Study: Trust In Dealer Service Departments Remains Surprisingly Strong
Depending on your experience, you may have mixed feelings about your dealer’s service department, but a recent study from J.D. Power showed that owner satisfaction with dealer service departments remains strong in 2025.
Depending on your experience, you may have mixed feelings about your dealer’s service department, but a recent study from J.D. Power showed that owner satisfaction with dealer service departments remains strong in 2025.
The organization ranks dealers on a 1,000-point scale with scores in five primary categories: Service advisors, quality, vehicle pickup, facilities, and service initiation. J.D. Power polled more than 55,000 owners of one- to three-year-old vehicles for the study.
Among luxury brands, Porsche took the top spot with an overall score of 912, while Lexus was second with 900. Cadillac earned a third-place spot with a score of 888, while Acura and Infiniti finished the top five with 885 and 881 scores, respectively. On the mass-market side, Subaru won top honors with an 896. Mini scored 888 and Honda earned an 881. Buick and Mazda rounded out the five best with a tied score of 876.
Interestingly, baby boomers had the highest level of trust in dealer service departments, but younger generations weren’t so sure. Gen X and Millennials were both behind boomers’ level of trust, but Gen Z had the lowest level of trust in dealer services.
Much of owners’ strong satisfaction comes from reduced wait times, which J.D. Power credits to a larger number of available service bays. That said, dealers still struggle with communication, leaving customers with doubts about how the service is progressing. J.D. Power’s director of automotive retail saying, “Limiting that uncertainty goes a long way towards providing a satisfying experience.”
[Images: Porsche, Subaru, Cadillac]
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