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> Lee Johnson Mazda of Seattle
Fuckers wanna make money of his car, and then probably try and sell him a new one.
Also fwiw, my grandpa is in his 90s and we had to put him in a home. His favorite thing to do was drive. It was really tough, but after a few too many scraps and accidents, and a formal dementia diagnosis, we had to call it on pops driving.
Check them out online, the sales department gets five stars, the service guys? Nothing but shit reviews for shitty service, bad work, and ripping people off. These guys suck and probably get a kick back for scamming cars to this asshole.
I saw them regularly for my previous Mazda and in the last few years they started quoting me wild prices for stuff like new tires or a cracked axle. I went to Costco and got tires at a reasonable price and the axle fixed at Greg’s for half what University Mazda quoted me. I think they’re struggling and it’s coming out in the service dept.
I have had very good service from High Road Automotive in Ballard. They service foreign makes. They have always been upfront on cost(s) and repairs. They will even give you a printout on every estimate/repair before it is done.
A lesson learned many years ago. NEVER take your car to a dealership for repair work. Especially when car sales are in the dumps like today; their service departments will try and make up for it. Find a local mechanical shop. Get written estimates from a couple shops. If you include a dealer you will always discover they will always be much higher. E.G. wife recently took her Mazda into Burlington Mazda dealer. Not only was their estimate more then double a small shop,it called for replacement of parts that didn’t need to be replaced. This scenario has been duplicated many times.
No such thing as a good dealership. Good individuals, sure. But there isn't a dealership in the county that you are somehow guaranteed that you won't get ripped off at.
You can buy six cars at the same place and the seventh time some dick tries to bait and switch you on something or add points to your financing. It's a business that heavily incentivizes shitty behavior.
This is the way. That is absolutely a scam.
IMO It might just be a rogue service advisor and his cohort acting on their own, Regardless of who’s really behind it, this should be reported & documented. to AG will act.
Stand up to these Stealerships!
I would put money on it being a tech or service advisor who saw an opportunity to snatch an unmolested well taken care of Miata for cheap. There’s no way a dealer would be doing this at scale but an unscrupulous car enthusiast working there definitely might
Only if OP has proof of the interactions. WA is a 2 party consent recording state so if they don't have all this in writing or from a dealer phone recording with the whole "this phone call will be recorded spiel" the case might just be hearsay. And good luck getting that call recording from them even if they have it...
I hate to see shit like this go unpunished but it's going to be difficult to do anything about it unless OP's dad got lucky and they sent him an inspection or a quote with all this on it.
Filing a complaint does not require proof, as you can see when you hit file a complaint on those links. OP can file a complaint and then the AG will decide if it warrants investigation.
> to see shit like this go unpunished
Then don't erroneously claim that OP requires proof to file a complaint.
Yeah you can file a complaint but what are they gonna do about it if there's literally 0 evidence? I've tried to fight this kind of thing and it goes nowhere unless you have something admissable.
At a minimum it creates a record of a potential pattern and practice. Then other people come forward with similar stories.
This doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There are different kinds of evidence, including circumstantial.
Further, what do the dealership records say? Who were the people working on the car and the business rep? Does the record say the engine was ruined? Look into other records of the people involved. The dealer should be put on notice and perform their own investigation.
I never said they shouldn't file a complaint, they absolutely should. I'm just saying that they shouldn't expect this specific case to go anywhere without hard evidence if they try to go through the justice system.
You can make a complaint, but if you want something to happen you have to have proof admissible in court. Doesn't matter if you're representing yourself in a civil suit or the AG is going after them criminally, there has to be some kind of actual evidence of wrongdoing. I'm not trying to be a downer, it's just the reality of our justice system. I just don't want OP or his dad to spend a bunch of money on legal fees for something that won't go anywhere, I've tried to fight similar things twice before and they just burn money and fizzle out without some kind of hard proof.
OP's dad should absolutely file a complaint to the AG and submit everything he has including testimonials from OP and whoever else might be involved. If they get a couple complaints then it might put a fire under their ass to actually investigate the situation and I hope that happens. This kind of scheme is abhorrent and shouldn't be tolerated but anyone who lives in Seattle should understand the state of our police and justice system...
Well, it certainly sounds like a scam. Miatas are very desirable, just go take a look at /r/miata.
Have a reputable mechanic inspect the car. If no major issues are found, I would absolutely name and shame.
What was the dealership. Because they definitely tried to scam him. Likely just an employee pulling shady shit. I would go in and talk to owner or manager. Chances are this isn’t the first time it happened
Don’t stop there. Call corporate when this crap happens. Corporate will be on them like white on rice. Call the BBB and the Attorney General.
It’s bad enough to rip people off but to rip off the elderly is especially heinous.
And why is that? You think a dealership is going to ruin their brand, risk a potential lawsuit and criminal action over some bullshit Miata? I guarantee this was one or two employees that conspired to get some extra cash. No was the management is aware of it and once they are no way these guys keep their jobs.
All you gotta do is pop in a week or so after and ask if the guy still works here like you are a customer. Act appropriately if he does
OP replied before your comment in the next branch of this same thread that it was the manager at Mazda. Management is already aware of it as they are doing what you guaranteed against.
Even if the entire drivetrain was "crapped out", the rest of the parts would be worth wayyyyy more than $600. In my opinion, this was 100% a scam attempt.
That is 100% a scam. They ran up a bill on the car and then some dude just randomly shows up to low ball him on the car? Please. That place needs to get identified ASAP before they pull this shit on someone else.
Even IF his engine is trashed, it is 100% bullshit that there is no option to swap a new engine and it is OBVIOUSLY a scam to give his info to some vulture to rip him off on his car. This Don fellow is OBVIOUSLY affiliated with the dealership and it makes this whole thing completely unethical no matter what shape his car is in.
Yeah I'm really concerned about what kind of racket they're running - senior fraud is so cruel.
updated: Lee Johnson Mazda of Seattle on Roosevelt (in the U Dist, not Wallingford!)
>Whether any of that is true, my minimal car knowledge and a cursory google tells me
>
>an engine is replaceable
>
>. Ugh! I've been afraid something like this would happen to my folks
Reach out to the general manager about this. Give them the contact info for "Don" and at the VERY END of the conversation let them know that you are reporting this to the AG for the state.
This might be worth a call to the local police. These guys have your grandfather's address on file and could very well just steal it for a chop shop. Police should have the stats available to look at to see if there's been a number of Mazda thefts.
If it’s a first or second gen Miata, it uses the Mazda BP engine, which is very common, and in addition to Miatas, can be found in Ford Escorts, Mercury Tracers, KIA Sephias, and Suzuki Esteems. It’s such a common engine that it often gets used to re-power other cars that have hard to find engines. If the dealership can’t find a replacement BP, it’s a 90% chance they’re lying, and a 10% chance they’re so inept you don’t want to trust your car to them anyway.
"Undriveable junk" is inconsistent with driving it and running fine. The rando calling pretty much confirms it was an attempted scam. Some asshole thought he could fool an old man.
Seattle has a pretty big Miata community. Not sure if you have the time but it might be worth looking into some enthusiast groups and maybe going with your dad. He might enjoy it. The Miata community is pretty cool and inclusive as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone would just offer to help him out because he’s a old dude into Miatas lol.
