It's the end of the road for Dick Smith Chrysler-Jeep in Aiken.

The showroom and lot once filled with vehicles are now occupied by trash containers and leftover office furniture.

On Tuesday, the handful of employees remaining were going through a cleanup list as they prepared to close the doors at the dealership, which has served the Aiken community for almost 10 years.

Three weeks ago, Chrysler notified the dealership on Jefferson Davis Highway and 788 others that their franchise rights were being terminated as it trimmed its dealer network. The other local dealer on that list is Augusta Dodge on Gordon Highway.

"Those three weeks have been a total whirlwind, closing the store and moving the inventory," said Craig Rich, the general manager at Dick Smith.

When the dealership received the news, it had 125 vehicles on the lot. Mr. Rich said the business has had more sales in the past two weeks than it had during the past three months. The staff sold most of the cars to customers; only 10 went to dealers, he said. "The customers have been very supportive coming in and buying the inventory we had left," Mr. Rich said.

The dealership's lease ends on Friday, so it is closing a few days early rather than renew its lease agreement, he explained. The dealership's 17 employees stopped working days before the closing. The final day for the service and parts department was May 22, and all other employees remained until Friday, he said.

Mr. Rich said about 30 percent of his employees have either landed jobs or been promised new ones.

His office manager, Carolyn Winn, volunteered to assist with the cleanup. She has worked with Mr. Rich for 19 years.

"We started together; we might as well lock the doors together," she said.

Customer files will be stored at the corporate office, Mr. Rich said.

Dick Smith Chrysler-Jeep was part of the Columbia-based Dick Smith Automotive Group. Owner Brian Smith could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

Mr. Rich said he believes the auto industry will survive.

"The U.S. cannot live without it. When the country does come back, I think it will be a much stronger industry than it ever has been," he said. He said he thanks the dealership's patrons for their support "in these trying, last few days."