Toyota, Honda Dealers Top Temkin’s 2018 Customer Experience Ratings
Auto dealers tied for 12th out of 20 industries ranked in the eighth edition of Temkin Group’s Customer Experience Ratings. Ford and Mercedes-Benz dealers also earned top rankings.
WABAN, Mass. — Toyota and Honda dealers deliver the best customer experience, according to the 2018 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual customer experience benchmark of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.
Of the 18 auto dealers included in this year's Ratings, Toyota earned the highest score with a rating of 73%, putting it in 95th place overall out of 318 companies across 20 industries. Honda came in second place with a score of 72% and overall rank of 109th. Two other auto dealers received a "good" rating – Ford and Mercedes-Benz. Both of these companies received a score of 70% and placed 137th overall.
Overall, the auto dealer industry averaged a 66% rating in the 2018 edition of the Temkin Experience Ratings, and tied for 12th place out of 20 industries. However, the segment’s average rating dropped three percentage-points between 2017 and 2018 (68.6% to 65.6%).
The ratings of all auto dealers in the 2018 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows:
Toyota: 73%
Honda: 72%
Ford: 70%
Mercedes-Benz: 70%
Chevrolet: 69%
Hyundai: 68%
Subaru: 67%
Buick: 67%
Nissan: 67%
Cadillac: 66%
Kia: 63%
Dodge: 63%
Jeep: 61%
Mazda: 58%
Audi: 56%
BMW: 53%
Chrysler: 53%
CarMax: 43%
"Of all the industries we looked at this year, auto dealers saw the steepest drop in their industry average customer experience,” said Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group. “This decline is the result of double-digit drops from a few auto dealers.”
Now in its eighth year of publication, the 2018 Temkin Experience Ratings is a comprehensive benchmark of customer experience, evaluating 318 companies across 20 industries. To generate these ratings, Temkin Group asked 10,000 U.S. consumers to evaluate their recent experiences with a company across three dimensions: success (can you do what you want to do?), effort (how easy is it to work with the company?), and emotion (how do you feel about the interactions?). Temkin Group then averaged these three scores to produce each company's Temkin Experience Rating.
In these ratings, a score of 70% or above is considered "good," and a score of 80% or above is considered "excellent," while a score below 60% is considered "poor."
More F&I

Smaller Loans, Longer Terms
The youngest generation of car buyers is more likely to finance less expensive vehicles, more than half of generation Z consumers borrowing less than $25,000.
Read More →
New Lifetime Battery F&I Product Meant to Drive Dealer Traffic
EFG Cos. offering is intended to create lifetime auto dealer engagement with customers.
Read More →
The Psychology Behind Menus That Increase Add-On Sales
There is a science to crafting a menu that gives customers confidence in the choices presented, and moving the process outside the F&I office can further boost results.
Read More →
Why Your F&I PVR Is Misleading You
Here’s a handy checklist of the numbers to track in 2026 instead.
Read More →
Auto Consumer Anxiety Presents Opportunity
A survey of U.S. drivers found the majority are concerned about finances and the economy, but those fears make many ready to buy vehicle-protection products.
Read More →
Humble and Hungry: 12 Rules for an F&I Life
Dustin Gingerich, with a decade in the F&I business under his belt, shares his thoughts on leadership, building trust with customers, and the importance of learning and innovation.
Read More →
Focus on the Opening
F&I managers must learn as much as possible about their customers, starting before they walk into their offices. The bulk of today’s consumers expect that, and good results will follow.
Read More →
F&I Reaches for the Sky
The increasingly important profit center continued making gains in the first quarter, according to StoneEagle data, ancillary products proving more popular as consumers hold onto their buys longer.
Read More →
What Market Timing Mistakes Mean for Your Reinsurance Program
When volatility hits, dealer-owned reinsurance programs face a familiar temptation: pull back and wait for calmer waters. New data from BOK Financial shows why that instinct can quietly cost you years of surplus growth.
Read More →
The 90/10 Rule
In this video, Ryan Ruff explains the rule that elite sales professionals use to turn ordinary conversations into unforgettable customer experiences.
Read More →