Ennis Rd Motors

manna452121

Sad to see another dealership closing http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/limerick-car-dealership-closes-with-loss-of-19-jobs-1-4068735

Zamp

This is a shame. I bought a car there earlier this year and found them great to deal with. It did seem like they were on borrowed time though. I hope all the people who lost jobs can find something very soon.

Brennans Row

General Motors U.S.A. have made a real mess of the German Opel brand name.

The Ennis Road Motors was a good quality business. What a shame. :mad:

vkid

Zamp wrote: »

This is a shame. I bought a car there earlier this year and found them great to deal with. It did seem like they were on borrowed time though. I hope all the people who lost jobs can find something very soon.

Sorry to hear people losing jobs...but can;t say I am surprised.

Twice I went there in Jan/Feb to look at cars, with the intention of buying.. I found them awful. No-one came near me on the first go, couldnt even get a price for one..walked around the showroom and no-one came near me. One of them chatting away on the phone, didnt even acknowledge me. Left after about 15 minutes of waiting.

Tried again about two weeks later, got attention this time but nothing to make me buy a car off them. Glad I didn't now, but I thought it was one of the worst car sales places i'd ever been in.

phog

vkid wrote: »

Sorry to hear people losing jobs...but can;t say I am surprised.

Twice I went there in Jan/Feb to look at cars, with the intention of buying.. I found them awful. No-one came near me on the first go, couldnt even get a price for one..walked around the showroom and no-one came near me. One of them chatting away on the phone, didnt even acknowledge me. Left after about 15 minutes of waiting.

Tried again about two weeks later, got attention this time but nothing to make me buy a car off them. Glad I didn't now, but I thought it was one of the worst car sales places i'd ever been in.

Well I've been using them for years now and couldn't fault them for service or price. Last year I was upgrading and went to nearly every car sales outlet in Limerick and the surrounding area and all of them promised they'd ring the following week with an offer and not one of them actually bothered bar Ennis Rd Motors.

liammur

I bought an Insignia off them 2 years ago and was very pleased with the service I got. This city is slowing closing down, and nothing is being done about it :mad:

bazz26

They have been struggling for about 2 or 3 years now. Not surprised as I always found them more expensive than the Opel dealer out in Knocklong and that is saying something.

This is not a Limerick thing though, franchise dealers were forced to upgrade their premises into glass palaces under EU regulations just before the economic downturn. They got into huge debts with banks and then car sales took a nose dive as the recession kicked in.

liammur

bazz26 wrote: »

They have been struggling for about 2 or 3 years now. Not surprised as I always found them more expensive than the Opel dealer out in Knocklong and that is saying something.

This is not a Limerick thing though, franchise dealers were forced to upgrade their premises into glass palaces under EU regulations just before the economic downturn. They got into huge debts with banks and then car sales took a nose dive as the recession kicked in.

You are right in saying that, however, there are more closing down here than elsewhere.

mgbgt1978

bazz26 wrote: »

This is not a Limerick thing though, franchise dealers were forced to upgrade their premises into glass palaces under EU regulations just before the economic downturn. They got into huge debts with banks and then car sales took a nose dive as the recession kicked in.

I believe it was more the importers (and manufacturers) who pushed the dealers into investing millions into their premises. All to make "The Brand" look good.
Although the EU regulations were intended to open the market somewhat by allowing any garage to sell (and service) any marque, it was the importers who insisted that the Dealers had to have modern glass showrooms, etc. if they wanted to hold on to their franchise.
On a side note, look at John Moloney Motors. He refused to put millions into a modern showroom, Honda pulled the plug on him and now look where he is.....back as the Honda Main Dealer and paying probably half the rent the previous (Honda Franchise) dealer was on a new showroom.

Tefral

My brother was a mechanic there. Said the accountants just came in at 5 and said the business wasn't viable anymore. Told come back in today and collect his tools.

To be fair the manager who bought the place made a real good run at it. Kept it going for 2 years.

My brother worked there since he was 16 starting with summer jobs and working his way up.

seachto7

Is the parts place out in Clondrinagh closing as well?

Kess73

Bloody shame if the service part of the business out in Coonagh shuts as well, as they have a good team there and are very good for services etc.

mgbgt1978

Yes, apparently the Service Dept in Clondrinagh is gone also.

vkid

phog wrote: »

Well I've been using them for years now and couldn't fault them for service or price. Last year I was upgrading and went to nearly every car sales outlet in Limerick and the surrounding area and all of them promised they'd ring the following week with an offer and not one of them actually bothered bar Ennis Rd Motors.

I'm sure they were good enough, or they wouldnt have been in business that long, but I thought it was very poor to be standing there like a pleb waiting for someone to come near me. Other places were falling over themselves to help or sell cars.

Still, sad to see any business go and jobs lost.

liammur

vkid wrote: »

I'm sure they were good enough, or they wouldnt have been in business that long, but I thought it was very poor to be standing there like a pleb waiting for someone to come near me. Other places were falling over themselves to help or sell cars.

Still, sad to see any business go and jobs lost.

Some people prefer to look around and not have someone in your face the minute you arrive. Just a different form of doing business.

