There are always two sides to every story. If someone were to post a message to the forum bashing one of the dealers I would have to remove it.
All we would have is the complainers side of the story, and I wouldn't expect a rep from the dealership being bashed to jump in on the forum to defend him/her self.
Leaving the message there would only serve to damage the dealerships business, and the design of the site is to help businesses so there would definitely be a conflict of interest there. I could lose ONE customer, but the dealership could lose SEVERAL customers.
In all reality though, the message board will not likely see much use. A forum like this one, encourages people from all over the world to post. You could be a marketer from Canada, US, UK, Germany, etc., and be interested in discussing marketing topics with others, and the conversations can be applicable to your business. But a message forum like mine on a local used cars website is kind of demographically targeted, with probably few people wanting to post to a discussion forum.
Now you're probably wondering that if I feel this way, why did I install it?
My interest in discussion boards stems from an online shopping experience I had 5 years ago. My wife and I wanted to buy a walker for our baby. The particular walker was not available in any of the stores in Calgary (where we were living at the time). I visited three websites that carried a suitable product. I emailed an address I found on each site. 2 out of three did not respond (dead in the water websites with no one looking after it or paying attention to it) and the one that did respond would not sell me the product unless I bought a certain quantity. They had moved into wholesaling products and were not re-tailing anymore.
Having a discussion board on your site and posting to it once in awhile lets those who visit know that someone is tending the store. When you see someone is tending the store, then you feel more confident that the information being provided on the site is probably up-to-date, and the proprietors are ready to do business.
Best Regards,
Steve MacLellan
http://homebusiness-websites.com