518 Auto Sales of Norfolk

Horrible experience Purchased a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee on July 09, 2020. Spoke with my sales rep Mark on the phone 2 days prior and expressed my interest in the jeep. I Purchased a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee on July 09, 2020. Spoke with my sales rep Mark on the phone 2 days prior and expressed my interest in the jeep. I live 2 1/2 hours away from the dealership and had been searching other places but this dealership had the vehicle I liked and had good reviews so I gave them a shot. Mark told me on the phone that they should be able to get me financed without a problem due to the amount of money I was putting down on it. I had set an appointment to look at it, and purchase it as long as it was in good condition. There were only 2 issues I had with my salesman Mark. The first was I had said to him that the pictures of the jeep on the website shows that the check engine light was on, and expected that to be taken care of prior to my arrival, which he informed me that they would take care of for me before I came. The other issue was when I arrived to the dealership my appointment day, He had taken me into his office and started paperwork and asked me to sign papers for financing and taking ownership of it knowingly that I haven't yet even seen the Jeep, or test drove it. Other then that he was very friendly, and helpful with the purchase. During my test drive I did notice a few different things wrong with it that I brought to the attention of Mark and said that my state may not pass this for inspection due to these things, and that the A/C was not working properly. Mark had made the sales manager (who I am not exactly sure was working on the deal because they never came in and introduced themselves, only spoke with Mark while there the day I purchased) and they gave me a counter offer to either fix a few things from my list to include the A/C, or give me an additional $750 off the sale and fix at my expense. We had agreed that we would hold off on all until my state inspection would see exactly what was needed to pass and I was told by Mark that they would be required to fix whatever was wrong to pass inspection by law. I had ended up signing and taking possession of the jeep and had my state inspector look at it to tell me what was needed, and had my local Jeep dealership look at it to diagnose what was wrong with the A/C issue and the odor of anti-freeze that could be smelled while driving. I was told by my local jeep dealership that it would be a total of $2650 to fix everything that they found out was wrong with it to include a complete radiator replacement since it was very damaged, and to fix the A/C, and check engine light issue. Now I had already taken the jeep to my local shop and they fixed what they thought was wrong with the A/C based off of what was explained to them and that total to fix was $600. so a total of $3250 was need for repairs and that was not including the few things that my states inspection required which was roughly around $248. So we're at a total of $3500 for repairs, and I was told it was in great shape and shouldn't need anything because of the VA safety inspection with a "5 star rating". I have been in contact with the owner Mike Dalton and he only offered initially to pay $250 to help with repairs, and then stated that I could bring it in and they would fix the AC issue, and I would be responsible for the rest. I brought it to the dealership 2 days after we spoke and the shop that 518 also owns which is on their lot Bay Automotive made the repairs. Based off of the sheet that was sent to them to do the repairs on the AC, they were told to only fix the Expansion Valve, and they (518-Mike) were told by the shop that there was also more things wrong with the AC but they were told not to do it according to the shop manager from Bay Auto. It was a Thursday when I dropped my Jeep off, I was told it would be done no later then Tuesday. Never heard form anyone at all regarding it until I called Monday afternoon to confirm and was not told anything until the next morning (Tuesday) that it was still not done they were waiting on a part to come in. Since it was there I asked them to fix the radiator issue, and fix the things that needed to be done for my states inspection at my expense. The shop was just as horrible with communication as the dealership was and I had to call continuously to find out the status because no-one ever called me back. The work was finally done on Friday ( 3 days after it was supposed to have been done), and the shop was supposed to call me to give me a price on replacing the radiator prior to doing it which I asked them to do and the shop manager said that they ordered it already without my consent and told me that if I choose to not do it, they could send it back. 2 hours later I get a call from the shop saying that everything was done and my total was $1900. The shop had replaced the radiator without my consent and again, NEVER called me back with a price and expected me to pay the whole total. They called me back 20 minutes after me talking to them and took $500 off the total and then I paid for that. While it was there the shop damaged the hood of my jeep from what looks like a chemical spill. Called the next Monday since they're close on the weekends and brought up that the AC is still not working, and to complain about the chemical spill. She (shop manager) asked me to text her a picture of the damage and I did and still as of today have not received a call from them regarding that. So I defiantly do not recommend that anyone use that shop for any repairs. In the time since I had taken my jeep back to my local dealership to see if they could fix the AC issue since 518 did not after agreeing to and they gave me a price of approx $1400. I made contact with the dealership and spoke to the finance manager Deion and made him aware and was told that he would make sure mike would call me and to fax them all the information again and it would be taken care of. AS usual I never did get a call back and called to speak to him the next day and as of this review I am still waiting on a call since i was sent to voice mail. In conclusion the reason for this long review is so that other customers either far, or local don't have the horrible experience that I have had from 518 auto sales. I am a first responder and have purchased many vehicles in the past and NEVER had any of these issues that I have experienced here. There were good parts of the experience, but 90% of it was not good at all. I will never purchase anything else from here again, and wouldn't recommend this dealership, or their shop to anyone else. More

If you want a great experience without the pressure or hassle that comes with most car buying experiences include, then 518 is definitely your place and Mark Blumenthal is definitely your guy! I found ex hassle that comes with most car buying experiences include, then 518 is definitely your place and Mark Blumenthal is definitely your guy! I found exactly what I was looking for and Mark made the entire experience, quick, easy and enjoyable. I couldn't be happier with my decision to stop by 518 Auto Sales. If they don't have it or can't get it then you probably don't need it!! Go see the crew at 518 Auto Sales. You won't regret it. More

Mark Blumenthal was A plus from start to finish. If you need a vehicle please see him because he is trustworthy and all around AWESOME! need a vehicle please see him because he is trustworthy and all around AWESOME! More