HBL, LLC

I purchased a new e class from hbl in tysons. Chuck in sales is very nice and has an incredible amount of knowledge of the product. Greg Chery in service is amazing. He always completes my car on time and has the highest level of professionalism. In the auto industry it’s often hard to find someone you can trust, Greg is certainly one of the few.

12÷7÷2010
It took about 10 weeks to get the job done (bumper cover and fender replacement), and I think it was done right, but it’s hard to tell for sure since there is a light coat of dirt on the car and I’ve been instructed to be very careful with the newly painted portions for about 60 days. It looks a lot better though I must say. A couple of small imperfections, but I didn’t expect it to be perfect, I just expected it to be right. The bumper is finally aligned, the headlight looks good, and everything seems fine.
The Director, Harry McGuin personally walked me over to the car when I arrived and was confident that it was ready for pickup. From my initial inspection, I couldn’t disagree, it looked a lot better than what I had been seeing. There was however a mystery nail in the rear tire which was the culprit from before when I noticed the soft tire a few weeks ago. Mr. McGuin had one of his techs take care of it right away while we chatted and the tire was patched in about 15 minutes. I must say, if this was how I had been treated in the first place, I would have been very happy and would have recommended them to others.
No question though, Harry McGuin worked hard for me once he caught wind that I was being jerked around by his staff. If I went there again, I would make working with him directly a condition of my business.
THREE annoying things that I found after going home:
1. The key’s rubber unlock button now has a small tear in it. Could be rough handling, but I just replaced it about 2 months prior to taking it to HBL.
2. My SUNROOF DOESN’T WORK ANYMORE, but that should be fixed pretty easily. Unfortunately this means taking it back again :-(Sadly I discovered this after I had already gotten home.
3. The headlights don’t turn on! Yeah, it’s dangerous.

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with my recent visit to the Tysons Corner Collision Center. Almost a year ago, I wrote another letter about the excellent service as well as the quality of repairs that I received from your body shop manager Robert Kelly. Since then, I have expressed to my fellow friends at the Porsche Club of America how wonderful your service and collision center is. Telling them that I would not trust anyone else with my car. When I recently came back for a cracked taillight and minor scratch on my bumper, I was expecting the same level of excellence as my previous visit. However, my experience was very disappointing.
I came in for an estimate on September 4^th and had Tamara review the damage and she sent me an estimate on the 7^th. I emailed her on the 16^th to schedule an appointment and proceeded to call multiple times. I was repeatedly told that she was not available and when I asked if anyone else could help, I was told no. Finally I was able to make contact, which then took over a week for her to get back to me to schedule the drop off on Oct. 11^th, almost a month after initially trying to schedule this repair.
While dropping off the car, I was told that the repairs would be complete by Friday. Upon inspection of the repair, there was a noticeable dimple where the repair was made on the bumper. I did not accept this repair and was told that this time it should only take two days to fix, so scheduled to bring my car back for a second time for this simple repair. Living in Arlington and working in Washington, DC, I had to again adjust my schedule to make a return to Tysons Corner, not only wasting gas but also more importantly my time.
When I brought the car back, I used the after hours night drop box. I was told prior to dropping off the car that it would be a day and a half to repair. I dropped off the car on Wednesday evening and had intended to pick it up Friday. After not hearing anything from the dealer on Thursday, I emailed Tamara early Friday afternoon to see if we were still on schedule and when I could pick it up. I received no response; therefore I called on Saturday to see if it was available for pickup. The receptionist said that she could take a message for Tamara and she could call me on Monday, at which point I asked to speak to a manager. I was then transferred Eric Kandill, who first apologized for the delay, explaining that the car would not be completed until Tuesday. He then said that he would talk with Tamara and assured me that he would call to follow-​up on the repairs Monday.
After not hearing anything from either Eric or Tamara on Monday, I sent Tamara a follow-​up email Tuesday morning asking about the status of the car asking when I could pick it up. An email was returned saying that this repair was again delayed another day and that it would be ready on Wednesday for pickup. I called Eric at that point to see why it was delayed again, left a message and received no response.
Wednesday morning I was emailed by Tamara to let me know that the car would be ready on that afternoon so that I could pick it up. I responded letting her know that I would not be available that day but would in fact come on Thursday after work to receive the car. When I went to get the vehicle I was handed the key and told where it was. No one walked out with me to go over the repair. I then had to go back inside because I had requested that the battery be disconnected when it was not in use for more than a day. The technician disconnected the battery and locked the hood so I needed assistance getting the battery reconnected. I also asked if the car had been washed prior to my pickup. I was told that it had been but that was before the heavy rain from the day before. This made me even more disappointed that the car had sat in rain for the first time and that the car was not washed on the day of pickup. During the previous repair the vehicle was stored inside of the Porsche facility to avoid the elements after it was washed.
In conclusion, it has taken almost two months from start to finish to properly complete a five-​day repair. I have had to manage every detail of this process from drop off to delivery and even two final inspections. In the future, I hope that you better communicate with your customers about their vehicles and follow through when you assure them something. This sort of service I would expect from a lower quality dealership or independent repair shop and not a member of the Penske Automotive Group. I also plan to communicate my dissatisfaction with this service to trusted review websites such as Unilocal and also the Chesapeake Chapter of the Porsche Club of America.
Since this letter was sent the General Manager of the Collision Center called and apologized. He did not offer any incentive for me to return. He also did not offer a free car wash since the car was delivered dirty. The saga continues

