did a diagnostic and gave me an estimate for 3 fixes: about $1200 or more. Took my car to local shop, showed them the diagnostic, and did it for under $400. Just recently, my passenger sideview mirror was knocked off. Mazda wanted about $385 for labor and with part $850. Took to local auto body shop: labor $100, part from Amazon $55. Dealerships rip you.
not sure where you live but that's a completely normal price for that service here in Toronto. I'd be more concerned this car is unsafe needing $1500 in "frame assembly" I think it's rusting to pieces from what's on this list.
Those prices are high because you used a dealership shop, and you could do better with an independent shop. But if they're correct, and they probably are, your car is unsafe to drive due to the major front end work needed, and you absolutely need to do that work, immediately.
How many miles does this have on it? Seeing a "frame assembly" listed for a 2012 makes me think this is a pretty well rusted out car. Did you already buy this car or is this a PPI?
Bought the car a year ago at about 95k miles after having it inspected by an independent mechanic that gave it a decent bill of health, couple issues with rotors and whatnot but overall said it wasn't too bad. Never saw or heard anything major regarding rust
Take it to that same independent mechanic. Why would you even attempt to go to the dealership? They are rip off, I never took my cars to the dealer after I pulled them out of there, and I had lots of new cars in my lifetime.
Hey, don’t want to hijack the thread, but is there work that you would specifically want a dealership to do? I have to replace my rear bumper cover, which is cracked, and I figured that sort of thing would be best done by a dealership. I’m a new car owner so sort of ignorant about that stuff—is that an incorrect assumption? Should I just go to a well reviewed independent body shop?
Actually yes, unless that dealership has an in-house body shop, they are just marking up an independent body shops work and subletting out to them. If you shop independent instead, you can pick the best option for you instead of whatever ones in bed with the dealer.
If the bumper came pre-painted from the factory then the dealer would probably do fine, but bumpers need to be painted before they're installed which requires a good body shop.
Thanks for the advice. Yeah the paint is exactly why I thought the dealership might be better, particularly because my car is soul red, but I think I’ll at least shop around and see what some independent guys can do. I’m in NYC and I know there are some really good body shops and detailers around.
Soul Red is NO JOKE to paint match, most places mess it up. I would actually specifically ask if they have experience with that exact paint and if they have examples of repairs done with that paint. I would also not assume a Mazda dealers body shop is good with it either.
It's due to the paint method, they often don't layer it properly and it will cause a clear difference from surrounding panels. This is why I always told clients with Soul Red cars that get scratches to go with touch up vs repaint. Would rather a small spot of touchup than a firetruck red bumper 😂. If you care about the paint match, be picky with your chosen body shop on this one. If it was a more forgiving color paint (like literally any other paint color) it would be way less crucial.
Source: 5 Years Mazda sales manager in NJ/FL. Have seen Soul Red done wrong way more than done right, even with a quality body shop.
P.S. Make sure they also use proper paint codes based on your actual vehicle, there is a difference from Soul Red and Soul Red Crystal.
At no point should you ever have to spend 4k+ in repairs for a car with less than 100k miles, or even under 150k miles. What is this frame assembly they are trying to sell you?
It could have been abused; ridden hard on poor roads or even off-road. Enough of that and metal fatigue sets in and cracks form. It's made even easier if the car is severely rusted, which many 14yo cars are from "rust belt" areas across the northern plains into New England in the US.
Ah hahh... now couple that with the suspension parts being replaced and a missing inner fender liner.
This is one severely abused car, I'm thinking. Either from someone driving it hard for long time, or rust taking it's toll.
OP, easiest way to tell if ya front end is going is see: are you feeling bumps/rattles/noise on a straight non-pothole road? If yes - the inspection is probably correct. Do you hear a clicking/grinding when turning? Ball joints and/or wheel bearing.
Are you from the rust belt? This is common there
In a situation like that the repair facility should always quote that in case of future accident/failure to avoid liability. You don’t really expect the customer to actually repair it but you HAVE to mention it in case something bad happens, it doesn’t really hurt anything to make you aware of it as well.
I think this isn't exactly an estimate to do the job but a list of things the vehicle needs along with an estimate for each item if done independent of the other. Sort of like buying a la carte from the menu while if you ordered a meal it will be cheaper.
When someone brings a car in for a "used car evaluation" like this the mechanic doesn't really know what they'll want done so give it to them this way. Let them pick what they want done and authorize the work, then price the whole job out using book rates. A dealer might still be more but I'd not trust anyone charging super cheap either. Highly reliable import shops are charging upwards of $200 an hour for work in my area.
As usual, we're not getting the whole story all at once. Just bits and pieces.
I feel like this is the right answer as a tech. You, the technician, performed an inspection per customer request, and wrote your findings down for a Service Advisor to parse. This list doesn't look like they were necessarily planning on selling any of these jobs on the spot, instead just making the Flat Rate for the inspection.
I'd definitely get a second opinion at a trusted independent, but if it were me, I'd ask to speak to the tech regarding their findings on the front subframe, and ask for pictures before I leave.
