Dealership service satisfaction holds strong despite repair delays—study

A new J.D. Power study reveals that customer satisfaction with service at the dealership remains high. However, the report also spotlights key areas where dealerships can improve their service departments.  

The details: The J.D. Power 2025 US Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, found that consumer satisfaction remained high for the second year, with vehicle owners having “high levels of trust” in dealers’ expertise. That said, service customers often have to deal with long wait times for appointments and gaps in their vehicle repairs.

• The average number of days customers wait for an appointment is longer than it was from 2018 to 2022 and only “nominally better” than 2023 and 2024.

• 12% of vehicle fixes were not completed correctly on the first visit, with the most common issue being that the repairs did not correct the problem (30%) and the needed parts were not available (28%). 

Zeroing in: Porsche $POAHY ( 0.0% ) and Subaru rank the highest for customer satisfaction among premium and mass-market brands, respectively, with Porsche ranking the highest in the SUV segment and Chevrolet in the truck segment.   

• Porsche has a score of 912 in satisfaction with dealer service among premium brands, followed by Lexus with a score of 900 and Cadillac with a score of 888.

• Among mass-market brands, the customer satisfaction score for Subaru is 896, with MINI ranking second with a score of 888 and Honda ranking third with a score of 881.

• Porsche tops the SUV segment with a satisfaction score of 917, and Chevrolet earned a score of 877 in the truck segment.

Between the lines: The stark contrast in customer satisfaction with dealer service among electric vehicle owners and ICE vehicle owners is one of the most intriguing findings revealed in the J.D. Power study.  

• Satisfaction among mass-market BEV owners is 51 points lower than among owners of mass-market ICE vehicles. 

• Among premium BEV owners, satisfaction is 57 points below that of premium ICE vehicle owners. 

Why it matters: High customer satisfaction with dealer service helps tremendously with client retention and converting those service customers into future buyers. The concerns raised by long wait times, repair gap times, and servicing electric vehicles highlight areas where dealers can improve satisfaction ratings and enhance their fixed operations revenue.

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