Car dealship ripping me off?

Rimsy · 12 May 2013 at 08:51

I've been looking to buy a new Mazda CX-5 and found one in a local Mazda dealership I've put a deposit down on.
One thing that's slightly bugging me (which given the flack I received in the "turning off DRL" thread may amuse some people) is that the dealer want to charge me an extra £325 to have the car with DRL.

Now the CX-5 comes with DRL as a standard feature so as far as I can tell the dealership have disabled the DRL via the ecu or whatever it is and then wish to charge new owners an extra £325 to have it turned back on.

Whilst I have no major desire to have DRL I find the principle the dealership doing such an underhand is leaving a seriously sour taste in my mouth...

Is this common practice and I'm just being naive or are these guys cowboys?

Rybo89 · 12 May 2013 at 08:58

Tell them you are not bothered about then car then.

You will then get DRL with it for nothing.

Shad · 12 May 2013 at 08:58

Bit of a shame you've already put the deposit down as I expect any other Mazda dealer would be happy not to charge you the £325 if you gave them your business.

Kenai · 12 May 2013 at 09:00

Not sure if it's a US/EU thing but there are threads online about modding them in and cutting the bumper cutouts yourself etc. so are you 100% sure they're standard?

I would have assumed they were as I thought it was a legal thing now but I may be wrong.

scratch · 12 May 2013 at 10:11

All new cars must come with DRLs as standard by law (this is the case across Europe) so I don't like the dealerships business practices!

I'd go in there armed with a printout of the law and politely tell them you would like your car with DRLs enabled for no charge or you will be approaching Trading Standards.

When they comply with your request and your car has been delivered, report them to trading standards anyway.

axer · 12 May 2013 at 10:15

I suspect the dealers aren't trying to con you here. When we bought a CX-7 (ex demo) from the dealers, it was missing the emergency hazard feature which we pursued.

It turned out the early models they sent to the dealers (despite there not being different editions/specs etc) didn't have the feature yet the literature quoted it as a standard spec

Seems to be a common Mazda trait!

Rybo89 · 12 May 2013 at 10:16

Is that what they told you?

scratch · 12 May 2013 at 10:19

axer said:
I suspect the dealers aren't trying to con you here. When we bought a CX-7 (ex demo) from the dealers, it was missing the emergency hazard feature which we pursued.

It turned out the early models they sent to the dealers (despite there not being different editions/specs etc) didn't have the feature yet the literature quoted it as a standard spec

Seems to be a common Mazda trait!

The difference is that this car should have the DRLs enabled by law, so to charge for the "feature" is downright cheeky; it's like trying to charge you extra to enable the indicators.

Dogbreath · 12 May 2013 at 10:29

I'd be tempted to make some discrete enquiries to another dealer (or even Mazda UK) about whether this model comes with DRLs as standard.

Myshra · 12 May 2013 at 10:37

Well this is pretty shady. I'd probably report this to Mazda UK and confirm wtf they are doing trying to bolt this on but if you need a document to backup your stance then here: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-11-133_en.htm

Turbo edit: DRLs are standard - http://www.mazda.co.uk/cars/mazda-cx-5/specs-and-prices/ under exterior.

Rimsy · 12 May 2013 at 11:02

Myshra said:
Well this is pretty shady. I'd probably report this to Mazda UK and confirm wtf they are doing trying to bolt this on but if you need a document to backup your stance then here: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-11-133_en.htm

Turbo edit: DRLs are standard - http://www.mazda.co.uk/cars/mazda-cx-5/specs-and-prices/ under exterior.

Thanks for the info - I'd heard numerous people say its "law" but never able to see the actual evidence. Interesting indeed!

Draeger · 12 May 2013 at 11:28

Unbelievable. If this is indeed the case I'd not only be reporting the dealer to Mazda and Trading Standards but I'd be cancelling my order with them and going elsewhere.

Of course on the other hand, a bit of ~~blackmail~~ subtle persuasion could be considered here. How about asking them what extras you are going to get for free if you don't tell anyone about their little 'extra charges'?.