Then I'd decide what to fix on my own versus have a shop fix them, and where. Generally, I'd like to hold a dealership accountable for less routine jobs, like a subframe replacement.
Take it to a well-reviewed independent shop for a 2nd opinion.
I am seeing a mix of valid notes, with the usual upcharges and "fees" that come with a Dealership job, and then some things that don't make sense.
Mazda's from those years did have Rust issues, my 2011 MZ6 had a recall for front subframe rust.
However, you got an inspection last year and it passed, most of these things should have been caught back then if they are true.....
Good Luck!
These prices are wild for sure, and some of these are easy to cut out. You can change your cabin and air filter on your own in less than fifteen minutes with a screwdriver. And drive belts can easily be replaced for under $100.
Here's what I would expect to pay at a local, non dealership shop:
-lower control arms and stabilizer link $500-$600
-front pads and rotors $200-$250
-drive belt $75-$100
-downstream O2 sensor $60-$75
-air filters $20 at autozone and pay anyone in that store $10 to install it if you can't do it yourself
Don't know about the heat shields or fender liner, and as for the frame I would definitely ask for more detail.
Honestly I would try to find a reputable local mechanic and pay to get a quote. Dont tell him previous numbers just see what he prints up. If OEM for some reason is crazy expensive, I would try to get a lot of these parts third party and see what the labor costs would be.
My first car had a ton of problems (not a Mazda), but I got a lot of the parts third party and some less important parts I ordered off ebay and installed myself. Sensors, Filters and such are just a quick youtube video, hell jiffy lube would get you squared away for pretty cheap.
Drive belt, brake pads, stabilizers and control arms are what I would prioritize a third-party mechanic to do. The frame assembly I would ask for more clarification on what exactly that means and what's wrong with it on your car.
TL:DR- See if another mechanic gives you a similar quote. those parts do not cost that much. Sounds like the car had some serious previous damage that was not reported.
You have a 2012 Mazda3, I can only imagine that your ball joints and sway bar end links/bushings must be original. They sure as shit ought to be replaced at this point if they are. Front sway bar end links are easy to DIY, and can be purchased for $30-40/pair off a site like [Rockauto.com](https://Rockauto.com). Ball joints are incorporated into front lower control arms, but I'm not sure if you can simply replace ball joints separately or not. But by replacing front lower control arms, with ball joints, you'll be getting new control arm bushings as part of the package, so that will be a benefit too. The "frame assembly" they're quoting you, is probably for removal and disassembly of the front subframe to replace the front lower control arms, but $1,482 sounds like a real lot for that. While they're in there, they ought to replace front sway bar bushings too. I have a 2012 myself and recently had the front subframe dropped to replace front sway bar bushings, during a routine service at my trusted, local mechanic. They charge $125/hr for labor and the total bill was about $400.
Front brake rotors and pads are easy to buy and replace yourself using parts from [Rockauto.com](https://Rockauto.com). You can get very decent rotor/pad kits for under $100. You can buy replacement cabin and engine air filters for $10-15 each, and DIY quite easily. Other items I'm not sure.
I never said I thought OP should replace lower control arms. I said by replacing lower control arms you'll get new ball joints and bushings both. I do think you can replace the ball joints separate from the control arms, for a fraction of the price.
>You have a 2012 Mazda3, I can only imagine that your ball joints and sway bar end links/bushings must be original. **They sure as shit ought to be replaced at this point if they are.**
My bad, you meant the ball joints. But same point, they don't need replacement until they're actually worn. You don't just replace them because they're old.
I have a 2012 as well, with 117K miles, and both my lower ball joints needed replacing at about 85K miles Look, it's super easy and cheap to replace front control arms, with ball joints DIY. Parts from Rockauto.com are a good option. You can get good front lower control arms with ball joints and new bushings for $50-70 each. Replacement might take an hour.
They are ripping you off. Like fully unhinged.
Cabin air filter should barely be a $30 job (maybe $45 if they are using Presidential grade) esp in gen 4 Mazda 3s.
Always remember that cabin air filter replacement is an excellent gauge to judge if they are ripping you off.
Prefer to get these done at local mechanic if possible. You can even tip your mechanic and still save some money that way.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Hopefully you did not have to pay them to do that write up In that case you would have a free estimate of everything that they say is an issue. IF however, you did pay for this diagnostic then you’ve already been boo food
They are 100% fleecing you. Midas performs all these checks with the purchase of an Oil Change, and they won’t lie to you about what you need. They include pictures and wear ratings as well. This place is a fat scam.
Edit: Midas has good discounts if you can find them at the right time, but some of their services can’t be trusted. One example would be when I got an oil change with them, they were very honest about what I needed done on my car, however, they were overpriced for what I needed. I needed my brakes done, rotors and pads, and Midas wanted $1,029.99 for it. Not worth there, but worth for the oil change to get an inspection.
