Penske Automotive Collision Center

I took my Mercedes Benz to Penske Automotive Collision and the process was painless. Paul Casillas was my estimator. He kept me updated through out the whole process. The girls in the front were very friendly. The enterprise rental process was quick and easy. Paul Casillas called me as soon as my car was ready. My car looked brand new when I picked it up. Gerardo Rojas, the quality control manager did a superb job! My car looked like it was straight off the lot. I did not find anything wrong with the car. I was very proud and impressed with the work they did. I would like to thank everyone from the painters to the technicians. They have a well ran operation. If I ever get into an accident again I will definitely bring my car here. Thank you again!

Excellent service for my 2011 Range Rover. I was rear ended to replace rear bumper.
They did a complete repair job in a timely manner.
It was also very convenient to have rental car-​enterprise at the same location.

I was at fault for a very minor collision with a Mercedes and chose to pay for the damage out of pocket instead of going through insurance. When the lady who I hit showed me the paint job price quote from Penske, I read all of the auto-​body shop reviews, which turned me off to them. I decided to deal directly with the Customer Service Manager, Sam Fahim, to prevent any potential issues. Sam is a DREAM to work with. He personally assured me that he would oversee the paint job, and promised to take excellent care of the car that I hit, in addition to providing the woman with a rental car should the job go overtime. I feel very luck that Sam was such a professional, because he made this experience a million times better than it could have been. The job was true to the price quote, and everything was finished flawlessly in a timely manner. If you have concerns about Penske due to the reviews, I suggest you speak directly with Sam Fahim, as he wants to ensure that every customer walks out of his shop happy.

Penske’s customer service was simply the best experience. Amanda was great from 1^st day until the day I picked up my car. I had regular calls from the customer service department apprising me of the status of the vehicle and the projected date to pick it up. They were even a little earlier than I expected. And the car looks great.

Penske is the only certified Mercedes collision center and while my insurance company, USAA, suggested elsewhere, I’m glad I stuck to my guns. The shop was extremely professional and they worked with USAA to make sure my car was repaired to Mercedes specifications. Paul Casillas was my service advisor and kept me updated during the entire process. While any accident is disheartening, Penske softened the blow.

Hi. I worked with Erin and she was so professional. Work only took two weeks and might have taken 5 another place. EXCELLENT service!

This place is horrible. We had someone rear end us and their insurance used Penske. My Mercedes body work was done just fine, however when we got the car back it was idling high. My wife had me go in and you have people with staring problems! They want to do the minimum possible. Trust me, things can go smooth with any company however, when they don’t…its seeing their true light when they try to resolve an issue. Go somewhere else and don’t fall for their signage all over saying bmw and Mercedes. Watch out for the smirks and looks from Cecilia.

Over 40 years of driving without ever being rear ended and I got my second one in the same year. Both in bumper to bumper traffic on the freeway and both appeared to be caused by distracted cell phone users. I took my BMW 535 straight to Penske again and worked with John Parrott, a true professional and gentleman. John and the Penske team performed another outstanding job! Highly recommended.

One of my neighbors drove into my parked BMW at our condo parking garage, and damaged rear side panel, which cost close to $ 3K to fix. Penske at Balboa Ave. was recommended by BMW dealer and my insurance, AAA. Paul, the advisor at Penske, gave me an estimate cost/​time when I dropped it off. They fixed it earlier than the estimated time, and did an amazing repair job. They provided shuttle services for drop-​off and pick-​up which helped me since this was the only vehicle I own. Usually, these kinds of repairs — even though it wasn’t my fault at all — can be a hassle to deal with. However, these guys made it so much simpler and easier for me to deal with. And they were prompt in responding to all my e-​mails and phone calls. They also called me to follow up after I picked up the car to make sure I was happy with the repair. I highly recommend this shop for any type of body work.

Speed — Quality — Satisfaction
My car had an old molding around the windshield and the possibility of the glass cracking was real.
They took care of me kindly and quickly. In and out in 30 minutes. Couldn’t have been easier. Worth the money having a reputable person work on my car.
$ 174.00 for a BMW windshield molding.
Would have been 5 stars but it seemed on the high end of pricing.

Great communication, friendly service and professionalism. Amanda Aguilar is great at what she does. She always kept us informed and updated with the process. Great overall experience.!!

Outstanding service, courteous, knowledgeable and they know how to communicate with insurance companies. I recommend John at Penske collision on Balboa Avenue. John kept my informed throughout the process while dealing with a difficult insurance company. I absolutely recommend if your vehicle gets in a collision, believe me I did not want my vehicle to be rear ended, to get fixed at Penske collision on Balboa Avenue.

The best BMW body shop in San Diego, just be careful if your advisor is Erin, I hope no one ever has to learn why. Some advisors are better communicators and verifies than others.

I had an accident on the September 28^th I brought my car to Penske let me start off by saying from the moment I arrive I was very impressed from the front desk the rental car and specially for my Advisor Amanda she was assigned to my case unfortunately my car was totaled but the experience this place gave me it made up for the loss I want to thank you penske staff and keep up the good work I will definitely recommend you to all my frends and the family

Wish I could give a zero. Took my car in 5 weeks ago today. I was told three weeks to fix it. I called at two weeks to get an update, they forgot to order two of the parts. Called at week three and four, still waiting for part/​waiting for paint. Called today, exactly 5 weeks and two weeks past the estimate. Yup should be going into paint today. WTF? Today? You got the part in last week! We think by Friday (two more days). I will never recommend them.
Should have known when I had to wait an hour to be seen when there was only one other costumer in the lobby. Then the «shuttle» took 2 hours after telling me it would be ten minutes. Not recommended and I haven’t even seen the work done to my car yet.

