Top 10 Automakers With the Best Service Departments
J.D. Power recently conducted its annual U.S. Customer Service Index study, which aims to rank automakers based on customer satisfaction with maintenance and repair service at each brand’s respective dealerships.
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For this study, J.D. power surveyed owners of 1 to 5-year-old vehicles on various factors regarding their latest visit to their OEM’s service center including service initiation, vehicle pickup, service facility, service quality and the service advisor themselves. It then used the results to give automakers a score out of 1,000 — the higher the score, the more customers were satisfied with their visit to the service department.
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This study ranked luxury and mainstream automakers separately, as luxury automakers typically have much higher standards for customer satisfaction and service quality. As such, our list is going to focus on mainstream non-luxury brands, which more consumers are likely to visit in their lifetime.
10. Kia
Coming in 10th on the list is Kia, which had an average score of 825/1000, just below the market average of 827.
9. Subaru
Ninth was Subaru, which just cleared the market average of 827 with a score of 829/1000.
8. Volkswagen
Eighth on the list is VW, which was well above the market average with a score of 831/1000.
7. Nissan
Barely beating out VW was Nissan, which had a score of 832/1000.
6. Toyota (tie)
Toyota frequently ranks well in customer satisfaction-based surveys and was fairly strong in the Customer Service Index study, with a score of 840/1000.
6. GMC (tie)
Tieing Toyota was General Motors’ premium truck, SUV and crossover brand GMC, which had the same customer satisfaction score of 840/1000.
4. Chevrolet
Another GM brand – Chevrolet – appears high on the list with a score of 845/1000.
3. Mitsubishi
Perhaps a surprising brand to see so high on this list is Mitsubishi. Although it doesn’t have many U.S. dealers, the ones that are around are high quality, with Mitsubishi posting a score of 846 – higher than some luxury brands and enough to break into the top three.
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2. MINI
MINI is not so surprising to see in second, considering it’s a mainstream brand with service centers operated by BMW dealers. It had a score of 853/100 in the survey – a great showing, but quite far off number one.
1. Buick
Buick tops J.D. Power’s 2019 U.S. Customer Service Index study with a score of 857/1000. GM’s premium brand is quickly becoming known for its strong customer satisfaction and performed extremely well in this survey, also outranking many true luxury brands.
[Source: J.D. Power]
Sam McEachern holds a diploma in journalism from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and has been covering the automotive industry for over 5 years. He conducts reviews and writes AutoGuide's news content. He's a die-hard motorsports fan with a passion for performance cars of all sorts.
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I researched this list because we have two Kias. Both vehicles supposedly came with free oil changes and state inspections for the life of the vehicle. When I called six weeks ahead to schedule the inspection, I was told the dealer could not accommodate me until my inspection would have expired. We took the car to another mechanic and paid for the inspection. When I owned a Nissan 20 years ago, four different dealerships in three cities were far less than satisfactory. You don't know what your service experience will be until you have to use the Service Department.