Stay away. Purchased my 2006 S4 from them, but won’t set foot in there again. They tried on three occasions to steal $ 1,300 from me by adding back the gas guzzler tax to our already-​negotiated and final «out the door price.» Every time I pointed it out, they said «oh yeah, that’s a mistake» then added it back in.
Salesman was incompetent, the finance manager was rude and got worse when he found out I wasn’t going to fall for the usual F&I games.
I called them once for a brake job estimate, and they quoted $ 1K for front pads/​rotors! Got it done for substantially less at Curry’s. Thank goodness the car is off warranty. I’ll never darken HBLs door again. It’s too bad that Roger Penske doesn’t care about how bad these clowns tarnish his brand name, nor does Audi of America seem to care either.

The check engine light in our 07 MB ML500 has been coming on very often over the last year. But for the last few months it has been on constantly. HBL has been servicing the car and every time I take it in for service they replace a sensor or two and reset the check engine light. But it only takes a few hours before it comes back again. This last week they had the car for about 2 weeks and replaced the entire computer and harness but it took only a few hours before it came back again. Unfortunately our factory warranty runs out in 8 days, and I’m very worried about keeping the car, and hesitate to extend the warranty since i do not feel like visiting the dealership on daily basis. My complaint is not necessary with HBL, since i think they are doing their best, but I’m afraid i have a lemon. Any advice is appreciated…

I admit HBL does charge high labor rate, but you guys need to understand any European car price will cost a fortune to maintain. It’s not just HBL, scour other costs around DC area. We live in a very affluent area, where labor costs are high especially for high end cars.
I have a history with Mercedes cars from CLK to my present car, an SL, and they are a Bit&(*&* to maintain, but luckily I have an extended warranty to cover majority of the costs. Oil changes are usually $ 80.00, which isn’t bad. Go their website, print out the coupons, and you’re set.
For the Service routine checkups, shop around and bring the cheapest price to HBL, they will match it. If you can’t stomach the notion of paying $ 450 bucks twice a year for maintenance, you really shouldn’t be driving an expensive car. That’s normal for Benz and Audi. I am sure Porsches are far more expensive.
Having said that, I think HBL service technicians are far superior compared to the ASC, or MB Alexandria. On every occasion I have used them, the benz guys are pretty on point w/​their diagnosis and repairs. Also, it makes a huge difference who your service advisor is. Make a note, get to know them, and treat them like you’d wanted to treated.
Just a quick note, if u want a good recommendation for a service adviser at the dealership, drop me a line.