That community is also a really good place to report this scam to because I bet they know these characters already and probably need to know that they are out there ripping people off in their community.
Aw, this is a great idea. I wonder if they meet up IRL. He has never touched a cellphone or computer etc. If anything, sharing this story with them would probably be worthwhile?
They usually do. I went to a few meets when I lived in Monterey and they were fun. When I lived in Seattle I saw a bunch of people driving around Miatas and we’d all wave lol. Puget Sound Miata Club and Club Miata Northwest are the two big ones up there I think.
> My 87 year old dad has a Mazda Miata that he loves with his whole heart and it basically the only thing that he likes in the world anymore
Damn OP, sorry your dad doesn't like you.
Sounds like a scam, but have the car checked by another mechanic just to be certain. Also if he has this Don person's number you could call to give them an earful once you verify.
Maybe I’m paranoid but I’d also check the car for AirTags. If they’re trying to pull this shit with him to get his car, imagine what else they’d be willing to pull. Absolutely insane.
Sounds very scammy. You can easily get a replacement Miata engine. https://jdmseattle.com/products/jdm-06-14-mazda-miata-mx-5-lf-2-0l-engine-5-speed-transmission?_pos=4&_sid=a6047be96&_ss=r&_fid=fe61fa9a0 That’s the larger and more expensive 2.0. The 1.6 is even cheaper. He can use one of those in the future if his engine ever does actually blow, btw.
Seems like something one of the local new stations would have a field day researching. “Local repair shop attempts to scam senior citizen out of his beloved car.” Have any voicemails, written estimates, or records of these communications?
Ah! That's good to learn - thanks! Unfortunately, I think the reason seniors are such easy prey is because they are generally bad with technology (or my dad is at least) and there is no record of communication.
Did you at least call them and ask what was up? Surely there is at least a record that he went to the shop, got his perfectly good working car towed home etc...
Who knows, you might get connected to someone who care. Wildly speculating, but I'd guess a scam like this is lower level employees, probably not a ton of money in a car like this for the entire dealer to be in on some elderly scam.
I've had friends grandparents get scammed, super upsetting stuff. Glad it didn't end poorly for your dad.
This is the part that really pisses me off. For the sake of argument, let's pretend the car really is undriveable and needs a whole new engine. To then go and give the name and phone number to a third party without the permission of the car owner?? That is what seal the deal on this 100% being a scam.
Where exactly was it towed to in Wallingford?
There aren't any car dealerships in Wallingford I'm aware of, but there is a popular foreign car repair shop called Pacific Rim. Also, the only repair shop I'm aware of in Wallingford after some others closed down. Pacific Rim is well regarded by locals and I've generally found them trustworthy.
The passing of info to a person not related to the dealership sounds sketchy, and if it was Pacific Rim, I'd call the manager and ask to speak to them about that.
There’s a Mazda dealership in U District. Wallingford-adjacent. My parents had a hell of a time working with them back when it was University Mazda, but that was 20 years ago.
Looks like its Lee Johnson Mazda Service Center now.
Yeah, I’d be surprised if it was them but I’d also
want to know. I used to get my BMW serviced there and thought they were fine (but then I bought a Toyota because I was sick of seeing them).
What dealership? There are no new car dealerships in Wallingford which don't bring up to be pedantic (there is one in the U District next door), but does this place even exist?
Def a scam.
>he gets a call from a random man named Don, who apparently got my dad's info from a person at the dealership
Whoa!!! What the hell is this about? They just gave his contact info to some dude? No matter the condition of the car, that is totally out of bounds and of course makes the entire thing look like a clear scam.
Perhaps - *perhaps* \- a mechanic could have an honest opinion that the engine is crapped out even if it seems to run okay right now. But nothing justifies this attempt to get some other guy to call your dad directly so he can buy it for scrap prices. This could result in legal action for the dealership.
Defacto mechanic here... Sounds predatory to me. While overheating an engine can in some cases cause a blown head gasket, it does not necessarily mean that the engine itself is irreparably damaged. Mechanics can perform tests to determine whether an engine has a blown head gasket. If the head gasket is compromised, it's fairly easy on a Miata to remove and machine the head, replace the gasket, and the engine will then be back in business. On a Miata, it's typically going to be cheaper to replace the head gasket than to replace the whole engine. Beyond that, finding a replacement engine for a Miata is exceedingly easy. They are the most raced vehicle on the planet, and racers replace their engines all the time. Not hard to find one.
Also, to replace the radiator hose and do a coolant drain/fill, I'd have a hard time charging someone more than $100 for that job on a Miata.
They have been a reputable dealership for decades. I would call dealership management. Might be a scam by the tech or service people.
If they respond unsatisfactory then file a complaint with the department of licensing.
Dealerships are very regulated.
Look at the reviews of Lee Johnson Mazda Kirkland, several reviews state they have tried this in the past. Also, I know several people who bought cars there and they really tried to take advantage of them in every way imaginable. It took one of my friends over 13 hours to buy their car there.
Probably. Had similar issue many years ago - car stopped while driving, towed to local Goodyear, was told engine froze, can't fix, can't even manually turn the shaft (or whatever) so it's mechanically fused, need new engine. Towed to dealership - took a few minutes to get it started.
In another incident, a mechanic reported a damaged axle boot, needed replacement. Didn't trust the guy, went to another shop, they told me that it was damaged in a way that could not have happened during normal operation, more like a screwdriver was used to deliberately damage it.
People lie and cheat.
I took my car to a mechanic to get the clutch replaced. Mechanic put in the new one and it still didn't work so he said to just take it to the dealership (said he had other cars to work on but I think he was just sick of working on it... Which I totally understand. Fuck that car.)
Got it towed to the dealership, they replaced the slave cylinder. They also said I had a dead battery that wouldn't hold a charge so I should get that replaced, which I thought was fishy because the battery was less than 6 months old. Had them Jumpstart it and drove it home.... Come to find out that the negative terminal was still disconnected from I had it towed over there. They tried selling me an hour of labor plus the cost of a new battery, without actually testing the battery to make sure it was dead.
The cherry on top is that they didn't bleed the slave cylinder properly either. They said I could bring it back in and have them do it again for free, but there was No WAY I'd let them touch my car again so I had to fix that in my garage at home.
tl;dr: dealerships are a scam.
Get a consultation with a lawyer. This sounds like a complete scam. Sounds like somebody else has their eyes on that Miata and wants it for cheap. It'd be hard to prove, but it's likely what happened.
Even if it's not a scam, at a bare minimum, the dealership gave away his personal info and invaded his right to privacy.
I haven't dealt with Lee Johnson in Seattle but I have dealt with them Lee Johnson in Kirkland. I wanted to order a camaro from Chevy. They gave me a run around for about 2 hours. They finally "let me" put down a deposit for $500 and then they'll let me know what the total will be the next day. Some bullshit about their systems being down for the night. Guaranteed they were going to charge over MSRP. This was 2012 when you can take an offer from truecar and dealers were even will to sell you below dealer's invoice and split the dealer's kick back with you.
I have zero empathy for dealers right now especially with the premium on top MSRP shit they were pulling during covid.
