Complaint resolution service publishes case studies, recall information and consumer news.

With a CSI score of 915 (on a 1,000-point scale), Lincoln ranks highest in customer satisfaction with dealer service, receiving a record-setting high CSI score for the second consecutive year, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Customer Service Index (CSI) StudySM released July 21.

The study, now in its 25th year, measures customer satisfaction of vehicle owners who visited the dealer service department for maintenance or repair work during the first three years of ownership, which typically represents the majority of the vehicle warranty period. Overall customer satisfaction is based on six measures: service initiation, service advisor, in-dealership experience, service delivery, service quality and user-friendly service.

Lincoln outperforms other brands in the areas of service initiation and user-friendly service. Lincoln customers are particularly pleased with the dealership’s ability to get them in for an appointment within a reasonable amount of time and the fairness of charges. Lincoln is the first domestic make to rank highest in CSI for two consecutive years.

Lincoln is followed in the rankings by Cadillac, Saturn and Lexus, respectively.

The study finds that 51 percent of repair work involved a recall—up from 39 percent in 2004—reflecting, in part, a change in government regulations on mandatory reporting of vehicle safety defects. CSI scores are, on average, considerably higher for repairs that involve recalls, particularly in the area of service quality. Recall work often tends to garner higher satisfaction than typical repairs because dealers plan for and communicate the work to customers better. As recall repairs become routine, technicians become more efficient and consistent in fixing the problem.

“As negative as recalls are for manufacturers, they provide dealerships with opportunities to excel in service and make a positive impact on their customers,” said Steve Witten, executive director of automotive retail research at J.D. Power and Associates. “When a vehicle is fixed quickly and correctly in one visit, customers tend to walk away with higher satisfaction. This typically occurs with recall work since the dealers are prepared to work on the specific problem. Manufacturers may consider applying lessons learned from recall campaigns to regular repair service.”

The study also finds that brands receiving high ratings from customers for service satisfaction benefit as well in terms of loyalty, both in the likelihood of customers returning to the dealer for in-warranty and post-warranty work and in intentions to repurchase from the servicing dealer. This is particularly important when the warranty period ends. Creating strong relationships with customers during the first few years of ownership significantly influences customer retention during the post-warranty period, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Service Usage and Retention StudySM (SURS), which measures the same elements as CSI but at four to five years of ownership, when most warranties have expired.

“After one year of ownership, nearly one-third of customers turn to non-dealer facilities to service their vehicle,” said Witten. “This percentage increases to more than one-half by the time the vehicle is five years old. What we find in SURS is that many independent service providers maintain a competitive advantage over dealers primarily through the strong relationship and trust they have developed with their customers. While most independents have the advantage of being small operations that offer more personal service, manufacturers and dealers can develop programs that foster personal relationships between service advisors and customers.”

According to SURS, independent service providers typically outperform dealers in the key drivers of service satisfaction, including getting customers their appointment on the desired day; waiting on customers immediately; telling customers when their vehicle will be ready and consistently delivering on that promise; fixing the vehicle right the first time; and explaining the work performed and associated charges.

Brands that perform particularly well in service satisfaction among owners of four- to five-year-old vehicles include luxury brands Acura, Cadillac, Infiniti and Lexus.

The 2005 CSI Study is based on responses from 99,550 owners and lessees of 2002 to 2004 model-year vehicles. The 2005 SURS is based on responses from 11,016 owners of 2000 to 2001 model-year vehicles.

Posted under Automotive

According to CCC Information Services Inc.’s 2004 most stolen vehicle report, one of every 200 registered 1999 Acura Integra’s was stolen last year, making it 2004’s most stolen vehicle. The 2002 BMW M Roadster and the 1998 Acura Integra ranked as the second and third most stolen vehicles respectively.

A technology provider to the automotive claims and collision repair industry, CCC processes more than 1 million automotive claims-related transactions each day, resulting in an extensive database of vehicle information. The company identifies the most-stolen vehicles by analyzing total loss claims it receives from more than 350 property and casualty insurers in North America. CCC then compares its stolen-vehicle data against vehicle registration volume information provided by R. L. Polk & Co. to determine the rate of theft as a percentage of registered vehicles. The vehicle with the highest theft percentage is deemed the year’s most stolen vehicle.

“We cannot determine with absolute certainty the reason why thieves steal some vehicles over others, but we see trends in the data that provide interesting insight,” said Carole Comstock, CCC’s vice president of marketing and product management. “For instance, our data suggests some cars are stolen for the value of their parts, which may explain why we often see a ‘clustering’ effect with same make and model vehicles from sequential model years. The data also points to a high proportion of stolen cars that are built for speed such as the BMW M Roadster, Audi S4 and Mercury Marauder, which all appear on the top 25 most stolen vehicles list in 2004.”

‘Clustering’ most frequently occurs with upper midsize cars, such as the Acura Integra and Honda Accord. The 2004 most stolen vehicle list provides an example of this phenomenon. Acura Integras with consecutive model years (1994-2001) account for eight of the top 25 spots. “Some manufacturers retain the same part-type from model year to model year, so a part from a 1995 model may fit a car manufactured three years later,” added Comstock.

As for thieves’ ‘need for speed’, said Comstock, “There is a growing interest in street car racing and participants seem to gravitate toward the Acura Integra as their vehicle of choice. Other vehicles, including the Mercury Marauder and BMW M Roadster, while not likely to be used in street car racing, have been manufactured with speed in mind.”

