Auto Advantage

These people are the best! I got to test-​drive a few cars, and they were clean and ran like a dream. The salespeople weren’t high-​pressure of shifty like I was afraid they might be. I’ve had disappointments buying used cars in my hometown, so I kept an open mind about out-​of-​town dealers. There were so many nice cars on the lot, it took me awhile to decide on one. When I did, the salesman was quite knowledgeable and unrushed. I’ve recommended Auto Advantage to my friends.

Great experience! Will be buying my next car from them as well. Let me know any issues that they saw and when I took it to a Volvo mechanic they told me the same thing and how good of shape the car was in and how they could tell that the car had been taken care of and reviewed before selling. Thanks again Eric we love our Volvo XC90 and look forward to doing business again.

Pro:
I drove over 90 miles to come to this place.
Why?
I searched around for awhile because most dealerships cant maintain a high Unilocal review rating. I even found a 2007 5 Series BMW that I really wanted but that dealership had bad reviews. When I came across Auto Advantage what stood out to was how in the ad he provided all the info required to determine value and due diligence on the condition of the car.
I love my BMW it also came with a 5 month/5,000 mile warranty. The car is reliable and in great condition.
Con:
Erik was 45 minutes late for our appointment. I was able to start looking at the car with his assistant in the meantime.
After the sale Erik wasn’t responding to my several attempts to contact him for a small concern about the vehicle but he seemed to call (as if I hadn’t been trying to call him) when he needed additional paperwork to get his finance check.
All in all I’m happy with my car and the overall transaction.

Eric sold us a great car that has turned out to be reliable and fuel efficient. Process was quick and he took care of everything!

I’ll start with five stars
Buying a used car from a dealer is always a scary thing. As we all know, trust is something we all lose when we grow up.
I was looking for a used car on craigslist’s and this is how I have found Auto Advantage
Erik had one specific car that caught my eye, I called him and setup to meet him at his location the day after.
The car was 1998 Mercedes and looked amazing to me. I did a short test drive and told Erik I’m buying it, I also told him that I know nothing about cars so whatever he says about the car I take as is.
Telling him that, did not go against me, actually the opposite. Erik showed me the car fax but told me about all the issues that this car had that not showing in the car fax.
He told me about all the issues that he think I might need to change like battery and other stuff but the thing is I felt that he was very honest in regards to say the things they are without trying to convince me to buy.
even though it was a «buy as is» Erik was very specific about all issues.
SO I bought the car the day after and took it to Mercedes mechanics to give me his opinion. I know whatever he finds it will be too late for me but I just wanted to know for my peace of mind.
The mechanics tested the car for4 about an hour and told me the same things Erik told me. this car in amazing !
Because Erik told me everything he know about the car, I had no bad surprises and this made me very happy.
I hope I will be rich one day so I don’t have to buy used cars, but until this happen, Erik at Auto Advantage will be the only place I will go to buy a used car.

It was a pleasure doing business with Erik and I recommend him to anyone buying or selling a used car. I listed my car on Auto Trader and Erik called within a few hours. He came immediately, inspected the car and the documents, and paid a fair price in cash. His inspection and test drive were very thorough. He obviously knows his business and isn’t going to buy a lemon. He doesn’t buy cars at auctions. If you buy a car from him, it’s a car he found to be worth owning.

Normally car dealers are everything that you think they are. This experience was different though. Erik was completely upfront about the car, it’s condition and the price. There were no surprises. I needed a family car for my growing family and he had the car to fit the bill.
The deal was simple, straightforward and quick. He took care of all the loose ends and I was able to finish the whole process in under an hour. It would have been faster if I had brought a second driver with me. Thanks Erik.

I recently sold a car to Erik and the experience was great. He was responsive, came to me, and on time. He was very thorough in looking over the car which is great for buyers because he doesn’t buy junk. At the same time he was respectful to me as the seller and didn’t try to lowball me just to turn a bigger profit for himself. The price paid was excellent in my opinion especially considering what the market was asking for similar cars. I’d highly recommend sellers giving him a call first if they have quality cars in the $ 10K range.

LOCATION HAS CHANGED to a place off morena blvd!!! Just fyi.
Erik is a great dude, honest and understanding… What a car dealer should be. As someone who doesn’t know the difference between a tire wheel and a steering wheel (jokes) I was really reassured to be working with him. He texts back always! He’s the completely opposite of shady. I had a pleasure working with him :) thanks again!!!

Erik was very good to deal with. It was no pressure environment. I felt his pricing was honest, fair and straight forward. He allowed me time to get my own inspection at a mechanic of my choosing. He addressed a couple of deficiencies with the vehicle. He took care of all the DMV paperwork including following up with them when they didn’t send me my new sticker. He continued to provide great service even after the deal was done. I would definitely recommend purchasing a car from Erik.

