Another car dealership you can trust as far as you...

Another car dealership you can trust as far as you can throw, probably less.

Sold a certified pre-owned (CPO) 2012 Mazda3 with ~42,000 miles, manual transmission that apparently had a bum clutch. 66k miles in and it completely burned out.

This is my second manual car, on top of having a motorcycle. No learning done on the car, no racing. It was a bum clutch that went out probably at least 40,000 miles too early, or only lasted 50-60% of its intended lifetime. I can't for the life of me explain how I could've done that damage. You have to understand, I've run out of fingers on my hands the number of times I've been honked at in rush hour traffic for coasting/flowing rather than the stop/go, stop/go madness.

Buying the car, of course it looked great. The paint was real nice, the seats were good, no issues on the test drive. Maybe I should've reflected a bit more on the hole worn through both the drivers carpet mat & the floor of the car, at the time I shrugged it off as something easily fixed with rubber mats. It could only be aesthetic, right? Surely there aren't mechanical issues in their pre-owned car?

I guess I'm just not cut out for car buying. Bought it at their price, "no-haggle/set by corporate"/CPO/everything is great about this car. Of course, no mention about the cost that would be incurred by having to replace a clutch in 20,000 miles.

Now, I'm kind of pissed. Originally would have given them two stars because I really expect this behavior from car salesmen. But, the $1065 repair job suddenly turned into $1600 because the independent repair shop can t replace this with an off-brand part. This clutch is special and needs a genuine Mazda part replacement. They had to order it from a dealership. For $800. That is absolutely absurd. Google "clutch part kit replacement cost" and click the first link. It speaks for itself.

All of that is on top of the other bad experience I had with them, getting them to provide a 2nd set of keys for the car. When originally purchased they stated they had a good relationship with the previous owner (haha), and that they should be able to get a 2nd set of keys from him, or they'll have it made. Of course, a couple weeks later and it turns out there's no 2nd set of keys. Complete hassle to get the keys made. When I arrive, they want to have a "regular" key made without the electric FOB, and after complaining to a manager about the ordeal (and turning down a free tank of gas), they agree to include the FOB.

Now, the thing that grinds my gears (aside from a burned out clutch), is that while talking with the manager about the keys, I hear "Well, you know, used cars usually only come with what we get..." implying they don't give second keys. Despite the fact that I was personally assured a second set (making the previous statement irrelevant), and the basic fact you should always have a spare set of keys for your car. Seriously Mazda, you're selling a Mazda at your Mazda dealership with one set of keys? Thank you Brown's Fairfax Mazda, for being the sleazy dealership everybody expects you to be.