DAVENPORT - The Quad-Cities Suzuki dealership in Davenport has closed to the public, general manager Rod Rose confirmed Thursday.

Factors he cited as contributing to the closing include the poor economy and customers' difficulty in obtaining car loans. Also, he added, the dealership has operated for only three years, which has not been sufficient time to build a base of repeat customers.

Rose said after reports began circulating Wednesday that the dealership at 5401 Elmore Ave. was closing, he was inundated with upset customers, especially those who were given lifetime warranties on tires and oil changes from the dealership. Those warranties now cannot be honored, he said.

So, he made the decision to lock the doors of the showroom Wednesday after the service center was closed Tuesday.

"I love this place," Rose said."I don't want to see it go out of business."

Although the dealership is locked up, Rose said anyone who wants to buy a car simply needs to knock on the door. He is trying to sell off the remaining inventories to other companies, such as car auction businesses.

Franchise owner John Palmer and Suzuki corporate officials could not be reached for comment.

One customer, Yvonne Fontenoy of Davenport, went to the dealership Thursday for new tires. She said she has a Tires for Life contract with the franchise. "I don't have money to replace them," she said.

When she arrived, Fontenoy said the doors were locked.

"So I sat in the parking lot and called the number inside," she said. "The service woman said that everything is gone and there was nothing they could do. … I was mad. What are we supposed to do?"

While in the parking lot, Fontenoy said she met other customers with similar complaints, including Diane Kakert and Peggy Wiseman, both of Davenport.

"One of the key factors for me buying a Suzuki was the free oil change and tires for life and now they are closing," Kakert said. "I never would have traded in my truck if this was going to happen. I am disappointed I purchased it now."

Wiseman bought her car last summer and also received the free oil change and free tire warranty. "I don't think it is fair that they leave us hanging," she said.

The Quad-Cities Suzuki franchise opened in 2006. The $5 million property features a two-story, 30,000-square-foot showroom and office complex.

The building's second story contains ProMax Online, a software company that Palmer launched in 1995 and moved into the facility when the dealership opened. A Web-based program, ProMax Online is designed for auto-dealership owners. The software includes features to help owners with inventory, lending, leasing, credit applications, marketing and customer follow-ups, tasks that typically require separate software packages.

Rose said he was the first salesperson hired four years ago when Palmer opened a Car Team of the Quad-Cities used car franchise, which operated out of a trailer on the Elmore Avenue site. When the permanent Suzuki building opened, Koichi Suzuki, the California-based president of American Suzuki Motor Corp., was on hand.

Rose said business had been good until recent months.

"Last year, we would have 400 to 500 people come in the door a month. Now, it is about 60 a month," he said.

He estimated that about 300 American Suzuki dealerships have closed in the past 18 months.

Rose said Quad-Cities Suzuki offered free tires and oil changes for the life of the car as an incentive to its customers. With the closing, those offers are voided.

Rose said American Suzuki will honor its warranties. The closest Suzuki dealerships are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Washington, Ill.