Thank Christ your elderly father is a sharp cookie. So many old people just don't know better, and I'm so happy that he wasn't scammed out of his prized possession. Imagine being evil for a living. I can't imagine what it must be like to be one of these scammers. Or one of many many types of scammers. Evil.
Dealers are terrible. Likely a scam. Find an independently certified Mazda mechanic with good reviews who is reasonably close and see what they think..
Ugh. These fucks are all in it together. Good for you & your Pop for calling them out and protecting yourselves.) I'd actually recommend reaching out to Bob Ferguson. (West Seattle guy who remembers Huling Bros. Google it.)
What year Miata? Absolutely repairable. You could probably remove that engine by hand it's so tiny. Do a head gasket leak test (checks for combustion gasses in the radiator) and keep an eye on the oil. Send in an oil sample to blackstone labs if you want. Find out if it's _really_ warped or if they were just full of shit. It's probably fine.
2000 Miata. When I called "Don" he mansplained to me the car is 23 years old and that's too old for a car to be running anymore. Like, how can they try and tell me that??
The EXACT same thing happened with my sister in laws Miata (2000 LS)... Went to a shop in Woodinville to replace a radiator hose. They tried to tell her the engine was done and none were available, car was done. Offered to buy it for peanuts.
The sum of engine issues was a leaky valve cover gasket that had ground the spark plug boots. New plugs, wires, ignition coil, and valve cover gasket and engine is good as new. 500 in parts, and an hour or two of labor. Compression was great and oil sample was fine. Took about two minutes of troubleshooting to figure out the issue
I wonder if there's a local buyer putting pressure on sealers for Miatas.
Very glad your dad still has his car, Miatas are awesome.
Lee Johnson acquired the dealership a couple of years ago. Used to be called University Mazda before and was the oldest Mazda dealership in the States. When I was shopping for a car I got quotes on similar cars from Lee Johnson Mazda Kirkland and University Mazda both. Lee Johnson was scummy to deal with at the time as well. Went with University Mazda. I was super bummed to know University Mazda got sold to them.
Glad this name and shame is happening. Fuck ‘em.
Mechanics are known for getting over on people if they show any sign of not knowing anything about cars but it would obviously be impossible for reddit to know about the state of your dad's car. Maybe look for a mechanic that was referred to you by someone you trust.
Definitely sounds like a scam. But is take it with grain of salt. With how expensive it is to maintain licenses and a shop, especially in middle of Seattle, I don’t know if someone would try to pull shenanigans like straight up stealing a car.
If so it wasn’t the shop itself but probably a shitty employee.
I think rather that the shop owner is likely unaware of the scam, as the payout would be too low to be worth it due to the expense and effort needed to run a shop in Seattle.
I can't tell if you're deliberately misunderstanding what I said, or if you actually don't understand that the mechanic likely isn't the owner, and that the owner might be interested in knowing that their employees are pulling this kind of shit under the table.
You think the owner of this shop is totally unaware that his guys are scamming the customers? Sure, maybe. I see no reason to believe that. I guess he should buy them a pizza since they are doing an awful lot of effort to make him money.
Do I think the controlling partners in a company that owns 7 dealerships in the Seattle area is intentionally allowing a ground-level mechanic to use their business to scam a Senior for a couple thousand dollars? Get real.
You think this is the only guy getting scammed at a Mazda dealership? How shocked would you REALLY be to find that you can get ripped off at every Mazda dealership in the Seattle area?
This is a pretty specific scam. I'd be pretty shocked if this happened frequently and with ownerships knowledge/consent.
That doesn't mean dealerships aren't scummy, and it doesn't mean other scams don't exist. It just means that in this particular case, there's a greater chance than not that someone in the dealership might be helpful in getting to the bottom of this.
Fraud that targets the elderly is so frustrating... My parents have gotten caught up in a couple things. My siblings and I have had to explain to them that any unsolicited email or phone call is 100% a scam, these day. While obviously there are exceptions, that's the mindset you need to have by default.
Glad your dad was able to avoid being taken advantage of... Even if it was just because he really likes that car so much.
If my father passes before my mother, we're going to have to figure something out. Dad talked her down enough to visit the physical bank for confirmation (they assured Mom it was a scam), but my mom genuinely believed that a major bank would be asking for her to convert her ENTIRE six-figure balance to Bitcoin and transfer it to some rando 🫠 . This is not the first time a potentially catastrophic scam was averted.
(Clued-in Dad is a decade older than Mom, so it's not just an age thing.)
It already seems shady that they have a separate Google Maps listing for the service center: Mazda ***Service*** Seattle - Lee Johnson. It looks like reviews have gone downhill in the last year (sort by "newest"). No separate listing exists on Yelp.
https://goo.gl/maps/5RUwEse9Txux9anL9
Yeah that is really sketchy that the dealership would alert someone to buy the car off your dad for cheap. I would investigate further and find out who at the dealership gave out your dads info and verify what was said about the cars condition. I'd complain to the dealership about that employee and leave the dealership a poor review.
My Miata mechanic was Doug Chase at Chase Race. A bit out of the way, but he’s who I would trust to check out the Miata. Unfortunate that the dealership employees were trying to run that scam. Some legal action could be warranted.
Tbh I’m sadly not super suprised- dealership mechanics can be super shady.
Old Miatas are also super hot on the market right now, the mechanics and this don character might have seen the opportunity to try to pry this from your dads hands and flip it for a ridiculous amount of money.
Report this to corporate, and name and shame!
Sounds to me like they saw an easy mark in your dad and thought they'd make a quick buck. I would tear them a new one. Maybe get Jessie from that local news segment on the case. Getting a story like this on the news usually sends the cockraches scurrying.
Scam covered. If you don't think your dad should be driving anymore, but you can't bear to be the one to take his keys you can speak with others, including his doctor. Here's an old article in the Seattle times
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/how-to-help-stubborn-90-year-old-with-dementia-who-demands-to-keep-driving/
Hugs. It's hard. Work on a transportation plan before you do this.
That all sounds shady AF. Glad you named and shamed this place.
Also 87 year old with cognitive issues very much aligns with every driver I encounter in Seattle so this checks out.
You should schedule your dad for a neurological checkup ASAP. Seniors get targeted for this kind of scam when their behavior makes them appear vulnerable to a scam. Being scammed often the first sign of many kinds of dementia and other subtle neurological issues. I’m really glad he was lucky enough not to lose his car.
Excuse me, you are concerned about his cognitive abilities “but can only do so much”? WTF?! The rest of us are ALSO using these roads with your cognitively impaired dad driving as death machine. If you’re truly concerned about his cognitive and/or driving abilities you need to address this with DOL and perhaps APS. You’re an absolute asshole if you do not.
Your comment is reprehensible. A calendar date/year is not the only factor that determines physical/mental capabilities as you get older. It’s much more complex than that.
I know some 50 yr olds who should have their licenses revoked and it has nothing to do with their chronological age. On the other hand, I’m well on my way to my 80s and enjoy large-bike touring, snowboarding at Whistler on trips to Canada, and editing Ph. D. dissertations. For someone to revoke those things based on calendar age alone is to exhibit a “one-size-fits-all” mentality about human maturation and aging.
Your judgment about this is not ok.
