Mr. Mazda

Nearly five years later and I’m still coming to Mike and Mr. Mazda. That should say something I think! I don’t even live in the bay area any longer, but every time I drive up to see my family I’ll get my service done here, because frankly these are the only guys I trust to take care of my rotary.

NOTE: I might not be calling the parts by their proper names as I’m not too car-​knowledgeable.
I have a 2008 Mazdaspeed3 which I used to get serviced at another shop I but decided to give Mr. Mazda a try when I was experiencing an issue with the electric fan. Mike sourced a used fan and installed it then realized it was a problem with the controller and not the fan itself. When he called with an update he explained this to me and adjusted the estimate accordingly, not charging me for the new (used) fan or the labor to install. I appreciated that he was honest about the work he did. That goes a long way with me especially when you hear stories about shops ripping people off. When I went to pick up my car I talked to Mike a bit about the Mazdaspeed3’s in general and also his business/​customer service philosophy. He gave good info about both. I had a very positive experience with Mike and felt comfortable with him during that first visit.
As a result, I had them to do my 90k service earlier this year. When I got my car back home, I noticed that my center display would not display the outside temperature. (This would not have been obvious to anyone unless they manually tried to get the outside temp to display.) The reason I mention this is not a negative but a positive. I called and talked to Tim and he had me check to make sure the external temperature sensor was connected as he didn’t want me to have to drive it back if it was just a matter of me reconnecting it. Unfortunately that wasn’t the problem so I ended up dropping it off for him to diagnose. He was able to figure out that a harness in the dash which they disconnected during the service was reconnected BUT one of the pins got misaligned so it turned out to be a simple fix but I think it’s pretty good that he was able to trace it back to a single pin within a harness. Tim’s great customer service skills and overall good attitude during our interactions was refreshing.
A few weeks ago I started to experience a whirring noise when the steering wheel was turned and I slowly accelerated. I talked to Tim and his initial thought was that I might need an additive added to the transmission fluid. I dropped the car off last night with a note that my shifter gets notchy when it’s cold (which I didn’t mention during our call). What Tim did was to drain and refill the transmission to be sure it was Redline fluid in there (which he said works well) and added the limited slip additive. He didn’t want to charge me as he said it could have been a different fluid the tech used during my service but the tech no longer worked there so he wasn’t able to confirm. I did not expect him to do this as there wasn’t a way to say that this was related to my 90k service but again appreciated his candor and level of customer service.
In general, fair pricing, excellent customer service skills and a couple of really honest and knowledgeable guys will keep me as a return customer.
Thank you, Mike and Tim!

I bought a 2005 mazdaspeed Miata from a dealer in San Bruno, and faced problems almost immediately. I needed a second opinion with my car so I came here (searched them up on google) and they gave me bad news which I had to deal with the dealer for that. Fast forward. I now have an oil leak so I call up Mr. Mazda and Tim helps me out and we set an appointment and I come in and leave my car for a couple days. Long story short he fixes my car in good time, was very friendly and gives off a vibe that tells me they’re pretty trustworthy people. Unfortunately I had to pay quite a bit for the repair but I wasn’t surprised, so I happily (ha) paid for my baby to be running good again. Love the service here! & I think I found my new go to!

Mike and tim thank you for the work performed recently on my 2004 mazda 3. the car runs great and I appreciate you letting me know what other work needs to be done in time and not pushing it on me

Mike has seen me go through 7 cars in the time I’ve been a patroning his business… since 1989. I’ve been a client and would trust no one else to touch my cars. I also bring my parents cars here, too. He can also service any Japanese made car.
I travel all they way down from Fremont because Mike is that good and his business attitude is that of the old school days when honesty was the way to do business.
Mike and his staff always are efficient, honest, and extremely trustworthy. If your car doesn’t need something he’ll tell you.
Worst case if he needs your car overnight or a few days there is a Enterprise Car Rental down the street walking distance or they can pick you up.
A+

I’ve been taking my car to get serviced here since 2010. Even though I live up in Sunnyvale, and Mr. Mazda is a bit far, it’s still worth it for me to bring my car here. Once you find a good mechanic shop like Mr. Mazda, you stick with it. The quotes are accurate, the quality of the work is good.

I had my 96 Miata worked on at Mr Mazda. It has been a month or so on the engine swap I had them do. I am very happy with the work I had done. Car runs great. Thanks Mr Mazda!

So far so good. I spoke with Tim on the phone and I’m happy with the breakdown in price and level of communication. Definitely better than dealership service getting routed around.