Other trends observed in 2004 demonstrate the correlation between consumer preferences and increasing gas prices with vehicle thefts. The growing number of thefts of the Fullsize Utility vehicle segment, including the Cadillac Escalade and Land Rover, is consistent with the rise in popularity of these vehicles. Additionally, The Heavy Duty Station Wagon vehicle segment, which includes those vehicles known for their gas guzzling, has dropped off of the top 10 most stolen vehicle segments list, and the more efficiently fueled Basic Economy vehicle segment has moved up that list.

Information on Make, Age and Segment of vehicle· Vehicles made in 1997 were the most susceptible to theft, followed by model years 1996, 1999, 1995 and 1998.

· The high number of stolen Integras made Acura the most stolen make of 2004, followed by Hummer, Land Rover, Daewoo and Honda.
· The top three vehicle segments with the highest rate of theft for 2004 were the Fullsize Utility (e.g., Cadillac Escalade), Upper Midsize (e.g. Acura Integra) and the Prestige Luxury (e.g. Bentley Continental and Mercedes Benz).

The most stolen vehicle report is based on total losses identified as stolen and not recovered. CCC does not include temporary auto-related thefts such as “joy-rides” or the theft of car items such as stereos. Vehicles from model year 2005 were not included on this report.

Most Stolen Vehicles of 2004
Source: CCC Information Services
1. 1999 Acura Integra
2. 2002 BMW M Roadster
3. 1998 Acura Integra
4. 1991 GMC V2500
5. 2002 Audi S4
6. 1996 Acura Integra
7. 1995 Acura Integra
8. 2004 Mercury Marauder
9. 1997 Acura Integra
10. 1992 Mercedes-Benz 600
11. 2001 Acura Integra
12. 1989 Chevrolet R25
13. 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood
14. 1994 Acura Integra
15. 1996 Lexus GS
16. 2000 Acura Integra
17. 1999 Mercedes-Benz CL
18. 1996 Lexus SC
19. 2004 Cadillac Escalade
20. 1996 BMW 750
21. 1998 Land Rover Range
22. 1994 Audi Cabriolet
23. 2001 BMW M Roadster
24. 2003 Cadillac Escalade
25. 2000 Honda Civic

Posted under Automotive

2006 Honda and Acura vehicles will display NHTSA crash test safety ratings on window stickers, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today a new voluntary program to provide important safety information to consumers. Monroney labels (window stickers) on all 2006 model year Honda and Acura cars and light-duty trucks will include a listing of government crash test ratings. Honda will be the first company to make this safety information available to consumers on the important window labels, that show pricing, vehicle features, point of origin, Environmental Protection Agency numbers, domestic content, emissions and other information.
In keeping with Honda’s ‘Safety for Everyone’ initiative, all vehicle window stickers will display the star ratings awarded under the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s (NHTSA), New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) for frontal, side and rollover crash safety test ratings.

“Honda’s commitment to safety goes beyond conventional measures with our ‘Safety for Everyone’ initiative,” said John Mendel, senior vice president, automobile operations, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Honda’s initiative is just one of several actions we are taking to advance motor vehicle safety and to educate consumers.”

Honda’s action to revise its window labels to include safety rating information is modeled after the ‘Stars on Cars’ initiative sponsored by U.S. Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH). Senator DeWine’s provision in the Highway bill would require manufacturers to post NHTSA crash tests “star” ratings on vehicle pricing stickers.

“I would like to congratulate Honda on this announcement. As with its ‘Safety for Everyone’ initiative, Honda has shown again today that it is willing to innovate and take voluntary action to protect the driving public. I look forward to a time when all new cars will come standard with ‘Stars on Cars’ labels,” stated Senator Mike DeWine (R-Ohio). “This common-sense legislation is included in the Senate’s version of H.R. 3, yet is not in the House’s, and I urge the Conference Committee to include it in the final report. Vital safety information needs to be accessible to the consumer when they need it most, at the dealership when purchasing decisions are made,” Senator DeWine said.

NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program provides consumers with vehicle safety information on front and side crash tests, as well as rollover ratings. The test results are publicized through a recognizable star rating system - from 1 to 5 stars, with 5 being the best score. The star ratings, are accessible on the safercar.gov website but may not be readily available on the showroom floor.

“Honda is setting a good example for other manufacturers by getting safety information to the customer at the point of sale,” said NHTSA Administrator, Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D. “This voluntary action helps the market work for the safety of consumers.”

Posted under Automotive

Used car shoppers looking for Honda and Acura Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicles now have free access to Carfax Vehicle History Reports. Visitors to AutoTrader.com get on-the-spot vehicle history information direct from Carfax to make more informed buying decisions. Every Honda and Acura CPO vehicle comes with the exclusive Carfax Buyback Guarantee.”Our goal is to make Carfax Vehicle History Reports readily accessible to anyone shopping for a used car,” said Larry Gamache, communications director at Carfax. “We’re very excited to have Honda and Acura join the other leading CPO programs already offering free Carfax Reports on AutoTrader.com.”

Fourteen CPO programs have chosen Carfax as the exclusive provider of vehicle history reports. Free access to Carfax Vehicle History Reports for the manufacturers listed on AutoTrader.com is also available through each manufacturer Web site.

Posted under Customer Service