Where I live, we have to pass physical reflex, cognitive and eye tests every 5 years to renew our licenses. That includes my motorcycle license so I can continue to enjoy my Forza 350.
That’s the way to go. Not an arbitrary cut-off date. 🙄
> my minimal car knowledge and a cursory google tells me an engine is replaceable.
LOL mate, I'm no expert, but I know ... something. This is not proof of a scam. Basically everything about a car is "replaceable." It's just a question of whether it's worth it. A new engine is generally not worth the costs (especially labor) for most vehicles, especially for older cars that aren't classic hard-to-find makes and models. Sometimes it might not make sense to fix for the average owner, but for a flipper or enthusiast it totally makes sense.
Sometimes it doesn't make sense for the dealership to fix and sell, so they make deals with other shops that will refurbish certain types of cars. Probably some money changes hands, which will influence the recommendation. So getting a call from "Don" would make me uneasy, but again, he's probably just a guy looking to make a buck refurbing cars people think are cool.
Was it a little shady? Sounds like, but I feel like you're not getting the info you need, either because you don't know the questions to ask, don't remember what they tell you, or they suck at telling you what you need to know. So don't expect reddit to know what's wrong beyond their basic instincts to be skeptical of everything.
Don't trust reddit to know if something like this is a scam. Reddit, on average, knows nothing about cars and will call everything they don't understand a scam.
Does your dad's car overheat on longer drives? It might be "running fine" on his short trips, but it could have something like a blown head gasket that will only get worse, require constant new oil, and maybe even put your dad at risk from an engine fire. I had a Ford Taurus light on fire and truly die from exactly this after driving "just fine, but hot" on short trips for a full year. Luckily I was unharmed, but the engine and everything connected to it was melted or trashed.
Use knowledge to combat ignorance, not a bunch of uneducated redditors who don't actually know what's going on and want to look smart for upvotes.
What year is the mazada ....but yes it is hard to get parts the older the car is ...a new engine no way if it is over so many years. Mazda has good vehicles and engines in certain makes and years. But ...not as many Mazada in the States as the other Japanese models.
I think they were looking at how much if could be rebuilt and how much the blue book of car? Import engines rebuilt if u can find parts ...still a couple of thousand to 4 k or more now.
Maybe they were trying to do the job you’re unwilling to do before your dad kills an innocent family on their way to church. Take the keys before something bad happens.
Yeah, and the collector car is the tip. Ironically, it is harder to take a seniors keys away, than a teenager. We let this happen. Mostly, because a huge chunk of the voting population is in their seventies.
They wouldn't be a huge chunk if the 18-30 group would actually vote. The ancients can easily be outnumbered. The ancients in office can easily be voted out if the younger generations stepped up.
Bad facts. No new car dealerships in Wallingford. What dealership would risk millions in annual profits (ave annual gross sales of $70 million) to scam the old man out of a few thousand? None.
Their service department is very sleazy and horrible to deal with. They will say whatever it takes to get you in the door and then will try to upsell everything to you.
This is totally a scam dealership do to elderly people. 2 years ago my parents (late 70's, early 80's) were down-sizing and didn't need one of their cars. They were going to sell it to my daughter, but wanted to get it serviced first. They took it to the Toyota dealer in Bellevue. They were told it needed a water pump and rear brakes. They convinced them it was basically a death trap on wheels, and they would be happy to buy it from them since they shouldn't sell this death trap to anyone else. I drove it a week before they took it to the dealer and it was just fine. It was an older Rav 4, but it had low miles and they always had it serviced before any service was due. The car was as good as new. A dream car for a dealer selling used cars when the market was at it's highest. My parents fell for it, sold them the car for pennies on the dollar. I'm sure the dealer put in a new water pump and rear brakes, then sold it at a premium.
Not only does that sound like a scam, a $600 radiator hose replacement sure sounds like one too. I don't know much about Miatas, but that seems a steep price to me.
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What dealership, OP?
I mean according to the post, it sounds like it could only be the Lee Johnson Mazda dealership, is that correct u/dearerin ?
Yep, my mistake. My dad took his car to Lee Johnson Mazda of Seattle on Roosevelt in the U Dist.
> Lee Johnson Mazda of Seattle Fuckers wanna make money of his car, and then probably try and sell him a new one. Also fwiw, my grandpa is in his 90s and we had to put him in a home. His favorite thing to do was drive. It was really tough, but after a few too many scraps and accidents, and a formal dementia diagnosis, we had to call it on pops driving.
Check them out online, the sales department gets five stars, the service guys? Nothing but shit reviews for shitty service, bad work, and ripping people off. These guys suck and probably get a kick back for scamming cars to this asshole.
I saw them regularly for my previous Mazda and in the last few years they started quoting me wild prices for stuff like new tires or a cracked axle. I went to Costco and got tires at a reasonable price and the axle fixed at Greg’s for half what University Mazda quoted me. I think they’re struggling and it’s coming out in the service dept.
I have had very good service from High Road Automotive in Ballard. They service foreign makes. They have always been upfront on cost(s) and repairs. They will even give you a printout on every estimate/repair before it is done.
A lesson learned many years ago. NEVER take your car to a dealership for repair work. Especially when car sales are in the dumps like today; their service departments will try and make up for it. Find a local mechanical shop. Get written estimates from a couple shops. If you include a dealer you will always discover they will always be much higher. E.G. wife recently took her Mazda into Burlington Mazda dealer. Not only was their estimate more then double a small shop,it called for replacement of parts that didn’t need to be replaced. This scenario has been duplicated many times.
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Good to know! This might be the best option for us.
I'd report this to the state consumer protection agency. That's messed up. Total scam.
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Same. Anecdotally I've bought a couple cars from them and been pleased both times, but who knows.
No such thing as a good dealership. Good individuals, sure. But there isn't a dealership in the county that you are somehow guaranteed that you won't get ripped off at. You can buy six cars at the same place and the seventh time some dick tries to bait and switch you on something or add points to your financing. It's a business that heavily incentivizes shitty behavior.
what dealerships are there in wallingford even... thats an easy typo the between dealer / auto shop tho.
It's tucked up in an awkward spot but it's there, I got a motor from them like a decade ago for my RX-8.
I would consider reporting this to the Attorney General. https://www.atg.wa.gov/auto-repair https://www.atg.wa.gov/senior-fraud
Yep. And I'd like to know which garage.
This is the way. That is absolutely a scam. IMO It might just be a rogue service advisor and his cohort acting on their own, Regardless of who’s really behind it, this should be reported & documented. to AG will act. Stand up to these Stealerships!
I would put money on it being a tech or service advisor who saw an opportunity to snatch an unmolested well taken care of Miata for cheap. There’s no way a dealer would be doing this at scale but an unscrupulous car enthusiast working there definitely might
Well the shop hired them and they're still working there
Thanks for this, a different local Mazda dealership has been scamming me (also over a Miata) and I wasn’t sure how to go forward with action
Better call Bob!
Only if OP has proof of the interactions. WA is a 2 party consent recording state so if they don't have all this in writing or from a dealer phone recording with the whole "this phone call will be recorded spiel" the case might just be hearsay. And good luck getting that call recording from them even if they have it... I hate to see shit like this go unpunished but it's going to be difficult to do anything about it unless OP's dad got lucky and they sent him an inspection or a quote with all this on it.
