I've been to Maple Mazda both for service and to purchase a car. If you leave your car for service, someone will drive you and pick you up from nearby locations. I generally only come here when I need more than an oil change. I find that the service department always tries to upsell services. For instance, one year I was told by Maple Mazda that I needed new shocks, which I declined. A year later, the service inspection report from Maple Mazda indicated that the shocks were fine. Either the person who stated I needed shocks was upselling, or the person who indicated that the shocks were fine didn't check.
A few months ago, I visited Maple Mazda for a test drive. I test drove a similar car, but not the one I wanted, so I left my contact information. Months passed and no one contacted me. I went back and talked to a different sales person and indicated that I was ready to purchase if the price was right. The first price was essentially retail pricing. The second offer was below what I was expecting, so I took the deal. I was only interested in a cash deal, so we only talked about the out-the-door price. I also had a trade-in, where I had a pre-existing offer from a mechanic. The dealership provided a low-ball offer and once I revealed that I had an offer, they were willing to match it. The sales person dealt with the new car purchase price and the trade-in price separately, which was great. When it came time to put the numbers together, the sales person didn't get the math right, so I had to explain how I arrived at my numbers based on the agreed-upon purchase price and trade-in price. Although he said the math made sense, he couldn't get it to work out. The sales manager came by, fixed it, and found other mistakes that resulted in additional discounts. Although there were some snags along the way, I thought the car buying experience was very good.
The first meeting with the finance manager was fairly easy. He said he isn't pushy and it was true during the first meeting. However, once my car arrived and the dealership was preparing it, I received a call from the finance manager to ask if I was interested in rust proofing and extended warranty. We had the same discussion when I arrived to pick up the car. I may have been interested in the extended warranty if the price was right, but the finance manager didn't provide much of a discount so I kept declining.
I had to sign the bill of sale 3 different times. Once when I agreed to purchase the car, once when I first talked to the sales manager, and again when I picked up the car. Just make sure that all the numbers are right and that any agreements on extras are written in and transferred between various versions of the bill of sale.
I asked the dealership to get new license plates for the car along with new license plate stickers. It cost $189, which is only $10 more than if you were to do it yourself. I thought the extra $10 was worth it to avoid going to Service Ontario.
Overall, I thought the car buying experience was very good. The service department is decent, but I always feel like they're trying to upsell services. read more