I went to Auto Advantage because of the reviews here on Unilocal.I can honestly say, the next time I need to buy another car, I’m definitely coming back to Erik! I bought my car from him on 1÷10÷15. The following Friday, I contacted him because I was having issues with the car and was a little disappointed because it wasn’t even a week since I’d bought the car. Erik responded right away, asking me to take the car to his mechanic. I took it in and it was fixed the same day at NO CHARGE to me! That is FANTASTIC service! I highly recommend Erik to anyone! He was patient with me and answered all my questions thoroughly. He really is a good guy! All you women out there who is afraid to go to a dealership alone, go see Erik! I did and I guarantee you, he will treat you with the utmost respect and give you the best value for your money! Thank you Erik!

New to San Diego, new to America, I searched for weeks for a quality used SUV which would be safe and reliable for my wife and baby girl. I saw the ad for the car and contacted Erik (be sure to call him and arrange times to meet). I had previously had very poor experiences of car salesmen, (see my other reviews), thankfully Erik was the exception to the rule. He is an honest and upfront owner operator and it was a breath of fresh air. He sold me a great car, I got it checked out at an independent mechanic and have owned it for two weeks and I am very very happy.
If we need another car, we will be back.

My husband and I were looking to buy a car right away and I was researching cars like crazy. I really wanted a Mazda 6 and looked and looked. I kept going back to Auto Advantages website and liked the prices of the cars and especially the reviews they had on Unilocal!We just got home from there and we brought home our new (used) car! Erik was friendly, professional and worked with us COMPLETELY to get us a great deal on the Mazda 6 that I was first interested in! The whole process took about two hours and that included the test drive and signing the papers. I would recommend Erik and Auto Advantage to anyone looking for an honest deal. I love my new car and I especially love feeling like I got a great deal and overall we left EXTREMELY satisfied! Again, I will recommend Auto Advantage to my friends and anyone looking for a new car! Thank you Erik!

I had been looking for an older Mercedes for several months. I had seen and driven many cars in this price range but all were in pretty poor condition or had obvious problems. I saw a ’95 C280 from Auto Advantage on Craigslist and gave Erik a call. Erik’s price was at the high end of the scale as published by KBB, Carfax and other reputable sources but I have seen many cars in worse condition for nearly twice what Erik was asking. And no other dealer had the service history for their cars, Erik did. That is very rare from a dealer and made the car worth much more to me.
I took the day off work and drove down to San Diego and looked at the car. It was as advertised with no surprises. My first clue that this was the right car happened when Erik drove it around the building. He drove into the parking lot and the car made no clunk or noise at all from the suspension. The engine idled so smoothly I couldn’t feel it vibrate in any way. The car ran perfectly and drove straight with no squeaks or rattles. I’m surprised how many dealers don’t even do a simple alignment on their cars.
I bought the car and opted for the 3 day CA contract cancellation (This is a state program Erik of course complies with) and drove it straight to an independent Mercedes service shop in my town who did a new car inspection. It drove great from San Diego to the Inland Empire. The mechanic gave it a clean bill of health with a few optional fixes that stem from the age of the car (some cracked suspension bushings a small leak in the valve cover gasket). These things do not reflect poorly on Erik. I expect them in an older car and it’s not something that is cost effective for a dealer to address and as as I described above they did not affect the way the car ran or drove.
I can’t recommend Auto Advantage more highly. An honest, low pressure car sales business with a product that is exactly as advertised at a very fair price with service after the sale… what’s not to like!
I would (and will) definitely buy from Erik the owner of Auto Advantage again.

Our son attends college in San Diego, and he needed a new car, we called Erik based on all the positive Unilocal reviews. We were NOT disappointed! Erik matched our son with the perfect car for his needs and his budget, and made the whole experience smooth and simple. A car dealer with honesty, integrity and his customer’s interest at heart? It’s not a myth, it’s Auto Advantage!

A++ Dealer, and A++ quality used cars. Eric is friendly, low pressure and committed to delivering excellent preowned cars. Highly recommended.

Erik is awesome! He has really developed a stress free process to get you a reliable vehicle, and that’s saying a lot since we have a 1 year old terrorizing spider monkey to look after (our son). I’ve had the car now for 3 months with no problems. If you’re looking to buy a vehicle from an honest guy who is straight forward and professional in every aspect (aren’t we all?) look no further than Erik.

Really good on being a down to earth honest sales man you can trust. Eric did an amazing job helping with getting my next car showed me all of the reports and what was done to the vehicle. Everything was smooth and I ended up getting my car the next day, finding an honest car dealer is priceless here in CA I recommend Eric a 100%.

PAINLESS PROCESS, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Shortly after posting an ad to sell our car on Craigslist I got an email from Eric stating he was interested. 30 minutes after that he was at our place inspecting the car and test driving it. He was very professional and straight up with us. Within an hour we had cash in hand, ($ 500) more than what the dealership wanted to pay. It doesn’t get much easier than that.
Buying and selling cars has been a nightmare from past experiences with dealerships. One that we typically tried to avoid. After dealing with Eric we will be working with him on our other cars and sending him referrals.
Thanks Erik!

Erik, you kick ass.
I was in need of a cheap, efficient car (aren’t we all?). He had a car that was unbelievably cheap, low mileage, gas efficient, good looking, the works. The entire process was fast, and he even worked with me when I had a slight hiccup. I bought the car over a month ago, drove it all the way up to San Francisco and back, and it has been a beautiful experience. I love my car. Thank you so much, Erik!