Mercedes-Benz of Foothill Ranch

Edward Hwang , General Manager at Foothill, is a poor example of leadership in an industry that strives on reputation. Mr. Hwang failed to simply take responsibility for a problem and make it right. My l example of leadership in an industry that strives on reputation. Mr. Hwang failed to simply take responsibility for a problem and make it right. My lease experience started well with internet salesman, Russ Ellis. He claimed to have the vehicle I wanted with a plan to ship cross country from Foothill to me in Miami, FL within 10-15 days. He was advised multiple times to use transfer license plates from my previous vehicle when registering new car. Foothill was disorganized with paperwork, with setting up Mercedes connect, and with communication with their transport company. After multiple delays, the vehicle finally arrived by the time first month payment was due, nearly a month after they started the lease payment obligation. Pay for one month use before ever seeing the car! Also he failed to disclose the new car had over 120 miles of use. After some fuss, the dealership agreed to reimburse my first payment. All should be good, right? Here’s where the fun begins. They failed to disclose the car was actually obtained from a different dealer that obtained it from even another different dealer. My selling dealer, Foothill, failed to obtain the “letter of origin”, which is basically the vehicle’s birth certificate required for the first DMV registration in the USA. So they delivered my car, but never registered it. They asked me to go to my DMV and do it myself. No problem, right? Wrong... DMV advised me about the missing required letter of origin. Foothill then spent the next 10 days tracking it down to get it. Something that is dealer 101 of selling a car. After waiting the month of delivery, the new car couldn’t leave my driveway for approx two additional weeks until Foothill finally became organized with paperwork to register the vehicle. They used some company to handle it for them but failed to communicate to use my transfer license plate, costing several hundred dollars additional to issue new plates. Ultimately I was put in touch with Foothill’s GM, Edward Hwang. I explained the situation and requested his dealership reimburse me for 1/2 month payment for loss of use of the additional two weeks, plus actual DMV fees reimbursement for damages equal to the overage they cost me for their error. The DMV error being failure to use transfer license plate as agreed and over refund the estimated DMV fees paid in advance. He said he would reimburse the DMV overage and will look into everything else. We spoke one more time days later when he claimed the initial month payment reimbursement (remember that - for the month of transport) should cover everything. I explained again, that reimbursement covered actual loss of use for failure to deliver car during that time. That the open issue at hand is their failure to obtain and provide letter of origin which caused additional two weeks loss of use plus reimbursement of DMV overage fees and DMV additional costs due to their error of not using transfer plates as advised to them several times in advance in writing throughout the lease purchase. Mr. Hwang never again responded. He avoided each of my phone calls thereafter and failed to ever call back. I filed a complaint with MB-USA who guaranteed me a call back from Mr Hwang within 3 days. Mr. Hwang failed any attempt to reach me. I escalated my complaint to MB-USA where I learned Mercedes has no control of its dealerships, altering my view of the Mercedes brand for the first time. Mr. Hwang again failed to make any effort of contact. I then took to the internet to research Foothill reviews and was shocked to discover a few things. One, there are serious complaints against my Foothill sales person. And Foothill’s rating at the Better Business Bureau is rated an “F” rating. Yes an “F”! Many complaints against this dealership, many naming Mr. Edward Hwang by name. The unresolved damages equal $393.75. Mr. Hwang chose not to do the right thing by choosing to ignore this loyal Mercedes customer. My goal now is to insure others learn of my poor experience with Foothill dealership, and how it has altered my view of the Mercedes brand. And for MB-USA to know that Mr. Hwang’s handling of my case will cost them loss of my next substantial vehicle purchase. MB-USA can easily verify my 2017 S550 Cabriolet was in an accident approx two weeks ago when air bags were deployed and Mercedes Connect was alerted to the accident. My intent would have been to replace it with a newer model S560 Cabriolet (a $150,000+ MSRP vehicle) without hesitation. But because of Mr. Hwang’s handling of this small $393.75 reimbursement failure, I am now considering BMW 850i Cabriolet, and my introduction to the BMW family. I am currently an owner of three Mercedes vehicles and have had several AMG models previously as well. I’ve never looked elsewhere from Mercedes until this experience introduced me to a competitive product by BMW. I am planning to purchase this luxury vehicle in the next few days and it won’t be with Mercedes unless someone from MB-USA gets involved to resolve this open issue. My issue with Mercedes Benz of Foothill Ranch and specifically with Mr. Hwang’s failure as a General Manager at a Mercedes brand dealership. The automobile industry is all about customer service for customer retention and Mr. Hwang needs some schooling in customer service. Plus I now share this experience regularly with car buddies at car shows that I attend thought the year. At this moment, MB-USA can thank Edward Hwang for opening my eyes to consider BMW for a BMW 8-series vehicle instead of a Mercedes Benz S-class purchase. Big mistake...huge Craig in Miami More

