Ken Gratton•20 Jan 2014
NEWS
Mazda Service Select on the way
Tailored service program for your new Mazda will be introduced next monthMazda is arming itself for the year ahead with a new weapon – an innovative service program to suit individual buyers according to the distances they travel in a year.
The new program, named Mazda Service Select, could reduce trips to the dealer to once a year. Mazda is offering owners the option of limiting services to one a year, if the vehicle is travelling less than 10,000km in a 12-month period. Currently the servicing schedule calls for each new Mazda to be serviced at least once every six months or 10,000km, whichever occurs first.
In addition to sparing owners a higher frequency of visits to the dealership, Mazda Service Select offers capped-price servicing for the life of the vehicle – which is also transferrable to subsequent owners of the car. Mazda will roll out the new service program from February 1, with service pricing to be available via the importer's corporate website or in the service departments at the dealers.
“Mazda is committed to ensuring customers have a safe and enjoyable driving experience irrespective of what distance they travel and Mazda Service Select matches a service program to individual owners based on their driving habits rather than the ‘one size fits all’ approach adopted by some other brands,” says Mazda Australia MD, Martin Benders.
“Mazda Service Select means our customers are not locked into a schedule that may not reflect their driving habits. Over time the average number of kilometres travelled by our customers has dropped from 15,000km five years ago to 13,000km today. That means a typical Mazda customer will only have to service their car every nine months or so, meaning just four rather than six trips to their dealer over three years.
“Mazda Service Select maintains the 10,000km service interval as the vast majority of our customers are private buyers. They have told us and continue to tell us that they think the 10,000km interval provides a regular safety and tech check of their vehicle, ensuring both its longevity and stronger resale value.”
According to the company, many buyers of new Mazdas travel less than 5000km in a year, ensuring the new service program will be welcomed by those customers.
A dealer advisory group was involved in discussion of the finer details, Benders says, and were kept informed every step of the way over the six months from idea to gestation. No doubt the dealers have been at the coalface, interacting with owners who find the twice-yearly servicing a chore. The new service program alleviates a sore point for some prospective Mazda buyers, and thereby addresses a shortcoming in Mazda's otherwise water-tight brand management in Australia.
"We need to maintain our lead in service satisfaction that we do have, and we want to take it another step further," said Benders, hinting that some of Mazda's rivals are still behind Mazda in customer service satisfaction surveys, despite offering capped-price servicing for the duration of each car's warranty.
Mazda claims that the implementation of Mazda Service Select, allied to the fuel efficiency of the company's new product range – including the upcoming Mazda3 next month – has the potential to reduce running costs considerably. In a study undertaken by Mazda, the company's new small car was only outgunned by Hyundai's i30, among its direct rivals, as outlined in the following table:
Mazda3 Neo 2.0 Auto – $5971
VW Golf VII 1.4 90TSI DSG – $6098
Hyundai i30 Active 1.8 Auto – $5325
Ford Focus LW2 2.0 Auto – $6700
Toyota Corolla Ascent 1.8 CVT – $6850
Holden Cruze Equipe 1.8 Auto – $6823
Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Don't forget to register to comment on this article.
Tags
Mazda
Car News
Written byKen Gratton
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Love every move.
Buy it. Sell it.Love it.
®Contact
Advertise with us
Local marketplaces
International marketplaces
Scan to download the carsales app
Want more info? Here’s our app landing page
App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo
are trademarks of Google LLC.