The shuttered Brown’s Used Car Super Center (3200 Columbia Pike) is set to become a new Audi dealership.
Architectural signs in the window indicate that the Arlington Audi dealership will be owned by Rosenthal Automotive, which also owns the Jeep/Chrysler dealership across the street. The Rosenthal Jeep/Chrysler site is set to be razed and redeveloped.
Already, Audi cars with “Audi of Alexandria” license plate holders are parked in the used car center’s parking lot. Rosenthal didn’t respond to an email request for comment, but one source said the new Arlington Audi will be replacing the Rosenthal-owned Audi of Alexandria dealership in Del Ray, perhaps as soon as this summer.
Hat tip to B.A.
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A European luxury car deal is a sure sign of gentrification.
Surprised it isn’t BMW.
And yet it’s still a car dealership.
Some well needed gentrification, also known as neighborhood revitalization. I’m glad to see upscale retailers joining Columbia Pike figuring the other most recent addition is a LoanMax.
I am unsure at which level of govt these business can be regulated, but I would love to see them gone from the Pike.
DC has clamped down on a lot of them. They took Cashpoint to court and closed several of their locations.
VA & MD still seem to have these places in droves, but hopefully, they’ll catch up.
How is loaning people money against their collateral to get them through a period where they’re short on cash a horrible thing to do? Getting rid of car title loan businesses, ugly as they are, will just make people become homeless faster when tough times hit.
NIMBY…..
Funny how there aren’t any of these loathsome places in NORTH Arlington….
The argument is that the rates they charge should be considered usury. They usually work about to be over 100% on an annual basis. I know unsecured loans to people with bad or no credit scores should pay a higher interest rate than secured loans or loans to people with higher credit scores, but surly 30-35% would be enough to compensate the lender for the additional risk. And if secured by collateral like a car, then 5-10% should be fine.
“I know unsecured loans to people with bad or no credit scores should pay a higher interest rate than secured loans or loans to people with higher credit scores, but surly 30-35% would be enough to compensate the lender for the additional risk.”
If it were, someone would be doing it.
I agree….as much as I hated the 2nd hand “Verizon” store in that spot…I hate this place even MORE…
I don’t get why the gas station doesn’t just expand into that space and make it a full fledged Dunkin ….
The County master plan shows Highland Street extended directly south of Columbia Pike right through that building. Now if the commercial property transportation tax surcharge was used to buiild streets instead of gussying up Metro stations and builing the trolley….
Or a money laundering operation like some of the car dealerships in north arlington. I used to see them get raided by the FBI every few years from my office window.
Wonder if they’ll be utilizing the Burger King delivery services.
Personally I wish it were Lindsay Lexus but I can handle Audi of Arlington. Psshh…”a car dealership nonetheless”…I suppose one of the many used car dumps that liter the Pike is preferable? Or maybe so long as it has overpriced condos turned into rentals due to lessened demand? Go. Pound. Sand.
Are you talking about Clarendon here?
Ooh look at your fancy European system of measures “liter the pike” – around here we say “gallon the pike”. At least you didn’t say Go. Kilo. Sand.
And now (if Arlnow commentors are to be believed) all the scofflaw Audi owners without stickers can be caught when they bring them in for service! Win-Win!
Brilliant idea. We can save the county the trouble of driving through all the upscale high-rise garages.
hardy har har.
ASHLEY SHAFER BMW!!
Can you feel the tension? I can! I can feel it… down in my plums.
Unless and until the county decides to pony up and repair Columbia Pike which they took over from VDOT in Oct, 2010, the dealership will only be able to sell Audi four wheel drive SUVs.
We do like our off-roadin’ ‘down the Western Gateway…you down in the projects…or where the Zimmy and Bobdi, I mean Bondi think they should be!
As far as I know, it’s just going to be patches and filling potholes until the Pike Multimodal project is finished (http://pikemultimodal.com/) then the Pike will be torn down to bare dirt and completely rebuilt. I’ll be surprised if the rebuild starts before 2013.
