Asian manufacturers top servicing satisfaction tables in UK

02 October 2017

Japanese and Korean car brands topped UK servicing satisfaction rankings compiled by What Car? as German brands failed to make the top 10.

With vehicle sales stalling in the country following years of record growth, the country’s average age of its car parc is around 7.8 years old, meaning a large number of vehicles on the road require a level of servicing in order to keep them roadworthy. The magazine asked more than 8,300 UK motorists about their most recent car service, with each respondent scoring their dealer on politeness of staff, quality of work and value for money.

In the overall satisfaction ratings, Honda topped the list with 91.2%, followed by Chinese owned MG at 90.9% and Lexus at 90.2%. Japanese brands Subaru (7^th) and Toyota (joint 9^th), together with Korean car makers Hyundai (4^th), Ssangyong (6^th) and Kia (8^th) were also in the top ten, while Europe was represented by budget brand Dacia (5th) and Jaguar (joint 9th).

MG also finished top of the ′value for money’ leader board, with 87.3% of owners rating it as very good in this area. Meanwhile, Aston Martin lived up to its premium reputation to be voted best overall for ′quality of work’, with a 93.6% satisfaction rate.

Further down the table, Citroën, Smart and Jeep fared the worst of the 34 brands included in the survey, with overall satisfaction ratings of 82.1%, 81.8% and 75.6% respectively.

For new to three-year-old vehicles, Lexus topped the chart with 92.6% customer satisfaction. Ewan Shepherd, Director of Lexus in the UK, said: ′Delivering an exceptional experience has always been central to our brand and we continue to invest in giving our customers – and their vehicles – the highest standards of care and attention. Our success in this survey rewards the exceptional efforts everyone at Lexus makes to achieve our customer service goals, not least the skilled technicians in our workshops.’

What Car? editor, Steve Huntingford, added: ′Getting your car serviced can be a stressful time, depending on the level of customer service you receive, the quality of the work carried out and, of course, how much of a dent it makes in your wallet. Almost 90% of drivers get their cars serviced at franchised dealerships during the first year of ownership, making servicing satisfaction a significant consideration when purchasing a new car.’

The highest ranked German manufacturer was BMW in 18^th with an 86.2% score. Volkswagen, which is currently facing calls that its diesel cheating ′fix’ is actually causing more harm to vehicles, polled in joint 27^th with 84.7% and Daimler brand Mercedes-Benz came in 29^th with 84.4%.