TROY, Mich. - Dealers that sell Nissan Motor Corp.'s Infiniti vehicles won top marks for service in a consumer survey that found higher overall satisfaction with auto retailers as improved quality has resulted in fewer major repairs.
Infiniti dealers, which sell models such as the G35 coupe and FX-45 sport utility vehicle, were followed by retailers for General Motors Corp.'s Saturn cars and Honda Motor Co.'s Acura, according to the J.D. Power & Associates poll. Sellers of Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln brand and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus tied for third. All but Saturn are luxury autos.
"It's pretty rare that you don't get an oil change right the first time, so people tend to be more satisfied with service visits," said Joe Ivers, J.D. Power's director of customer service research.
The average U.S. dealer satisfaction score rose eight points, to 851 out of 1,000, last year as the mix of visits for routine maintenance increased to 57 percent from 55 percent, J.D. Power found in the survey of 106,000 new-vehicle owners of 3-year-old cars and trucks. Infiniti dealers scored 900 points.
Dealership repairs are declining as average auto quality and durability rises across all makes of cars sold in the United States, J.D. Power found in other studies. General Motors and other U.S. automakers are trying to close a quality gap and stop 10 years of market-share losses to Toyota, Honda, Nissan and other overseas automakers.
The percentage of vehicles requiring repairs covered by warranties ranged from 26 percent at General Motors' Buick and Toyota's Lexus dealers to 59 percent at DaimlerChrysler AG's Dodge and Chrysler dealerships, Ivers said. He wouldn't provide breakdowns for all brands.
Buyer complaints in the first three months of ownership fell to 133 per 100 cars this year from 147 in 2001, J.D. Power found in a survey of 52,000 people. Complaints have fallen for six years as quality improves, it found.
Asian brands' share of the U.S. market rose to 31.3 percent in June, compared with 24.9 percent in 1998, according to Autodata Corp. U.S. brands' share slipped to 61.6 percent from 70.2 percent in the same time period, Autodata Corp. said.
