Seacoast Mazda

I am in the market for the first newish car I have had in my life. I did TONS of research on cars and figured out that a Mazda3 would be great for me. Before coming to that decision, I test drove a few different brands and dealerships. Once I decided on the 3, I started the long search for the perfect one or two year old Mazda3 for me. That search finally led me to Seacoasat Mazda, which is not close to home, but had the car I wanted. When I walked into the dealership I was really serious about buying the car that I looked at. I worked with the owner's daughter Jaclyn who was AWESOME. She was friendly, knew lots about the cars, smart, and fair. We went back and forth on the base price for awhile between her and the sales manager (Dennis). In the end, we got really, really close to an agreement. The only issues remaining for me was the base price was still a bit more than I wanted to spend and the monthly payment was higher than I hoped for, but I think we could have worked it out and I LOVED the car. I just needed a bit more time to think about spending about more than I planned, and we left the dearlership so that I could think things over. As we were leaving, Dennis stormed out of the dealership and was shouting and getting really agressive about the sale. It would best be described as bullying. He did offer to come down a bit more on the price during the ordeal, which was tempting, but the whole spectacle was so scary that I just wanted to get out of there. In retrospect, I should have told him then and there that this was the absolute worst way to get me to buy the car. I left with my heart racing and really upset. I am new to car shopping, but definitely did not have that experience at the other dealerships I visited. I had researched Seacoast Mazda and read the not-so-good reviews on Dealer Rater and decided to give them a try anyway, which I now regret. I have given them mixed reviews here of good and bad because I really liked working with Jaclyn, the car was exactly what I wanted and we almost came to the right numbers, but that experience with Dennis made me realize that actually doing business with them probably isn't the best choice for me.

I am a Law Enforcement Officer in Southern Maine. My girlfriend was in the market for a good used or new car. She was keen on the Mazda 3 so we decided to go to Seacoast Mazda. Without getting into too much detail our first visit resulted in us walking out after dealing with Dennis Damiano which in my opinion is a shady as they come. Against our better judgement we decided to go back a few days later after receiving a call from them. The second trip 11/13/2010 we found a Mazda 3 that she liked. It was late Saturday evening, we reached a deal with them and her payment was going to be $319 per month. I was not eager to sign that night so they let her drive the car home leaving the deal open with the bank until Sunday the 14th, so we could think it over. On Sunday the 14th she returned to the dealer very nervous as she had never purchased a car on her own, I advised her not to worry about it cause we had already locked into the details with the bank. She met with Dennis who advised her that her payment had actually come down to $316 per month. She signed all the paperwork and drove home happy with the car. On tuesday the 16th she recieves a call from Dennis he asks her if she can stop by after work for a few minutes to sign one last piece of paperwork. She arrives that evening and Dennis puts a piece of paper in front of her without even explaining it and says sign here,here and here. Now remember she has never purchased a car before and is very nieve in what takes place, also remember she has already signed the sales contract on 11/14/2010 and purchased the car. She signs the paperwork and was never offered a copy of what she signed, she then leaves. About a week later she gets a greeting call from the new finance company and they go over her payment etc. The finance company advises her that her contract is for $339 per month. Now understand all her paperwork she was given including a sales contract says $316.00 per month. I advise my girlfriend to go directly to the dealership and pick up a copy of the paper that Dennis had her sign on the 16th, she goes to the dealership and John the finance manager photocopies the paper asking her 3 seperate times shocked that Dennis didnt give her a copy. It turns out it is a second sales contract for $339.00 that was fraudulently dated back to the 14th by Dennis. I call the dealership and speak with John the finance manager. I explain the whole situation and John apologizes to me about a dozen times. I honestly believe he was shocked that this took place without us knowing. However he works with Dennis and reading the other reviews this must happen a lot. I advise John that I want this situation resolved and John States he will talk to his boss which I originally asked for and get back to me. Well it has been 5 days now and no information from the dealership. I have already contacted the New Hampshire Attorney Generals Office as well as the New Hampshire Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau. I will be contacting my Lawyer this week to seek legal representation. *WARNING TO ALL POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS* This dealership is one to watch out for Dennis is as dishonest as they come and obviously feels it is fine to alter documents after they are signed. I have never had a worse time purchasing a car and will never return to this dealership, word of mouth is the best way to protect consumers and this rating is only the begining.