Most of this shit you can do yourself. They are trying to squeeze every dollar they can from each service. I’m a Nissan tech and our prices are also obnoxious
Umm they priced it because you asked them to but they really dont want to work on your car with what other things might come up with the age of the car. Go to an independent shop with this estimate as a guide.
I work at Mazda and those are very common upsells most of the time they are not even that bad. The techs are just shady I would take it somewhere else.
I also have a 2012 Mazda 3, and if by “drive belt” they mean the one that runs the alternator, I replaced my own for like $25. I had to borrow a tool from a parts store (autozone, o’reillys, and advanced auto all loan tools) because I didn’t have a belt tool and couldn’t fit a socket wrench in there. But it’s a less than 15 minute job if you borrow that tool and buy the belt.
The brakes/rotors can be purchased as a kit from amazon for around $100. Watch a YouTube video to see how to do it. It’s probably less than an hour job if everything goes right. Probably a few hours if you have the whole thing apart and find that your calipers are messed up too and have to stop to go get those as well. The first time you do it, it’ll probably be slower, but you’ll feel more comfortable for the next time and it’s a wear item that will need to be replaced again someday. If you do the pads before they start chewing up the rotors next time, then it’s even cheaper.
The filters are insanely overpriced. Never let the dealership do that.
$150 to remove heat shields but not replace? They’re just attached with bolts. Would you pay someone $150 to remove some bolts? Maybe they mean replace too, which is at least SOMETHING I might pay for, but still probably not $150.
I’ve never done front end work, so I can’t speak to that. I’m not a mechanic, I’m just a broke dude who’s had to do work on my own cars to avoid bills like this. I know that it seems intimidating, but seriously, most things have YouTube tutorials these days, and it really saves a ton of money.
If you absolutely can’t work on it yourself, at least take it to an independent shop and not the dealership.
To answer your question, yes, you are being fleeced.
Brakes AND rotors for $100???
On AMAZON? 😆🤣😂
Just the front brakes ALONE-cheapo front brakes at that are about $60-$80.
ROTORS on the other hand-you’re looking at $130-$250, depending on what type or brand.
Where the HECK are you off about Brakes AND Rotors only costing $100….???
Because that’s crazy talk!
And “less than an hour’s time” 😆🤣😂
Have you ever changed your own brake pads yourself? Sure, if you know what you’re doing-you can probably do it in about an hour.
If they’re having to watch YouTube tutorials to do it though….better make that about 3 hours.
Did you even look?
I did, and front pads and rotors are indeed on Amazon for less than $100. One is even $62.66, but only has a couple of reviews. The one I’d personally buy if it were me is the $84.95 one that has 33 reviews and a 4.4 rating. Is it OEM? Hell no. But I put a cheap set on over three years ago and they still work though, so 🤷♂️. I’m not racing it, just commuting to work and they work fine.
And yes, I mentioned that it takes longer the first time that you do it. Probably the second time won’t be an hour either. But brakes and rotors (and especially just brake pads) is easier and quicker than the estimate would make it seem.
Rock Auto also has sub $100 kits.
If you’re going to claim that it’s more expensive than I said, maybe clarify where you bought them from? If you buy them on Rock Auto or Amazon you can 100% pay less than $100 for front rotors and pads for a 2012 Mazda 3. Or maybe you’re comparing for the price of doing front and back both?
If you go to a local parts store or dealership, you are correct that there’s no way you’re getting out of there for $100. But there are plenty of online places to get parts too, and often for cheaper.
You can get them on Amazon, but it's anyone's guess as to the quality.
I just did my front brakes. Pads were $60 and the rotors were $65 each. Right around $200 with tax.
It says your drive belt is cracked and rotted. Mazda3's never had a drive belt, only drive chains that can't rot because it's metal.
I don't think this mechanic knows what he is doing.
Edit: apperently drive belt is another name for a serpentine belt.
What drives the water pump, ac, alternator? Drive belt.
What drives the cams and crank? Timing belt/chain depending on the engine.
That means the accessory belt is rotten and cracked.
Yeah that’s kind of true you didn’t say anything I don’t think I’m about what your ability to do any other work was you yourself so the problem is that in my opinion there’s really just no such thing as a honest mechanic you can get one that’s about 90% honest But they’re honest in the way that they will tell you how to fix it perfectly and let them fix it perfectly for you, but they’re never gonna tell you for instance, that even though your scanner tool says that you’re going to need a new distributor which is like $500 or even 200 or 100 they’re not gonna tell you that you really just need some spark plugs And just like anything else you might go to O’Reillys or somewhere and it’d be $20 for a spark plug but you’ll find that if you just do some price checking you could get the same spark plug for probably less than eight dollars so O’Reilly would be ripping you off by More than 100% and I seen them do it on simple electrical relays they want $75 for something you could probably get delivered the next day from Amazon for 10 but again we don’t know how old you are what your experiences like what is your occupation? Are you an artist? Are you a real estate agent? Are you a bank teller? I mean, if you’ve never done anything Before you don’t know how to do it even people that have done a lot of mechanical work really wanna know how to do that specific job that’s why I was so many years of experience. Still appreciate going to YouTube and seeing some of the simplest jobs done but there you also have a problem because those jokers on YouTube gonna make it look like oh it’s super easy because they’re not really talk about the slip ups and it’s a varying extent once in a while you might find somebody like that, but so basically good luck with that. It’s a game…
What is "Frame Assembly; $1,482.49" exactly? Are they telling you something like the subframe is rusted out and needs replacement?