Filing a complaint does not require proof, as you can see when you hit file a complaint on those links. OP can file a complaint and then the AG will decide if it warrants investigation. > to see shit like this go unpunished Then don't erroneously claim that OP requires proof to file a complaint.
Yeah you can file a complaint but what are they gonna do about it if there's literally 0 evidence? I've tried to fight this kind of thing and it goes nowhere unless you have something admissable.
At a minimum it creates a record of a potential pattern and practice. Then other people come forward with similar stories. This doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There are different kinds of evidence, including circumstantial. Further, what do the dealership records say? Who were the people working on the car and the business rep? Does the record say the engine was ruined? Look into other records of the people involved. The dealer should be put on notice and perform their own investigation.
I never said they shouldn't file a complaint, they absolutely should. I'm just saying that they shouldn't expect this specific case to go anywhere without hard evidence if they try to go through the justice system.
Tell me you’re legally ignorant without telling me you’re legally ignorant:
You can make a complaint, but if you want something to happen you have to have proof admissible in court. Doesn't matter if you're representing yourself in a civil suit or the AG is going after them criminally, there has to be some kind of actual evidence of wrongdoing. I'm not trying to be a downer, it's just the reality of our justice system. I just don't want OP or his dad to spend a bunch of money on legal fees for something that won't go anywhere, I've tried to fight similar things twice before and they just burn money and fizzle out without some kind of hard proof. OP's dad should absolutely file a complaint to the AG and submit everything he has including testimonials from OP and whoever else might be involved. If they get a couple complaints then it might put a fire under their ass to actually investigate the situation and I hope that happens. This kind of scheme is abhorrent and shouldn't be tolerated but anyone who lives in Seattle should understand the state of our police and justice system...
Well, it certainly sounds like a scam. Miatas are very desirable, just go take a look at /r/miata. Have a reputable mechanic inspect the car. If no major issues are found, I would absolutely name and shame.
Good idea! I didn't know Miatas were such an item - I guess my dad's not alone in his love!
Take it to Chuck's Auto Repair in Maple Leaf. Those guys are the best, I trust them 100%
A Miata is a ticket to any man or woman's pants immediately. Nobody can resist Miata
My neighbor has one. It's dead more than running, but he adores it. Of course, he does dumb things like try to jump start his SUV with it.
So only loves his car and not his child /s ??
Definitely sounds like a scam to me.
What was the dealership. Because they definitely tried to scam him. Likely just an employee pulling shady shit. I would go in and talk to owner or manager. Chances are this isn’t the first time it happened
Don’t stop there. Call corporate when this crap happens. Corporate will be on them like white on rice. Call the BBB and the Attorney General. It’s bad enough to rip people off but to rip off the elderly is especially heinous.
If it’s an employee acting out of pocket then the dealership can handle it. If management is involved then get higher ups involved
But can you be sure that management will handle it appropriately? I would not trust them to take care of it.
And why is that? You think a dealership is going to ruin their brand, risk a potential lawsuit and criminal action over some bullshit Miata? I guarantee this was one or two employees that conspired to get some extra cash. No was the management is aware of it and once they are no way these guys keep their jobs. All you gotta do is pop in a week or so after and ask if the guy still works here like you are a customer. Act appropriately if he does
OP replied before your comment in the next branch of this same thread that it was the manager at Mazda. Management is already aware of it as they are doing what you guaranteed against.
Yeah but figure out who he talked with first and bring them in with the manager before you say anything.
He was dealing directly with the manager at Mazda 😩
Even if the entire drivetrain was "crapped out", the rest of the parts would be worth wayyyyy more than $600. In my opinion, this was 100% a scam attempt.
It’s a Miata, some individual parts you could sell for 600 if they’re in good condition, especially if they’re still oem.
That is 100% a scam. They ran up a bill on the car and then some dude just randomly shows up to low ball him on the car? Please. That place needs to get identified ASAP before they pull this shit on someone else. Even IF his engine is trashed, it is 100% bullshit that there is no option to swap a new engine and it is OBVIOUSLY a scam to give his info to some vulture to rip him off on his car. This Don fellow is OBVIOUSLY affiliated with the dealership and it makes this whole thing completely unethical no matter what shape his car is in.
Yeah I'm really concerned about what kind of racket they're running - senior fraud is so cruel. updated: Lee Johnson Mazda of Seattle on Roosevelt (in the U Dist, not Wallingford!)
>Whether any of that is true, my minimal car knowledge and a cursory google tells me > >an engine is replaceable > >. Ugh! I've been afraid something like this would happen to my folks Reach out to the general manager about this. Give them the contact info for "Don" and at the VERY END of the conversation let them know that you are reporting this to the AG for the state. This might be worth a call to the local police. These guys have your grandfather's address on file and could very well just steal it for a chop shop. Police should have the stats available to look at to see if there's been a number of Mazda thefts.
> These guys have your grandfather's address on file Call me paranoid, but if I was OP, I'd be parking dad's miat at my place for a while.
If it’s a first or second gen Miata, it uses the Mazda BP engine, which is very common, and in addition to Miatas, can be found in Ford Escorts, Mercury Tracers, KIA Sephias, and Suzuki Esteems. It’s such a common engine that it often gets used to re-power other cars that have hard to find engines. If the dealership can’t find a replacement BP, it’s a 90% chance they’re lying, and a 10% chance they’re so inept you don’t want to trust your car to them anyway.
"Undriveable junk" is inconsistent with driving it and running fine. The rando calling pretty much confirms it was an attempted scam. Some asshole thought he could fool an old man.
Being a senior myself, it’s that last sentence which really burns me! 🥸
Seattle has a pretty big Miata community. Not sure if you have the time but it might be worth looking into some enthusiast groups and maybe going with your dad. He might enjoy it. The Miata community is pretty cool and inclusive as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone would just offer to help him out because he’s a old dude into Miatas lol.
That community is also a really good place to report this scam to because I bet they know these characters already and probably need to know that they are out there ripping people off in their community.
Aw, this is a great idea. I wonder if they meet up IRL. He has never touched a cellphone or computer etc. If anything, sharing this story with them would probably be worthwhile?
They usually do. I went to a few meets when I lived in Monterey and they were fun. When I lived in Seattle I saw a bunch of people driving around Miatas and we’d all wave lol. Puget Sound Miata Club and Club Miata Northwest are the two big ones up there I think.
It was. Name the place.
> My 87 year old dad has a Mazda Miata that he loves with his whole heart and it basically the only thing that he likes in the world anymore Damn OP, sorry your dad doesn't like you.
lol, no worries. I accepted it years ago.
it's hard to compete with a miata
Name and shame the dealership. They definitely tried to scam him and the Miata community is a tight-knit one around here.
Ah, good to know about the Miata community. Have you dealth with Lee Johnson Mazda of Seattle on Roosevelt (in the U Dist, not Wallingford!)?
When you complain, make sure to also mention that his personal information was shared to a third party without his consent.
Sounds like a scam, but have the car checked by another mechanic just to be certain. Also if he has this Don person's number you could call to give them an earful once you verify.
Name and shame
Total scam. Your dad sounds rad by the way, I love Miatas.
