A recent study conducted by Cox Automotive found that overall car buying satisfaction remains at a near-record level, despite inventory shortages and rising prices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the latest Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study, 66 percent of new car buyers reported being highly satisfied with their shopping experience. This was down from the record high of 72 percent set in 2020, but was still surprisingly high given the various challenges the automotive industry is currently facing, said Vanessa Ton, senior manager of research and market intelligence at Cox Automotive.
“Despite external market factors that dealers cannot control, the car buying experience remains amazingly good,” said Ton. “Dealers have done a great job adapting to what consumers wanted during the pandemic and have permanently evolved the car buying journey in a personalized way that results in very high satisfaction even when consumers are contending with historically low inventory and record-high prices.”
GM Shop.Click.Drive landing page
General Motors is a good example of an automaker that has changed its car buying process for the better amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The automaker implemented an improved version of its Shop.Click.Drive online car shopping tool in November of 2020, which provides the user with payment and pricing information for a specific vehicle. Previously, Shop.Click.Drive only comprised an online car search tool, enabling the user to search within the GM dealership inventory for the vehicle they want. GM marketing boss Deborah Wahl said previously that Shop.Click.Drive saw a 50 percent surge in traffic in 2020 amid the pandemic and is “enabling larger parts of the purchase cycle to happen remotely.”
Cox Automotive said online search tools like Shop.Click.Drive and other digital tools, like Cadillac Live, for example, have “led to record-level satisfaction,” in the auto industry in recent years. The year-over-year drop in car buying satisfaction from 2020 to 2021 was mainly driven by rising prices connected to monetary inflation and the semiconductor chip shortage.
“Compared to 2020, consumers were understandably less satisfied with the price paid and the vehicle selection in 2021,” the publication said. “However, they were more satisfied with their engagement with the financing team, which was driven by the surge in satisfaction among those who were ‘all in’ with digital.”
GM is looking to expand its online marketplace presence with the introduction of a new parts marketplace this week, which will also eventually offer subscription services for sale, as well as other paid over-the-air updates and services.
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Comments
Wow, didn’t expect this. Based on all the commenters on here complaining endlessly that they’re waiting months/years to get their ordered vehicles, one would think satisfaction would be an an all time low.
Or maybe we just have endless complainers who haven’t actually been waiting for a new vehicle?
How many people have been surveyed? Anytime any “survey” is conducted that don’t actually survey that many people.
Considering they detailed a comparative year in the report, probably a similar sample size. Note that they’re simply providing a percentage. Not a number of problems per 100 and as a result the sample size has less of an impact.
I guess people are stupid enough pay for over priced over msrp there going to keep raising prices as long people are stupid enough buy over priced new and used cars
I think some buyers are forced into buying when confronted with an accident that has totaled their vehicle or have had a drastic mechanical failure. And every time an old vehicle dies, the demand for a replacement for that vehicle has an impact farther up the food chain. Not a lot of people have an extra vehicle or two in reserve. I live in a northern climate – you would be amazed at all the crappy old high mileage cars (with rusted unibodies) with multiple issues have been dragged out of backyards and put up for sale. And there are people who desperately need something to get to work. We have a new “Cash for Clunkers” program.
I ordered a GMC pickup the beginning of September 2021. It is now moving towards February and the dealership still has not gotten it allocated to be built. As a long time gm purchaser and retired GM employee, I find this ridiculous. I have called gm and written complaints about their poor performance when getting an ordered vehicle to no avail. If this continues, I will not buy nor recommend GM any longer to anyone. A very disgruntled customer. The dealership that I ordered from is nothing short of a joke, having to shame them into giving me weekly updates on the allocation status, and that certainly is not good customer service. I rate the dealership in Traverse City an F.
Buddy, what’s the dealer supposed to do? Their process wasn’t designed for these kinds of situations, just as GM’s allocation system itself isn’t. Customer ordering was always the exception, not the norm. What vehicle did you order? You’ll be lucky if it has heated seats when they finally do built it.
First off, I’m not your buddy. I have faithfully supported GM all my life. This is an order that was placed with the complete intention of purchasing. In the past 5 years I have purchased 3 new GM vehicles and not cheap ones. So I understand that they have certain constraints, yet 5 months is ridiculous. As far as the dealer goes, this is the third vehicle I have tried purchasing from this dealership, to no avail. Another 3500 pickup, a yukon, and now this one. I guess that might mean 3 strikes and youre out. By the way, my last pickup was delivered to my home, 250 miles away from the selling dealership, at no cost. They even gave me what I wanted for my trade in, site unseen. Dealerships are nothing without customers. Cars I have purchased from GM include, 1972 Vega, 73 ss Malibu, 75 blazer, 77 monza, 78 full size van, 79 corvette, 82 cavalier, 82 firebird, 85 ASTRO van, 88 Beretta, bonevilles, suburban, and many more, too many to mention. So am I asking too much for outstanding service from this Traverse City dealership?
Well, buddy, I guess shame on GM and the dealer for not conjuring a vehicle out of thin air for you! I mean, three new vehicles?!? Get this man a cookie. Why not jump ship to Ford or Stellantis? Sure you’ll get the same answer, but at least you’ll feel better about it.
Unfortunately, you’re a dot on a wall to GM, who is worrying about satisfying millions of customers and doesn’t stop for anyone. As for the dealer, they’re at GM’s mercy, so pleading your case to them can’t help. If GM isn’t building, the dealer ain’t selling.