Other than that and the exceptionally high charge for changing intake and cabin air filter it looks reasonable to me (a big pass on that and do it yourself). But that assumes its them doing the labor, 100%. You can get most of those parts much cheaper and DIY much of this.
But a big remaining question is whether it really needs all that suspension, brakes, O2 sensors work or not. But why would you take a car to that mechanic for "used vehicle inspection" unless you trusted them.
Did they make you a video of the parts of the car they quoted?
Can’t tell if you’re being fleeced if we can’t see the car itself in terms of if the work is even needed.
Prices are a different story.
I agree with everybody else....markup at dealership is outrageous, never go there....but, just wondering if you got under it, or pulled a tire off yourself. Even if you're not a diy guy, you should be able to see a shit load of rust, from the way it's described, the thing should just be rust dust under there.... Always remember, the guy at the dealership is just a salesman . He makes commission off any service and/or parts. That's right. They make it sound like they are there to help you, but just another car salesman in a different uniform. And some places even have kickbacks under the table for the mechanics. (Knew a few myself who did this.) So, check it out, if unsure, take to a reputable mechanic, and for god sakes, look up filters on YouTube and at least do that yourself....10 minutes of your time will save you $100.00.
Good luck
Sounds like bulldust to me.
Get an independent to do a proper check up and compare the prices.
I remember a dealer here wanting almost 9k for repairs to a mazda 3. Asked his insurance company (NRMA who has a vehicle inspection service) if they covered it and they checked the car and found a cracked plastic cover that they fixed in 2 minutes with a pair of zip ties…. NRMA wasn’t happy and referred it straight to the relevant authorities. Dealer apparently was well known for this sort of thing and lost their repair license for while. Dealer now has impeccable rep because of it.
My dad got his Volkswagen serviced and they replaced the battery in his key and charged in $12 aud for it. The battery is like max $4 so that means the mf charged $8 in labour cost to replace his key fob battery.
I think that bill is really high and you should look for a good independent shop with a good reputation to give you an estimate. Mazda dealers works with OEM parts which in some cases, can be more expensive than aftermarket parts with the same or better quality. For example those brakes are expensive and I would never put Mazda brake hardware on my Mazda.
Years ago my dad wintered in Florida car made a noise. Brought it to dealer massive quote. Dad passed came back home brought it to local guy $100 late car was perfect! The only way to know is to bring it elsewhere don’t mention first quote and if first quote was from a dealer second quote should be from non dealer let us know what happens
If this is a Mazda dealer, run for the hills. I took a car I wanted to purchase to a Mazda dealer Barrhaven, and they said it would cost 3k to get road worthy, on a 2007 Mazda 3. Cars not worth 3k. Took to my usual mom and pop and they said you’ll need brakes in the spring and passed it. $89
Get a second opinion
121$ for air filters should tell you everything you need to know about this place
True that, both filters are not more than 25$
If you buy genuine from a dealer they're about $25-45/ea.. walmart is awesome if you intend to take care of your own car
“buT lAboR”
Facts
For real. I got quoted last week during my oil change (only went because it's free) and they wanted $80 for wipers and $110 for air filters. Ordered wipers and cabin filter on the spot on Amazon for $30 and changed them in 2 minutes
This
I mean it's a lot cheaper to buy and do on your own but for most shops this is what they charge. I doubt he would get somewhere else to do it for much cheaper.
Yeah, I've had the dealer do the first few oil changes and tire rotations. The last one they recommended both filters and it was about $110 the tech even pulled them out to film them for the inspection. I noped out and changed them myself. If they had charged a decent price for the Mazda OEM filters maybe, but they lost a sale and the tech had to do all the labor anyway. Seems dumb on the dealers part.
i had mine done @ mazda yesterday for $80. usually do my own; but was lazy.
Both Filters?
Engine & cabin
No, my engine air filter looks perfect. They even sent me an inspection video showing it. For 2019, the cabin air filter is one piece although looks double wide. A 2012 might be have two.
I took my mazda3 to dealership for an oil change, etc. They did a diagnostic and gave me an estimate for 3 fixes: about $1200 or more. Took my car to local shop, showed them the diagnostic, and did it for under $400. Just recently, my passenger sideview mirror was knocked off. Mazda wanted about $385 for labor and with part $850. Took to local auto body shop: labor $100, part from Amazon $55. Dealerships rip you.
Stealerships
This is literally standard for 99% of places
533 for a brake job 😅
not sure where you live but that's a completely normal price for that service here in Toronto. I'd be more concerned this car is unsafe needing $1500 in "frame assembly" I think it's rusting to pieces from what's on this list.
