Mel Hambelton Ford

About Mel Hambelton Ford

“At Mel Hambelton Ford, we strive to make buying or leasing a new vehicle a pleasant and rewarding experience,” says Lisa Hambelton, owner of Mel Hambelton Ford, and daughter of the founder. “We are a family owned and operated company and we treat our customers like family as well.”
“My father, Mel Hambelton, became a Ford Dealer in February of 1984, when he bought the existing “Steve Hull Ford” dealership located at 3901 N. Broadway, at the intersection of Route 235,” says Ms. Hambelton.
“Mel Hambelton Ford remained in that location until Ford Motor Company asked my father in 1998 to open a location on the west side of Wichita.  Although it sounded exciting, he was reluctant because of his age.  After much deliberation, he went through with it and ground was broken at the new location at the corner of 119th and Kellogg.”
The dealership moved in the summer of 2002, with the official grand opening in September of 2002.
“At that time, there was very little commercial or residential development around the dealership and many people thought we were unwise for making such a bold move,” says Ms.  Hambelton.
“In the beginning, things were tough.  We had a smaller customer base, less traffic and a much higher overhead.  We had had such a big community base on Broadway, with a loyal group of customers and we lost 85% of that base when we moved out west,” says Ms. Hambelton.
“Most people prefer to buy a car within a short distance of their own neighborhood,” she noted.  However, in time the dealership was thriving again in its new location.
Mel Hambelton Ford has always been a family business from the ground up.   Jeff Hambelton, Lisa Hambelton's brother, was the General Manager, with much of the family filling other roles in the company.
In December, 2004, tragedy struck when Jeff Hambelton passed away unexpectedly.

His death left the dealership with no manager.   So, at that point, Lisa Hambelton stepped in to assist her father in the day-to-day operations. She had been working part time at the dealership ever since its founding in 1984, and she had come back full time in 2003, after raising her children.
In 2009, when founder Mel Hambelton became ill, Lisa Hambelton took over all the aspects of managing the dealership.
“My first big move was to hire Phil Nightingale as the Parts and Service Director.  At that time, there were no other full service shops anywhere nearby, and I knew that a strong service department would be the key to success for our dealership.”
“Phil took the department under his wing, and doubled the service department's customer base in no time.”
“My next big move was to hire Dennis Young, a trainer from Reynolds & Reynolds.  His work ethic had impressed both Phil and myself, so we brought him on the team.”
“At this point, my father's condition worsened, so I asked Phil to act as interim General Manager.  We worked so well together that after only six weeks, I decided that the change would be permanent,” says Ms. Hambelton.
“The next strategic step was to strengthen our sales force, and after an extensive search in the Springfield and St. Louis areas, we found Jeff Horning, who had worked for Stevens Corporation, and made him the leader of our sales team.  Now, our new team was complete.”
“Our primary concern is the satisfaction of our customers and all of us strive every day to make sure our goal of complete customer satisfaction is met.”
“Recently, we've created our online dealership to enhance the buying experience for each and every one of our Internet customers.   We understand that most people shop online today before they visit their local dealership.”
“We work with leading lending sources to make sure our customers get the most favorable financing packages - no matter what their circumstances are.  Whether they need traditional financing, a cash deal, or if they have credit challenges and need to buy-here-pay-here, Mel Hambelton's in-house financing can accommodate them.”
“The Mel Hambelton Ford Service Department strives for 100% customer satisfaction.  Manufacturer recommended parts are an important part of maintaining vehicle optimum performance and providing peace of mind protection. At Mel Hambelton Ford, we offer the same high quality parts new vehicles are built with, and we keep a large inventory of OEM certified parts in stock at our facility.”