(Rate out of five)
Loading ...Japanese Brands top satisfaction poll. CAR DEALERS for European brands lagged behind their Japanese counterparts in the latest JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey, which asked 18,000 car owners their views on the service provided by the retail networks of 33 manufacturers. Serial survey winners Lexus once more topped the table with a five-out-of-five star rating alongside its parent company Toyota and fellow Japanese brands Daihatsu and Honda.
JD Power said Lexus and Honda were the only networks to gain full marks across the board - from booking in cars, staff knowledge and courtesy and high standard car dealership facilities to the quality of work carried out.
“Its not just that Lexus does the important thinks well, it does everything well. Owners rate the company as top in all aspects: fantastic facilities, superb staff, on time service and faultless work.” the survey said.
The quality of Honda workshops’ work was rated as at least 85 per cent by every customer and car dealers staff achieved even higher scores the researchers said.
Daihatsu dealers were awarded excellent marks for everything but dealers facilities, which were rated “merely average”, while the only blemish for Toyota dealers was that Prius owners experienced some difficulty in booking services.
Below the top ranked group Ford owned brands performed well. Prospective bidders for Jaguar and Land Rover, which are currently in the shop window, would have noted they gained four starts, as did Volvo and Mazda.
The blue oval brand itself scored three out of five, receiving average scores in most categories. The Jaguar dealers scored above average in all areas, according to JD Power, whereas Land Rover rated highly for its dealerships’ staff and facilities but was let down slightly by the booking in process and service quality.
Subaru and Skoda were also awarded four stars.
The losers in the survey were Smart and Alfa Romeo dealers, with one star a piece while volume players Vauxhall, Renault, Peugeot, and Citroen did not cover themselves in glory either, gaining just two stars.
Alfa Romeo owners were not impressed with the booking in procedures, described workshop facilities as poor and said the work carried out on their cars was sub-standard. Sister brand Fiat also fared poorly - finishing with two stars.
Smart owners were particularly unhappy with the booking system and also gave staff a low rating. The brand performed accorss the franchised dealer range and the retail outlets were considered “acceptable.”
The response from Vauxhall owners varied considerably, depending upon the model concerned. Tigra owners were the least satisfied followed by Vectra and Astra customers but Zafira, Agila and Meriva drivers said work was done to a reasonable standard.
VAuxhall owned brands SAAB and Chevrolet also left customers less than satisfied - each gaining only two starts for quality of New cars and used cars after care. Work was considered to not be up to scratch.
C2 owners were the least happy Citroen customers citing trouble collecting their cars although the booking process was deemed acceptable.
Alternative choice Chrystler