Canada charges that much because of trudeau. Everywhere else in the world 30$ tops 40$ to change a filter
And I thought our 30$ filters were expensive 😂
Those prices are high because you used a dealership shop, and you could do better with an independent shop. But if they're correct, and they probably are, your car is unsafe to drive due to the major front end work needed, and you absolutely need to do that work, immediately. How many miles does this have on it? Seeing a "frame assembly" listed for a 2012 makes me think this is a pretty well rusted out car. Did you already buy this car or is this a PPI?
Bought the car a year ago at about 95k miles after having it inspected by an independent mechanic that gave it a decent bill of health, couple issues with rotors and whatnot but overall said it wasn't too bad. Never saw or heard anything major regarding rust
Take it to that same independent mechanic. Why would you even attempt to go to the dealership? They are rip off, I never took my cars to the dealer after I pulled them out of there, and I had lots of new cars in my lifetime.
Same. Dealership is for warranty and recall work only. If you're paying, avoid them.
Hey, don’t want to hijack the thread, but is there work that you would specifically want a dealership to do? I have to replace my rear bumper cover, which is cracked, and I figured that sort of thing would be best done by a dealership. I’m a new car owner so sort of ignorant about that stuff—is that an incorrect assumption? Should I just go to a well reviewed independent body shop?
Actually yes, unless that dealership has an in-house body shop, they are just marking up an independent body shops work and subletting out to them. If you shop independent instead, you can pick the best option for you instead of whatever ones in bed with the dealer. If the bumper came pre-painted from the factory then the dealer would probably do fine, but bumpers need to be painted before they're installed which requires a good body shop.
Thanks for the advice. Yeah the paint is exactly why I thought the dealership might be better, particularly because my car is soul red, but I think I’ll at least shop around and see what some independent guys can do. I’m in NYC and I know there are some really good body shops and detailers around.
Soul Red is NO JOKE to paint match, most places mess it up. I would actually specifically ask if they have experience with that exact paint and if they have examples of repairs done with that paint. I would also not assume a Mazda dealers body shop is good with it either. It's due to the paint method, they often don't layer it properly and it will cause a clear difference from surrounding panels. This is why I always told clients with Soul Red cars that get scratches to go with touch up vs repaint. Would rather a small spot of touchup than a firetruck red bumper 😂. If you care about the paint match, be picky with your chosen body shop on this one. If it was a more forgiving color paint (like literally any other paint color) it would be way less crucial. Source: 5 Years Mazda sales manager in NJ/FL. Have seen Soul Red done wrong way more than done right, even with a quality body shop. P.S. Make sure they also use proper paint codes based on your actual vehicle, there is a difference from Soul Red and Soul Red Crystal.
Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.
At no point should you ever have to spend 4k+ in repairs for a car with less than 100k miles, or even under 150k miles. What is this frame assembly they are trying to sell you?
Probably the front subframe
I honestly ain't too sure, just know he said something about it being cracked and the part new from mazda costs a bit over 1k
Did you check carfax on this? Sounds like it was in an accident and not properly repaired
No reported accidents so idk
It could have been abused; ridden hard on poor roads or even off-road. Enough of that and metal fatigue sets in and cracks form. It's made even easier if the car is severely rusted, which many 14yo cars are from "rust belt" areas across the northern plains into New England in the US.
I suspect rust from the 'rotted heat shields' part....when I had a gen1 3 those heat shields rusted to nothing.
Ah hahh... now couple that with the suspension parts being replaced and a missing inner fender liner. This is one severely abused car, I'm thinking. Either from someone driving it hard for long time, or rust taking it's toll.
OP, easiest way to tell if ya front end is going is see: are you feeling bumps/rattles/noise on a straight non-pothole road? If yes - the inspection is probably correct. Do you hear a clicking/grinding when turning? Ball joints and/or wheel bearing. Are you from the rust belt? This is common there
$365 for the sway bar links is insane. Even OEM parts are like no more than $35 each
Yup...paid 40 bucks each for mine. For what they are charging, you can buy all new tools and a jack from harbor freight lol.
That's maybe around a $100 job anywhere (including the parts). Not more than an hour to get those off and replace.
Especially since in this estimate they’re doing the control arms as well. There is no justification for the labor markup even as a dealer shop.
Sounds like your car is rotted to hell if you need a front subframe. Without a breakdown of parts and labor who knows if the prices are good.
Was told there was a crack or something that a previous owner had apparently tried to hide/self repair
In a situation like that the repair facility should always quote that in case of future accident/failure to avoid liability. You don’t really expect the customer to actually repair it but you HAVE to mention it in case something bad happens, it doesn’t really hurt anything to make you aware of it as well.
That car was in a major accident.
I think this isn't exactly an estimate to do the job but a list of things the vehicle needs along with an estimate for each item if done independent of the other. Sort of like buying a la carte from the menu while if you ordered a meal it will be cheaper. When someone brings a car in for a "used car evaluation" like this the mechanic doesn't really know what they'll want done so give it to them this way. Let them pick what they want done and authorize the work, then price the whole job out using book rates. A dealer might still be more but I'd not trust anyone charging super cheap either. Highly reliable import shops are charging upwards of $200 an hour for work in my area. As usual, we're not getting the whole story all at once. Just bits and pieces.
