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Crime Report: Used Car Haggling Goes Awry

Published October 19, 2016 at 11:20AM | Updated February 27, 2020 at 4:33PM

A disagreement between a used car dealership employee and a customer turned heated last week.

The incident happened Saturday afternoon at a used car lot on Lee Highway, near Lyon Village.

Police say the customer eventually pulled a knife on the employee and “stole the keys to the vehicles on the lot.”

From an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

ROBBERY, 161015016, 2500 block of N. Lee Highway. At approximately 12:19 p.m. on October 15, officers responded to the report of male subject arguing with an employee over the sale of a vehicle. Upon investigation, it was determined that a male subject entered a business and following the verbal altercation, stole the keys to the vehicles on the lot. An employee confronted the subject and the subject pulled out a knife and charged at the employee. The employee was not injured and subject then fled the scene. Warrants were obtained for robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. The investigation is ongoing.

The rest of the past week’s crime report highlights, including some that we’ve already reported, after the jump.

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Test Driver Flips Mercedes In Dealership Parking Lot

By ARLnow.com

Published August 19, 2016 at 12:20PM | Updated August 19, 2016 at 5:21PM

A woman in brand new Mercedes-Benz SUV somehow managed to run into several parked cars and flip the SUV just seconds into a test drive.

The incident happened just before 11:30 a.m., at the Mercedes dealership on N. Glebe Road in Ballston.

We’re told that the driver was just beginning a test drive, in the dealership parking lot, and might have mistaken the gas pedal for the brake. She crashed into four vehicles before the SUV rolled onto its side.

Four people who were in the SUV at the time managed to get out before police and firefighters arrived, we’re told. One dealership worker was evaluated by medics for a possible back injury. No one was seriously hurt.

Ballston Mazda Dealership Holding ‘Store Closing Sale’ Ahead of Proposed Redevelopment

By ARLnow.com

Published April 15, 2016 at 11:00AM

Rosenthal Arlington Mazda, at 750 N. Glebe Road in Ballston, is holding a store closing sale.

That’s according to an email sent by the dealership to customers, announcing its “last sales event,” which ends after the end of the month.

An employee confirmed to ARLnow.com this morning that the dealership is, in fact, closing to customers after April 30.

“A few of us will be around to wind down the accounting operations for a few more days,” he said.

The dealership is set to be redeveloped into a 483 unit apartment building, which will include a new grocery store that may or may not be a Whole Foods Market.

“The applicant proposes to… redevelop the Rosenthal Mazda dealership and adjacent parcels with a 12-story building consisting of 483 dwelling units and 68,185 square feet of retail including a new grocery store and a car rental business,” notes Arlington County’s page on the project. “Building heights will range from 155 feet at Wilson Boulevard and N. Glebe Road, tapering to the south and west to 53 feet along N. Tazewell Street.”

Mary Beth Avedesian, a senior vice president for developer B.F. Saul Company, said that so far no lease has been signed for the grocery store space.

“We have not yet signed a lease with an anchor tenant, but there are a number of prospects who are very interested in our project,” she said.

The county’s Site Plan Review Committee is scheduled to discuss the project on Monday. It’s tentatively scheduled to be considered by the County Board in June.

South Arlington Maserati Dealership Now Selling Fiats, Too

By ARLnow.com

Published February 17, 2016 at 2:10PM

In an Italian automotive two-fer, the Maserati dealership on Glebe Road near the I-395 exit is now also offering Fiats.

Fiat of Arlington opened recently at 2710 S. Glebe Road, the same address as the Maserati dealership, which opened in 2014. The building that houses the dealership used to be a seafood store.

Both high-end Maserati sports cars and diminutive Fiats are now displayed outside the dealership.

Hat tip to Tom C. Block

Maserati of Arlington Now Open

By Morgan Fecto

Published July 7, 2014 at 3:35PM

Maserati of Arlington, located at the former M. Slavin & Sons Seafood site on S. Glebe Road, opened its doors to customers today.

Although the location plans to have a grand opening event within the next two weeks, it opened today with lease specials, finance specials and discounts on certain cars. The sticker prices on the dealership’s website start at $132,999, but General Sales Manager Alex Macatuno said at least one model is being offered for less than $70,000.

Macatuno said the location, an affiliate of Maserati of Washington in Sterling, opened next to I-395 in Arlington in order to better serve customers closer to the District.

“We wanted to be closer to Washington, so that’s one of the reasons why I think it’s a great location,” Macatuno told ARLnow.com. “There’s an Audi store here, there’s a Porsche store here, there’s a BMW store two exits up and a Mercedes store right down the street, so it’s perfect.”

Macatuno said the dealershop, at 2710 S. Glebe Road, will cater to people “right around the Beltway” and from the Pentagon. It is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Maserati owners can drop their cars off at the dealership for service, he said.

As of 1:00 p.m. today, the location hadn’t sold any cars, according to salesman Tate Attia.

