When it comes to keeping its customers satisfied with the dealer service experience, Lexus is doing something right. For the fourth consecutive year, and the 15th time overall, Lexus has taken top honors in the J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Index (CSI) survey.
It's the second time in as many months that the Japanese automaker has taken the top spot in a J.D. Power study; last month, Lexus was atop the firm's latest reliability rankings.
The CSI study measures the satisfaction of customers using dealer service facilities, and the latest version covers vehicles from the 2007 to 2011 model years. The data is based on responses from over 84,000 vehicle owners or lessees.
Lexus’ score of 861 (out of a possible 1,000) was the highest among both luxury and mass-market brands. The average score among luxury brands was 835, a number topped by Lexus, second-place Cadillac, third-place Jaguar, fourth place Acura and fifth-place Porsche.
Audi finished below the luxury brand average, as did Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, BMW, Lincoln, Volvo and Land Rover.
Even last-place Land Rover would have scored well among mass-market brands, which indicates that customers are generally satisfied with the luxury dealer service experience. Overall (including mass market brands), customer satisfaction with dealer service rose by 19 points from the previous study.
Fewer dealer visits are for repair compared to the last survey, which could help account for the increase in satisfaction. In the latest study, 72-percent of dealer service visits were for maintenance instead of repair, compared to 63-percent in last year’s survey.