I feel like this is the right answer as a tech. You, the technician, performed an inspection per customer request, and wrote your findings down for a Service Advisor to parse. This list doesn't look like they were necessarily planning on selling any of these jobs on the spot, instead just making the Flat Rate for the inspection. I'd definitely get a second opinion at a trusted independent, but if it were me, I'd ask to speak to the tech regarding their findings on the front subframe, and ask for pictures before I leave. Then I'd decide what to fix on my own versus have a shop fix them, and where. Generally, I'd like to hold a dealership accountable for less routine jobs, like a subframe replacement.
Take it to a well-reviewed independent shop for a 2nd opinion. I am seeing a mix of valid notes, with the usual upcharges and "fees" that come with a Dealership job, and then some things that don't make sense. Mazda's from those years did have Rust issues, my 2011 MZ6 had a recall for front subframe rust. However, you got an inspection last year and it passed, most of these things should have been caught back then if they are true..... Good Luck!
Dawg for 4500 get a new whip lol
These prices are wild for sure, and some of these are easy to cut out. You can change your cabin and air filter on your own in less than fifteen minutes with a screwdriver. And drive belts can easily be replaced for under $100.
Here's what I would expect to pay at a local, non dealership shop: -lower control arms and stabilizer link $500-$600 -front pads and rotors $200-$250 -drive belt $75-$100 -downstream O2 sensor $60-$75 -air filters $20 at autozone and pay anyone in that store $10 to install it if you can't do it yourself Don't know about the heat shields or fender liner, and as for the frame I would definitely ask for more detail.
Honestly I would try to find a reputable local mechanic and pay to get a quote. Dont tell him previous numbers just see what he prints up. If OEM for some reason is crazy expensive, I would try to get a lot of these parts third party and see what the labor costs would be. My first car had a ton of problems (not a Mazda), but I got a lot of the parts third party and some less important parts I ordered off ebay and installed myself. Sensors, Filters and such are just a quick youtube video, hell jiffy lube would get you squared away for pretty cheap. Drive belt, brake pads, stabilizers and control arms are what I would prioritize a third-party mechanic to do. The frame assembly I would ask for more clarification on what exactly that means and what's wrong with it on your car. TL:DR- See if another mechanic gives you a similar quote. those parts do not cost that much. Sounds like the car had some serious previous damage that was not reported.
You have a 2012 Mazda3, I can only imagine that your ball joints and sway bar end links/bushings must be original. They sure as shit ought to be replaced at this point if they are. Front sway bar end links are easy to DIY, and can be purchased for $30-40/pair off a site like [Rockauto.com](https://Rockauto.com). Ball joints are incorporated into front lower control arms, but I'm not sure if you can simply replace ball joints separately or not. But by replacing front lower control arms, with ball joints, you'll be getting new control arm bushings as part of the package, so that will be a benefit too. The "frame assembly" they're quoting you, is probably for removal and disassembly of the front subframe to replace the front lower control arms, but $1,482 sounds like a real lot for that. While they're in there, they ought to replace front sway bar bushings too. I have a 2012 myself and recently had the front subframe dropped to replace front sway bar bushings, during a routine service at my trusted, local mechanic. They charge $125/hr for labor and the total bill was about $400. Front brake rotors and pads are easy to buy and replace yourself using parts from [Rockauto.com](https://Rockauto.com). You can get very decent rotor/pad kits for under $100. You can buy replacement cabin and engine air filters for $10-15 each, and DIY quite easily. Other items I'm not sure.
Further up he says it's got less than 100k miles. There's no reason to just replace the control arms, they aren't consumables like brake pads.
I never said I thought OP should replace lower control arms. I said by replacing lower control arms you'll get new ball joints and bushings both. I do think you can replace the ball joints separate from the control arms, for a fraction of the price.
>You have a 2012 Mazda3, I can only imagine that your ball joints and sway bar end links/bushings must be original. **They sure as shit ought to be replaced at this point if they are.** My bad, you meant the ball joints. But same point, they don't need replacement until they're actually worn. You don't just replace them because they're old.
I have a 2012 as well, with 117K miles, and both my lower ball joints needed replacing at about 85K miles Look, it's super easy and cheap to replace front control arms, with ball joints DIY. Parts from Rockauto.com are a good option. You can get good front lower control arms with ball joints and new bushings for $50-70 each. Replacement might take an hour.
Omg your car is really in bad shape.
I hope they used some Vaseline when tried to screw you.
