The General Manager (Bob Milner) at Sonic/Calabasas MB in So. Cal refuses to do warranty work on my 2006 SL65 after I caught them trying to scam me with "the MB Computer has no fault codes" so it is not broken and "All SL65s burn excessive amounts of oil" and the car is severly down on power and has all of these defects because I used "Arco gas" a month ago...

After bringing the car in repeatedly for having the engine die and also having several dash lights come on (Check Engine, Check Engine Oil level) plus having the car severly down on power. First I got the car is "running fine nothing is wrong" story. Then "we found a problem and fixed your car."

It gets better! Only 30 minutes after they had the car in their shop and supposedly fixed on my way home the check engine light came on again and then later the engine just DIED! They now say find another dealer!

I have a written statement from their own MB shop foreman confirming he personally witnessed and VERIFIED all of my complaints but they still refuse to do warranty work on my SL65. Even after they have already worked on the car under the Mercedes warranty they refuse to finish the warranty work. Plus even their own repair orders state they will warranty all work for 3-12 months. Based upon my experiences their warranty is not worth the paper it is printed on.


Another Sonic MB dealer (W.I.Simonson) told me that the suspension bushings and window regulator on my wifes CLK were not covered by the MB extended warranty. They wanted to charge me $120 to tell me what was covered under the factory warranty!
After pushing for over a week I was finally able to get a copy of the MB extended warranty from the sales dept. That was when I learned that everything the service writer told me was total BULL***** and that all of the bushings and window regulator are 100% covered by the MB warranty!

Anyone else have similar problems with W.I.Simonson or Calabasas MB?

I think these guys are scam artists be very careful and read everything!

 

I was going to buy my C63 and SL63 from Calabasas because theyre close to me (down the highway), but after this, screw them.
I'm going back to Valencia and Kaz... I will give Kaz in Valencia the business, just to spite Calabasas for doing that to you (plus I dont want it happening to me).

I have a feeling they are doing all this is because the guys they have employed there are not trained enough to resolve your problems.

If enough people boycott Calabasas over this thread, you send them the link and go to another dealership.

 

Rough stuff, I have had similar problems with Phillips Mercedes in Virginia Beach so I started taking my car 200mi away to HBL in DC and haven't had any issues.

Coincidentally I was having similar issues with my E63 and it turns out the stalling, loss of power, and all of my dash lights coming on was caused by the crank shaft position sensor failing. I will say that I had to take it to Phillips because I couldn't get it to DC and they did a good job *this* time.

 

That sucks! Its getting harder and harder to find good quality work and professionalism from MB dealerships. This bad economy doesn't help either; it just brings out the Stealer in the Stealerships!
I agree, I wouldn't do business with W.I.Simonson or Calabasas! Good luck in your search.


Well, Valencia MB is not the best alternative either. They did a very poor job at fixing and respraying my trunk. They over sprayed my rear lights, created a dent in my trunk and misplaced my cleaning supplies I had in my trunk. After returning my car to them, they did fix the small dent they caused, but they didn't clean up the over spray like I requested, they couldn't find my cleaning supplies, and worse of all, this time I notice curb marks on my rear wheels. Returning my car once is one thing, but for me, twice is too much. Not to mention they always feed me BS!!
From now on, I driving all the way down to VRP in Costa Mesa to get the best service without the BS. Vadim with VRP is not only trustworthy and knowledgeable, but he was able to get all 4 of my Shocks replaced under warranty and you know how modded my car is. I rather have Vadim speak to his local MB Tech guy on my behalf cause he seems to get the job done compared to me speaking with my local MB dealer where I'm only left with BS and problems.
BTW, I just had Vadim refinish my HRE wheels and repaint and fix my front bumper which was cracked and had chips. Both my wheels and bumper look better than new, they got it right the first time, and they gave me a great deal on the price!

 

what a tool... So what type of professional relationship you have with this dealership, or for that matter with the original poster? Tell me you don't believe his side of the story... without verification?

 

ok i don't know the op but i will tell you that mb of calabasas are *** holes at times and can be try pieces of ****. i live down the hill from them and will never take my car there! the parts guys are really nice and helpful

 

Who is a "tool." Your posts seems a little overwrought for someone who just got off "probation"

 

I had problems with my 2005 SL65 also, and the Dealer SA told me the same thing, NO FAULT CODE. Car stalled in the middle of the road, ABC causing the car not to level, serious UNDER POWER. The car spend half the time @ the shop, at the end they could not fix ANY THING. So at the end I sold the car.

 

Damn George, that's sad to hear!
You should've brought it to another shop before selling it. An SL65 is one expensive ride. You must have been pissed!

 

I would still buy the new 2009+ SL65 though, but for now I'm happy with my 997 Turbo. I do miss the V12 torque though when the car was running fine.

 

That doesn't make any sense. Did you make any kind of modifications to the car which made the dealer take his stance? Very strange.

 

Both cars are stock and the SL65 only has 9,300 miles on it. I have had problems with Sonic before with my SL55 where they tried the exact same standard operating procedures " There is nothing wrong... all Sl55s do that" and " cannot duplicate complaint" plus some of their other BS stories.

My most recent (4/19/08) repair order states "cannot duplicate customer complaint" on almost all of the 9 items I complained about. And I also get the Arco gas story...Then 30 minutes after I pick the car up on my way home everything starts happening again! (check engine, down on power, engine oil level).

This time I called and told them that I was not going to turn the car off because ALL of the fault codes will DISAPPEAR and I insisted that a roadside service or mechanic come to my home with the damn Mercedes computer to personally verify ALL of my complaints!