The storefront, as it stands presently, is a “temporary facility,” according to Macatuno. Within the next two to three months, construction is expected to begin on a new 18,000 square-foot facility that will accommodate more cars and more employees. The dealership will remain open during the construction, Macatuno said. Afterwards, the existing building is expected to be knocked down.

In the next two weeks, Maserati of Arlington plans to hold a “grand opening” event. Community members and “those in the area who own luxury brands” are among those the dealership is hoping will attend the event, Macatuno said.

Maserati Dealership Coming to Arlington

By Ethan Rothstein

Published June 2, 2014 at 3:30PM

A Maserati dealership appears close to opening in the former M. Slavin & Sons Seafood site on S. Glebe Road, just south of I-395.

“Maserati” is already displayed on the side of the building, at 2710 S. Glebe Road, and the business says it’s just weeks away from opening the doors of the dealership (and the Italian sports cars inside.)

The dealership has not returned phone calls from ARLnow.com, but the Washington Business Journal reports that it is planning to open by the end of the month, and plans to renovate the 18,000 square foot building within the next year. The dealership will be an affiliate of Maserati of Washington in Sterling.

“For us to have a location on 395 and South Glebe is perfect, so they don’t have to drive all the way out here,” Maserati of Washington General Manager Alex Macatuno told the WBJ.

The building has been unoccupied since M. Slavin & Sons closed in 2011.

Hat tip to Thomas Block

Audi Dealership to Open on Pike Next Month

By Katie Pyzyk

Published August 9, 2013 at 12:15PM | Updated August 9, 2013 at 2:22PM

The new Audi dealership on Columbia Pike is expected to open its doors next month.

Audi of Alexandria and all of its employees will relocate from 1704 Mt. Vernon Avenue in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood to the Arlington land previously occupied by the Brown’s Used Car Super Center (3200 Columbia Pike), which closed in 2011.

According to an employee at the dealership, the move should happen in late September, but no firm date has been set yet. The employee indicated that both the service and sales hours would likely expand after the move, but that hasn’t been definitely determined.

The dealership is owned by Rosenthal Automotive Group. The County Board has approved rezoning the Rosenthal Jeep/Chrysler property down the street from the new Audi dealership for the development of a multi-family residential complex.

Rosenthal Dealership on Columbia Pike Closing Tonight

By ARLnow.com

Published June 15, 2012 at 5:15PM

Today’s the last day in business for the Rosenthal Chrysler Jeep dealership and service center at 3400 Columbia Pike.

According to an employee who answered the phone, the dealership will close permanently after tonight. Employees are either being transferred to other Rosenthal dealerships or were given advance notice that they should seek other employment, we’re told.

The Rosenthal site, at the corner of Glebe Road and Columbia Pike, is set to be redeveloped into a multi-family residential complex. The plans for the complex includes a six-story building with 245 apartments, 44 townhouses, 12 stacked flats and retail space on the ground floor.

The Arlington County Board approved the redevelopment last month.

Photo via Google Maps

Audi Dealership Coming to Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com

Published January 18, 2012 at 9:45AM

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.

Worker Dies at American Service Center in Ballston

By ARLnow.com

Published November 28, 2011 at 1:10PM | Updated November 28, 2011 at 4:08PM

A long-time employee of American Service Center in Ballston (585 N. Glebe Road) died on Saturday in what’s being described by as a tragic workplace accident.

The 56-year-old employee, whose identity has not yet been publicly released, was attempting to move some cars around a service area using a stackable lift when the accident happened.

“It appears the lift came down on him,” said Arlington County Police Department spokesman Lt. Joe Kantor. “We still don’t know how it happened yet, that’s part of the investigation. It’s being classified as an industrial accident at this time.”

Police received multiple calls reporting the accident just before 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to the initial dispatch. The employee, who suffered significant head trauma, was pronounced dead on the scene.

The man had worked for American Service Center for about 20 years, Lt. Kantor said.

File photo

Brown’s Used Car Center Closes on the Pike

By ARLnow.com

Published November 2, 2011 at 3:23PM

Brown’s Used Car Super Center has closed its doors on Columbia Pike.

The dealership, at 3200 Columbia Pike, was once billed as “the area’s largest selection of pre-owned/used cars, trucks, SUVs and vans.” Its brands included Honda, Toyota, BMW, Nissan, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Lexus, Infiniti, Hyundai and others.

Now, the parking lot has been cleared out and little but furniture and art remains in the one-time showroom. An employee who answered the phone confirmed that the super center has closed. The employee said she did not know what will take its place.

One neighborhood rumor posits that the Rosenthal Jeep/Chrysler dealership, at Glebe Road and Columbia Pike, will take the Brown’s dealership’s place. Rosenthal is set to close in about a year when the land it sits on gets redeveloped into a mixed-use residential and retail development. So far, we have been unable to confirm the rumors.