If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
About six weeks ago, the CD player in my 2006 Mazda 3 Sport crapped out. Given that it’s a new car, and that I purchased the stupid extended warranty (thanks to my lack of a backbone and the high pressure sales guy they put on me), I went in and asked them to replace it for free, which they did. Ordering the new CD player took around four weeks, but eventually I ended up with a new CD player that seemed to work fine.
Last week I got a call from Mazda asking me to come by so they can take a look at the unit they put in. I told them I wasn’t having any problems with it, but they said they just wanted to make sure they put the correct part in. So this morning I drove down for a 9am appointment, and sat around reading the paper for an hour or so. When the guy finally came back out, he told me that they had put the wrong part in, and that they had just finished removing it. Given that the unit worked completely fine, and that I was listening to CDs right up until the point I brought it in, I was a little pissed off that they had just ripped the unit out without telling me. Apparently the serial number for the CD player doesn’t match what’s allowed for my car make and model, so they were forced to remove it.
The guy tried to explain it to me, but it basically amounted to this conversion:
Guy: so the serial numbers didn’t match on the unit, and we had to take it out. We’ll be ordering you a new one.
Me: so I don’t have a stereo right now?
Guy: that’s right, but you see, the serial numbers didn’t match, so it’s the wrong part and it has to go back
Me: but it worked fine — I’ve been using it for over a month now
Guy: yah, it’s the same sized unit and it has the same specifications, but we just can’t use it in your car
Me: so let me get this straight. I drove onto the lot this morning with a working stereo?
Guy: yah
Me: and now I’m leaving with a broken one?
Guy: yah… but.. the serial number… must.. replace..
Anyways, it’s obviously some stupid Mazda policy and not the fault of that guy, so I didn’t take it out on him. That being said, it’s a waste of my time to keep having to deal with this. Given that my FOB for my car door broke a while ago (actually, I accidentally put it in the washing machine), I asked him to order me a new one on Mazda’s bill for all the hassle. He agreed, so I’ll be getting one of those next week hopefully.
I obviously don’t really understand any of this really. I can understand if there’s a wiring problem or some other safety hazard with having the unit in the car, but right now it just seems like nothing more than a massive inconvenience.