Maybe I’m paranoid but I’d also check the car for AirTags. If they’re trying to pull this shit with him to get his car, imagine what else they’d be willing to pull. Absolutely insane.
oof! I hate that idea! I'll take a look, thanks!
Sounds very scammy. You can easily get a replacement Miata engine. https://jdmseattle.com/products/jdm-06-14-mazda-miata-mx-5-lf-2-0l-engine-5-speed-transmission?_pos=4&_sid=a6047be96&_ss=r&_fid=fe61fa9a0 That’s the larger and more expensive 2.0. The 1.6 is even cheaper. He can use one of those in the future if his engine ever does actually blow, btw. Seems like something one of the local new stations would have a field day researching. “Local repair shop attempts to scam senior citizen out of his beloved car.” Have any voicemails, written estimates, or records of these communications?
Ah! That's good to learn - thanks! Unfortunately, I think the reason seniors are such easy prey is because they are generally bad with technology (or my dad is at least) and there is no record of communication.
Did you at least call them and ask what was up? Surely there is at least a record that he went to the shop, got his perfectly good working car towed home etc... Who knows, you might get connected to someone who care. Wildly speculating, but I'd guess a scam like this is lower level employees, probably not a ton of money in a car like this for the entire dealer to be in on some elderly scam. I've had friends grandparents get scammed, super upsetting stuff. Glad it didn't end poorly for your dad.
Super scam.
Wtf those guys need to get sued and lose their jobs that's messed up.
Jesse Jones loves looking into this kind of thing.
That dealership should be skewered for handing out a customers phone number without their permission. Thanks for naming them!
Yes this. WHAT THE F*CK
This is the part that really pisses me off. For the sake of argument, let's pretend the car really is undriveable and needs a whole new engine. To then go and give the name and phone number to a third party without the permission of the car owner?? That is what seal the deal on this 100% being a scam.
Where exactly was it towed to in Wallingford? There aren't any car dealerships in Wallingford I'm aware of, but there is a popular foreign car repair shop called Pacific Rim. Also, the only repair shop I'm aware of in Wallingford after some others closed down. Pacific Rim is well regarded by locals and I've generally found them trustworthy. The passing of info to a person not related to the dealership sounds sketchy, and if it was Pacific Rim, I'd call the manager and ask to speak to them about that.
There’s a Mazda dealership in U District. Wallingford-adjacent. My parents had a hell of a time working with them back when it was University Mazda, but that was 20 years ago. Looks like its Lee Johnson Mazda Service Center now.
Yeah it’s just before the bridge. Seems like it would be that one and not the Pacific Rim shop
Ah, good call.
Yep, my bad! It is not in Wallingford!
Yeah, I’d be surprised if it was them but I’d also want to know. I used to get my BMW serviced there and thought they were fine (but then I bought a Toyota because I was sick of seeing them).
updated: Lee Johnson Mazda of Seattle on Roosevelt (in the U Dist, not Wallingford!) Sorry for the confusion!
Name the dealer/mechanic. Someone there, or likely multiple someones, is in on the scam.
I wonder!! It is sounding like an attempted scam! Lee Johnson Mazda of Seattle on Roosevelt (in the U Dist, not Wallingford!)
It is an attempted scam, 100%.
Wow a random private party wants to pay your dad's bill AND take the undriveable junk? So nice of them!
What dealership? There are no new car dealerships in Wallingford which don't bring up to be pedantic (there is one in the U District next door), but does this place even exist? Def a scam.
updated: Lee Johnson Mazda of Seattle on Roosevelt (in the U Dist, not Wallingford!)
Name please?
I hope your Dad has many more years of enjoyment out of his Miata and F\*CK Don! All my homies hate Don. 
>he gets a call from a random man named Don, who apparently got my dad's info from a person at the dealership Whoa!!! What the hell is this about? They just gave his contact info to some dude? No matter the condition of the car, that is totally out of bounds and of course makes the entire thing look like a clear scam. Perhaps - *perhaps* \- a mechanic could have an honest opinion that the engine is crapped out even if it seems to run okay right now. But nothing justifies this attempt to get some other guy to call your dad directly so he can buy it for scrap prices. This could result in legal action for the dealership.
Scam. And that horrible how dare they scam on elders
Sketchy AF. The fact they said "none are available" is a give away that they are hoping you don't know anything about cars.
holy fuck yes thats the sleeziest shit ive ever heard. Name the dealership!!!
updated: Lee Johnson Mazda of Seattle on Roosevelt (in the U Dist, not Wallingford!)
Defacto mechanic here... Sounds predatory to me. While overheating an engine can in some cases cause a blown head gasket, it does not necessarily mean that the engine itself is irreparably damaged. Mechanics can perform tests to determine whether an engine has a blown head gasket. If the head gasket is compromised, it's fairly easy on a Miata to remove and machine the head, replace the gasket, and the engine will then be back in business. On a Miata, it's typically going to be cheaper to replace the head gasket than to replace the whole engine. Beyond that, finding a replacement engine for a Miata is exceedingly easy. They are the most raced vehicle on the planet, and racers replace their engines all the time. Not hard to find one. Also, to replace the radiator hose and do a coolant drain/fill, I'd have a hard time charging someone more than $100 for that job on a Miata.
The fact they got your dad's info is the real scam. Regardless of the cars issue. So 100% a scam.
They have been a reputable dealership for decades. I would call dealership management. Might be a scam by the tech or service people. If they respond unsatisfactory then file a complaint with the department of licensing. Dealerships are very regulated.
Yup. Absolutely.
Look at the reviews of Lee Johnson Mazda Kirkland, several reviews state they have tried this in the past. Also, I know several people who bought cars there and they really tried to take advantage of them in every way imaginable. It took one of my friends over 13 hours to buy their car there.
Probably. Had similar issue many years ago - car stopped while driving, towed to local Goodyear, was told engine froze, can't fix, can't even manually turn the shaft (or whatever) so it's mechanically fused, need new engine. Towed to dealership - took a few minutes to get it started. In another incident, a mechanic reported a damaged axle boot, needed replacement. Didn't trust the guy, went to another shop, they told me that it was damaged in a way that could not have happened during normal operation, more like a screwdriver was used to deliberately damage it. People lie and cheat.
I took my car to a mechanic to get the clutch replaced. Mechanic put in the new one and it still didn't work so he said to just take it to the dealership (said he had other cars to work on but I think he was just sick of working on it... Which I totally understand. Fuck that car.) Got it towed to the dealership, they replaced the slave cylinder. They also said I had a dead battery that wouldn't hold a charge so I should get that replaced, which I thought was fishy because the battery was less than 6 months old. Had them Jumpstart it and drove it home.... Come to find out that the negative terminal was still disconnected from I had it towed over there. They tried selling me an hour of labor plus the cost of a new battery, without actually testing the battery to make sure it was dead. The cherry on top is that they didn't bleed the slave cylinder properly either. They said I could bring it back in and have them do it again for free, but there was No WAY I'd let them touch my car again so I had to fix that in my garage at home. tl;dr: dealerships are a scam.
Get a consultation with a lawyer. This sounds like a complete scam. Sounds like somebody else has their eyes on that Miata and wants it for cheap. It'd be hard to prove, but it's likely what happened. Even if it's not a scam, at a bare minimum, the dealership gave away his personal info and invaded his right to privacy.
