John Linnane Motors moved into an impressive purpose built premises in Rathnew, Co Wicklow in 2008
Speaking to Irish Trucker, John explains, “This premises is very different to where we were before. In our last place we were fairly tight on space but we now have a purpose-built building on a standalone site situated on just over an acre of ground.” That move, which had been in the pipeline for a couple of years, came about on the cusp of the worst economic crisis in the history of the State, but John has no regrets about the decision to make that substantial investment in the business. “I have no problems with our decision to move,” he says. “Yes, things slowed down dramatically in 2009, which was a terrible year for everyone in the motor trade, but it picked up a good bit in 2010 following the introduction of the Government scrappage scheme, and another big boost was the fact that Fiat had a great pricing structure over the last 12 months with their ‘double the V.A.T. offer’ on commercial vehicles. The
market is still not what it was a few years ago but I’ve no regrets about investing.” While John Linnane Motors stocks all new Fiat and Opel cars, when it comes to the commercial market the company concentrates exclusively on Fiat models, and John reports that the Fiat fleet is now one of the most popular, affordable and reliable vehicles in the commercial range. “We’ve done very well across the board in the Fiat commercial range, which is a top-class range of vans,” he says. “The Doblo does really well, as does the Ducato and Scudo. The Fiat Professional range is very reasonably priced and it’s still very fresh, too. The current Scudo and Ducato models are only around three years old now and the new Doblo was launched only this year.” John is also keen to point out that Fiat vehicles are now more durable and reliable than many Japanese and German models, which are perceived as being ultra-reliable but which are often surprisingly troublesome and expensive to run. “We take in a huge variety of secondhand vehicles and Fiat definitely comes out very near the top in terms of reliability and durability. “Take motorhomes, for example. About 75% of all motorhomes across Europe now are built on the Ducato
dealerships, established his own dealership in 2001 and in 2008 relocated to a new, purpose-built premises near Rathnew in Co. Wicklow. Located just off Junction 16 on the N11, Linnane Motors is no more than 20 minutes from Bray and less than three-quarters of an hour from the Red Cow roundabout in Dublin. IRISH TRUCKER & LIGHT COMMERCIALS
John Linnane's team, pictured at the Fiat Dealer of the Year 2010 awards
25