 Luxury Car News: J.D. Power and Associates announced that Jaguar ranked highest among luxury brands in satisfying customers who purchased a new vehicle in the J.D. Power and Associates’ 2009 Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study. It is the second year in a row that Jaguar ranked first. Cadillac, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover fill out the top five, with MBZ and Land Rover tying for fourth place.
The customer-satisfaction study is based on information gathered by surveying more than 48,000 respondents. It focuses on the sales process and the price of a vehicle. Buyers’ views regarding the car dealership, salesperson, handling of paperwork, delivery process, and price were evaluated. The delivery of the new car and the salesperson were the areas respondents reported the most improvement in the 2009 study.
The study revealed that more that more than 20 percent of shoppers who leave a dealership without buying do so due to being treated inappropriately by the sales staff. Pricing games and sales pressure tactics are major negatives raised by prospective buyers. The study also reported that while 43 percent of those who left the dealership without buying bought the same brand from another dealer, 57 percent opted to buy an entirely different brand as well.
"In this difficult economy, dealerships are working particularly hard to close sales, but need to be attentive to customers without exerting unwanted sales pressure," said Jon Osborn, director of automotive research at J.D. Power and Associates.
Mr. Osborn also said that in 2009 nearly 25 percent of buyers reported experiencing sales pressure from their selling dealer. The study showed that sales personnel of dealerships were more helpful in assisting new-car buyers in staying within budgets and in negotiating prices quickly.
The most significant area of improvement in the delivery process is dealerships providing complete explanations to buyers on their vehicle’s features and the owner's manuals. Apparently, there is an industry-wide effort being made to improve on customer service as overall satisfaction of customers buying new cars is up 11 points from the 2008 study.
For JustLuxe James Rothaar
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