Satisfaction in a Lincoln or a Mini?

Lincoln and Mini are the top-rated brands in sales experience satisfaction, according to J.D. Power. Lincoln ranked the highest in sales satisfaction among luxury brands, and Mini ranked the highest among what Power calls mass-market brands.

In the luxury ranks, Lincoln topped Lexus and Mercedes-Benz by a point, with both tied at 826. Among the masses, Mini scored 824 to GMC’s 804, and Buick’s 803.

Profiled for the first time, Tesla, which is not officially ranked among brands because it doesn’t meet ranking criteria for larger car companies, received a score of 804. Tesla didn’t allow J.D. Power to survey owners in 15 states, although its score was based on owner surveys from the other 35 states. It’s possible owners in those 15 states that Tesla skipped would have had derogatory comments that would have led to a significantly lower score for Tesla, although we can’t say for certain.

The J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study is a yardstick used to measure sales experience satisfaction among new car buyers and those who shop at one dealership and then buy elsewhere, referred to as ‘rejecters’. Power uses six factors to judge buyer satisfaction: 28 percent on the delivery process; 21 percent dealership personnel; 19 percent negotiating and deal-making; 19 percent paperwork completion; 10 percent on the dealership’s facilities; and four percent on the dealership’s website. Rejecters are based on five criteria: 28 percent salesperson; 27 percent price; 18 percent negotiation; 14 percent dealership facility; and 13 percent inventory variety.

Based on 35,816 responses from those who purchased or leased a new vehicle from January-June 2020, the study was conducted from July -October 2020. Redesigned for 2020 to accentuate digital retail and remote buying, the study is in its 35th year. Retail activities included the ability to select a vehicle from inventory, receive credit approval, review F&I products, agree on a purchase price, and complete the purchase paperwork, all digitally. The pandemic’s onset did cause a spike which declined in May-June but remained up almost 50 percent from January. COVID-19 shutdowns slowed showroom traffic and aided the adoption of remote selling, the study said.

“The pandemic allowed dealers to use different approaches to sell vehicles outside of the traditional showroom sales process,” said Chris Sutton, J.D. Power’s vice president of automotive retail. Sutton said that 44% of online shoppers are now selecting vehicles from a dealer’s inventory online, a 13 percent increase from January of this year. “The more shoppers are exposed to online buying options, the more they may prefer these methods in the future over traditional showroom visits.”

In the study, nearly one in four buyers say their purchase experience during the pandemic will make them less likely to shop in person in the future, indicating that the data confirmed what the firm alluded to initially. Still, this reiterates the need for an in-person shopping experience for the vast majority of new car buyers, more than 75 percent who like me, enjoy test drives and the new car smell. Until they figure out how to do either of these things digitally, a dealership is still the place to go and buy.

[Image: Mini]