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Aussie Mazda customers the happiest: JD Power
Survey of customer satisfaction places three Japanese brands at the top of the ladderJD Power has released its Australian Customer Service Index Study for 2014 – and the result suggests capped-price servicing has helped Mazda hold down the number one spot in the survey for the second year running.
Mazda took the gold with a CSI score of 806, against an industry average of 790. Just two points behind in the rankings was Subaru, followed by Toyota two points further back again (802). Holden placed fourth (up from 12th place last year) on 794 points, just three points ahead of Hyundai rounding out the top five. Those five companies were the only brands that achieved results above the industry average.
If it seems strange that the iconic Aussie brand was in there mixing it with well regarded Japanese and Korean brands, consider this: Ford drew level with Honda at 6th position, on 787 points – just three below the average.
Other brands represented in the survey were Nissan (783), Kia (777), Mitsubishi (773), Suzuki (769) and Volkswagen (765). Peugeot and Jeep were also rated by consumers, but the sampling was too small for the industry analyst to draw realistic conclusions.
"As most major brands in Australia now have adopted capped price servicing, authorised service centres need to ensure communication to customers regarding costs, whether it is routine maintenance or additional repair costs, are clear and accurate as possible," said Loi Truong, senior country manager of Australia at J.D. Power Asia Pacific.
"Brands that can provide customers with a clear explanation of the work undertaken and deliver a consistently reliable service will benefit in the long run."
Mazda's second consecutive win in the survey is particularly noteworthy given the importer has only just moved to capped price servicing from February this year.
According to JD Power, 4313 respondents took part in the survey. All of them had purchased a new car between August 2009 and September 2014 and had the car serviced between August 2013 and September 2014.
Overall, the results indicated some improvement from 2013 in respect of dealers having vehicles ready to collect (83 per cent, up from 82 in 2013), but seven per cent of customers noted the cost of servicing was higher than originally estimated. At least the work was done right first time, in the findings of 94 per cent of respondents.
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Written byCarsales Staff
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If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
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