A service customer sued a Florida Mercedes-Benz dealership alleging his car was not properly repaired despite multiple efforts and was damaged after being towed to the store under the manufacturer’s roadside assistance program.
Reginald Powell filed the suit Oct. 11 against Crown Euro Cars in Pinellas Park and Mercedes-Benz USA.
According to the complaint, Powell’s 2004 SL500R experienced mechanical problems in December 2020. He contacted Mercedes-Benz’s roadside assistance program, which had it towed to the Crown Euro Cars where he was promised a completion date in late January 2021.
However, when he went to pick the vehicle up, he discovered it had not been correctly repaired and “had incurred significant new damage,” the suit contends. Powell then allegedly made numerous attempts to have the damage remedied, including visits and phone calls to the dealership through October 2021.
The complaint said he went to the store at least eight times to pick up the car but “found that proper repairs had not been made” and had to have it towed back each time.
So far, he has paid $9,000 for repairs. In May 2023, Crown Euro Cars told him it would not repair his car and would have it towed away if he didn’t pick it up, according to the complaint.
A lawyer for Crown Euro Cars said the dealership’s policy is not to comment on litigation.
Powell didn’t pick up the car because it was never safe to drive, said his lawyer, David Taylor of Sarasota, Fla.
The Pinellas County Circuit Court suit said Powell bought the car in part because of the benefits of the roadside assistance program and the “advertised benefits of M-B’s premier customer service in the maintenance and repair of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.”
Powell said Mercedes-Benz is liable for the damage that occurred during the towing because its roadside assistance program required use of a towing company and repair by an authorized dealership chosen by the automaker.
The suit seeks either repair of the car without charge or compensation for its fair market value. In addition, it asks for a refund of the $9,000 Powell paid, plus compensation for loss of use of the vehicle and the cost of alternative transportation.