I think that’s part of their plan. Sell the cars, then make money off the suspension repairs. They’ll probably also have an express line where they promise to install you a new, pre-painted bumper with fog lights in under 15 minutes to replace the one that was claimed 2 blocks ago on a monster pothole.
Great news!
Was at Audi of Alexandria on Monday and the same sketches are up throughout the dealership.
Definitely needed as AoA is a tiny dealership and needs larger space, plus closer to Clarendon is always a plus in my book!
Happy to see a dealership coming to the pike, but I wish it wasn’t the Audi of Alexandria folks. If I ever do business w/ them again it’ll be too soon.
The Pike is on it’s way up, while the County Board is trying to push the corridor down the tubes.
its
its
its
its
its
Are you sure? It’s not possessive of it’s own way?
“It” is generally not given an apostrophe, even when indicating possession.
It’s is a contraction of “it is” and is spelled with an apostrophe
“Its” is possessive and is spelled without an apostrophe.
confusing, yes, because it’s different from the rule governing possessives when you use a proper name (David’s Audi). Maybe it would be less confusing to think of it like a pronoun, which shows possession without an apostrophe (His Audi, her Audi, not He’s Audi, She’s Audi, though I kind of like that!)
There’s nothing “general” about it.
It’s = it is.
End of story.
Audi drivers are just sooo butch. mmmmm
Are you hitting on me? I drive an Audi A6 (although the very random butch side of me has taken it off road and has done some significant body damage, but the car keeps rollings.
What do you drive?
Car free diet.
Ouch, sorry nauckneighor…
are they the same ones that own the bmw dealership?
No.
BMW of Alexandria (formerly BMW of Arlington) and the Audi dealership are both owned by Rosenthal.
This is an outright assault on affordable car ownership!!! The evil Car Dealerships are taking away the right of poor people to buy cars in the name of “Gentrification!” Audi should be required to sell a certain number of 10+ year-old Camrys in order to support increased affordability for nurses and firemen!
That Accord I had in college is STILL on the road, I swear…and it’s right here in Arlington!!!
Dk Green 1995 Honda Accords FOREVER!
oh cool. this is just what Form Base Code is all about. Cars cars and more cars.
oh yeah and drug dealer car dealerships that launder money for you.
(you young ones may not know that Rosenthal does this and has been caught doing it and has paid for it).
Bringing it back! But remember, that was only with Rosenthal Jaguar, no one would ever launder anything in a German automobile (sarcasm).
i’m waiting for the Tata dealership to open so I can again launder my money in an Indian car…
things just aren’t the same…
Pretty dumb that I have to drive all the way out to Route 28 to service my Lambo. Columbia Pike is still light years away from being legit enough for this asshole.
Browns used car center was a joke….they pedaled all the used cars that didn’t sell at auction for various reasons for full price, offered extremely high interest rates from 3rd rate lenders, and sold fly by night extended warranties. If there is going to be a dealership there, people should be glad that it is a legitimate entity and not another predatory used car dealership….we have plenty of those over in Maryland…..
well at least audi offers manual tranny for us who still enjoy driving.
Are you a Sa-oo-di in your A-oo-di?
Love that video btw.
How sad — was hoping we were getting ride of a pointless car dealership. Whether they sell Audis or used Jeeps, they don’t generate pedestrian traffic and lively street life, but instead add to car traffic. A big set back for renewing Columbia Pike.
Will they let me test drive a R8?
Fabulous news.
Will help to even out the concentration of douchebags in Arlington.
Hopefully they will change the attitude and business practices from Audi of Alexandria. Just read the google reviews, they are horrible.
Check out their BBB rating…
http://www.bbb.org/washington-dc-eastern-pa/business-reviews/auto-dealers-new-cars/audi-of-alexandria-in-alexandria-va-1033254/