According to J.D. Power, Jaguar buyers were the happiest with their purchase experience this year among luxury car buyers.
Jaguar and Mini buyers are happiest with their purchase experience, according to the results of J.D. Power’s 2013 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study released today.
Jaguar ranked first among luxury buyers with a score of 740 points followed closely by Porsche (739) and Lexus (737).
“This accolade demonstrates that our retailers continue to exceed customer expectations and are dedicated to delivering a great experience from the very beginning of the relationship,” said Jeff Curry, Brand Vice President, Jaguar North America, in a statement.
“We know buyers first choose a brand when they fall in love with the car, and that they stay with the brand when they also fall in love with the process.”
Volvo experienced the biggest jump from year-to-year gaining 30 points to 708 and moving from 11th place in 2012 to ninth this year. The average score in the luxury segment was 718. Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz also finished above the average. Cadillac finished with a score of 715 while Lincoln was last at 692.
Among “mass market” vehicles, Mini topped the chart with a score of 718, which was a six-point jump compared with the previous year. It’s the fourth consecutive year the brand has finished atop the list.
General Motors’ brands took the next three spots: Buick (694), Chevrolet (686) and GMC (686). Kia was the biggest mover going from 16th to 11th this year with a 33-point gain to 661. Hyundai, Volkswagen, Fiat, Honda and Toyota all finished above the average of 666 points. Nissan took the 10th spot with a score of 662. Ford finished 11th with a score of 661 and Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram were at the bottom of the list.
Power also surveyed buyers on some of their preferences about the buying experience and found that sales people who used a computer tablet to present information, especially pricing, got higher satisfaction ratings 52 points higher than those just offering verbal quotes: 844 vs. 792, respectively, on a 1,000-point scale.
“The study finds that tablets are proving to be versatile and effective tools that may help maintain consistency in the sales process, while providing easily accessible and dynamic product information,” said Chris Sutton, senior director of the automotive retail practice at J.D. Power.
“Although tablet usage has increased from a year ago, dealers are still missing an opportunity to improve their sales experience by providing shoppers with sales information on a single platform that allows them to easily browse options and features with immediate commentary from their salesperson.”
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Tablet usage by sales personnel remains relatively limited, with only 10% of dealership salespeople using these devices, which is up from 7% in 2012, according to the company. However, consumers using their mobile devices at the dealership to access vehicle pricing information (72%); model information (52%); and search inventory (38%).
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The 2013 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study is based on responses from 29,040 buyers who purchased or leased their new vehicle in April or May 2013. The study is a comprehensive analysis of the new-vehicle purchase experience and measures customer satisfaction with the selling dealer (satisfaction among buyers).
The study also measures satisfaction with brands and dealerships that were shopped but ultimately rejected in favor of the selling brand and dealership (satisfaction among rejecters) and was fielded between July and September 2013.
A Jag is still a pretty cool and special car much like a Porsche.