Ex-​fiancé and I dropped in to inquire about a stunning M3 convertible spotted from Leesburg Pike. As the sales associate led us across the lot and toward the car he mindlessly boasted that he was dating a stripper from Camelot’s [in DC]. Ex-​fiancé and I winced; however, as clearly uncomfortable as the ex was by this insightful yet irrelevant personal tidbit, I dismissed it with a good natured laugh as I was eager to take the car for a spin.
The M3 did not disappoint. But one cannot say the same for the sales associate who did not know how to engage the steptronic feature of the car. Eventually, we shook hands and parted ways.
Days later, still enamored with the car, my ex and I stopped in yet again to inquire about financing options. Another sales associate left us standing in the lot for an unacceptable length of time as he scurried to find the other moron back at what must be the mother ship for inept sales professionals.
We beamed ourselves out of there.

The only reason I am giving 1 star is because 0 stars is not an option… I had been a loyal customer for almost 5 years in service and purchase… Summer 09, I decided to upgrade to a new E350… and because I had received such stellar attention and amazing pricing from EuroMotors, I decided to purchase it from them instead. I should have stuck with that theory with service as well. With my last visit on 12/​28, I encountered an hour wait time for processing, rude service, overheard a racial comment by one of the technicians in the service area where more than 10 people were in earshot, and a crazy price. Not to mention, no explanation with my car bill and to top it off, the service light is now back on… NEVER AGAIN. Did I complain? Yes, to practically deaf ears… I got pushed aside for when they aren’t so busy…
I just completed the satisfaction survey… and got a quick response from a client relations Manager and am taking it up with him… so we shall see if they can turn this $hit around…

My visit to HBL was by far the worst experience I have had at any dealership, EVER. One might think the opposite given the car market over the past year, but according to my recent research of the dealership, HBL’s history of treating people like crap goes far back. I had already done all the research on the Internet, and all they had to do was not screw up the sale, but they couldn’t even do that. How can you sell a casual shopper if you can’t sell someone when all you had to do was treat someone with a small amount of respect until you signed the contract? What really blows my mind is how companies like Audi, Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Porsche allow their high-​end vehicles be sold by a group of non-​professionals that comprise the HBL staff. I have lived in NoVA for about a year and a half, and I never understood why everyone had BMWs. Now that I have found that HBL is one of only a couple places in the area that sell BMWs main competitors, I now understand why Audi and Mercedes owners are more sparse.
I eventually found the same car that I wanted to purchase from HBL at an Audi dealership in Rockville (
).

Worst dealer & repair facility which I ever had the displeasure of dealing with over the past 20 years. I will NEVER buy a vehicle at HBL. Try going to Rockville Audi if you can as the drive is worth it based on price and truthfulness. HBL overcharges, lies about what needs to be done, & has horrible service. At one time, one individual used to picket along Rt. 7 about avoiding HBL. I used to think this guy was an idiot but anyone using HBL is an idiot! AVOID at all costs!

This dealer do not work, or do it correctly, but believe me it is all about the money here.
I used HBL 3 years ago for my ML because they are «authorized.» Though that came to an end because I was tired of getting screwed and bad customer service. Being sick of customer service, I sold my ML and went towards BMW and Infiniti and I can tell you both of them are extra ordinary on service and customer service, where as your Mercedes dealer at HBL SUCKS!!!
Today I called for service performed on my C230 but the problem is still there, Service Advisor (Djon) hung-​up on me. WHAT THE HELL??? Where is the Mercedes customer service?
I called again to his Manage and he was even more rude, these people sucks. This is the most rude and obnoxious dealer ship I have ever seen, I will make sure that none of my clients or friends ever go to HBL.
I am even thinking of selling my C230 which I just bought a month ago.
I think MBUSA should cancel HBL contract and give to someone else.

Hard to find a parking spot, won’t negotiate on AMG’s price and horrible service. How they got to be a license dealer of so many Brands under 1 roof is beyond me. The same company also owns the Audi dealer across the street, talk about crappy service. The Audi staff would be fired at any McDonald’s based on their behavior.
For BMW, I like Tischer
For Benz, no question, American Service Center
Save your self time and money, go some where else.

