Mazda’s Dealership Experience Is as Nice as Our 2020 CX-30

Our long-term 2020 Mazda CX-30 has been with us for 11 months now, and it has finally called for its first service. That’s less of a commentary on Mazda’s service intervals and more of a reflection of how close to home we’ve stayed in the lost year of 2020. Nevertheless, with our Mazda asking for its first trip to the dealer, we obliged and took care of a couple of recalls while we were at it.

Are Mazda Dealerships Nice?

Over the past few years, I’ve had long-termers from both mainstream automakers and luxury brands. With Mazda on a march upmarket into the luxury space, I was curious to see what the dealership experience was like—would it be more like a Jeep or Chevy? Or more like an Audi or Mercedes?

I was pleasantly surprised to see the Mazda dealership experience fell squarely on the luxury side of the spectrum. I showed up 15 minutes early for my appointment (made painlessly online without having to pick up the phone) and was quickly greeted, offered a bottle of water, and whisked into the well-appointed (and socially distanced) waiting room. Whereas mainstream automakers’ waiting rooms (and even some luxury ones) tend to be DMV-like (low rent and tucked into a corner and out of sight of prospective new customers), Mazda’s waiting room was in the center of the showroom, where it was surrounded by Mazda 3s, MX-5 Miatas, and CX-5s on lifts.

Whereas most dealerships leave you wondering when your car will be ready, the Mazda dealer kept me up to date on the status of the CX-30 via text.

What Does the CX-30’s First Service Entail?

Like most cars these days, the CX-30 analyzes your driving habits and will let you know on the instrument cluster when it’s ready for service. Regardless of how much or how little you drive, you can expect about 10,000 miles between each service interval. For its first service, the CX-30 requires an oil and filter change, as well as a tire rotation. Standard stuff.

2020 Mazda CX-30 Recalls

There were two open recalls on our CX-30 when we brought it in. The first concerned a condition where our Mazda’s Bose audio system could suddenly play loud static, which sounds like it’d be super annoying if it had ever happened to our SUV. The second had to do with the way the CX-30 brakes when using its adaptive cruise control. The update to the cruise control system is supposed to make the system feel more human. We’ll report back on whether we notice any changes in a future update.

How Much Did It Cost Us?

Despite the luxury-like experience at the dealer, it sure didn’t cost us that much. Our total bill was far shy of the $500 bills we’re used to seeing at Mercedes or Audi dealers. With both recalls performed under warranty, our CX-30’s first service costs us a grand total of $143.18.

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