Russ Ellis

Waited a long time to get my Mercedes and Foothill Mercedes was great. Mark B. was Wonderful. Took a lot of time with us and explained everything. Went to 3 Mercedes dealerships and Foothill by far w Mercedes was great. Mark B. was Wonderful. Took a lot of time with us and explained everything. Went to 3 Mercedes dealerships and Foothill by far was the best. Went above and beyond to make us happy. More

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The short story: My wife brought our GLS 450 in because of sudden grinding on one side. It had 30,000 miles on it. She was told by Isaac Lam that normal wear and tear isn't covered under warranty- only mec of sudden grinding on one side. It had 30,000 miles on it. She was told by Isaac Lam that normal wear and tear isn't covered under warranty- only mechanical failures that would lead to things such as one brake pad wearing out prematurely. We were then told all brakes were worn and needed replacing. We felt something was off and had another professional look at it. One rear brake pad was worn through completely while all others were at 80%. Really shady. Photos attached. They treat you like royalty when selling you a car, but lie and ghost you once they've made the sale. We expected more. We reached out to Isaac Lam who told my wife "not to hesitate if there was anything else he could do" and never heard back. Two emails have gone out to GM Edward Hwang and General Sales Manager Kekoa Dapitan with zero response. The long Story: We bought our GLS 450 in November 2020 as a Certified Pre-Owned car. The vehicle had 11,000 miles on it. We were encouraged to buy a CPO car because of the many benefits that were supposed to come along with it like a warranty and the added reassurance that the car was in great mechanical condition. While on a road trip this summer, the rear driver's side brake suddenly started grinding. At this point, the car had 29,000 miles on it. I was concerned because it was coming from just one wheel, the rear, which in my experience doesn't wear out the fastest. Because of the warranty we received from Mercedes, and because we purchased the car from Mercedes-Benz of Foothill Ranch, we brought the car in to get the brakes evaluated at that location. Having replaced several brakes on other vehicles I've owned, I had an idea of what was happening. My wife brought the car up to that location for an evaluation. The report states, "Client states there is a metallic grinding noise when applying the brakes. Client requests a courtesy brake inspection. Inspected brakes, found front brake pads #4mm. Rear brakes worn to metal to metal contact. Recommend to replace rear brake pads and rotors, front brake pads. Customer declined replace front and rear brakes." My wife called me from the dealership to tell me that nothing was covered under warranty because it was all "normal wear and tear". I was upset to hear this because I don't think there is anything "normal" about only one being worn down to the metal while the others didn't make a noise. I was directed to call Russ Ellis, the used car manager. I explained to him that I didn't agree with service, and that things didn't add up. I was very frustrated about how things were handled but he didn't seem to care. We were given several pictures of the worn out tires that have a 50,000 mile rating, that we were told also needed to be replaced at 30,000, but no photos of the brakes or pads. He continued to talk over me, and that nothing is covered under warranty. There was an excuse for every possible scenario. Because of how we were treated, we had another business replace the rear rotors and all brake pads. When they took the driver side rear wheel off, they immediately noticed where the metal pad was wearing on the inside of the rotor. The technician was concerned because all of the other pads had 80% life left in them. He stated that the caliper was likely sticking or the pad could have been defective and delaminated. Because we needed the car right away, we had them finish the job. I'm not sure where things went wrong. Either the service technician didn't take the wheel off to see what was happening and made up a diagnosis, or he looked, and blatantly misdiagnosed what the problem was. Either way, they were negligent, and this repair work should have been covered under warranty. It's really disappointing to see the lengths that were gone to to preserve the dealership's bottom line and not cover a defect. It's ironic that my wife was told the "only way something would be covered under warranty was if there was a mechanical fault that then caused one side to wear out prematurely, etc.,," and conveniently, it wasn't that (even though it definitely looks to be what happened). I would not expect normal wear and tear to be serviced under warranty, but we now have direct evidence that proves that the dealership was dishonest in diagnosing the problem to ensure that they would be paid for the service. It makes me angry to think that she could have easily paid for this service in trusting what she was told. I expected so much more from a Mercedes dealership that claims to be all about exceptional customer experiences. Isaac told my wife not to hesitate to reach out if there was anything that he could do to help us along the way. She called and left a voicemail weeks ago and received no response. We should be able to trust you and we have been really disappointed that they would do business this way. I hoped to resolved this together, but that's clearly not their intention. More

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I bought a certified Mercedes Benz C 300 from this dealership (Foothill Ranch) in April. I spent more money on this Certified car because I thought it was worth it and I would be backed by Mercedes Be dealership (Foothill Ranch) in April. I spent more money on this Certified car because I thought it was worth it and I would be backed by Mercedes Benz (I also bought an optional extended warranty). Since it was my second car, I have not been driving this car that much. After a couple of weeks, I noticed a crack on my windshield which had been covered up before. So I brought my car to the dealer and talked to several people ( Kekoa Depitan and Russ Ellis). But they did not take liability for that and told me this car went through rigorous inspections and we have not seen any cracks by the time we inspected this car. That was the funniest excuse that I have ever heard, cause when I received my car three panels inside the car were off and they did not even notice significant issues like that, let alone a crack on the windshield. Just stay away from this dealership and purchase from a more reputable dealership. They are all nice when you are about to buy a car from them but once the sale is closed, they would turn to totally different people. More

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Profesional, fast, they make it easy. I had an amazing purchase experience with Russ Ellis. My service advisor Henry Eiring is always helpful, knowledgeable, professional, and communicative. I’ve been ser purchase experience with Russ Ellis. My service advisor Henry Eiring is always helpful, knowledgeable, professional, and communicative. I’ve been servicing my car here for 4 years now and I’ve always had a great experience. More

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Very much a turn off from this dealerships online sales department manager. While email is difficult to establish tone, this dealership made it clear that they don’t want my business. They also have insa department manager. While email is difficult to establish tone, this dealership made it clear that they don’t want my business. They also have insane dealership mark ups to screw local buyers. I’d think twice before shopping here or any Fletcher Jones dealership. Again this is just my opinion. You may find the service and hospitality to be acceptable. More

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Just wanted to write this review in an effort to hopefully help someone with their leasing decision or research into working with Mercedes Benz of Foothill. My personal experience was less than hopefully help someone with their leasing decision or research into working with Mercedes Benz of Foothill. My personal experience was less than optimal leasing a Mercedes from here. I went through three pairs of tires on my vehicle (36,000 miles), which cost me $1k plus dollars in additional expense, I was also later told by a salesman at the dealership that they were aware that there was an issue with unusual wear, which was never addressed by the dealership. I was also told during the leasing paperwork that I would have to return the car with the exact same tires. Prior to the return of the car, I was told to schedule a inspection prior to return and then was told by someone else at the dealer to not schedule the inspection. After returning the car, I was charged extra for damage that did not exist when I returned the vehicle at the end of the lease and received no assistance or follow up when asking..why? All during this time I received multiple emails about getting into new vehicles and deals and so on. If you plan on leasing a vehicle and are not concerned with the details of your agreement, this can be the perfect place to spend your money. If your looking for the best price and service, please do your research and explore your options before leasing here in my opinion. More

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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

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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

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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

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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

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