Old, Long Forgotten Car Dealers

mike65 · 21-03-2011 5:15pm

Anyone remember that name of that Volvo dealer in Dublin that went bust in the early 90s? (I think) I believe it was one of the largest in the country at the time. I also remember a SAAB dealer on the Naas road in Dublin which was at a junction. Maybe that moved.

VolvoMan · 21-03-2011 8:34pm

mike65 wrote: »

Anyone remember that name of that Volvo dealer in Dublin that went bust in the early 90s? (I think) I believe it was one of the largest in the country at the time.

Huet Motors.

Kevin_Herron · 21-03-2011 9:28pm

Caveys on sold and assembled Jaguars.
They were where the Concern building is now on Camden Street.

Crawfords were main agents for Aston Martin, Lagonda and Bristol once upon a time when the were on Hatch Street.

PanhardPL · 21-03-2011 11:08pm

Caldwell's of Lucan were agents for Peugeot Scooters and Messerschmitt Bubble cars before before becoming the sole distributor (assembler) of Panhard cars in Ireland.

Caldwell advert.

gfwd · 22-03-2011 2:32pm

Great thread this. Does anyone have any pics of any of these old places?

PanhardPL · 22-03-2011 3:36pm

John Caldwell

richardsheil · 22-03-2011 4:24pm

PanhardPL wrote: »

Caldwell's of Lucan were agents for Peugeot Scooters and Messerschmitt Bubble cars before before becoming the sole distributor (assembler) of Panhard cars in Ireland.
Caldwell advert.

love the phone no,448.

gfwd · 22-03-2011 5:21pm

Great pic. What stands there now?

VolvoMan · 22-03-2011 5:58pm

gfwd wrote: »

Great thread this. Does anyone have any pics of any of these old places?

Yeah, it would be fantastic if anyone has any old pictures.

gfwd · 22-03-2011 6:05pm

PanhardPL wrote: »

John Caldwell

And how it looks today...

PanhardPL · 22-03-2011 8:53pm

Lets not forget the Citroen ID which was assembled by Ashenhurst Williams of Talbot Place, Dublin. They also assembled Leyland Commercials.

carchaeologist · 26-03-2011 6:21pm

Here's a 1979 version of Esmondes rear window sticker.

An 80s Kerry Motor Works sticker.

And I don't know how old this sticker is, but it was on a one owner from new Datsun 100A, so it could be late '70s? Can anyone date it?

johnayo · 26-03-2011 7:26pm

G Luxel wrote: »

There used to be TRUX but i think it was Chrysler rootes that was sold. I remember a cousin of mine bought a Fiesta from Walden's or was it Archer's of Dublin, late 70s?. It was a Ford dealer. I also got a DVD of an old Irish film made around 1970 and it featured a dealership with cars on the grass verge somewhere in wicklow, cant remember the name of the film

Back in the day,Trux had a Hillman dealership in Cork city centre on Lavitts Quay. It was where the Paul Street Multi Storey c/pk is now.

macplaxton · 26-03-2011 8:14pm

carchaeologist wrote: »

And I don't know how old this sticker is, but it was on a one owner from new Datsun 100A, so it could be late '70s? Can anyone date it?

Looking at the font for the address, would look more mid-80s that sticker.

Sunnyisland · 26-03-2011 8:20pm

Fairlane greenhills road Dublin (ford)

VolvoMan · 26-03-2011 9:54pm

realies wrote: »

Fairlane greenhills road Dublin (ford)

That's the place Bill Cullen ran before he took over Renault.

Magnum · 26-03-2011 10:17pm

O'Doherty &O'Dwyer. Tipperary and Cashel

LookBehindYou · 26-03-2011 10:35pm

McCairns motors in Santry, they assembled Vauxhalls.

VolvoMan · 27-03-2011 6:36pm

Just a bump for this thread.

Another dealer that's been around since 1938 and is still going relatively strong is Maxwell Motors. Over the the years they've been dealers for British Leyland, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Bentley/RR, Honda, Mitsubishi and BMW/MINI.

Much of their history is depicted on their website, with some interesting old period pictures of their garage: http://www.maxwellmotors.ie

-Chris- · 27-03-2011 7:20pm

VolvoMan wrote: »

Just a bump for this thread.

Another dealer that's been around since 1938 and is still going relatively strong is Maxwell Motors. Over the the years they've been dealers for British Leyland, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Bentley/RR, Honda, Mitsubishi and BMW/MINI.

I was in there last week and was pleasantly surprised to see how they were emphasising that heritage - at the reception desk there's a glass table with original documents dating back to 1938 - meeting minutes etc. - really interesting minutiae from a different time.
It's a very classy garage now too - the removal of the BMW branding hasn't diminished their self-esteem in the slightest. It's minimalist and cool, but welcoming - qualities the German guys who write the International Dealership Standards handbooks spend their lifetimes trying to achieve.

I'm also struck/saddened to be discussing Crawford's in this thread - as much as I knew they had gone bang a few years ago, further reflection has reminded me of the fact that I did my work experience in their Dun Laoghaire (Honda) premises and my impression of David(?) Crawford was that he was a very nice guy - a gentleman.
My dad bought several Opels, back-to-back, over the years from a salesman in Crawford's Sandyford (a guy called Ryan I think). Given the choice he wouldn't have bought anywhere else. Mr. Ryan was his salesman, and my dad was his customer. That was that.
You could only wish for customer loyalty like that in today's dealerships.

