Chapmans in Kildare closes.

junkyard

In yesterdays Sunday Business Post, Chapmans Volvo and Landrover garage is to close. The motor trade is surely dieing when you see long established businesses like this closing.:(

VolvoMan

I'm shocked to hear that. Another long established and well regarded car dealer gone to the wall along with Crawford's and BK Motors. Times must really be very bad indeed.

Tipsy Mac

I suppose both those brands are stuggling even more than the others. I don't think it will be long before one of the large chains of garages shuts.

holly1

Its sad, but they milked it when things were good.I dont like to see any company closing but the that industery really sowed it in when times were good.

junkyard

To be fair, I think every business and person for that matter milked it when times were good, it's a bit unfair to be always picking on the motor trade, banks, builders, solicitors, shops, they were all at it and I'd say if you got the chance you'd do it too.

guil

even construction were milkin it, i was a plasterer and the rates were very high

holly1

Eh!! no I dont think so,we are not all out to make a 100% profit,but Im sorry to see such a long established company fold.













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junkyard

holly1 wrote: »

Eh!! no I dont think so,we are not all out to make a 100% profit,but Im sorry to see such a long established company fold.

And what do you do, sell bibles?:D

pburns

junkyard wrote: »

To be fair, I think every business and person for that matter milked it when times were good, it's a bit unfair to be always picking on the motor trade, banks, builders, solicitors, shops, they were all at it and I'd say if you got the chance you'd do it too.

That's an honest appraisal junkyard. It annoys me a wee bit that people are lashing out at the various sectors that did well during the boom times - all the people you mention - motor trade, banks, builders, retail etc. and fail to look at their own behavior e.g. I know of - a family with one ordinary factory job income, 2 new cars (his n' hers), a couple of holidays a year (the Costa, New York shopping trips etc.) These are the same people blaming the banks for GIVING them money! What are they CHILDREN? Where is any sense of personal responsibility? Where was there any concept of putting a bit by for the 'rainy day'?

Re. Chapmans - my father bought a Rover off 'em years ago, quite shocked to hear they're gone, they were quite old-school and didn't splash out on space-age premises (had a fairly nice set-up to start with). They were unlucky with the brands they had I suppose but that part of Kildare is the epi-centre of the horsey set, would have expected them to last out a bit longer with LR & Volvo.

They are also affiliated to the Nissan garage in Kilcullen AFAIK (?)

gofaster_s13

Chapmans ceased trading on friday 6th of feb, They are not affiliated to Dunleas of Kilcullen.

carface

holly1 wrote: »

Eh!! no I dont think so,we are not all out to make a 100% profit,but Im sorry to see such a long established company fold.

Are you saying a garage makes/made 100% profit on a new car????????
In the so called good times when vrt was 22.5>30% add vat@21% so a dealer sells a car/suv etc. 2500/3000cc full list price-vrt@30%-vat@21%-
cost from supplier=dealer margin-discount offered/expected-/+ trade in =100% profit????????????? many dealers closed in good times also.

DRIVEN

It is not nice to see long established dealers that are synonymous with a particular marque closing down.The local Land Rover & Mercedes dealer near me, has added Honda and Mazda to their line up recently. No future operating in just niche markets.

Drummerboy08

junkyard wrote: »

In yesterdays Sunday Business Post, Chapmans Volvo and Landrover garage is to close. The motor trade is surely dieing when you see long established businesses like this closing.:(

They stopped trading last week. I dealt with one of the sales guys down there alot, apparently it was a deal on the petrol pumps that fell through. They must have been banking on that to carry them for a while.

Sadly, it wont be the last to close either.

pburns

DRIVEN wrote: »

It is not nice to see long established dealers that are synonymous with a particular marque closing down.The local Land Rover & Mercedes dealer near me, has added Honda and Mazda to their line up recently. No future operating in just niche markets.

Sounds like an astute move by dealer in question (although there are probably short-term costs to such a move - equipment, training, branding)

Mazda & Honda - I thought distributors prefered brands to be a little more complimentary/less similar?

L-M

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

They stopped trading last week. I dealt with one of the sales guys down there alot, apparently it was a deal on the petrol pumps that fell through. They must have been banking on that to carry them for a while.

Sadly, it wont be the last to close either.

I don't think the margin on petrol would bring anyone through the good times, not to mind the bad times.

DRIVEN

pburns wrote: »

Sounds like an astute move by dealer in question (although there are probably short-term costs to such a move - equipment, training, branding)

Mazda & Honda - I thought distributors prefered brands to be a little more complimentary/less similar?

I'd have thought that too, but I guess distributors want stability at the moment. An established dealer with a fine premises and a more upmarket image is more likely to hit the ground running (sales wise or whatever few sales there are) than an all new dealer. Subaru may make bigger inroads into the horsey set, like they do in the UK. Some higher capacity diesels is all they want to really tap into this market big time. Although the motoring public over here are much slower at broadening their horizons.

Drummerboy08

Limerick man wrote: »

I don't think the margin on petrol would bring anyone through the good times, not to mind the bad times.

