Buick, Porsche Top Latest J.D. Power Sales Satisfaction Rankings

For 30 years, J.D. Power has been ranking the sales satisfaction of all car brands through its Sales Satisfaction Index Study. The 2016 study sees Buick take the top spot in the mass market brands, making this the first time it’s topped the list since 2008. On the luxury side of things, Porsche takes home the top spot for the second straight year.

This study rates both buyer and rejecter satisfaction, with the former being based on working out the deal, the salesperson, the delivery process, and the facility. As for rejecter satisfaction, it is based on the salesperson, fairness of price, experience negotiating, the facility, and variety of inventory. With all the numbers tallied, J.D. Power gives each manufacturer a 0- to 1,000-point rating.

Buick took home a relatively convincing victory over No. 2 automaker, Mini (797 points), while Porsche also had a large gap over the No. 2 luxury brand, Infiniti, 824 to 815. Rounding out the top five mass market brands, in order, are Mini (797), Chevrolet (787), GMC (786), and Subaru (775). The remaining top five luxury brands are Infiniti (815), Mercedes-Benz (809), BMW (807), and Cadillac (807).

On the wrong ends of these lists – AKA, the bottom – is Acura (769) on the luxury side and RAM (733) on the mainstream side. FCA had a rough go of it altogether, as it rounds out the bottom three with Dodge (738) and Jeep (740) coming in just ahead of RAM.

J.D. Power also made some key observations this year, as it found technology use in the buying process is growing, with 27 percent of luxury car salespeople and 22 percent of mass market salespeople using tablets during the process – increases of 3 percent and 7 percent from 2015.

Despite the new technology available, buyers are obviously still using the phone to shop for cars, as 42 percent of owners said they used the phone to call the dealer for specifics, like pricing and availability. Even more surprising, those who used the internet report lower satisfaction ratings (843 versus 823).

Working out the deal has a huge bearing on the overall satisfaction of an automaker, and with great, no-nonsense deals likely come higher ratings. Buick proves this with its great deals, like the 36-month lease for non-GM lessees on the 2017 Envision that runs just $299 per month with $1,759 due at signing.

Though it didn’t grab the top spot, No. 2 Infiniti also has some impressive deals, like the 2017 QX30, which has seen its lease payments consistently fall. Currently, the QX30 is available on a 39-month lease for as little as $299 per month with $2,799 due at signing.