If you have a Mazda, look no further. This shop knows their stuff which saves you time & money!
I took my poor miata into a different mazda specialist as well as the dealer due to a cylinder misfire. Neither of them could give me a solid answer on the exact cause and quoted supposed fixes that ranged from hundreds to thousands! *Gasp* They didn’t sound so sure so I was about to give up. Instead, I gave Mike at Mr Mazda a call and he patiently talked me through all the possible scenarios. Appreciating his time, I set up a same day appointment to have him check it out. Within 30 minutes he had a diagnosis and quote to fix the issue.
Price for labor and parts were fair but most importantly, my Miata runs like a champ now!
Thanks

I really felt like these guys wanted to take care of my car. The clutch went on my son’s Mazda 3, had it towed in to their shop, they located a few other things that needed to be fixed, and had it done by the next day for a reasonable price (not dirt cheap as they are qualified mechanics and use good parts). You’ll feel taken care of and confident in their work for sure!

My 95 Miata kept giving off a burning odor, so I called Mike and he pretty much diagnosed it over the phone. I dropped my car off on a Tuesday night and did the $ 89 oil change + diagnostic. Mike had the car ready for me the next afternoon.
He gave me a full breakdown (including pricing) of what I could get repaired if I wanted, and what I needed repaired to keep the car running strong. I took the car home and dropped it off again a week later to get my oil leak repaired. I also asked Mike to install my new Catalytic Converter and Spark Plugs. This was on a Friday and he didn’t have enough time to finish it which I understand since I dropped the car off late the night before. Anyways, instead of getting it done on Monday, Mike came in on Saturday for me (when they’re usually closed) and got the car done! It’s never run this smoothly!
Anyways, my point is, Mike seems like an honest guy. He told me everything straight up, didn’t have any hidden fees and got everything done well ahead of schedule! Pricing is very fair and I will definitely be back for service and hopefully upgrades.

Thanks Mike the AC refurb you did on my 92 Miata is working great! Appreciate that you could get me in so quickly and the honest pricing. Will recommend you to all my Mazda friends!

Mike is honest and much cheaper than the dealership, you can trust what he says and does. He saved me major $$ today, I called to ask what he charges for diagnosing a front air bag sensor issue. I asked him if it’s usually the module, corrosion or ?? He gave me some advice on how to troubleshoot it myself, check the connection, clean connectors etc and voila I was able to take care of it myself. Mike’s quote to trouble shoot this had I needed more help was about 40% less than the dealer, oh and had I not called Mike just taken it to the dealer I would have been charged a ton of money for an unplugged harness.
Very happy to have found a trustworthy mechanic for my Mazda 5. –Anita

I received a call from Mike the owner today. He was disappointed about receiving such a low score and tried to assert that they’re a busy shop that doesn’t need to do shady things for business.
(1) As to the issue of the test drive, he said they hadn’t driven the car before and some people keep their car in a poor manner because they can’t afford to fix it. My car had a disconnected air box hose and was jerking, shaking, and symptomatic of misfiring. «some people keep their cars like that» was their excuse? I was there getting preventative maintenance, replacing my battery terminal because the clamp wasn’t connecting as tightly as I’d like. The owner who’s that attentive is not likely to have a car in such a debilitating state.
(2) He claimed that because the hose was loose and could be re-​inserted by hand, it was instead likely loose to start with and just so happened to come out in the shop. Yeah, no. A hose that just came loose by itself will likely require loosening the clamp to reinsert. A hose that has had it’s clamp loosened with a mini drill will just slide in. He denied that both ends were loose, but I was actually the one who discovered it, and watched his tech clamp both ends with their fancy mini-​drills with attached flashlights. (It sticks out because I remember thinking, wow that’s genius, I need to get one)
(3) As for the loose junction box, he noted that his tech had never done such a job before, and it was an awkward angle.
Mike’s main point was that his shop is not the sort to engage in shady behavior. This may very likely be true. He also noted they gave me a deal on the job. My original review notes the fair pricing he gave. He also noted that they were quick to drop everything and look at my car, run their OBD scanner and that they would have likely discovered the airbox. That’s true they did, and yes they likely would have.
What concerns me most is it’s obvious what likely happened: the tech loosened the hose thinking it might be in the way, and then forgot to clamp it back down. The hoses already being loose isn’t very likely due to the fact that they were easily reinserted by hand, far more indicative of being loosened with a drill
I was glad to receive a follow up call, and am adding a star, but they still haven’t taken responsibility for what happened.

I was referred to Mike at Mr. Mazda by my friend Roy who used to use Mike for his RX7 repairs. I brought my RX8 to him to check out an odd noise in the engine. Turns out its nothing serious but I did have him do some other repairs that needed to be done. They were honest about the repairs that NEEDED to be done not what «should» be done. He gave me some helpful tips when I picked the car up about rotary engines and my 2005 in particular. I am very lucky to have met Mike and his sweet dog Max. Though I hope not to need his services soon, he gained a lifetime customer out of me.

