I have an NC and wondered how much people are paying for the full service? By which I mean all the fluids etc, and if youre having a dealer or trusted garage to do it?
On the Mazda service schedule there is not a “single” service that changes “all” the fluids etc. I think you’ll need to be more specific on which service or would you like experiences from people who are specifying their own service requirements to the garage? Some garages may offer a generic “all makes” type service but I would doubt that would include the replacement of all fluids. As a general rule, they consist of oil and filter, spark plugs, air filter and various inspections.
Engine oil, oil filter, air filter and long life plugs say £240
Add on brake fluid flush say £45
Gearbox Oil change say £60
Diff Oil change say £40
If the car is now 11 years old add on £60 to have the FL22 radiator fluid changed out.
Also say £50 for a new fan belt as it is very long and probably should be changed around 60,000 miles but not mentioned in the service schedule.
Total around £430 to £480 including VAT, very cheap independent who will tell you it is a waste of money to do all that, then say £250.
Full Mazda Dealer nearer £500 to £600. As Robbie has advised the diff and gearbox oil are done at different services. The plugs at the 62,500 mile interval and the brake fluid every second service.
Had a service on my 2006 NC last April @ Mazcare Wolverhampton.
It included oil, filter, gear box oil, diff oil, coolant & spark plugs & paid £433 inc vat.
Brake fluid was tested & although 2 years old it was fine.
Booked in for this Saturday oil, filter & a thorough check £135 inc vat.
Cheaper than a main dealer but a Mazda approved garage (Digital record updated) & very thorough in my opion.
air filter takes c 33 seconds and is a cheap and easy DIY job 
In Jan I had a full service done by my local Mazda dealer on my 2006 NC 2.0 sport
Air and oil filter, oil changed, spark plugs, brake fulid, and all the usual checks inc bodywork £199 inc
And handed me a full copy of the service history, and all receipts etc to go with the full history which came with the car…
They also did my MOT, expensive at £55 but is passed with no issues.
I didn’t see any mention of aircon in the above. This needs topping up too.
Living in Scotland, why would one need aircon? Totally over-rated in my opinion.
For years on various cars we’ve used a/c more in the cold weather than in the summer. It is fantastic for de-misting screen and side windows because it dries the air so very effectively.
The Mazda system, in my NC 2008 2.0L Sport anyway, is termed a ‘Climate Control’ system, which seems to be a combination a normal heater (as we oldies would term it) and an air conditioning system.
As I understand it, you set the controls, temperature etc, and the system automatically does the business. This could be a rather simplistic way of putting it, and I could be wrong, but I would imagine that the higher you set the temperature control, the system would veer more towards the ‘heater’ aspect, whereas the lower you set the temperature, the more the system would veer towards ‘air conditioning’ (cooling). In reality I would suspect that normally the system would probably work on a combination of the two.
I must say, that after having two MX-5s now, I consider the heaters to be fantastic - you can get the lid off in minus outside temperatures, and inside you’re all nice and warm and cozy !
Sorry guys - gone a bit off-piste there haven’t we ?
The system doesn’t regulate the “amount” of air conditioning, it’s either on or off. All it does is changes the amount of warm air that it blends with the cooled air that has passed through the air conditioning evaporator.
I know i will get ripped apart for saying this, but, i do my own servicing of plugs, oil, oil filter and air filter. Therefore, it’s cheap.
Diff and gearbox oil is also a DIY opportunity and i will do that as well when needed. Brake fluid change i will get the mechanic to do that.
Downside? No stamp in the service book but i do a write up of what i have done. She’s a keeper so i am not worried about the stamps.
I recently had the cambelt, water pump and ancillary belts changed by my local mechanic and keep all of these records. I also keep any receipts for after market add- ons that i have fitted and also the invoices for the plugs/oil/filers fitted by myself.
So, if you are competent enough you can do some bits yourself, if not then it will obviously be more expensive.
Im in the same camp - ours is a 2013 but I’m still doing it myself, keeping all the recipes for genuine parts, and making a spreadsheet with all the work I’ve done on each service to the schedule.
Its cheep enough to do the air filter at each service, and i did there diff oil and gear box oil last year, and for a non mechanic, was really straight forward.
Our car is a keeper too, but i think as a buyer, i would be more comfortable with a bunch of receipts and being shown that the work has been done sometimes ahead of schedule.
Yup, me too. the car had almost no service history when I bought it & wont have one when I sell it (except consumable receipts).
The car only goes in the garage for MOTs.
Never hurt the price when I sold the Mk1.
If it effects the selling price when this one goes then tough on me. I will have had more value out of it just driving it
When my wife and I bought our 2008 2.0L Sport from a local Mazda main dealer last October, it came with a three-year warranty and service contract, which included the cost of MoT tests when due. So for a while at least, we should be largely insulated from servicing and repair costs. It remains to be seen I guess, just how well this works.
There are items that the warranty does not cover of course, as I discovered back in the depths of winter, when a series of frosty mornings killed off my battery, which cost £89.00 to replace. Rather a lot for a battery, I thought at the time, but it was a top-quality one, which included a four-year guarantee.
Despite being a motor mechanic in the 1970s, I have no desire to start tinkering about with my 21st century motor car, probably I must admit, put off by all the technological complications and electronic wizardry that cars these days incorporate. I’m happy just to drive it.
I paid £360.00 including VAT for a full service: Engine oil, filter, air filter, new spark plugs, rear axle oil change, gearbox oil change, coolant flush and refill, and brake fluid change. I know I could have done a lot of this myself, and I would have done years ago, but at 71 years old I would rather someone else did it, and I thought the charge was very fair. If anyone needs to know of a reliable and honest independent garage in north Somerset I can thoroughly recommend Motorfix of Highbridge.
After a few really bad experiences with garages (both quality of work and over-charging) I prefer to do my own servicing and repairs and over the last four decades or so I’ve collected the tools and equipment to do most of it. I won’t work on cars in manufacturer’s warranty for obvious reasons, but seeing as the last car I bought new was in 1982, it’s not been much of a problem.
My sons seem to agree and yesterday my youngest and I changed the brake pads, discs and brake fluid on his newly acquired Honda Integra. He also changed the transmission oil, although I wasn’t impressed by the oil stain he left on my driveway!
A couple of weeks ago I did book my BMW 330D in with a specialist for a routine minor service (consisting mainly of an engine oil and filter change and service light reset procedure with 8 litres of long life oil needed). Due to work commitments I had to cancel the appointment and was finding difficulty getting another convenient one in the short term.
So I bought the parts and did it myself. Garage cost 164 pounds. DIY cost = 48 pounds! The longest part of the job was waiting for the oil to drain out of the engine.
I tend to do quite a bit of the grubby stuff myself and keep all my receipts.
However, I pay someone else to do the oil and filter, just so I have an official receipt, to show any future guardians that i’ve tried to look after her.
I had oil & filter on Saturday at a cost of £55.
I buy my oil and filters from a local family owned motor factor (with an unmatched local reputation for price, advice and after sales help* etc). I just ask for a printed receipt and cross refer the service booklet to them.
All the local garages go to them, so if I took my car to a local garage I’d unnecessarily be paying them to fit the same parts.
Just checked my receipts file. My last DIY oil change on my MX-5 NB cost me just £20.54. That included 5 litres of good quality semi-synthetic oil, an oil filter and an air filter.