Penske Mercedes Benz John Antalik & Others, Penske Mercedes Benz, Service Department, 450 Scofield Ave, Fairfield CT Attempted to charge $1,300 to install a new ignition switch - real problem was a different $50 part. Fairfield Connecticut
In short, John Antalik and the overly-highly touted Penske Mercedes Benz Factory Trained and Authorized Service Diagnosticians failed to find and fix an occasional non-start problem on my 1999 SL500. They not only failed, to diagnose the true problem, they tried to rip me off for the installation of an ignition switch - to the tune of $1,300 - that was not the problem.
When they told me over the phone that the ignition switch was bad. I replied, “No, it’s not.” (Now, I realize most people will think this sounds crazy, but I have a strong mechanical background.) I’ll never forget John Antalik said, “How do you know?” I replied quite matter-of-factly telling him, “If the ignition switch was bad, there would be intermittent behavior, such as to cause lights to dim and blink, and other odd electronic behavior.” – which wasn’t happening. Also, to suspect an ignition switch on the car would call into question the ignition key itself (a far less expensive part) which curiously wasn’t mentioned as something, “We may want to try first,” so as not to run the cost up.
When I retrieved my car, I thought a reasonable attempt might be made to explain why their “factory authorized” diagnosis was correct, but such was not offered. It was then I knew they were without a doubt their case was quite faulty.
So, when I got the car back home. I re-researched and discovered that a bad batch of crank position sensors has hit the market. You guessed it, a new one had been installed in my car a few months back. So, I obtained a genuine MB part online, and installed it and here over 12 months later, the car start and runs perfectly every time. This proves Penske was way off base. So, I obviously can’t say I trust Penske service, in Fairfield, CT.