So I purchased my first car - a CPO 2014 Mazda 6 - about 25 days ago, and I’ve noticed in the past couple of days that #1, there’s moisture building up in the taillights connected to the trunk and #2, the trunk doesn’t close flush with the sides of the vehicle. When I purchased the vehicle, they did disclose that the vehicle had been in a minor ‘fender bender’ - with the damage being reserved to the back center. I’ve taken the vehicle to my mechanic and everything checks out internally. So my question is, is the Mazda dealer responsible for fixing these two issues? Does the CPO status hold them responsible?
p.s. I’ve also purchased an extended warranty… but I’m going to cancel it in the next couple of days. Would the extended warranty help me at all?
The CPO warranty, if through Mazda, should have one year/12K mile bumper to bumper (full) coverage. The trunk seems to be due to the accident and I am wondering if the tail light is due to the same. It seems like the accident was more than a fender bender, or at least the definition of a bent fender varies.
On a CPO car, there should not be any major accidents. If you take the car to a body shop and they confirm that the accident was major, you might have some recourse. Alternatively, you can ask them to fix the moisture stuff and live with the rest. But before that, you might want to hose the rear of the car down and see if the trunk including where the spare goes, remains dry. If water is getting in the trunk, you have more issues.
Mazda has issued a Technical Service Bulletin 09-046/12.
This applies to your vehicle and to other Mazda vehicles of different models/years.
It states: The customer may notice condensation buildup on the insides of the headlights, fog lights, and tail lights. This is considered normal and no repair or replacement is required.
Tester’s guess might be spot on. Still, if you think the taillights have been removed/replaced at some point, it is possible the re-install job wasn’t properly water-sealed. That’s often a simple matter to address with some rtv.
bloody_knuckles: The passenger side headlight cover on my new 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse lightly fogged on the inside. When I took it back to the dealership they told me it was normal for our climate. I demanded they fix the non-fogging driver side headlight cover as it was obviously not normal. They replaced the passenger side gasket.
@sgtrock21@galant This is all great information, thank you so much for taking the time! I took the car back to the dealer and they agreed to fix the trunk and the lights at no extra charge to me – they attributed the issue to the ‘minor’ accident the vehicle had prior to me purchasing it.
“When I took it back to the dealership they told me it was normal for our climate. I demanded they fix the non-fogging driver side headlight cover as it was obviously not normal. They replaced the passenger side gasket.”
That is the same tactic that I used, many years ago, with my brand-new Chevy Citation. The service writer–who was clearly not the sharpest knife in the drawer–told me that it was “normal” for the door lock button on the front passenger door of my car to rattle constantly while I drove, and as a result, they couldn’t fix it.
My response was–first–to ask if he was absolutely sure that the door lock buttons were supposed to rattle constantly, and he stated, “Yes, they are supposed to do that”.
So, my second response was, “Well, I want to be sure that everything on this new car is operating exactly as it is supposed to, so please make sure that you make the door lock button on the driver’s door rattle just like the other one. When I pick up the car, I will expect that both door lock buttons will rattle, as that is apparently the way that GM designed them”.
Yes, I took a chance, but–guess what?–when I picked up the car, they had actually tightened the mechanism inside the driver’s door and the incessant rattling had ceased. I know that it is not nice to take advantage of people with somewhat limited mental capacities–like that service writer–but, a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do, and I had to use his ridiculous line of reasoning in order to defeat him and to get what I deserved.
P.S.–That dealership went out of business a few years later…