No stars. These guys are terrible. Worst dealership ever. - disappointed buyer
Bought a used 2015 Benz from Barnabe Mazda. 1. I drove 500 km and the engine coolant light came on. A tag on the coolant reservoir said it was last checked a year earlier. 2. In addition, the brakes felt bad so I had them checked by a Benz specialist, who reported that the brake pads were completely worn with no life left. Barnabe's reply was that it would be impossible for a car with only 38,000 km to need brakes. This statement implies that they never checked the brakes. I mentioned that I had the pads for them to inspect, but they did not ask to see them. 3. I also had the engine oil checked and it was completely black. 4. The car was subject to a recall, which they said they would take care of before I picked up the car. There was no record at Benz that the vehicle had been checked. I asked for written confirmation from Barnabe that the work was done and never received a reply. 5. I was charged $300 for an administration fee. At no time during the sale was the fee mentioned.
It is obvious that Barnabe Mazda sold me a vehicle that was never serviced or given a proper safety inspection. The car was not safe to drive, which endangered the life of my daughter. When I called them they naturally denied that the vehicle had not been inspected. In the one written response I received, the sales person said the car was still under the manufacturer's warranty and if I had any issues to take the car to a Benz dealer. The sales person also said that "I bought the car from them because it was a good deal". I guess this means that I shouldn't expect the car to be safe to drive as well.
No one at Barnabe Mazda ever replied to my subsequent emails, they never reimbursed me for money spent to fix the brakes, and they never apologized.
I contacted Mazda Canada and they said they could not do anything because I did not buy a Mazda vehicle. This is a very disappointing and disturbing response from a major car manufacturer. It begs the question, why buy a used car from a new car dealership? It seems it would be more advantageous to buy a used car from a used car dealership and have the rights offered through the UCDA.
Anyway, fortunately for both myself and Barnabe, in the 12 months since I have bought the Benz, it has performed flawlessly, so I have not pursued the matter further. But I will never buy another car from any of the dealers under the Groupe Barnabe banner. And I will think twice before I buy a used vehicle from a new car dealership, if it is not the manufacturer's model.
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