Referred by a friend and received great and friendly service on my car. Just having moved here from DC area and, having read other reviews, I wasn't sure about bringing my 2004 Mazda in with some problems my last dealer had advised service on (rims and manifold). Bruce, the service manager, called before they even looked at the car and gave me option of banging out rims vs replacing ( half the cost of replacing and one never mentioned by my old dealer!). After looking at the car, he called me back to let me know what the real issue was (wheel hub) and to let me know that manifold was working-so replacement not necessary ( a $900 repair). Bruce kept me informed and didn't try to sell me what I didn't need and called back the day after to check on how the car was running. I'll be back for regular services-great first impression

Not sure where to start...2 yrs ago my husband and I purchased a new 2008 mazda6 from this dealership, everything went awesome, signed papers in 20mins and out the door. A month ago we traded in the Mazda for a 2007 4/dr Jeep. It was a mess and dirty!! It leaked in 3 places, the front door weren't aligned and there is still to this day an odd sound coming from the breaks which they heard from day one but say there is still nothing wrong. And to top it off they told me that the previous owner must have treated it like crap. Sorry to inform, but YOU the dealership IS/WAS the previous own according to us the purchasers. I purchased it from YOU. Doesn't seem like there was any sort of detailed inspection made before it was placed on the lot. The saddest part of the whole experience was when we drove the Mechanic around to see if he could hear this sound... he DID and scratched his head and said, "Well I'm not sure what that is, I am only use to working on Mazda's." After 4 trips back and forth to the dealership for service and spent $50 buck to have the Jeep Dealership down the road look it over for the leaks(which I have to go back for this sound coming from the brakes this week and spend more $$)I wish I hadn't have gone to this dealership for the trade in. I guess I should have known from the minute I found the Jeep online on their website to test driving it with a sales person that knew nothing about the Jeep which I told her most of the facts, example the wheel base, the size of the tires all the extras and after she thanked god that it wasn't a stick cause she can't drive one I should have walked away from the impulse/bad buy.

Visited this dealership a couple weeks ago my husband and I were very impressed with how great we were treated by Adam and the manager John. Would highly and happily reccomend them to anyone! We looked at 2 other Mazda dealerships before buying here. We will be returning and look forward to working with these people again!

All I can say is wow. These guys are old school T.V. style car salesman. They didnt have the 3 that I want, so the over jeweleried sales manager came storming out to push me into what I did not want. The funny part was my wife was in the showroom without him know as he told the salesman he would teach him how to knock a customer around and he would have me driving what he wanted. I am just glad my wife was smart and told me on the way home. It would not have been a good day for the "wise guy" wannabe. Have to say this was my worst experience looking at cars. The salesman was horrible and really didn't care we were there. All ends well though went up to prime and bought a new 3!! Also raan into a couple people that worked up there and were not surprised by the treatment. I want everyone to know how bad these guys are and don't waste your time. I can not say anything about service, have been told they have 1 good tech there that has been there a long time.

I have not been this pleased with a dealership in 20 years! What great customer service, patience, and willingness to work with someone. They listened to my needs and fit me into the perfect vehicle.... I wont go anywhere else! INCREDIBLE! The facility is spotless, the sales and finance people knowledgable! You could not ask for more. My appointment time was promptly honored. I wasn't bullied into buying something I didnt want.... I have already recommended them to friends and family who might be lookiing for a new or used vehicle.

I previously visited 3 other dealerships and left all 3 before making a deal. The experience at Seacoast Mazda was relaxing, no stress or pressure. I actually felt that they were there to work with me. Adam, Dennis and John made this a great car buying experience. I highly recommend!

This is an updated response to my more than unhappy post below. After posting what an unsatisfactory experience my wife and I had here during the sales process, we called TIM ACKERMAN the owner after he posted his response to give him a call directly. He listened to us and the problems that we had, and was willing to work to correct the problem. He seemed disappointed by his sales team by the way they handled everything. Although I still would give the Sales portion of the dealership a solid “0”, the service department and Tim get a “5” for their understanding and willingness to correct the problems we had. We will not hesitate to bring our vehicle here for Service now. Thank you Tim for helping to correct what the Sales manager and sales team did to us. P.S. – you may want to follow up personally with every car buyer to ensure they did not get treated the way we did, most people wouldn’t even think to post an unhappy experience and thus, they will never come back with their vehicle to find out what a great service department you have.

June 7,2010 My husband and I were very pleased with the service and impressed with Robert, who was extremely knowledgable about the Mazda product. We had been to other dealers and knew we wanted a Mazda Miata and we knew the price range we were willing to pay and they made every attempt to meet our request. The one area that my husband and I questioned was why prices were not marked on the vehicles. The overall experience with Seacoast was pleasant and I am glade that we drove from Maine to Seacoast Mazda in Portsmouth. Sincerely, Norman and Diane Houle