Customer Satisfaction with Dealer Service for Four- and Five-Year-Old Vehicles Increases Slightly As Service Mix Continues Shift from Repair to Maintenance Work

Customer satisfaction with dealer service has increased slightly among vehicle owners, compared with 2007, in part due to a continuing increase in the proportion of maintenance-related service visits vs. repair-related visits, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Service Usage and Retention StudySM (SURS).

The study, now in its 12th year, measures customer satisfaction of vehicle owners who visit a dealer service department for maintenance or repair work during the fourth or fifth years of ownership, which typically represents the period after the manufacturer's vehicle warranty expires. Overall customer satisfaction is based on six factors (in order of importance): service initiation; service advisor; service quality; user-friendly service; service delivery; and in-service experience.

Overall satisfaction with dealer service among original owners of four- and five-year-old vehicles averages 866 on a 1,000-point scale -- up three points since 2007. Among the 34 dealer brands included in the study since 2007, nearly seven in 10 (68%) have improved since the previous year. Contributing to this increase in overall satisfaction is a shift in the proportions of repair and maintenance service visits since 2007. In 2008, 58 percent of customers report visiting the dealer for maintenance work, while 42 percent report visiting for repairs. In comparison, 54 percent of customers in 2007 visited the dealer for maintenance and 46 percent visited for repair work. Satisfaction is higher when customers visit the dealer for maintenance work (878, on average) than it is when customers visit the dealer for repair work (849, on average).


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