Stuarts Garages become KIA dealer for South West Dubln

goochy

I know Tallaght Ford/ Airton Kia premises were up for sale but not sure if they still open ? Their neighbours just around the corner Stuarts have added another Far Eastern brand- Kia- to their portfolio. However it is another step away from them dealing in niche brands.

Do people remember the original Stuarts garages/ Stuarts of Ranelagh ( they have been in business since 1946) . I only know of them from the late 80s , I was a big fan of the original model Range Rover and all things British.

Stuarts premises were on a fairly big site but the premises were modest enough, however it felt like a little bit on England in Dublin . They were sole Range Rover dealers in Ireland for a period and the very english sounding name also added to their allure.

However they sold up in Ranelagh in 1993 ( if only they waited till celtic tiger ) , were on Kylemore road for a few years before moving to Tallaght in 1997.

However the premises in Tallaght were very non descript and bland and they garage had no character . During the Celtic tiger years when they became solus Land Rover dealers , there were many other dealers around the country who seemed to have better premises and a better stock of vehicles on display so they could no longer be considered Irelands leading dealers.

in 2017 when Land Rover rolled out their new joint JLR dealerships , Stuarts lost the franchise . They remained a service / parts dealer though.

Does anyone have stories/ memories of this dealers glory days ?

For Forks Sake

Tadgh Riordans have taken over the former Airton Kia premises to flog more generic Toyotas out of (lot more space there than the old premises on the Tallaght bypass)

goochy

It was for sale for mad money sure long mile Toyota are not far away . They must be leasing it, would make no sense for them to pay €5/6 million for premises and not have a big catchment area all to themselves

For Forks Sake

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119776647#Comment_119776647

Think the Airton Road site was asking €5m when it went on the market last year

Riordans previous premises is on the market for 1.5m

https://www.independent.ie/business/commercial-property/prominent-tallaght-motor-showroom-for-rent-or-sale-41780390.html

Hellrazer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119777737#Comment_119777737

Myself and a business partner have been looking at possibly renting the old building and putting in a franchise. The problem is which franchise to put into it. Tallaght has most franchises available within a short distance so its a difficult decision to make at with the current market.

goochy

Ford or seat / cupr or possibly Volvo ?

goochy

or Opel

Old diesel

Every time I see the Stuarts name I think Rover/Land Rover tbh.

They had Rover for years as far as I can remember.

Never had any dealings with them though

goochy

yes , and MG , Freight Rover and jaguar / Daimler over the years . They still sell alot of used LR and you see these vehicles all over the country . They were never big into used vehicles when a main dealer though.

HorseSea

I remember Stuarts in Ranelagh well, I worked with a mechanic as a kid and often cycled around for parts. We used to get Austin 1100 suspension pumped up there too. Just passed where it was today, big ugly duplexes there now. I seem to remember the staff were always cranky.

goochy

Sam Power is still with them , he was a good age when I visited about more than 30 years ago. My father dealt with David Stuart when on Kylemore road , they obviously were not interested in his Mazda trade in and didnt even ring him back . Looking at reviews online that seems to be common practice with them.

HeidiHeidi

I grew up down the road from the Northbrook Road garage, and it was our playground every evening for donkeys years!

I passed them on the Greenhills Road the odd time, and thought they were still Land Rover dealers, thought it was an odd location for them.

goochy

The problem was Rover Dun laoghaire opened in the 90s ,so Stuarts could really move any further South from Ranelagh ( pity as ROVER DL closed a few years later )

Also the late 90s were the beginning of the Celtic tiger and South west Dublin would have been a good market for Rover 200/400 but most LR dealers ( incl. Stuarts ) ended up giving up Rover around 2000 as LR were selling so well and Rover sales fell .

goochy

should say ' Could not mover any further South '

Hellrazer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119778540#Comment_119778540

Or opel.

Seat want a limit on how many dealers they have in Dublin and I feel four is probably their limit.

When I was with Volvo they always spoke of only 2 dealers in Dublin - One North side and one South side which they have now.

Ford are over saturated with legacy dealers in Dublin at the minute.

As for Opel - I still have the mental scars from being an after sales manger in an Opel dealer. Im not sure I could do that again!!!!

Dont get me wrong the distributors are grand to deal with but with the older models (insignia and astra mainly) being so unreliable its a hard life being a service manager.

goochy

I think West Dublin needs a Volvo dealer , Spirit are operating from a small site so cant really keep a good stock and Joe Duffy Volvo is a fairly poor operation as only Volvo dealer for whole of the North East.

Now that Opel are no longer owned by GM and also Gowan have them , they have alot going for them.

Wonder why Tallaght Ford/ Airton kia closed .