You'd think that wouldnt you?

L-M

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

You'd think that wouldnt you?

We've a petrol station attached to where i work. It might keep the petrol station going, not much else.

DRIVEN

And you need a successful shop/convenience store to really make it all worthwhile or even viable.

Drummerboy08

I dunno, thats what the sales guy told me. I cant see it working either, but who knows!

Darsad

holly1 wrote: »

Its sad, but they milked it when things were good.I dont like to see any company closing but the that industery really sowed it in when times were good.

And besides the fact that up 66% of the price of a high end car is
composed of tax in one form or another what is your basis or experience other than hear say to make such a comment.

L-M

DRIVEN wrote: »

And you need a successful shop/convenience store to really make it all worthwhile or even viable.

Aye, and there are plenty a cost to set one up, another story to get a successful one.

Buffman

From http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=IRELAND-qqqm=news-qqqid=39555-qqqx=1.asp

Chapmans, based on the Dublin Road in Kildare, has closed and creditors are taking control of the company’s assets. Ford Finance is owed €4 million by the dealership and has appointed a receiver over the business. Bank of Scotland (Ireland), is owed a further €3 million.

Paul McCann, a corporate restructuring partner with accountancy firm Grant Thornton has be en appointed receiver over two companies connected with the group. Ford Finance has reclaimed all new cars from the lot, and the receiver intends to auction off the remaining vehicles.

McCannwas installed as receiver over a company called Killbury, which was the trading company behind the garage. He was also appointed as receiver over the assets of Dolacia, which owns the property interests of the dealership.

Chapmans is owned by Kildare businessman Patrick Hartnett and Dublin-based Bernard Dalton. The men bought the garage a number of years ago, using borrowings from Bank of Scotland (Ireland). According to its most recent accounts, Killbury owed creditors around €8 million at the end of 2006, but had retained profits of €224,000.

The company is the latest in a series of motor businesses to suffer.

New registrations dropped by two thirds in January, according to figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, the sector’s representative body.

By Gavin Daly

Scober11

Sad to see it go we bought all our Range Rovers there

RedorDead

Killbury owed creditors around €8 million at the end of 2006, but had retained profits of €224,000.

Thats quite a large sum of money to owe at the end of 06 - wonder if it had decreased by the middle of last year to anything smaller ? Anyone know if chapmans have one of the glass palaces or are they modest showrooms?

VolvoMan

RedorDead wrote: »

Thats quite a large sum of money to owe at the end of 06 - wonder if it had decreased by the middle of last year to anything smaller ? Anyone know if chapmans have one of the glass palaces or are they modest showrooms?

Quite a modest showrooms from what I remember. It was your typical country car sales premises with a petrol station forecourt and a few cars at the side. Nothing overly fancy about the place compared to other Land Rover and Volvo dealers of recent years.

pburns

RedorDead wrote: »

Thats quite a large sum of money to owe at the end of 06 - wonder if it had decreased by the middle of last year to anything smaller ? Anyone know if chapmans have one of the glass palaces or are they modest showrooms?

I was in there within the last year or two and the showroom itself was unchanged from when I visited as a youngster in early '90s. They had extended the forecourt alright. Dunno, sounds like they had problems before the downturn and the 'credit crunch' just finished 'em off. May have little to do with the garage business - who knows:(

gavinfa

Live around the corner fro it and AFAIK, the petrol side of it, branded TOP, is nothing to do with Chapmans (Had a problem there a few months back and when I rang Chapmans, they directed me to Conway Oil on the Monsaterevin Road).
Sounds like the business was in terminal decline for the last few years, if the figures quoted are correct, so the "current economic climate" was the last nail in the coffin. With new car sales slowing down to a bare trickle, even Chapmans was killing itself with it's second hand car prices (on average 2000 euros dearer than other dealers - I know, cos I was in the market for a newer car late last year). It's a pity that along established dealer is now gone and god help us what is going to go in to it's place...I hope they leave the petrol side of things alone and don't start tarting up with a new mega forecourt, restaurant, etc, as the prices at the pumps are at least 8 cents cheaper than Fitzpatrick's....drive through Mickey D's anyone?

Vim Fuego

Yep, that's some of the cheapest petrol/diesel I've seen about Dublin/Kildare anyway. I'll always make a point to fill up there whenever I'm down.

Dampsquid

Good Riddance....

I bought a car from them a few years ago. Had nothing but problems with it, and they were a nightmare to deal with. They dragged it on for 4 months. Only had the car a few weeks when the problems started.

Drummerboy08

Dampsquid wrote: »

Good Riddance....

I bought a car from them a few years ago. Had nothing but problems with it, and they were a nightmare to deal with. They dragged it on for 4 months. Only had the car a few weeks when the problems started.

I wouldnt agree with the good riddance part, as alot of people lost jobs as a result of the closure.

But i will agree they were very hard to deal with when it came to getting problems sorted.

bazzachazza

Dealers and Chapmans are linked got a service done there last year.

When I checked my bank account online it showed the payment on my laser card went through the Petrol stations account had me perplexed for a while.