Another car title loan business closes down on Richmond Highway

Fast Auto Loans on Richmond Highway closed earlier this month.

Fast Auto Loans, Inc., one the many car title loan shops that sprang up in the Richmond Highway corridor in the past decade, has closed. It’s at least the second title loan shop on the highway to shut its doors in the past eight months. 

Fast Auto Loans opened at 8368 Richmond Highway in 2012. It took over a building formerly occupied by Mike’s Italian Restaurant, which was a longtime Richmond Highway institution before closing its doors in 2011.

A sign on the door of Fast Auto Loans yesterday said “We Have Moved!” and directs customers to another Fast Auto location on Mount Vernon Avenue in the City of Alexandria. An employee at the Fast Auto Loans home office said the two locations had merged.

In May another car title loan business on Route 1, EZ Title Loans, closed. They were two of at least a half dozen car title businesses that rapidly moved into the Route 1 area after the Virginia General Assembly voted to allow car title lending in to non residents in 2011. The businesses have come under fire for setting up shop in poorer neighborhoods and charging interest rates that often top 200 percent.

The owner of the former Fast Auto building is Luigi Tonizzo, who was the chef and owner of Mike’s Italian Restaurant. Tonizzo could not immediately be reached for comment about a possible new tenant.