I know it's not Santry but nearly sure there was a garage of that name trading in Wicklow Town about 6 or 7 years ago, was only open for a few years, closed now.
Don't know a Michael Grant motors in Santry, however there used to be one on the Malahide Road. It is now Crossans Open Centre, owned by the Windsor car crowed....Moved recently to Airside in Swords...
They seem to be independent as opposed to franchised - not necessarily a bad thing and no offence to these type of traders - but personally I'd prefer not to deal with independents.
Not everone can afford to deal with franchised dealers. Admittedly I have no experience of Dublin but in my area there are lots of decent independents. In fact I've only ever dealt with independents.
Don't know what you mean by this.
Franchised dealers sell good value cars too!
My main concern with independents is the general lack of regulation.
Also, if you feel badly treated by a franchised dealer you can complain to the franchise. Their mechanics are more likely to 'know' the cars they are selling too.
But I'm not saying I have a problem with independent traders per se - I'm sure most of them are fine.
I thought my post was clear. In my experience franchised dealers are too expensive but then they need to cover the cost of their flashy showrooms and offices. I wouldn't be prepared to pay their inflated prices for the benifits you mention. I've heard of cases where it was very difficult for customers to get satisfaction from franchised dealers.