Poor Mentone!

One for the Melbourne people ! Mentone, the Melbourne suburb, must be unique in Australian VW history.

It has had four different Volkswagen dealers over the years - all of them at the same address - 1 Nepean Highway, on the corner of Oak Ave, near where the Nylex factory used to be.

Coutts Foster Motors Pty Ltd was the first VW dealer on the site, established in 1955. They changed their name to Olsen Foster Motors in 1962, then they became Smiths of Mentone in 1964. They were still listed as a VW dealer in 1982, but either stopped being a VW dealer or went out of business shortly after. I don't know what happened on the site after that - until recently.

Amazingly, Barloworld Volkswagen opened, on the same old VW site, in 2004. I don't know if they are renovated original buildings, or whether they bulldozed and started again.

This was short lived. Barloworld have now moved out of the old address at 1 Nepean Hwy, and set up a new, much larger VW dealership up the road at Moorabbin, 980 Nepean Hwy.

So the old VW dealership at Mentone is vacant again!

Can anyone shed any more history on Smiths at Mentone? Here is the recent Google Street View shot, when it was still going (as Barloworld) last year.

I live about 10 mins drive from that vw dealer in the photo and this is all news to me. I really should get out more😵‍💫

The new dealership looks reasonably impressive. It's located at the old IKEA site.

Sounds like the site was jinxed to me!!❓❗

The old IKEA site had been vacant for a long time...I hope it last's there

The old IKEA had been there for a very long time also. They downsized and have a mega store in Richmond now. Shame really, now there's no place local to pick up cheap lonely swiss and norwegian chicks......er..........furniture...😉

The only info I can offer is I have a Smiths Mentone VW sticker on one of my cars... LOL

Someone should lease this site and sell secondhand VWs.... 😉
Has anyone got any idea where I might be able to get abovementioned stickers new? someone sitting on them in a shoe box under the bed?

When I do the old girl up I would like to replace the old tattered weathered worn sticker with a new one.... Can post photo...