Jaguar tops JD Power customer sales satisfaction survey

The results are in from J.D. Power and Associates' latest annual Sales Satisfaction Index Study, and Jaguar has leapt back up to the top position that it occupied for three of the four past years before dropping last year to third. The study surveyed some 36,000 buyers and leasers of new cars on their dealership experience, taking into account the dealership's facility, the individual salesperson, the paperwork and finance process, vehicle delivery process and price as criteria for their overall satisfaction. Jaguar dealers scored particularly high in the delivery, paperwork and price categories by properly explaining their vehicle's features, delivering the vehicles in excellent condition and offering good value compared to its competitors.

Not surprisingly, premium brands scored highest on the list, with HUMMER, Lexus, Cadillac and Mercedes joining Jaguar in the top five. More surprisingly, however, is that Asian brands scored particularly low in the study. Along with Chrysler LLC brands Dodge and Jeep, Mazda, Nissan and Mitsubishi were among the bottom five, with Honda, Toyota, Scion, Subaru, Suzuki and Hyundai also coming in below the industry average. Overall, however, overall customer satisfaction in the dealership experience rose again this year, indicating a concerted effort by automakers to make their customers happy right out of the gate. As well they should be, as JD Power reports that customers faced with an unsatisfactory sales experience are three times less likely to service their new car at the dealership where it was purchased and are likely to dissuade an average of six people from buying their new car there. For more details, check out the press release after the jump.

[Source: J.D. Power and Associates]