54 SpecialIssue
THE DEALERS
ULTIMATE GUIDETO
BUYINGACAR
YOUonlyneedtolookatthegraphtothe
righttotellthatToyotafranchisesarea
cutabovetherest.Thefirm’sdealerstake
awelldeservedsilvermedalinthisyear’s
survey,withnotasingleworryingscorein
anycategory.True,perhapsoutletscould
havemorecourtesycarsonhand,while
pricescouldcomemarginallydown–but
we’resplittinghairstofindanything
negativetosay,suchisthepraiseyou
have.Youwantplushfacilitieswithample
parking?Needgoodcommunication,
speedyworkandcourteousstaff?Head
toaToyotadealer.Adeeplyimpressive
result,andoneonlytemperedbythe
staggeringscorespostedbyourwinner.
PLACEDaheadofHondabythenarrowest
ofnarrowmargins(0.01percent),Subaru
dealersprovidegoodaccesstocourtesy
cars,easy-goingstaffandfinefacilities.
Onethingtheydon’toffer,though,our
readerssaid,isvalueformoney–Subaru
dealersrank22ndinthisarea.Giventhe
firmpostedasimilarresult–ahighoverall
markwithalowscoreforrunningcosts–
inourDriverPowerbrandsurveyinApril,
itseemsdeeppocketsaresomethingof
aprerequisiteforrunningaSubaru.But,
ifyoucansetasideareasonablebudget,
thisdecisionshouldpaydividends;in
almosteveryotherarea,ownershave
nothingbutpraiseforSubarudealers.
88.54%
87.70%
- Toyota
- Subaru
RATINGS
RATINGS
CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES
“Staffarehelpfulandalwayscallyouback.Igettalkedthrough
thereportafteranyworkisdoneandtheyalwaysvaletmycar.”
“Amemberofstafftravelled90milestocollectmycaranddrop
offacourtesycar,thenreturnedthenextdaytoswapagain.”
%OFOWNERS WHOHAD APROBLEM...
%OFOWNERS WHOHAD APROBLEM...
31 1
31 1
Second-lowestrateofcomplaints
here.Carsnotbeingcleanedupon
returnwasthebiggestgripe
Averageproportionofcomplaints.
Unansweredcalls,carsdelayed
andnotcleanedmostlikelyissues
6.5%
12.2%
OWNER’S
VIEW
OWNER’S
VIEW
Dealer facilities
Availability of courtesycar
Staff courtesy
Communication
Standardofwork
Speed to completework
Value formoney
Dealer facilities
Availability of courtesycar
Staff courtesy
Communication
Standardofwork
Speed to completework
Value formoney
CASE STUDY
Lesley Donovan
LIVES:County Durham
DRIVES:Toyota C-HR
LESLEYDonovanpickedupherbrand-newToyotaC-HR
justafewweeksago,anddoesn’thaveabadwordto
sayaboutherdealershipexperience.
Lesley,wholivesinCrook,CountyDurham,boughther
carfromaToyotashowroominEssexbecausethedealer
therehadexactlythemodelshewantedinstock;and
shewasimmediatelystruckbyhowefficientallthestaff
wereatkeepingheruptospeedwithherorder.
“Wephonedthemupandtheywerebrilliant,”she
toldus.“Theyconstantlysentusmessagesandkept
usupdated[aboutwhatwasgoingon].”
ThatlevelofpositivitycontinuedwhenLesleywenton
tovisitthedealershipinperson.Hereshefoundalevel
ofservicethatwasmoreimpressivethananyshehad
experiencedinothershowroomsbefore.
“Thestaffcamestraightuptousandaskedifwe
wantedteaorcoffee.Theydideverythingtheycould
tomakeusfeelcomfortableandwelcome.Theywent
througheverythingandtoldustogivethemaring
ifwehadanyquestions,”sheexplained.
Infact,Lesleyvisitedanumberofdifferentfranchised
Toyotadealers,includingherlocalDurhamshowroom,
whilelookingforacar,andshewashappywithher
experienceateverysingleoneofthem.
“Toyotadealershipsalwaysseemtobenicebuildings
withfriendlystaff,”shecontinued.“They’restraight
tothepointandreadywhenyouare.Itwasatotally
differentexperiencetowhatI’vehadinotherdealers.
“Thereceptionstaffseemedreallyfriendlyandthe
salespersonwasreallygoodaswell.Theircommunication
wasverygood.Theykeepyouinformedaboutprogress.”
OWNER’S
VIEW
“They did everything they could to
makeusfeel comfortable and welcome”
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk
