J.D. Power and Associates’ 2012 U.S. CSI Study gave dealer service departments high marks for customer service, revealing that the experience vehicle owners get in the service drive exceeded the experience they get form independent shops.

More than 84,000 verified owners of one- to three-year-old vehicles who visited dealership for maintenance and repair work were surveyed for the study. They were asked to rate their dealer’s service department in five areas: service quality, service initiation, service advisor, service facility and vehicle pick-up.

Among the customers, overall satisfaction with the service experience averaged 38 points higher (on a 1,000-point scale) than the experience they got at non-dealer facilities.. Additionally, 79% of all service visits among the participants were performed at dealer facilities, up from 74% in 2011 and 72% in 2010.

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