Re: Mazda3 Replacement
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2022 2:09 pm
In a change of pace the seller listed a black CLK550 convertible so I contacted him about the silver one.
To help Bill decide if he wants to make an offer I went to the MB dealer and got the VMI.
Here are some initial thoughts:
Some warranty work between new and mid-2010. What I see is a CD changer issue (perhaps a new COMAND unit?), the same camshaft actuator electrical thing that my S550 got early (I think they leak, also the actuator can fail), front door handle, maybe a leaky valve cover, and a center console lid issue of some kind. Nothing too exciting. Mainly it's good to see the actuator thing.
Customer pay section is service at the dealer that was not covered under the warranty, maintenance or repairs.
- M1 5W-40. Need Carfax for additional maintenance history as I don't think it's all here.
- Brake fluid at 25k in 2009, right on time.
- Transmission fluid service at 40k, in 2010, also right on time.
Not much else to see. Seems that it stopped going to the dealer in July 2010. It did go back to the dealer one last time in Oct 2020 for the same sunroof recall that was on my E55.
Again, need the Carfax to get the rest of the history. Looks like indie shops for the rest. And some of them do not report to Carfax so we'll see how complete it looks.
There are a number of things that could manifest in an inspection for a case of neglected service so I wouldn't draw any conclusions yet. Glad to see some of the items like brake fluid and trans service on there. If it never had another trans service, that's technically OK, as it will be due in another 5k or so.
I added the car to my Carfax app and there is definitely additional service history. The outside door handle warranty job is even in Carfax.
Here is some of that.
Transmission service again in 2019! This is good. Transmission R&R. That was right when he bought it in May 2019. That could have been a rear main seal though the M273 isn't known for that. I'd ask the seller because I'm curious.
To help Bill decide if he wants to make an offer I went to the MB dealer and got the VMI.
Here are some initial thoughts:
Some warranty work between new and mid-2010. What I see is a CD changer issue (perhaps a new COMAND unit?), the same camshaft actuator electrical thing that my S550 got early (I think they leak, also the actuator can fail), front door handle, maybe a leaky valve cover, and a center console lid issue of some kind. Nothing too exciting. Mainly it's good to see the actuator thing.
Customer pay section is service at the dealer that was not covered under the warranty, maintenance or repairs.
- M1 5W-40. Need Carfax for additional maintenance history as I don't think it's all here.
- Brake fluid at 25k in 2009, right on time.
- Transmission fluid service at 40k, in 2010, also right on time.
Not much else to see. Seems that it stopped going to the dealer in July 2010. It did go back to the dealer one last time in Oct 2020 for the same sunroof recall that was on my E55.
Again, need the Carfax to get the rest of the history. Looks like indie shops for the rest. And some of them do not report to Carfax so we'll see how complete it looks.
There are a number of things that could manifest in an inspection for a case of neglected service so I wouldn't draw any conclusions yet. Glad to see some of the items like brake fluid and trans service on there. If it never had another trans service, that's technically OK, as it will be due in another 5k or so.
I added the car to my Carfax app and there is definitely additional service history. The outside door handle warranty job is even in Carfax.
Here is some of that.
Transmission service again in 2019! This is good. Transmission R&R. That was right when he bought it in May 2019. That could have been a rear main seal though the M273 isn't known for that. I'd ask the seller because I'm curious.