Buick and GMC have topped the 2019 J.D. Power U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index Study, which ranks automakers based on showroom sales practices such as dealership personnel, interaction with customers, deal negotiating and vehicle delivery.
The two General Motors brands were ranked first and second in the dealership satisfaction survey, with Buick receiving an overall satisfaction score of 795 (out of a maximum score of 1,000) and GMC coming second with a score of 791. This was the third time in four years that Buick topped the mass-market brands in this study, J.D. Power says.
Buyer satisfaction is based on six different factors in the study, with more important factors carrying more weight. Both customers who bought a vehicle from a dealership and those who rejected a vehicle are surveyed. Among buyers, dealer personnel and delivery process account for 28% and 21% of the influence in the study, respectively, while working out the deal (18%), paperwork completion (16%), dealership facility (13%) and dealership website (4%) are also taken into consideration. Rejecter satisfaction is based on five factors, which include salesperson (40%), fairness of price (15%), experience negotiating (15%), variety of inventory (15%) and dealership facility (14%). J.D. Power says it surveyed 28,867 consumers for this year’s study.
GM’s Cadillac luxury brand also fared well in the study. It was ranked fourth overall among luxury brands, with Porsche taking top honors, followed by Mercedes-Benz in second and Infiniti in third. It seems GM dealerships are doing something right when it comes to interaction with customers, which is important, seeing as 90% of new-car buyers still visit a dealership to learn about the vehicles before making a decision. While internet car shopping and research are on the rise, J.D. Power says that person-to-person dealership experiences are still extremely important for sales.
“While digital retail is on the rise, shoppers aren’t quite ready to adopt an Amazon-like business model when it comes to purchasing a vehicle; they still want to view inventory in-person and often rely on salespeople to explain how the vehicle technology works,” Chris Sutton, J.D. Power’s vice president of automotive retail, concluded.
Read the full study at this link.
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Comments
Sam, thank you for this news. Congratulations to Buick and GMC!
The GMC dealers I have worked with all have been more than good to me. They fixed my issues correctly and on time.
The one dealer was horrible years ago but appear to have worked out the problems.
I know there are many bad dealers out there but i am bless with several very good service departments near by. Composition may breed better service?
Because this is a sales satisfaction survey, I agree.
The sales people at my local dealership are top notch, could not be better to deal with !!!
The service department however, is just plain horrible !!!!! and hard to believe there are worse !!
However they moved the service manager to another position and now to another brand dealership so maybe the sales people will rub off on the service side.
However I still place most of the service troubles squarely with GM as its hard for a dealership to absorb some of the costs of horrible design.
Its easy to sell a happy person a new vehicle, all bright and shinny, they want a new vehicle, and cant wait to purchase.
However when that new shinny vehicle has transmission troubles at 3000 miles and you have to explain why GM will do nothing for you, the new and shinny wears off quick !!!!
Pretty soon your only option is to join a class action law suit to try to recoup some additional costs of buying a GM product !!
Why, because GM has horrible if not non existent customer support after the great sales experience !!!
Why, because when you purchase a GM vehicle the money flows towards GM.
When you have troubles the money flows away from GM.
And the new GM is profit above all else and just ” Good Enough ” for the rest.
Why do you think the sales wins the highest awards, not the service !!!
I agree with this.
While the service dept at our local Cadillac dealership is absolutely amazing, the service dept at our local Chevy dealerships and local Buick GMC dealer are absolutely awful! Imagine being told “We’ll fix your problem, but if a better customer comes in, we’ll have to take your car off the lift and take care of them first.” when you walk into a GMC dealership with a blown tranny.
I have bought over a dozen GM vehicles for the company I work for. My local GM dealer has been excellent. I don’t even go to the dealer. I just find what I want on-line and my salesman brings it to me. The entire interaction happens with me not setting foot in the dealer. Great service.
I have been buying NEW GM vehicles since 1965, when I bought a Pontiac Grand Prix with the 421 H.O. Tri-Power engine and
4 – speed. Since then, I have bought well over 100 cars and trucks for my family and my business. These range from ten
wheel lumber flatbeds to a 2006 ZO6 Corvette! Overall, I would rate my experience with GM at over 90% satisfaction. I never bought a new Buick, but I rented a LaCrosse for a two week trip, and I couldn’t believe what a great vehicle this was, especially for its sales price point! As soon as the buying frenzy subsides on the C8 Corvette, I will get one of those, too! If the UAW would cut back on its greed, and Trump straightens out the trade imbalances, the US automakers will be in a position to dominate again, as they did in the 1960’s.
That’s promising.
GM has pulled even with Honda by every metric and this is Mary Barra’s legacy. Now that GM has the product when will it re-engage the world? Buick & GMC may be better for many markets than Chevy given its poor rep in markets like India and Europe.
It was stupid not to purchase PSA–Taverse fixed Opel of all things and delivers great margins in a rough market. Certainly he could have continued to lead an acquired PSA while being next in line for Mary’s jobm
bought a used 2017 buick enclave recently from highway chevrolet el paso ill. had some questions for them a couple a days after purchase so i called them. they said they would address the issues and call me back. never replied twice so it seems since sale is made,customer no longer matters.