OH MY FREAKING LORD… How did I NOT think to look at Unilocal for auto dealer reviews. I normally only use it for restaurants.
If I would have checked this out first I would have saved myself the infuriation of dealing with these guys. Admittedly not as bad as the other reviews though.
Yesterday I’m driving my parents 2003 Mercedes Benz C240, and I get a lot of warning lights on the instrumentation panel. Intending to look at the warning lights after I got home, the battery died before I ever could. I get a jump from a friend and drive straight to the MB dealer telling them my battery is dead. I need it recharged or replaced. This my FIRST time here.
The next day they tell me the battery is dead and can’t be recharged. I’d have to pay $ 179 for a new battery. Kind of pricey for a battery but this is a specially made MB battery which can ONLY be used… turns out that was a lie. I found out later, I can buy a replacement battery at Pep Boys for $ 80. Then he tells me a laundry list of other maintenance I should perform urgently, because it was all overdue.
$ 963 replace Overhead Control Panel
$ 261 replace serpentine belt
$ 395 replace fuel filter
$ 777 replace all spark plugs
$ 260 transmission fluid flush
$ 140 brake fluid flush
$ 155 power steering fluid flush
=========================
$ 2,951 in additional maintenance they want to perform because there’s no history of any of that being done at the dealer. I ask him… is there one centralized Mercedes Benz database that stores all the maintenance records for all MB? He tells me no… that this was just for Tysons Corner. WELL DUHHHHHHHH. OF COURSE YOU DON’T HAVE ANY HISTORY OF THE CAR… THIS IS MY FIRST TIME HERE!!! (and last!!!)
If that wasn’t bad enough… I tell them I just want the battery change. He calls me back later and tells me the 1-​hr electrical diagnostic is going to cost me an additional $ 175. WTF!!! You are going to charge me for something that took them all but 15 minutes and without telling me until AFTER THE FACT??? Yeah right. I told him all I’m paying for is the replacement battery, and that I was not a happy customer.
BOTTOMLINE — DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR HERE. The very fact that all the reviews have been negative, except for one positive woman review, should speak volumes. I cringe to think of all the poor women who have totally been taking to the cleaners at this place.
================ UPDATE ================
HOLY @#%#$%@# S@#$^%^
IF THIS COULDN’T GET ANY WORSE… THIS DINK HAS THE AUDACITY TO CALL ME BACK AND TELL ME HE’S MADE A MISTAKE ON THE WORK ORDER. The $ 179 battery is actually going to cost more because they didn’t factor in the 1-​hour labor charge which is going to cost an additional $ 115. I’M SO FURIOUS!!!
================ UPDATE 2 ================
I just found out the MB dealer is REQUIRED to perform an expensive $ 300 Charging System Test when replacing the battery, pushing your $ 179 battery to a total $ 479 operation.
What I really needed to do in the first place was just call Roadside Assistance (800) 222‑0100, and they’ll send a technician TO YOU and replace the battery for free… for only the cost of the battery.

Ah, Mercedes Benz ownership and HBL service when I use to hope that my standard maintenance repair bill would be under $ 2000 and it would end up being $ 3000, $ 4250, $ 2800 and $ 2400 on what I just looked up from them thanks Amex for intuitive searching.
I purchased a 2000 ML430 around 2004 at Carmax and sold it in 2006 so I’m sure the fact that I didn’t purchase it at HBL is why I got the excellent service I will describe. I placed 45k miles on this vehicle in the NOVA area not San Francisco as you might think after reading this. HBL replaced my rotors 4 times 3 times all the way around I then took my car for brakes to Midas they mysteriously held up fine after that hmmmm?
When they had to work on my manifold there was outward facing ding marks on my front left panel they said I did that how the F could I cause outward facing ding marks!
From being charged twice for $ 3.75 washer fluid on the same ticket here’s to you HBL! When I think of service departments that rip off customers I think of HBL. You are the purest form of sleezeball slimeball car dealerships Ala Glengary Glen Ross with yourservice department employees as the leads because they are that dishonest and untrustworthy. Just to prove I’m not flaming you HBL I must have had 10 service advisors I dealt with the first was carlos arzabia (it’s close). Which I think the turnover rate must be attributed to the service advisors getting souls and feeling guilty.
A friend has recommended Drainesville Auto on Route 7 for any MB service they performed brake service including installation for ¹⁄₃ the cost of the thieves at HBL. This is the second such recommendation I have heard for Drainesville Auto though you must book in advance like two weeks because the high throughput they have likely dealing with former HBL customers.
Because of my experiences with this dealer I will never buy a Mercedes Benz again in my life, even given how great a car they are, my experiences with HBL raping me out of my money will not allow my conscious to ever consider one.
I have received several about 15! messages from people thanking them for not letting them encounter HBL. This does my heart good knowing that HBL is losing business thank you! keep em’ coming.

