4 July 2021
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Carmaxx.ie is now online – showroom is on Dublin Road, Fermoy – just 3 minutes off the Cork-Dublin Motorway
The sales model is that potential customers will view the Carmaxx.ie website, search by budget, make and model. Hopeful buyers can pay a refundable €99 deposit to ‘reserve’ the car until they can visit the showrooms on Dublin Road, Fermoy in person to view the vehicle.
All cars get an extensive pre-sales check, and boast extended warranties and dealer-arranged finance. It’s a high-volume, quick-sales business, with a large stock of ‘nearly new’ cars. At the time of writing the website lists 139 vehicles. The newest registration is 2019, the oldest is 2009. The highest priced is a 2017 Porsche Macan for €52,995, the lowest priced is a 2009 Audi A6 for €4,495.
A bird’s eye view of the fully stocked car park at Carmaxx Fermoy. The new business name operates at the Blackwater Motors campus on the Dublin Road, Fermoy, North Co Cork.
It’s often said that new ideas start in the US then make their way to the UK, and then Ireland. Carmaxx (with 2 X’s) is similar to the US concept of Carmax (with 1 X) which is the USA’s largest used car dealer. A trademark search of the Ireland and EU patents office‘s reveals that the US Carmax considered entering the Irish and EU market in 1997 but did not ultimately proceed with a dual trademark application.
In Ireland, Carmaxx is a registered business name of Blackwater Motors Used Car Centre Ltd, which is directed by David Quirke and Denis Murphy, both of whom boast years of experience in the motor trade especially around the VW brands of Audi, and SEAT, and VW itself in Cork City, Skibbereen, and Fermoy. Indeed, the Carmaxx lot is adjacent to their existing VW Group showrooms.
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