Porsche And Mini Offer Best Dealer Service Satisfaction: Study

Nobody likes taking their car in for service, but some automakers make the experience much better for customers than others. J.D. Power takes a look at such things every year, and for 2021 it points to Porsche and Mini as superstars for the annual Customer Service Index study. More on that in a bit.

Additionally, the study also states that overall customer satisfaction with dealer service visits rose by 10 points in 2020 to 847. That number is based on a 1,000-point scale, and it's the sixth consecutive year the overall figure has increased. It should be noted that the study focuses on newer vehicles of one to three years in age, which are typically still under a full manufacturer warranty. The rise in satisfaction also comes amid a slight decline in overall service visits for 2020, which fell 6 percent according to the study.

Curiously, the study says owners of electric vehicles aren't nearly as satisfied with service visits compared to those with internal-combustion engines. Overall satisfaction was 76 points lower despite EVs requiring far less service. According to the study, fewer visits offer less of a chance for dealerships to make a good impression. Also, EV service visits could require more difficult repairs. These factors are singled out as possible reasons for the lower EV score.

As for specific automaker rankings, the study doesn't offer details as to how the scores were calculated. However, it does separate brands into two categories – premium and mass-market – and categorizes them on the same 1,000-point scale mentioned above for overall service.

Porsche topped the premium category with a score of 899, followed closely by Japanese brands Lexus at 895 and Infiniti at 887. American automakers rounded out the top-five premium brands with Cadillac at 883 and Lincoln scoring 872.

Moving to mass-market, Mini scored 864 to lead the group. Buick followed at 859, with Mitsubishi taking a close third at 857. GM scored another top-five mention with GMC at 856. Kia finished the list at 855.

The J.D. Power study included purchased and leased vehicles for 2018 through 2020 model years and was based on responses of over 62,000 people. Full information on the study is available at the source link below.