Very good GLC custom order experience Overall, very positive experience with Russ on custom order GLC. Russ was open to help us with custom build and ordering the car how I wanted; the pri Overall, very positive experience with Russ on custom order GLC. Russ was open to help us with custom build and ordering the car how I wanted; the price given once the car arrived was also fairly competitive. More

Russ helped me with my GLB lease. He is always available when I have questions or need some help. Very patient when answering my questions. Great service. Highly recommend. when I have questions or need some help. Very patient when answering my questions. Great service. Highly recommend. More

Seamless, professional car-buying experience! Great dealership -- big thanks to the team at Mercedes Benz of Foothill Ranch for making my car-buying a simple, enjoyable process. The professionalis Great dealership -- big thanks to the team at Mercedes Benz of Foothill Ranch for making my car-buying a simple, enjoyable process. The professionalism, communication and hospitality they all showed me - particularly Conrad Cave and Jack Croft - helped make a major purchase easy. The were patient as I asked many questions about the car, walked me through the E400's features (both pre- and post-sale), and generally made the entire experience seamless. Also, shout-out to Mossy Kashani in finance, who went the extra mile to help me lock-in a great rate, thanks! I wish all auto dealerships were this pleasant to deal with. My experience here will certainly have me coming back to Mercedes-Benz again in the future. More

This dealership is amazing! We did a lease return and got into a new 2020 GLC! The whole process from beginning to end was quick and easy. Calvin, Ken, and Nima helped us through the whole process and they w into a new 2020 GLC! The whole process from beginning to end was quick and easy. Calvin, Ken, and Nima helped us through the whole process and they were very straight forward and professional. We also purchased something at the parts department and David stayed open after closing for us! My family and I will definitely be coming back here and I recommend everyone to come here as well! More

Highly professional service by Russ Ellis and Nima Sabeti My deep gratitude to Sales Manager Russ Ellis and Financial Manager Hima Sabeti. Choosing and buying the car is not a simple task, unless you have a My deep gratitude to Sales Manager Russ Ellis and Financial Manager Hima Sabeti. Choosing and buying the car is not a simple task, unless you have a professional Sales Manager who can clarify all specs and options of the car you are looking for and, eventually, help to finalize the deal. Russ Ellis made this process simple and straightforward. With no hassles and zero pressure on optional bells and whistles Russ, in a very professional manner helped to select the car that satisfied my requirements. In his turn, the financial manager Nima Sabeti provided a great care in completing this purchase, including optimal support services. Gentlemen, thank you again!!! More

Pleasant & helpful staff that care about their clients Wonderful experience and classy customer service. They care about their customers and "potential" clients' satisfaction. My experiences was pleasant, Wonderful experience and classy customer service. They care about their customers and "potential" clients' satisfaction. My experiences was pleasant, I submitted my interest in buying a MB online and then I got contacted by client Care Specialist, Livia, who kept initiating contact till I actually got an appointment and sat down with the internet Sales Manager Karim Elshaabini, the nicest most pleasant helpful person, he cares about his clients and invests his utmost and best effort to meet their needs and stay in their budget range. It took some time to actually get a deal, and even if a deal didn’t happen I would've still been very satisfied with how amazing they treated me and helped me. At the end I got a sweet great deal and therefore I want to thank everyone at Mercedes Benz of Foothill Ranch for the providing the highest standards of customer service. I am definitely going to recommend everyone I know to buy their cars from you. More

Russ Ellis is beyond amazing! This is our 4th lease transaction and he is our guy as long as I am driving a Mercedes. We originally met him at MBLN and followed him over to Foothill Ranch. He is organi transaction and he is our guy as long as I am driving a Mercedes. We originally met him at MBLN and followed him over to Foothill Ranch. He is organized and professional and there to help. I offer top notch service to my clients and when I get to be a customer I want that same service, Once again Russ exceeded our expectations! More