Dealer Service Improving; Independent Repair Shops Still Top It - Kelley Blue Book

A new study found that drivers were happier with the service they received at car dealer service departments this year than last. However, the dealership experience still trails that offered by independent repair shops.

CDK Global, a company that sells software car dealers use to manage most of their operations, conducts its Service Shopper Study annually. In its fourth year, study researchers “ surveyed over 2,000 customers who had car maintenance and repairs completed to see where dealerships stand.”

Dealership service departments earned a satisfaction score of 59 on a 100-point scale. That’s 14 points better than last year.

Related: Study — Americans Prefer Repairs Outside the Dealership

Independent shops, however, earned a 66. Chain service providers not affiliated with dealerships earned the lowest score, at 48.

Customers thought independent shops were faster. Thirty percent of customers who went to an independent shop said their car was ready faster than expected, while just 24% said the same about dealership service.

Related: What’s Making Car Repair So Expensive? Sensors.

“It probably isn’t a surprise that the happiest dealership customers are those still under warranty,” the researchers write. Customers with a car under warranty gave their service experience an average score of 63.9. Those with an expired warranty scored it 52.8. Those who had never had a warranty scored dealers at 56.5.

Related: Most Cars Are Out Of Warranty

Drivers are still most likely to set an appointment over the phone. When they do, most want to talk to a human being, not an artificial intelligence (AI) powered assistant. Thirty-one percent of respondents said they’d prefer to speak with AI. Sixty-nine percent wanted to talk to a human.

That may change with time, however. CDK notes that 51% of Generation Z respondents (those 18 to 25 in this survey) would prefer AI. In every other generation, the human won out.