Kekoa Dapitan

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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Wonderful and honest salemen named Ashton and Conrad. Excellent customer service representative named Rose. She actually impressed me so much with a kind phone call that we decided to change dealerships Excellent customer service representative named Rose. She actually impressed me so much with a kind phone call that we decided to change dealerships and buy our car from Foothill . Mercedes. Also , excellent service department. Each respresrentive was eager to serve us when we walked in. The service mgr , Mike is honest, kind and thorough. The general manger, Ken is gracious and helpful as well. Unfortunately we had a few issues that came up with buying our car within the first two weeks of having it. That being said, this dealership as a whole worked together as a team to solve each issue promptly and professionally. They even sent us a gift card because of our inconvenience. We will definitely stay with Mercedes-Benz Foothill Ranch. Thanks to you all!! More

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It's the 2020, we shouldn't be ignored based on gender I decided to place an order for my second car with Mercedes Benz of Foothill Ranch. Unfortunately, I have come to realize that placing an order with t I decided to place an order for my second car with Mercedes Benz of Foothill Ranch. Unfortunately, I have come to realize that placing an order with this dealership was a mistake. Once my car finally arrived at the dealership I got greeted by the sales representative and soon while negotiating, it was evident that he did not want to sell me the car. Soon after talking to him, the general sales manager, Mr. Dapitan entered the room which ruined the deal completely. Aside from his very rude attitude which gave no room for negotiation, when he entered the room he greeted every male in the room and shook hands while completely ignoring me. I suppose he was not aware that the buying party for such an expensive car would have been female and his ignorance was incredibly disrespectful. More

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Bad business I thought I can trust him with all my car deals but I found out he is not honest with me. Ending up bought a car from a different place. I thought I can trust him with all my car deals but I found out he is not honest with me. Ending up bought a car from a different place. More

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Service I had a problem with my car and was fixed last year however the problem came back and took it in to Foothill Ranch Mercedes. They kept my car for a we I had a problem with my car and was fixed last year however the problem came back and took it in to Foothill Ranch Mercedes. They kept my car for a week and the service adviser never once called do provide update status on the car. I called couple of time to follow up and I found out the technician struggled to replicate the problem and asked if they can extended test drive. So what does that mean?? Service adviser did not specify how much even after I addressed my concern about my mileage. After less than a week I called to follow up and to find out not only they did not fix the problem but put on 250miles on my car. Did they take my car on a joy ride??? Explain to me how do a customer walk away with their car not being fixed and also let dealer use up that much mileage. Dealer told me to deal with cooperate and after many calls to cooperate, they said this is dealership problem and will need to have them compensate me. I called the service manager and I only got his rude comment as if I’m a female and has no clue what I’m complaining about. He offer to give me $40 credit to use toward my service at the dealer. Are you kidding me??? I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone if this is how they treat their customer’s car!!! More

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Fantastic experience I had a great buying experience at Mercedes-Benz of Foothill Ranch. Special thanks to Russ Ellis and Kekoa Dapitan. Their customer service, integrity I had a great buying experience at Mercedes-Benz of Foothill Ranch. Special thanks to Russ Ellis and Kekoa Dapitan. Their customer service, integrity and transparency were superior. Russ kept in close communication with me as we narrowed down the price and details of the car. I felt engaged and not pressured, which is the most comfortable way to buy a car. More

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Amazing dealership with amazing people! I had a truly amazing experience leasing my car at this dealership. Russ Ellis is by far the best salesperson that I have ever worked with... ever! He I had a truly amazing experience leasing my car at this dealership. Russ Ellis is by far the best salesperson that I have ever worked with... ever! He worked extremely hard to come up with a deal that would work for me, and deftly and caringly handled the overall process. He was very responsive throughout, with great attention to detail, and provided an excellent overview of the car's systems before I drove it off the lot. I can't imagine a better experience with a car buying/leasing process. More

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Great Experience Russ Ellis is the best! Very professional. Definitely would recommend anyone looking for a new or CPO Mercedes to checkout out Foothill Ranch Mercede Russ Ellis is the best! Very professional. Definitely would recommend anyone looking for a new or CPO Mercedes to checkout out Foothill Ranch Mercedes and ask for Russ to help him/her find the best deal. More

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Great experience What a good group to work with at Foothill Ranch. They played no games and gave an honest offer when I worked with them over the phone. Would buy from What a good group to work with at Foothill Ranch. They played no games and gave an honest offer when I worked with them over the phone. Would buy from them in the future. More

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Bad experience with leasing a car I leased a Mercedes SLC43 AMG from this dealership. The sales assistant who helped me with this Alex and his manager Kekoa forced me to pick up a car I leased a Mercedes SLC43 AMG from this dealership. The sales assistant who helped me with this Alex and his manager Kekoa forced me to pick up a car which had a faulty air scurf and had 4 holes in front bumper for license plate (I didn't request for the holes) which makes the beauty of the car erroneous. At the time of pick up when I noticed the problems I refused to pick up the car but they lied to me about the problems and made me to pick up the car. I now regret that. After they took my car for 3 days for fixing the problems it came back with the same holes in fron bumper. I have already discussed this with another manager to get a resolution for it. If you live in this area please stay away from this dealership and go to other ones. More

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