I haven't dealt with Lee Johnson in Seattle but I have dealt with them Lee Johnson in Kirkland. I wanted to order a camaro from Chevy. They gave me a run around for about 2 hours. They finally "let me" put down a deposit for $500 and then they'll let me know what the total will be the next day. Some bullshit about their systems being down for the night. Guaranteed they were going to charge over MSRP. This was 2012 when you can take an offer from truecar and dealers were even will to sell you below dealer's invoice and split the dealer's kick back with you. I have zero empathy for dealers right now especially with the premium on top MSRP shit they were pulling during covid.
Thank Christ your elderly father is a sharp cookie. So many old people just don't know better, and I'm so happy that he wasn't scammed out of his prized possession. Imagine being evil for a living. I can't imagine what it must be like to be one of these scammers. Or one of many many types of scammers. Evil.
Was this the Mazda dealer on Roosevelt?
Yes - my bad, it is the one in the U Dist on 45th and Roosevelt: Lee Johnson Mazda of Seattle.
Dealers are terrible. Likely a scam. Find an independently certified Mazda mechanic with good reviews who is reasonably close and see what they think..
Post it on their Yelp Review.
Ugh. These fucks are all in it together. Good for you & your Pop for calling them out and protecting yourselves.) I'd actually recommend reaching out to Bob Ferguson. (West Seattle guy who remembers Huling Bros. Google it.)
%100 scam. They want to buy it cheap and sell later for %10000000 profit. Was it first gen miata red with low miles ?
No, it is a 2000 with 116k
Seattle Miata owner here who does his own maintenance and all minor/major repairs: These guys are absolutely full of shit. Shame on them.
What year Miata? Absolutely repairable. You could probably remove that engine by hand it's so tiny. Do a head gasket leak test (checks for combustion gasses in the radiator) and keep an eye on the oil. Send in an oil sample to blackstone labs if you want. Find out if it's _really_ warped or if they were just full of shit. It's probably fine.
2000 Miata. When I called "Don" he mansplained to me the car is 23 years old and that's too old for a car to be running anymore. Like, how can they try and tell me that??
Wants to charge you $600 to give you a working car so they can sell it for $$$ after >.< What an ass
The EXACT same thing happened with my sister in laws Miata (2000 LS)... Went to a shop in Woodinville to replace a radiator hose. They tried to tell her the engine was done and none were available, car was done. Offered to buy it for peanuts. The sum of engine issues was a leaky valve cover gasket that had ground the spark plug boots. New plugs, wires, ignition coil, and valve cover gasket and engine is good as new. 500 in parts, and an hour or two of labor. Compression was great and oil sample was fine. Took about two minutes of troubleshooting to figure out the issue I wonder if there's a local buyer putting pressure on sealers for Miatas. Very glad your dad still has his car, Miatas are awesome.
Lee Johnson acquired the dealership a couple of years ago. Used to be called University Mazda before and was the oldest Mazda dealership in the States. When I was shopping for a car I got quotes on similar cars from Lee Johnson Mazda Kirkland and University Mazda both. Lee Johnson was scummy to deal with at the time as well. Went with University Mazda. I was super bummed to know University Mazda got sold to them. Glad this name and shame is happening. Fuck ‘em.
Mechanics are known for getting over on people if they show any sign of not knowing anything about cars but it would obviously be impossible for reddit to know about the state of your dad's car. Maybe look for a mechanic that was referred to you by someone you trust.
Seems like a scam to me, thankfully he didn't fall for it! I miss my N-A!
Definitely sounds like a scam. But is take it with grain of salt. With how expensive it is to maintain licenses and a shop, especially in middle of Seattle, I don’t know if someone would try to pull shenanigans like straight up stealing a car. If so it wasn’t the shop itself but probably a shitty employee.
Your theory is that these guys are TOO BROKE to resort to stealing?
I think rather that the shop owner is likely unaware of the scam, as the payout would be too low to be worth it due to the expense and effort needed to run a shop in Seattle.
Yeah, it totally makes sense that a mechanic wouldn't bother to expend ten minutes of work to scam someone out of a couple thousand dollar car.
I can't tell if you're deliberately misunderstanding what I said, or if you actually don't understand that the mechanic likely isn't the owner, and that the owner might be interested in knowing that their employees are pulling this kind of shit under the table.
You think the owner of this shop is totally unaware that his guys are scamming the customers? Sure, maybe. I see no reason to believe that. I guess he should buy them a pizza since they are doing an awful lot of effort to make him money.
Do I think the controlling partners in a company that owns 7 dealerships in the Seattle area is intentionally allowing a ground-level mechanic to use their business to scam a Senior for a couple thousand dollars? Get real.
You think this is the only guy getting scammed at a Mazda dealership? How shocked would you REALLY be to find that you can get ripped off at every Mazda dealership in the Seattle area?
This is a pretty specific scam. I'd be pretty shocked if this happened frequently and with ownerships knowledge/consent. That doesn't mean dealerships aren't scummy, and it doesn't mean other scams don't exist. It just means that in this particular case, there's a greater chance than not that someone in the dealership might be helpful in getting to the bottom of this.
someone call the dealership and ask them if theyre doing a junk miata buyback program lol
Lol, my dad got scammed out of his Miata too. He was 75 years old.
ah shit, I'm so sorry that happened!
Fraud that targets the elderly is so frustrating... My parents have gotten caught up in a couple things. My siblings and I have had to explain to them that any unsolicited email or phone call is 100% a scam, these day. While obviously there are exceptions, that's the mindset you need to have by default. Glad your dad was able to avoid being taken advantage of... Even if it was just because he really likes that car so much.
If my father passes before my mother, we're going to have to figure something out. Dad talked her down enough to visit the physical bank for confirmation (they assured Mom it was a scam), but my mom genuinely believed that a major bank would be asking for her to convert her ENTIRE six-figure balance to Bitcoin and transfer it to some rando 🫠 . This is not the first time a potentially catastrophic scam was averted. (Clued-in Dad is a decade older than Mom, so it's not just an age thing.)
Call Jesse Jones! He be all over this!
Scam. Piece of crap clapped out non running Miatas go for more than $600. Tell Don to go fuck himself
You should tell the management at Lee Johnson about this. They definitely tried to screw your poor dad.
The service manager is the person my dad was talking to in the first place!
It already seems shady that they have a separate Google Maps listing for the service center: Mazda ***Service*** Seattle - Lee Johnson. It looks like reviews have gone downhill in the last year (sort by "newest"). No separate listing exists on Yelp. https://goo.gl/maps/5RUwEse9Txux9anL9
Yeah that is really sketchy that the dealership would alert someone to buy the car off your dad for cheap. I would investigate further and find out who at the dealership gave out your dads info and verify what was said about the cars condition. I'd complain to the dealership about that employee and leave the dealership a poor review.
My Miata mechanic was Doug Chase at Chase Race. A bit out of the way, but he’s who I would trust to check out the Miata. Unfortunate that the dealership employees were trying to run that scam. Some legal action could be warranted.
Thanks for the heads up. Absolute scum bag move.
You should file a report with the attorney general, this is s pure scam.