I must say, Penske does excellent work! I am a very happy customer. :) I went in for the factory recall from Honda for the paint job. The paint job on my roof, doors, trunk, and front bumper came out so nice. It looks like it just came off the show room floor of the dealership. Sam gave me the best customer service ever. He kept me informed of the situation with my car. He made sure that everything went smooth for me. I had a friend that went to a different body shop and the work that body shop did was no where near as good as penske. I would recommend this shop to anyone who is looking for quality work done right. If the price of other body shops are lower, well dont forget that you get what you paid for, and I wouldnt chance it when it comes to my car. Thank you Penske and thank you again Sam.

04÷03÷15 Changing my review from a 1Star to a 3 Start because of Sam’s (manager) effort to redeem situation.
Horrible customer service, my service advisor is Derrick.
Car was left for repair on 3÷10÷15 … today is 03÷30÷15 and the car is still NOT ready.
Vehicle was only damaged from the passenger back side door (driver side) service advisor never called me for the first week, after I called and checked on the car a week later he came up with this excuse that my insurance adjuster had not gone to the shop to go over the revised estimate, maybe if he followed up with his cases it would not take more than a week for an adjuster to go into shop.
Service advisor never calls, unless I call.
This is not my first experience with Penske, it’s my third time around and every time it gets worst.

I was a little worried reading all the negative reviews, but I still took it in and prayed for the best.
First of all when I called to make my appointment they gave me one 2 weeks out, I understood they are a big place and have a lot of work.
My appointment date, walk in after a horrible experience across the street with Enterprise Rental and the receptionist was very accommodating offered to help start the rental process in house with Hertz, unfortunately USAA would only cover with Enterprise.
I didn’t meet with my service advisor but was told it would be 8 business days for me to have my car back, I left my business card with all my contact information in case he needed to get a hold of me.
5 days after I get a call from John Parrott with detailed information about the progress on my car. On the 7^th day he reached out via email with a few other details of the progress and as well some mechanical details from wear & tear that they offered to work on, I declined and will take care on my own.
Today was the 9^th day and I picked up my car, it looks like nothing happened, given that the damage wasn’t horrible it still looks awesome. Mr Parrot strongly advised if I noticed anything to please call him.
Overall my experience was good, and if we would need that type of service we would take our car/​s there.
I will update with after pictures, attaching one of the damaged car

BMW of SD took my car here after they damaged it. If I could’ve butted in I would’ve definitely chosen elsewhere after what I’ve read before about Penske in SD. Now I have an experience of my own to share.
I can compare the work they did to the other fender that was repaired by a local shop in SD (I know, great luck I’ve had) and there are some major differences. 1) local shop — hardly recognizable unless someone’s looking for it. 2) Penske — recognizable even when my car’s covered in dust. I got a great orange peel paint job from Penske, and some nice whiskery wrinkles over the fender that they repaired. It’s pretty obvious.

P is for the pastries you get to stuff your face with as you wait in the lobby.
E is for the exceptionally fast & efficient e-​mails from your advisor.
N is for the nice people who work here! Alexis, Erin Lawson, & Hertz peeps.
S is for how squeaky clean and shiny you get your car back. Even the interior was vacuumed and smelled so fresh!
K is for the Keurig-​ish coffee/​tea machine they have here. Also free water!
E is for the EXCELLENT job they did repairing the rear bumper of my VW Beetle!
This inspires me to make a film about my love for this Penske. But in the meantime, I will just make a movie reference from Mean Girls, when Damian is passing out Valentine’s day grams and announces, «5 Stars for you, Penske [Automotive] CoCo [llision Center]. YOU GO Penske CoCo! And none for you Gretchen!» Ok, I might have made some minor adjustments… maybe I’ll just make a YouTube video…
ONE STAR: SERVICE
I got my baby back & she looks as stylin’ and amazing as she did when I first got her! Gorgeous curvy bumper is back, people! Super sleek, shiny & PERFECT paint match! It looks BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW and I am a picky person. Wonderful handiwork. Totally worth it the wait!
ONE STAR: COMMUNICATION
My advisor was Erin Lawson & we encountered some issues with the other party’s insurance so my car was with Penske for over a month. However– she always kept me up to date with the status of the repair and called/​emailed me weekly. She was very responsive to my emails and always wrote me back concisely and clearly. All in all, she was FAB! She would even include my attorney on the emails as well.
ONE STAR: HERTZ RENTAL
In case you didn’t know, there is a Hertz rental kiosk conveniently located in the same building, only a few feet away from the Penske desk. SO AMAZING. The guys working at Hertz are legit. I got a 2013 Corolla rental equipped with GPS (even though the GPS was kinda oddly stuck into the passenger side of the car and sort of pried open part of the plastic)…BUT it had one, and it worked. The rate was around $ 22 a day I think, which I felt like was a pretty good deal for the size of the car.
ONE STAR: LOBBY AMENITIES
As I said– complimentary assorted muffins/​pastries. Unfortunately, no cronuts/​donuts at this time. Free coffee/​tea/​bottled Penske water. Sweeetttt! Plus– comfy leather seats in waiting room.
ONE STAR: LOCATION
Drop off/​pick up your car and then head over to Convoy (just a right turn away) and go eat some noodles or drink some boba milk tea. Yay!
TIPS: Check in on Unilocal for a free accident kit! It includes a neat little bag w/​some essentials like a flashlight & disposable camera. A great place to get work done on your car if you got rear-​ended (like me). Can’t stop singing my praises for them! YouTube song about Penske coming to a computer near you.