VolvoMan · 27-03-2011 7:33pm

-Chris- wrote: »

I was in there last week and was pleasantly surprised to see how they were emphasising that heritage - at the reception desk there's a glass table with original documents dating back to 1938 - meeting minutes etc. - really interesting minutiae from a different time.
It's a very classy garage now too - the removal of the BMW branding hasn't diminished their self-esteem in the slightest. It's minimalist and cool, but welcoming - qualities the German guys who write the International Dealership Standards handbooks spend their lifetimes trying to achieve.

I had a peek in there myself one night last month when I was passing by. It is more like a posh nightclub than a car showrooms and is easily the most tasteful showroom I've ever seen. They must have got a top interior designer to do it.

My dad bought several Opels, back-to-back, over the years from a salesman in Crawford's Sandyford (a guy called Ryan I think). Given the choice he wouldn't have bought anywhere else. Mr. Ryan was his salesman, and my dad was his customer. That was that.
You could only wish for customer loyalty like that in today's dealerships.

So did mine. He bought a Kadett many years ago in their Sandymount branch.

carchaeologist · 27-03-2011 8:27pm

VolvoMan wrote: »

Nice, wonder is 7777RI still knocking around the place. It was/is purple in colour.

Related, but loosely and too modern really for this forum but Randles bros (Nissan) in Tralee have this unregistered Micra in the showroom since last week. I guess the car is around 12ish years old?
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Big Nasty · 27-03-2011 8:38pm

My father still has some pics from Smithfield Ford, both in Benburb St and Kylemore - I must get them from him.

This entire site is the new site Smithfield opened in the early 80's, the building on the left was offices, the bays on the right the truck centre. Where Kylemore Nissan is / was a storage yard, I remember it was full of new Sierra's, Mk III Granada's and Mk IV Escort's just before they went bang. Too much too soon unfortunately!

COB MGV8 · 27-03-2011 8:39pm

VolvoMan wrote: »

Just a bump for this thread.

Another dealer that's been around since 1938 and is still going relatively strong is Maxwell Motors. Over the the years they've been dealers for British Leyland, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Bentley/RR, Honda, Mitsubishi and BMW/MINI.

They also have been featuring classic cars in the showroom window of late. They had a Dolomite Sprint in there a few weeks ago - it was in fantastic condition - I went in to see if they were selling , but no they just had it on display. They currently have a Rover P4(?) in there

Big Nasty · 27-03-2011 8:45pm

COB MGV8 wrote: »

They also have been featuring classic cars in the showroom window of late. They had a Dolomite Sprint in there a few weeks ago - it was in fantastic condition - I went in to see if they were selling , but no they just had it on display. They currently have a Rover P4(?) in there

Do Frank Keane still have the M1 they used to have in the showroom a good few years back? Must be the only one in the country - was in Terenure a couple years back.

coylemj · 27-03-2011 8:51pm

King and Corrigan on the Merrion Road, I bought my first ever brand new car from them, a Fiat Bravo in 1996. It's now just an empty site covered in gravel beside the Texaco filling station which is near the Jacobs building.

Gus Corrigan moved to Churchtown in 1997 and took over an existing dealership which was renamed K & C Motors, they were Fiat & Alfa dealers for a while but now seem to be Kia.

coylemj · 27-03-2011 9:00pm

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Europa Mazda Centre Blackrock - how long is that gone now?

As Volvoman said, only a few years. The site is still vacant and rumours going around about a year ago said that it was going to become an Aldi or Lidl but nothing seems to have happened.

Europa had a Mercedes service franchise and for a period of time they had a 'menu service' which for those not familiar with the concept was a set service price for specific models and (for Mercs) an A or B service, obviously excluding parts like brake pads. I was at the service reception desk once and there was a chart on the wall with prices for 4/6/8 cylinders, A or B service i.e. 6 different prices.

I believe Europa was part of the MSL empire because when the MB service centre was closed (a few years before the Mazda dealership closed), the MB service staff were relocated to the MSL Service place in Pottery Road, Dun Laoghaire where the last time I checked they did not offer a menu service, you give them your car and a blank cheque!

-Chris- · 27-03-2011 9:05pm

Yeah they were MSL, and were their southside Mazda dealer until they closed.

VolvoMan · 27-03-2011 9:24pm

carchaeologist wrote: »

Related, but loosely and too modern really for this forum but Randles bros (Nissan) in Tralee have this unregistered Micra in the showroom since last week. I guess the car is around 12ish years old?
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That would be at least 8-9 years old. The K12 Micra came in at the end of 2002.

Still amazing to see that it's been lying about that long.

COB MGV8 wrote: »

They also have been featuring classic cars in the showroom window of late. They had a Dolomite Sprint in there a few weeks ago - it was in fantastic condition - I went in to see if they were selling , but no they just had it on display. They currently have a Rover P4(?) in there

That was there in the window the time I had a look. It is an original Irish car and has an old fashioned "Maxwell Motors" sticker in the rear window, so it was obviously supplied by them many years ago.

RobAMerc · 27-03-2011 10:08pm

Magnum wrote: »

O'Doherty &O'Dwyer. Tipperary and Cashel

O'D'N'O'D - pronounced OdeenOdee, remember Sean Crowe FIAT Clonmel and Tipp town ? Might have been in Limerick too at one point.

Old, Long Forgotten Car Dealers

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