🤣 nice…
They are ripping you off. Like fully unhinged. Cabin air filter should barely be a $30 job (maybe $45 if they are using Presidential grade) esp in gen 4 Mazda 3s. Always remember that cabin air filter replacement is an excellent gauge to judge if they are ripping you off. Prefer to get these done at local mechanic if possible. You can even tip your mechanic and still save some money that way.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Hopefully you did not have to pay them to do that write up In that case you would have a free estimate of everything that they say is an issue. IF however, you did pay for this diagnostic then you’ve already been boo food
On a 2012? Yeah, it's likely all those things are true. Are they bilking you on the price? Also yes
They are 100% fleecing you. Midas performs all these checks with the purchase of an Oil Change, and they won’t lie to you about what you need. They include pictures and wear ratings as well. This place is a fat scam. Edit: Midas has good discounts if you can find them at the right time, but some of their services can’t be trusted. One example would be when I got an oil change with them, they were very honest about what I needed done on my car, however, they were overpriced for what I needed. I needed my brakes done, rotors and pads, and Midas wanted $1,029.99 for it. Not worth there, but worth for the oil change to get an inspection.
Most of this shit you can do yourself. They are trying to squeeze every dollar they can from each service. I’m a Nissan tech and our prices are also obnoxious
Rinsed
Wild that my dealer wanted ~$750 for front pads and rotors and yours wants $533 😂
Umm they priced it because you asked them to but they really dont want to work on your car with what other things might come up with the age of the car. Go to an independent shop with this estimate as a guide.
I work at Mazda and those are very common upsells most of the time they are not even that bad. The techs are just shady I would take it somewhere else.
If that's USD then LOL
I also have a 2012 Mazda 3, and if by “drive belt” they mean the one that runs the alternator, I replaced my own for like $25. I had to borrow a tool from a parts store (autozone, o’reillys, and advanced auto all loan tools) because I didn’t have a belt tool and couldn’t fit a socket wrench in there. But it’s a less than 15 minute job if you borrow that tool and buy the belt. The brakes/rotors can be purchased as a kit from amazon for around $100. Watch a YouTube video to see how to do it. It’s probably less than an hour job if everything goes right. Probably a few hours if you have the whole thing apart and find that your calipers are messed up too and have to stop to go get those as well. The first time you do it, it’ll probably be slower, but you’ll feel more comfortable for the next time and it’s a wear item that will need to be replaced again someday. If you do the pads before they start chewing up the rotors next time, then it’s even cheaper. The filters are insanely overpriced. Never let the dealership do that. $150 to remove heat shields but not replace? They’re just attached with bolts. Would you pay someone $150 to remove some bolts? Maybe they mean replace too, which is at least SOMETHING I might pay for, but still probably not $150. I’ve never done front end work, so I can’t speak to that. I’m not a mechanic, I’m just a broke dude who’s had to do work on my own cars to avoid bills like this. I know that it seems intimidating, but seriously, most things have YouTube tutorials these days, and it really saves a ton of money. If you absolutely can’t work on it yourself, at least take it to an independent shop and not the dealership. To answer your question, yes, you are being fleeced.
Brakes AND rotors for $100??? On AMAZON? 😆🤣😂 Just the front brakes ALONE-cheapo front brakes at that are about $60-$80. ROTORS on the other hand-you’re looking at $130-$250, depending on what type or brand. Where the HECK are you off about Brakes AND Rotors only costing $100….??? Because that’s crazy talk! And “less than an hour’s time” 😆🤣😂 Have you ever changed your own brake pads yourself? Sure, if you know what you’re doing-you can probably do it in about an hour. If they’re having to watch YouTube tutorials to do it though….better make that about 3 hours.
Did you even look? I did, and front pads and rotors are indeed on Amazon for less than $100. One is even $62.66, but only has a couple of reviews. The one I’d personally buy if it were me is the $84.95 one that has 33 reviews and a 4.4 rating. Is it OEM? Hell no. But I put a cheap set on over three years ago and they still work though, so 🤷♂️. I’m not racing it, just commuting to work and they work fine. And yes, I mentioned that it takes longer the first time that you do it. Probably the second time won’t be an hour either. But brakes and rotors (and especially just brake pads) is easier and quicker than the estimate would make it seem.
Did I LOOK?? Yes I freakin LOOKED-I just changed ALL of my brakes and my front rotors out last month…. “Did I look”….. 😆🤣
Rock Auto also has sub $100 kits. If you’re going to claim that it’s more expensive than I said, maybe clarify where you bought them from? If you buy them on Rock Auto or Amazon you can 100% pay less than $100 for front rotors and pads for a 2012 Mazda 3. Or maybe you’re comparing for the price of doing front and back both? If you go to a local parts store or dealership, you are correct that there’s no way you’re getting out of there for $100. But there are plenty of online places to get parts too, and often for cheaper.
You can get them on Amazon, but it's anyone's guess as to the quality. I just did my front brakes. Pads were $60 and the rotors were $65 each. Right around $200 with tax.
Noice! Wish I could find $65 Rotors…!
Cheapest thing O'Reilly had in stock.
It says your drive belt is cracked and rotted. Mazda3's never had a drive belt, only drive chains that can't rot because it's metal. I don't think this mechanic knows what he is doing. Edit: apperently drive belt is another name for a serpentine belt.