That's Motorzone, Elm, Kilroy, Keogh, Ennis road gone, maybe others that I can't think of.

phog

Kess73 wrote: »

Bloody shame if the service part of the business out in Coonagh shuts as well, as they have a good team there and are very good for services etc.

That's where I got my car serviced, so now I'm on the look out for a decent garage/mechanic, any recommendations?

bucks73

I know a few of the lads working there so disappointed to hear they are out of jobs now. They had been doing less hours and job sharing but obviously this still wasnt enough. Bought my last two cars there and used the service centre too and found them very good.

bazz26

phog wrote: »

That's where I got my car serviced, so now I'm on the look out for a decent garage/mechanic, any recommendations?

Clondrinagh Motor Centre which is just down from it. They are BMW specialists but they service other makes too.

gregers85

seachto7 wrote: »

Is the parts place out in Clondrinagh closing as well?

Ya the whole place is closing! My uncle is a mechanic there, got the marching orders during the week! sad to see he's there at least 20 yrs!!!

ninty9er

liammur wrote: »

You are right in saying that, however, there are more closing down here than elsewhere.

This is due to the saturation of the Irish market with dealers. We have had a massive overepresentation of dealers. Audi has recognised this and is rationalising its network to just 10/12 dealers nationwide, 2 or 3 of which will be within Co. Dublin.

I was in Ennis Road on Monday and the place was quiet enough, although I was taking a car for a test drive within 10 minutes and had a (pretty decent) cost of change and back out of the place all in the space of half an hour.

There will be more of this as the popular 3/4 year old family saloon market is massively under-supplied due to the collapse of new car sales in 2008/9. I'm finding it nigh on impossible to find a car at the moment and of one of the few places I went that I got decent customer service, it goes out of business within days.

I must also say kudos to Leonards and Hinchys for the customer service, Lyons, Hogans, Clareview and Shiels on the other hand, nobody even came near me, not that any of them have anything on the forecourt worth looking at unless you have upwards of €15k to spend.

mgbgt1978

liammur wrote: »

Some people prefer to look around and not have someone in your face the minute you arrive. Just a different form of doing business.

That's Motorzone, Elm, Kilroy, Keogh, Ennis road gone, maybe others that I can't think of.

And Tony o'Mara's Toyota Garage gone also.

gregers85

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

And Tony o'Mara's Toyota Garage gone also.

O'Mara's is still Open! He just lost the Toyota dealership! Geary's in Raheen have it now!

bazz26

I see Frank Hogan now has the Seat dealership too.

mgbgt1978

gregers85 wrote: »

O'Mara's is still Open! He just lost the Toyota dealership! Geary's in Raheen have it now!

Might be still open.....but a massive "To Let" sign is stuck up at the premises. Rumour has it they might move back to the original Ennis Rd site and just deal in 2nd hand stuff but nothing definite yet.

mgbgt1978

bazz26 wrote: »

I see Frank Hogan now has the Seat dealership too.

Makes sense I suppose seeing as he is already dealing with the importer for VW and Audi.
Just needs Skoda now to complete the set:D

bazz26

I heard a rumour around that a few months ago but nothing seems to have materialised yet.

ninty9er

There's also a rumour that Audi are heaping pressure on for a bigger showroom from Hogans as part of its reorganisation in Ireland, but he'd rather lose the franchise than spend millions on a new showroom.

gambithh

gregers85 wrote: »

O'Mara's is still Open! He just lost the Toyota dealership! Geary's in Raheen have it now!

i rang o maras last year looking for a part number for a turbo my 07 avensis had broken.(i was looking on-line)
i was told by the parts dept toyota doesnt divulge that information to the public.

i was brian gearys and not only did he give me the part number but also the engine number for which the turbo is attached to to aid my search.

guess which garage i will deal with in future?:D

phog

bazz26 wrote: »

Clondrinagh Motor Centre which is just down from it. They are BMW specialists but they service other makes too.

I rang this crowd to book my car in on a Saturday morning recently to have my brakes done, on the said Saturday the place was locked up, 2 other cars waiting there as well. I left my mobile but no one bothered to contact to cancel or to re-arrange the booking, I have to say I'm not impressed with them. :mad:

snowman707

gambithh wrote: »

i rang o maras last year looking for a part number for a turbo my 07 avensis had broken.(i was looking on-line)
i was told by the parts dept toyota doesnt divulge that information to the public.

i was brian gearys and not only did he give me the part number but also the engine number for which the turbo is attached to to aid my search.

guess which garage i will deal with in future?:D

Jees they were an ignorant bunch in that part's dept .. was looking for a belt for the daughter's yaris , wasn't in stock and i would have to call in and pay for it before they would order..

rang ivers and cullinan in nenagh , wasn't in stock either, but would have it at @ 9 in the morning ,, about 8.45 in the morning my phone rang that the courier van had broken down and apologising that the part would be about an hour late.

Mc Love

phog wrote: »

I rang this crowd to book my car in on a Saturday morning recently to have my brakes done, on the said Saturday the place was locked up, 2 other cars waiting there as well. I left my mobile but no one bothered to contact to cancel or to re-arrange the booking, I have to say I'm not impressed with them. :mad:

Wow they are normally very reliable?!