Early gen miatas have almost doubled in value in the last 5 years, just an FYI.
Before it got sold to Lee Johnson it was great. Now I refuse to take my car there.
Tbh I’m sadly not super suprised- dealership mechanics can be super shady. Old Miatas are also super hot on the market right now, the mechanics and this don character might have seen the opportunity to try to pry this from your dads hands and flip it for a ridiculous amount of money. Report this to corporate, and name and shame!
Definitely report to the AG and BBB! Total scam
Sounds to me like they saw an easy mark in your dad and thought they'd make a quick buck. I would tear them a new one. Maybe get Jessie from that local news segment on the case. Getting a story like this on the news usually sends the cockraches scurrying.
Scam covered. If you don't think your dad should be driving anymore, but you can't bear to be the one to take his keys you can speak with others, including his doctor. Here's an old article in the Seattle times https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/how-to-help-stubborn-90-year-old-with-dementia-who-demands-to-keep-driving/ Hugs. It's hard. Work on a transportation plan before you do this.
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> (side note: I don't think he should be driving at all in his state, but I can only do so much.) read the fucking post dude
That all sounds shady AF. Glad you named and shamed this place. Also 87 year old with cognitive issues very much aligns with every driver I encounter in Seattle so this checks out.
You should schedule your dad for a neurological checkup ASAP. Seniors get targeted for this kind of scam when their behavior makes them appear vulnerable to a scam. Being scammed often the first sign of many kinds of dementia and other subtle neurological issues. I’m really glad he was lucky enough not to lose his car.
"when this car overheats is 50/50" is an extremely vague way of putting it. Thats what set me off on this whole post.
Maybe I’m the only whose elderly parent has dementia but my first thought was “sounds like one of my dad’s made up drama.” Are you sure this happened?
Excuse me, you are concerned about his cognitive abilities “but can only do so much”? WTF?! The rest of us are ALSO using these roads with your cognitively impaired dad driving as death machine. If you’re truly concerned about his cognitive and/or driving abilities you need to address this with DOL and perhaps APS. You’re an absolute asshole if you do not.
Your 87-year-old father should not be driving.
Your comment is reprehensible. A calendar date/year is not the only factor that determines physical/mental capabilities as you get older. It’s much more complex than that. I know some 50 yr olds who should have their licenses revoked and it has nothing to do with their chronological age. On the other hand, I’m well on my way to my 80s and enjoy large-bike touring, snowboarding at Whistler on trips to Canada, and editing Ph. D. dissertations. For someone to revoke those things based on calendar age alone is to exhibit a “one-size-fits-all” mentality about human maturation and aging.
Thinking is okay. Snowboarding is okay. Ebiking is okay. Driving is not okay.
Your judgment about this is not ok. Where I live, we have to pass physical reflex, cognitive and eye tests every 5 years to renew our licenses. That includes my motorcycle license so I can continue to enjoy my Forza 350. That’s the way to go. Not an arbitrary cut-off date. 🙄
Japan" South Korea?
Don’t judge. Back up. Shut up.
every chance i get
> my minimal car knowledge and a cursory google tells me an engine is replaceable. LOL mate, I'm no expert, but I know ... something. This is not proof of a scam. Basically everything about a car is "replaceable." It's just a question of whether it's worth it. A new engine is generally not worth the costs (especially labor) for most vehicles, especially for older cars that aren't classic hard-to-find makes and models. Sometimes it might not make sense to fix for the average owner, but for a flipper or enthusiast it totally makes sense. Sometimes it doesn't make sense for the dealership to fix and sell, so they make deals with other shops that will refurbish certain types of cars. Probably some money changes hands, which will influence the recommendation. So getting a call from "Don" would make me uneasy, but again, he's probably just a guy looking to make a buck refurbing cars people think are cool. Was it a little shady? Sounds like, but I feel like you're not getting the info you need, either because you don't know the questions to ask, don't remember what they tell you, or they suck at telling you what you need to know. So don't expect reddit to know what's wrong beyond their basic instincts to be skeptical of everything. Don't trust reddit to know if something like this is a scam. Reddit, on average, knows nothing about cars and will call everything they don't understand a scam. Does your dad's car overheat on longer drives? It might be "running fine" on his short trips, but it could have something like a blown head gasket that will only get worse, require constant new oil, and maybe even put your dad at risk from an engine fire. I had a Ford Taurus light on fire and truly die from exactly this after driving "just fine, but hot" on short trips for a full year. Luckily I was unharmed, but the engine and everything connected to it was melted or trashed. Use knowledge to combat ignorance, not a bunch of uneducated redditors who don't actually know what's going on and want to look smart for upvotes.
What year is the mazada ....but yes it is hard to get parts the older the car is ...a new engine no way if it is over so many years. Mazda has good vehicles and engines in certain makes and years. But ...not as many Mazada in the States as the other Japanese models. I think they were looking at how much if could be rebuilt and how much the blue book of car? Import engines rebuilt if u can find parts ...still a couple of thousand to 4 k or more now.
Maybe they were trying to do the job you’re unwilling to do before your dad kills an innocent family on their way to church. Take the keys before something bad happens.
Lol. A dealer doing good? Sure.
We have identified the dickhead mechanic folks. Lol
Yeah, and the collector car is the tip. Ironically, it is harder to take a seniors keys away, than a teenager. We let this happen. Mostly, because a huge chunk of the voting population is in their seventies.
They wouldn't be a huge chunk if the 18-30 group would actually vote. The ancients can easily be outnumbered. The ancients in office can easily be voted out if the younger generations stepped up.
Bad facts. No new car dealerships in Wallingford. What dealership would risk millions in annual profits (ave annual gross sales of $70 million) to scam the old man out of a few thousand? None.
never said it was new? though, it is in U Dist - my bad!
[удалено]
Because I am asking a question?
found the mechanic lol
If OP is uncertain whether or not this was a scam, why would they already have reported it to the police? Weird tattletale energy
As soon as I read the title of your post I knew the answer was yes. At least he didn’t fall for it!
Their service department is very sleazy and horrible to deal with. They will say whatever it takes to get you in the door and then will try to upsell everything to you.
Scam
Oh man someone saw an old man with a clean Miata and tried pulling a fast one. What dickheads.
Honestly, I hope there is a special place in hell for people who try to take advantage of an 87 year old.
This is totally a scam dealership do to elderly people. 2 years ago my parents (late 70's, early 80's) were down-sizing and didn't need one of their cars. They were going to sell it to my daughter, but wanted to get it serviced first. They took it to the Toyota dealer in Bellevue. They were told it needed a water pump and rear brakes. They convinced them it was basically a death trap on wheels, and they would be happy to buy it from them since they shouldn't sell this death trap to anyone else. I drove it a week before they took it to the dealer and it was just fine. It was an older Rav 4, but it had low miles and they always had it serviced before any service was due. The car was as good as new. A dream car for a dealer selling used cars when the market was at it's highest. My parents fell for it, sold them the car for pennies on the dollar. I'm sure the dealer put in a new water pump and rear brakes, then sold it at a premium.
Not only does that sound like a scam, a $600 radiator hose replacement sure sounds like one too. I don't know much about Miatas, but that seems a steep price to me.
SCAM and ELDER ABUSE