'Disappointing' car servicing from car dealers

'Disappointing' car servicing from car dealers

Every car owner would expect to get equally good service from car dealers as from other garages but a new owners' survey has revealed that this may not be the case.

15,000 drivers who had taken their cars to a dealer over the last year took part in the survey which was conducted by vehicle researchers JD Power and What Car? magazine. The survey covered five areas, including how they were treated by staff and the quality of the work.

Chevrolet, Fiat and Mazda appear to be the main culprits of bad service, with the most customers being unhappy with the service they received. At the top end of the table, owners of Jaguar, Lexus and Toyota cars were happiest with the service they received.

Chevrolet owners were very critical of the American car maker's dealerships, giving them very low ratings in every single category. The main criticisms were in respect of the length of time it took for servicing and repairs, and garage parking. This resulted in Chevrolet dealers receiving a score of 71.5% and being in bottom-placed 27th in the table. In fact, even where Chevrolet 'performed well' for garage cleanliness, it was still poor in comparison with its competitors.

According to What Car?, Fiat owners' description of its dealers was "scathing", complaining that servicing took too long and workmanship was below-par.

Third worst was Mazda dealers, who were criticised for not communicating the work carried out properly and the unsatisfactory condition in which cars were returned. Mazda did however get praise for staff courtesy.

Looking at the top performers, Jaguar dealers topped the table with a score of 86.1% for their high-quality workmanship, helpful staff and clean and comfortable facilities. However, they were critised for their steep charges.

A statement by What Car? says that, given the significant amount of money they are paying for servicing, owners deserve to have the confidence that they will be receiving a comparable service standard to the best retail outlets on the high street. Unfortunately, the results of the survey have shown that this is not the case. Furthermore, dealerships could be making more profits from these post-sale activities than from car sales.

The editor-in-chief of What Car?, Chas Hallet, also commented that although the survey showed that a lot of dealers were doing a good job, there were a number who still had a lot of work to do. He added that customer satisfaction isn't just about the product but about the whole package. The Institute of Advanced Motorists said the worst performers must improve to retain business.

Policy and research director Neil Greig said that a few years ago, it would have been very impressive for a non-Japanese car maker to be at the top of the table so Jaguar's performance is a real turnaround. It also showed that the investment Jaguar has made into customer care training and prioritising customers has delivered. He then added that Fiat, Mazda and Suzuki will need to work harder on the fundamentals if they want to retain their customer base, especially in this very competitive environment.

Chevrolet has responded by saying that improvements have been made and their spokeswoman said, "The results are disappointing and do not reflect the hard work and commitment of many of our dealers. We recognise there have been issues in the past, which were picked up during the time JD Power were conducting the survey."

As for Fiat, their spokesman also said the results were "disappointing" and they would be evaluated.

You can read more about the JD Power 2012 UK vehicle ownership satisfaction study here: http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/jaguar-tops-dealer-satisfaction-survey/263726/

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