frenchhens

This is another sad story about the service at Penske Mercedes in West Covina. I am in a dispute with the dealership because my car was damaged while in their possession. To add insult to injury they tried to charge me $800+ for a misdiagnosis.

On February 9, 2010 I had my G55 Mercedes towed to Penske after a roof leak had caused the vehicle to go into 'limp Home' mode. I told the service rep that I suspected water was leaking in through the antenna port. Two weeks later I picked up my G55 and was told that a complete diagnosis was performed on my vehicle and the Penske service dept. determined that the left front door seal was leaking. The charge for the diagnosis and repair was going to be approximately $850.00 and it was not covered under the certified pre-owned extended warranty I had purchased.

I was very surprised that it was the door seal, and told the rep Mr. Doehla that I wanted this in writing because I was sure the source of the leak was the sun roof, windshield or antenna port. Mr. Doehla assured me it was not any of those areas because his service center had run a diagnostic test that proved it was coming from the door seal. I was a little upset that Mr. Doehla did not take me seriously and it made me suspect that he was trying to take advantage of me and make a 'sale'.

I refused to authorize the repairs, paid my bill for the bogus diagnosis, and decided to run my own test. As a 10-year client of Penske you can imagine my disappointment at being treated like a second-class citizen yet again. I got the impression that they treat all women as gullible imbeciles.


I had my G55 detailed and photographed, and put the it up for sale. I had dozens of calls, and I showed it several times times. I am very familiar with every scratch and flaw on my G55. A mechanic from Upland also took the car for the day and was very interested in purchasing it.

Another rain storm resulted in water in the light compartment under the rear view mirror. I did not notice any water coming from any door seals. I checked the seal myself and could see no problem.

On April 26, 2010, I took the AMG G55 back to Penske and I was greeted by Mike Doehla. I explained to him for a second time that I believed the leak was coming form the antenna/sunroof area. We both looked very closely at the sunroof/antenna and there was no indication whatsoever of damage to the roofline. Had there ben so it would have been noted on the intake report.

The next day Penske called and left a message on my voicemail in a very serious tone. I was told the leak would not be covered under my extended warranty because it was caused by some type of accident or collision to the vehicle. I was advised to take it to a body repair shop. The G55 has never been in any accident and so being told by Penske that it had been been hit by something falling on it was a shock to me. I said I would pick the car up immediately and I was informed that door panel and sunroof repairs were still in progress and I could come in at 3:30 pm.

Upon arrival Penske stated there were 'dents' around the antenna that would require body work in order to fix the leak.
Mr Doehla apologized and said "It was a misdiagnosis". He offered to talk to the service manager to see if he could get me a refund on the bill I had previously paid. How could there be damage that requires a body repair shop that no one noticed when I brought it in? It is an accepted practice that dealer service departments always inspect vehicles when they arrive and note any visible damage.

About 25 minutes after later the vehicle was ready and immediately we noticed fresh damage to the front roofline of the AMG G55. There were clearly fresh scratch marks, torn rubber on the windshield seal, and dents across the top of the G55. Mr Doehla said "he was surprised he had not noticed it before either, it must have been overlooked!" In addition, there was a suspicious looking white rubbing compound on the roof but according to Penske, they do not use wax.

Fortunately, another service rep approached me who was very kind and asked me if I had a problem. I told him what had happened and he asked me if I wanted him to get the Service Manager, Mike Daniels. Mike was actually helpful and indicated that the antenna could be the source of the leak and they would re-evaluate the situation. An antenna leak is covered on my warranty so Penske could have fixed it and ben reimbursed by the factory. Instead, they have chosen to blame 'roof damage' on the leak after the service manager admitted that they are not sure how it is leaking and have no definitive diagnosis. Their solution is to send me off to a body repair shop and basically stick my warranty in my ear.

After another weekend without my vehicle, no apologies and no loaner, I received a call from Service Director Steve Usrey. He informed me that he personally had washed the car several times implying that the Penske car wash was not responsible but he will put nothing in writing. He smuggly suggested I pick up my vehicle and take it to a Body Shop because the warranty is now void due to the damage to the vehicle.


I have no doubt that fresh dents appeared while the vehicle was in their possession. I am not a forensic scientist but I have numerous witnesses who have corroborated my story.


Roger Penske is one of the most respected names in the auto industry but the West Covina dealership has shamed it. It seems that serving complimentary cappuccinos is more important than a 10-year customer who has purchased and leased vehicles well into six figures. They think I'm stupid and will just walk away from this, but they are sadly mistaken. Stay tuned.