Lexus and Buick.
Brands that you wouldn’t necessarily think have much in common.
But one thing Lexus and Buick do share is recognition by J.D. Power as having the highest customer satisfaction among luxury and mainstream brands, respectively.
Power’s U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study measures customer satisfaction with service at franchised dealers or independent service facilities for maintenance or repair work on owned or leased vehicles ranging from one to five years old.
The 2017 CSI Study is based on responses from more than 70,000 owners and lessees of 2012 to 2016 model-year vehicles between October and December 2016.
Despite leading its category, Buick ranked just ninth among the top-10 brands scored by J.D. Power and its 1,000-point scale, with the remainder of the top brands falling in the luxury category.
However, Buick was the only manufacturer that received a perfect score (25/25) from owners and lessees for service initiation, service adviser, service facility, vehicle pickup and service quality, the criteria comprising an overall customer satisfaction score.
Among all manufacturers, MINI received the second-highest overall customer satisfaction score (24/25), while Lexus scored highest (22/25) among luxury brands and third-highest satisfaction overall.
Among manufacturers, General Motors scored strongest with four brands in the top five of their respective categories – Cadillac, fifth among luxury brands, and Buick, first; GMC, third, and Chevrolet, fourth, among mainstream brands, according to J.D. Power.
Following is J.D. Power’s CSI ranking of the top-10 mainstream brands based on its 1,000-point scale, along with JDPower.com Power Circle Ratings for customers:
Five circles
(among the best)
- Buick, 860
- MINI, 850
Four circles
(better than most)
- GMC, 837
- Chevrolet, 829
- Nissan, 822
Three circles
(about average)
- Kia, 818
- Subaru, 818
- Toyota, 815
- Volkswagen, 814
- Hyundai, 812
Others: Honda, 797; Ford, 796; Mitsubishi, 793; Chrysler, 785; Mazda, 784
The mainstream brand average was 807/1000 points.
Following is J.D. Power’s CSI ranking of the top-10 luxury brands based on its 1,000-point scale, along with JDPower.com Power Circle Ratings for customers:
Five circles
(among the best)
- Lexus, 874
Four circles
(better than most)
- Audi, 869
- Lincoln, 868
- Porsche, 867
- Cadillac, 865
- Jaguar, 864
- Mercedes-Benz, 864
Three circles
(about average)
- Infiniti, 861
- BMW, 852
- Acura, 836
The luxury brand average was 859/1000 points.
“Quality of automotive service continues to show significant improvement and is driving an increase in overall customer satisfaction,” according to J.D. Power.
And it’s clearly something shoppers should have in mind when they’re looking for their next car.