They sent the shop formen who 100% CONFIRMED with his own eyes and verified with the Mercedes computer (with fault codes) that EVERYTHING I had complained about was legitimate. Their MB shop formen even signed a document that said he now had "PERSONALLY VERIFIED" my complaints that were shown on the Calabasas MB work order were "unable to duplicate".

I was promised several times that they would provide me with the MB fault codes from the MB computer for the check engine light, engine stalling, oil level low that were all verifed by their shop foremen (in writing) in my driveway. I wanted the codes so next time I get the "cannot verify customer complaint" story I can give them their own fault codes to check and hopefully get the problem fixed without the same drama.

Then their story changed they refused to provide me the codes because I was told "the fault codes are priviledged information of Calabasas MB and MB-USA". Stange because all fault codes are shown on all of my other MB work orders and now all of the sudden they are priviledged. Thats when then told me to find another MB dealer..

What did Calabasas MB find in the fault codes that they are trying to hide?

What whould you guys think? What would you guys do if Sonic/Calabasa MB were doing this to you?

 

I don't think there is much that you could do, other than spread the word.
Sounds like a bunch of lying idiots. Take it to VRP a bit further down south to at least get it FIXED (i heard it can all be done under warranty), then find another dealer for normal service.

They have the computers necessary to read the error codes, and they definitely wont hide them from you!

Here is the thing their MBWorld representative has in his sig:

 

This awful. All i can say is call a lawyer. Good luck

 

There may be more to this story then what has been posted, however, I've experienced similar "treatment" at Worldwide in Indy. I will say this, that I spoke to the service manager on my second visit (after the "no fault codes, this is common to this model" speech) and he couldn't have been nicer and worked harder to fix my issue. He took me back to the shop, personally hooked up my car, couldn't get any codes, took me on a half hour test drive, verified the problem, went back and had two mechanics work on it while I stood there with him.

I hope Mercedes follows BMW's lead, and bases their new car allocation to that dealerships customer service rating for their service center. At least in Indy, there's a massive difference between the BMW and Merc dealerships when it comes to their service center.

 

It is no surprise to anyone that you had this kind of treatment at Calabasas. We all know them and we all avoid them. Too bad because they used to be a great service department before Sonic. But, facts are facts, and they are almost beyond belief. Just avoid them. I know that Encino is trying to improve with their new ownership--they really want highline customers and you can put some real pressure to get it done right. That has been my experience. Ask for the GM and let him know you're coming in with a 65. I know him and know he WILL be interested.

 

Forgive me, but what is "Sonic"? Sounds almost like a third party service vendor?

 

Beware of all Sonic Car dealerships! You can find a listing on line from their website.

I have had a multitude of issues with the Sonic Benz dealer in town. They don't discount on the sales side and they have delivered a CPO'd SL65 to me that had warped rotors and way under inflated tires. After a front shock failed they claimed I ran over something because the vehicle had damage to the underbody. I don't know if the car was originally this way based on the lack of a CPO procedure performed or damaged byu the mechanic testing it but I know I didn't run over anything. Even when I traded the car they told the RR dealer that I had damaged the car.

I would avoid a Sonic dealer at all costs.

 

the sl** cars are very complicated.

sometimes the dealer just does not know what is wrong and doesnt have the capacity to figure it out and at this point it becomes a touchy-feely affair. if the customer is pushing and generally comes across as trouble- the dealer will actively stall the issue.

.. or... be nice to the dealer and they will replace things until they figure out what went wrong.

the official guideline for oil consumption is 1000 miles per quart. that is a lot. now the dealer can confirm that this is a lot and try to figure out what gives, or they can hide behind this statement and not do a thing if your car is measured to use 0.9 quarts per 1000 miles. you get my drift.

work with the dealer, be understanding and they will bend backwords for you. remember- they are only humans and they are by default over their heads with those cars. you know the saying about bees, honey and vinegar- right?

 

These cars are extremely complicated. And this is not the first person that has issues with Calabasas. They have a low rating.
http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/Ca...-review-15206/

I have a couple customers that drive their Benz all the way down here for service. I use Caliber/Anaheim. I can hook you up with a Service Manager if you PM me. He does all 3 of my cars. They do SLR`s and AMG`s.

Otherwise like Havoc said. Use Vadim. He has worked at a Benz dealer for years and knows these cars well. He will get it done and get it done correctly.
I too wil recommend him and know him personally.


Bottom line is your warranty is transferable. Go find a dealer that does good work for your AMG. They do exist. Dont waste your time with idiots.

 

Marc,

Thanks again!

I have everything documented, signed and I even have photos and I should have no problem dealing with them to get my SL65 repaired in a professional manner without the drama.

 

I bought my car from Beverly Hills mercedes 4 years ago because Calabasas screwed me over on the CLK 55. I took the SL in there one time for a flat tire and they tried to tell me that my axle was bent and a whole bunch of BS just to charge me. My care was fine, and I just plugged the hole. Calabasas is by far the worst MB dealer in So Cal and I have to say, that right now, Beverly Hills sucks big time too. I went in for a service a few months ago and when I came to pick my car up they charged me 600 dollars for a WARRANTY service and they gave me a CL 600?! They gave me the keys, and I basically *****ed them out and said what if this was my car and you gave it to someone else. They credited back the 600 and they gave me my car back, and they didn't even wash it! Every dealer is crap down here now, I like Walter's and Laguna Nigel, they still have the good service.

 

probation isn't going to change ones opinion... I called it like I seen it.

I believe the saying is "In God we trust, everything else needs to be verified 100 times..." ?????

 

I had no idea VRP could do warranty work as well as aftermarket tuning this is great news thanks for sharing...

 

Gentlemen, thank you for kudos!

Unfortunately, I can not do warranty work. Only dealers can - per MBUSA.

Jeff, if you can come down to the shop, I can scan it on the STAR and get an idea what is stored in the memory.