Universal Auto Group

Excellent experience! Smooth car buying process. Purchased a 2013 Mercedes E350 Coupe in Feb 2016. They made sure the car was nice and clean, tires had enough air, keys had fresh batteries so that I wouldn’t have to worry about doing these things. I would much rather support a small business. There were no hidden fees. The customer service I received from Sean was exceptional. Sean’s dad (the owner) not only has a great sense of humor, but also contributed to making sure that I received a fair trade in value and also took care of details such as cleaning out my trade in and getting the new car ready. I highly recommend this dealership!

I had been searching for a specific year/​model Mercedes for months using
and
with alerts. The car was not hugely available in my region, so I had to expand my search to around the country. If the deal was worthwhile, I planned on shipping it to the northeast or driving it home once purchased.
One morning last month I got an email alert of a new listing for a car in the criteria I was looking for and the price seemed excellent. Unfortunately, it was 500 miles away. I called to inquire that morning and spoke with Sean at Universal. He was straight forward and knowledgeable about the car and it’s history. There weren’t pictures up on their website at the time since they’d acquired the car less than 24hrs earlier. I asked Sean if he would visually inspect the car while on the phone with me and email me pictures of any issues he could see. He walked around the car and sent me pictures of the only minor imperfections he could find. We made a deal that day, which was very fair, and I bought a one-​way ticket to Maryland hoping he was being honest about the car’s condition, but skeptically expecting him to have been embellishing a little on the actual condition of the car.
I landed at Baltimore airport the next day at lunch. Universal had a driver pick me up outside the airport and bring me to the dealership. My reaction upon arriving was that the place was very small, but definitely a diamond in the rough. It’s a small shop in a commercial building with other businesses. However, their space within the building is packed full of high-​end and very clean looking Mercedes, BMW, and other European cars. Sean and his father (the owner) were both there and very friendly. The car I was there for was waiting outside and I took it out for a test drive with Sean. After a drive, I was satisfied that it was as good as advertised. The cosmetic condition of the car was excellent. It looked as though it had never been through one of those paint killing car washes that leave swirl marks everywhere, it was flawless. Given the price for the car, I felt it was an exceptional deal for the car. It was still under the Mercedes 4/​50k factory warranty, which is always a comfort.
I paid for the car and began my drive back to the northeast. It was a seven hour drive and I figured if they were concealing anything, it would probably reveal itself along the way. What an amazing drive it was. There were no issues whatsoever, and still aren’t as of today over a month and a thousand miles later.
Used car dealers are notoriously dishonest and I’m a bit of a skeptic when it comes to many things, this being one of them. I’ve had so many run-​ins with dishonest and questionable characters when it involved buying a used car in the past. This is one case where I actually felt guilty for questioning things. Sean (and his father) were both friendly, fair, and honest from the start and long after the deal was completed. I’ve had communication with Sean since the purchased for a few things involving documentation, questions about the car, etc. Each time he has done exactly what he said he would and been honest and helpful. It’s obviously nerve-​wracking buying a used car, let alone one you can’t see in person before getting on a plane. However, I would buy from Universal again and recommend them to anyone (and have already), regardless of the distance involved. They will be the first place I look next time we’re in the market for a high-​end European car.