8:44 am, November 1, 2009
BRITAIN’S best-selling weekly car magazine Auto Express has crowned Lexus as the top dealer network in the UK….
…But it’s bad news for Renault, which languishes at the bottom of the pile.
This week the magazine reveals the winners and losers in the car retail world in its annual Driver Power survey.
The poll quizzed 20,000 drivers on what they love and loathe about their dealers – and it makes fascinating reading.
The magazine’s editor in chief said in his leader column: ‘Car firms claim that the service offered by their dealers has never been so good. But we know from our mailbox that discontent and disputes are as common as ever.’
Topping the pile yet again was Lexus which has taken first place EVERY year since the survey began back in 2002.
‘With a graph that exactly mirrors the results from last year, it’s clear that Lexus dealers are consistently brilliant,’ praises the mag.
In second place was Skoda which has had a ‘bumper year’. In the Driver Power poll of the top 100 models, the maker took bronze and silver places as well as the best manufacturer accolade!
And in third was Toyota. ‘Put simply, there’s very little the firm’s dealers can do wrong,’ said Auto Express.
BAD NEWS
But the survey makes grim reading for Fiat and Vauxhall which scrape the bottom of the pile along with Renault.
Fiat was third worst with readers’ biggest complaint being ‘unanswered phone calls’. Vauxhall was one place from bottom with customers angry at problems not being explained properly.
But it’s Renault that will be really licking its wounds.
‘It seems the message simply is not getting through to Renault showrooms – this is the brand’s second year running at the bottom of the table,’ said the mag.
The full survey makes fascinating reading for dealers and is in a special pull-out in this week’s Auto Express.
Interview: Renault boss on his plans for network