This review is for the service department at Audi of Tysons. The service department is pathetic. They removed the steering wheel on my CPO ’04 A8L to diagnose a problem with the heating element. Two weeks later I pick-​up the car, and notice that they had chipped some paint on one of the steering wheel audio switches, and had chewed-​up the leather at several places on the steering wheel when they were removing/​installing the switches. In addition, 5 minutes after I left the dealer I noticed that none of the steering wheel audio controls are working. They worked fine when I dropped the car off. I immediately took the car back and it sat there another 2 days while HBL determined that «both switches need to be replaced because they both failed at the same time.» Yeah, right… But, the switches were covered by warranty so I really didn’t care. The switches had to be ordered, so I made an appointment with the service advisor (Matt Frick) to come back the following Saturday so they could install the switches. I called on Thursday, spoke with Mr. Frick, and confirmed that I would be coming in on Saturday. I arrived at 9:15 on Saturday and was told that (1) Mr. Frick wasn’t there, (2) the tech who works on my car wasn’t there, (3) I did not have an appointment in the system, and (4) there was no one there that could install the switches (a 2 minute job according to Mr. Frick). I simply walked away and told them that I was through with this dealership and would take the car elsewhere. They made absolutely no effort to address the problem.
Audi is steadily losing customers to companies like Lexus because Audi dealers consistently fail to treat their customers like valued customers. In the situation above, a Lexus dealer would have done everything possible to help me out, instead of just telling me that I was out of luck since I didn’t have an appointment in the system.
I’ve been a loyal Audi owner for 15 years, but this will probably be my last. I’m fed-​up with Audi dealers who don’t know how to treat their customers. Audis are great cars, but their dealers suck. And don’t get me started about Audi of Alexandria — they are even worse than HBL.

Okay HBL consists of Aston Martin, Audi, Mercedes Benz, and Porsche. This review only pertains to the service from Mercedes Benz.
How are there no reviews for this place yet? It’s so packed with people everytime I go getting their cars serviced. Speaking of service, theirs is great! I get letters sent home everytime I need to take the car in. Each time, they give me a rental car, they fix whatever needs to be fixed under the guarantee, then they wash and vacuum my car and call me multiple times while this is going on to tell me exactly what they’re doing. The staff is so amazing and nice that they kind of make up for the fact that your car is in there for pretty much a whole work day or close to it. A lot of people hold that against them, but there are a lot of cars that come in, so you can’t expect a 1 hour return rate. Plus, why complain when they’re fixing AND cleaning your car? Additionally, just for kicks, while waiting for them to process rental car papers, it’s nice to kill time by looking at the cars on their showroom floor.

My experience with HBL has been terrible over the past 5 years. Part of it is certainly the fact that we bought an Audi, which is a terrible car. When we bought the car they tried to go back on the deal we agreed to by telling us we did not qualify for the low interest rate even though they already told us we did. After that the car has been in the shop numerous times. The stereo speakers have never worked properly in the 5 years since we have owned the care. They still do not work. HBL has tried on 3 or 4 occassions to fix them and has failed. When setting appointments with them they tell us on the phone that the work will only take a day yet when we show up they tell us it will take more. I have complained numerous times and consistently give them bad ratings when they call us to conduct a survey after each visit to the service center. But no one has taken the time to do anything to make me feel better about HBL or the car I bought from them. I even had a heated discussion with the manager in the garage there where I was clearly incredibly upset and he never made any attempts to «make things right». I will never again buy an Audi and I will never buy anything from HBL.