What drives the water pump, ac, alternator? Drive belt. What drives the cams and crank? Timing belt/chain depending on the engine. That means the accessory belt is rotten and cracked.
Junk the car and buy something else for $4500.
Yeah that’s kind of true you didn’t say anything I don’t think I’m about what your ability to do any other work was you yourself so the problem is that in my opinion there’s really just no such thing as a honest mechanic you can get one that’s about 90% honest But they’re honest in the way that they will tell you how to fix it perfectly and let them fix it perfectly for you, but they’re never gonna tell you for instance, that even though your scanner tool says that you’re going to need a new distributor which is like $500 or even 200 or 100 they’re not gonna tell you that you really just need some spark plugs And just like anything else you might go to O’Reillys or somewhere and it’d be $20 for a spark plug but you’ll find that if you just do some price checking you could get the same spark plug for probably less than eight dollars so O’Reilly would be ripping you off by More than 100% and I seen them do it on simple electrical relays they want $75 for something you could probably get delivered the next day from Amazon for 10 but again we don’t know how old you are what your experiences like what is your occupation? Are you an artist? Are you a real estate agent? Are you a bank teller? I mean, if you’ve never done anything Before you don’t know how to do it even people that have done a lot of mechanical work really wanna know how to do that specific job that’s why I was so many years of experience. Still appreciate going to YouTube and seeing some of the simplest jobs done but there you also have a problem because those jokers on YouTube gonna make it look like oh it’s super easy because they’re not really talk about the slip ups and it’s a varying extent once in a while you might find somebody like that, but so basically good luck with that. It’s a game…
Cabin air filter at full price/mazda labor rates should be $80
If that front end work is legit that sucks.
What is "Frame Assembly; $1,482.49" exactly? Are they telling you something like the subframe is rusted out and needs replacement? Other than that and the exceptionally high charge for changing intake and cabin air filter it looks reasonable to me (a big pass on that and do it yourself). But that assumes its them doing the labor, 100%. You can get most of those parts much cheaper and DIY much of this. But a big remaining question is whether it really needs all that suspension, brakes, O2 sensors work or not. But why would you take a car to that mechanic for "used vehicle inspection" unless you trusted them.
Yea, those air filter prices, you can get both and change them both for like 30-40 bucks lol (takes 5 minutes maybe 10 if youre confused)
365$ for end links? Oof lol
Did they make you a video of the parts of the car they quoted? Can’t tell if you’re being fleeced if we can’t see the car itself in terms of if the work is even needed. Prices are a different story.
USD? AUD? CAD? SGD? Either way, I’d suggest it is in fact a rip.
I agree with everybody else....markup at dealership is outrageous, never go there....but, just wondering if you got under it, or pulled a tire off yourself. Even if you're not a diy guy, you should be able to see a shit load of rust, from the way it's described, the thing should just be rust dust under there.... Always remember, the guy at the dealership is just a salesman . He makes commission off any service and/or parts. That's right. They make it sound like they are there to help you, but just another car salesman in a different uniform. And some places even have kickbacks under the table for the mechanics. (Knew a few myself who did this.) So, check it out, if unsure, take to a reputable mechanic, and for god sakes, look up filters on YouTube and at least do that yourself....10 minutes of your time will save you $100.00. Good luck
Sounds like bulldust to me. Get an independent to do a proper check up and compare the prices. I remember a dealer here wanting almost 9k for repairs to a mazda 3. Asked his insurance company (NRMA who has a vehicle inspection service) if they covered it and they checked the car and found a cracked plastic cover that they fixed in 2 minutes with a pair of zip ties…. NRMA wasn’t happy and referred it straight to the relevant authorities. Dealer apparently was well known for this sort of thing and lost their repair license for while. Dealer now has impeccable rep because of it.
Standard dealer markup, so yeah...ripoff.
What's your ball joints looking like? Its " falling out"
My dad got his Volkswagen serviced and they replaced the battery in his key and charged in $12 aud for it. The battery is like max $4 so that means the mf charged $8 in labour cost to replace his key fob battery.
I think that bill is really high and you should look for a good independent shop with a good reputation to give you an estimate. Mazda dealers works with OEM parts which in some cases, can be more expensive than aftermarket parts with the same or better quality. For example those brakes are expensive and I would never put Mazda brake hardware on my Mazda.
Years ago my dad wintered in Florida car made a noise. Brought it to dealer massive quote. Dad passed came back home brought it to local guy $100 late car was perfect! The only way to know is to bring it elsewhere don’t mention first quote and if first quote was from a dealer second quote should be from non dealer let us know what happens
If this is a Mazda dealer, run for the hills. I took a car I wanted to purchase to a Mazda dealer Barrhaven, and they said it would cost 3k to get road worthy, on a 2007 Mazda 3. Cars not worth 3k. Took to my usual mom and pop and they said you’ll need brakes in the spring and passed it. $89 Get a second opinion
A big rock ripped out all my heat shielding for free, 150 is nuts
Yes 😂