Mike is a professional businessman who genuinely wants to make his customers satisfied. I am a do-​it-​your-​self-​er type and try to tackle many auto repairs myself. However for repairs that I am not comfortable with or don’t have all the special service tools, I trust Mike to do the work. He will do it for a fair price (significantly less than the Stealership). He guarantees his work with a 1 year warranty. He uses genuine Mazda parts. Unlike some dishonest mechanics who will use cheap aftermarket parts but charge customers for Mazda OEM parts. He takes the extra time to explain what he found and never makes you feel like you are wasting his time.
There is no comparison with Mr. Mazda vs his competitor Rotarsport. The mechanic at Rotarsport uses a front desk woman to screen his calls. Trying to get him on the phone is like trying to get ahold of the president. Mike, on the other hand answers phone calls and will chat with you up front about the issue before making appointments.
Very satisfied with Mr. Mazda.

I don’t recall the first time I came here, but I have been coming back ever since. A friend recommended the place and even though i didn’t have a Mazda, I brought my car here and had it fixed, I finally ended up buying a 1990 Mazda Miata and have brought it here several times for service.
Just last week, I was driving on Highway 17 when the car started responding funny. I called Mike at Mr. Mazda and told him what it was doing. He told me to get off the Highway immediately and pull over. I got off of Highway 17 and turned off everything I could as he told me to do including my lights, radio, and pulled my charger out. My car stopped at a red light and would not restart. Turns out he diagnosed my problem over the phone when he said it sounded like my alternator was dying. He was right.
I had my car towed to his place and he sent a guy out immediately to get a new alternator. He started pulling the old one out. As soon as the guy returned, he was ready to install the new one. He got it in and took it for a test drive. When he came back he wasn’t happy.
I turns out that more work needed to be done. He put the car up, tweaked something underneath and said that would stop the noise I had been hearing, added some screws to my brackets that hold my top down and said that would help with the interior noise. He changed out my spark plugs, adjusted my timing and maybe even did some other things. The cost of everything was the same as the cost of the original repair plus the spark plugs.
I drove away and my car was just like new. No more high pitch sound as I was driving, no more sputtering on take off, no more struggling up hills with the A/​C on. He turned it into the little tiger it was meant it be!
Mike is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Mazdas. He knows how to make them hum along better than I thought possible.
He’s all the things you want in a mechanic; knowledgable, honest, and proud of his work!
Yes, I highly recommend him and his shop.

The only good thing about my «divorce» is I got full custody of Mr. Mazda.
I previously had my Rowdie Audi and I must admit I was completely in love with all the research I did on my now 2009 MS3, but was scared because I didn’t know any mechanics. But I sat down and got Hermes and wasn’t happier, until it came time to figure out who was going to do my oil changes and future inspections. Fortunately my friend had a Mazda and recommended going to him. I can’t say I haven’t been happier. He is now mechanic of my mom’s 2006 Hybrid Civic.
Example, he replaced my front headlight bulbs for free (I had the bulbs) because I couldn’t put in the drivers side one. Stupid Oak Tree was going to charge me $ 75 on top of the $ 30 price of bulbs. Yeah, from now on I go to Mike. Love this guy.

This review is long overdue. I had an engine problem (low compression) with my 2004 RX8 last year. After doing some research, I decided to bring in my car to Mike. Mike explained what the situation was and how it could be solved with no pressure or obligation. He was friendly and professional and most importantly, upfront. I ended up needing a new engine and all the fixings that come along with at a very reasonable rate. He explained how to take care of the engine and what precautions to take. He scheduled an oil change a few months later and when I came back, everything was in top condition. As an owner of a rotary powered car, I know these machines can be very particular and Mr. Mazda would be my top choice for any issues that may come up.
+ Great Service
+ Professional
+ Knowledgeable
+ Upfront
— Can be a bit of a drive
— Shop is kind of small

I was really hoping to like this place, and they did a good job of doing the 30k maintenance on my Mazda 3 at a cheaper price than the dealership, but… after chatting with Mike who originally scheduled my appointment (he was extremely friendly and apologetic), Alex who had handled my car was also friendly, I was just expecting a whole rundown of what was done on my car (just for my own sanity or reassurance), or even a checklist of some sort. I asked twice politely, perhaps not all that directly, and I know they’re professionals, and they’ll do exactly what is listed for a 30k maintenance on a Mazda 3, but it would have been nice to have gone through that list.
As for bringing my car back for future maintenance, I’m on the fence, though they are at least cheaper than the dealership!