Still not your buddy. If you ever have a house built or home renovations completed, I’m sure you just let it slide. Not sure who or why you are commenting on my post, but obviously you have nothing better to do. Have a nice day, and hope you’re not waiting for any deliveries.
Interesting.
I thought as GMC Fan did. But apparently the more people pay and the longer they wait the happier they are.
Could also be who’s buying. If you aren’t normally someone who buys a car, but now have a stimulus check and go use it for a down payment at a dealership, when you normally would go deal with a used car dealership buy here pay here place, you may not be used to professional service. You may not notice your being professionally screwed instead of just screwed.
Define screwed
When a dealership straight up lies about things for example. The new ford bronco this is no secret what dealers are doing to these people, they place the order wait a year + choose that dealership which by the way if they had not chosen that dealership the dealership would never have had that bronco in the first place, vehicle comes in and guess what? We are putting a $20k+ over msrp on this now and the customer gets screwed. Dealerships do this to people daily that’s why you see the vultures come out when you pull in the parking lot, they take advantage of anyone they can any chance they get.
No, they come out because if we don’t, we get that review where a customer says “nobody came out and talked to me, so I went and bought at _____ because they clearly value my business more.” You can imagine the boss man doesn’t like that.
If a dealer wants to slap $20k on a Bronco, don’t buy it. Unfortunately for you, someone else will right now, but it probably won’t be like that forever.
Lmao you completely missed the point. These people had an agreement and the dealership reneged. Again keep in mind the dealership would not have the bronco if the person did not select them. Mike levin and ford corporate are not getting involved for nothing lol. Gm would not issue warning about the z06 and ev Silverado for nothing. And no the vultures come out because they are desperate that’s a fact.
I think the biggest problem is people treat cars like toys instead of keep a car for a long time then buy a car when you need it. In my opinion there is not need to get rid of a 2 or 3 year old truck or car with 30,000 40,000 miles on it. My car is a 2010 Chevy Equinox LTZ with 100,000 miles on it I keep up with the maintenance as best I can and plan on keeping it longer until I need another car.
I stopped in at my dealership for service a few weeks ago. I do have an incoming Trailblazer reserved, but no one has a clue when it will be coming. In October was told between Thanksgiving & Christmas. Chevrolet tells me it has been made & shipped, and that I need to contact dealership for more specific information. Dealership just provides the same vague information. I must say, except for the sales & service managers, and 2 sales ladies & the cashier, everyone else I encountered looked like they were clinically depressed. I am an old guy – over the years have seen that at several dealerships (3 Chev) that ultimately bit the bullet. I have also seen several ups & downs in the economy – times when a salesman would have gotten down on their hands and knees if a qualified buyer walked in the door. When I ordered my ’86 Blazer on a cold night in January, I was the first customer to walk into the showroom that week – it was a Tuesday evening.
This story has to be part of the Russian online dis-information war that we keep hearing about. Certainly gm cannot believe this report unless it is kool-aid that they themselves are trying to make the public drink. Everyone that I know is avoiding purchasing a new vehicle until the prices come down and the dealers aren’t violating customers with their price gouging the only fools that I know that consistently drink the kool-aid and pay MSRP are the fools that buy Tesla’s. And Corvettes.
I believe it, here’s why: There are two classes of new car buyers out there. First, there are the connected, repeat buyers who formed and maintain relationships with quality local dealers, their managers, and salespeople. These are the satisfied customers who are getting customer service leagues above everyone else right now, and in fact are the majority of people getting cars right now. They and their friends call me or someone like me and are able to reserve an incoming unit or order one exactly how they want it, patiently wait for it, and pay a fair price when it arrives (read: not over MSRP). They are usually upper-middle class individuals and may be local business owners. They aren’t dumb and won’t be ripped off, but they have a general respect for a dealer’s right to do business and don’t have unrealistic expectations.
Then there are the malcontents. The whiners. The people really getting shorted right now. They never formed any relationships because they either (a) never had any social capital (unfortunate) or (b) were too busy running to get a price from the next guy to care about it. In many cases they don’t belong buying new cars but some had gotten into the habit of it anyway. They want to be able to go out and find what they’re looking for. In the past, they were on the hunt for a deal at invoice, now they’ll pay MSRP with a grudge if they can find it. They don’t have any brand or store loyalty and will happily jump ship to whomever the next article from Consumer Reports recommends. To them, dealers are a scourge and they can’t wrap their heads around the fact that there might be any downside to buying directly from a faceless megacorporation to whom you are nothing more than a dot on a spreadsheet. It’s them versus the world, and the world of new cars right now is tilted against them.
I see it firsthand every single day. This is just my observation, as a quality car salesman, like it or hate it.
Some great observations and I’d say they’re spot on.
My 2021 Cadillac CT5 was canceled after 6 months. Then my dealer lost its franchise. Had to reorder a 2022 instead. That was in October. I am STILL waiting for it, and it’s almost 4 months later.
Hi , I know look some people are not happy,I have Chevy Silverado 2011 Ltz with 145000 miles still running like new I don’t have any major problems I keep with the normal maintenance that is the best truck I ever have ,before I have ford I have to many problems ,
Just proves how out of touch with reality people are these days until they suddenly realize they paid thousands more than they should have and took out an 84 month loan on a vehicle they will still be paying on when it has well over 100K miles and is a used up piece of crap not worth beans!