Study: Car Shoppers Frustrated With Kia, Genesis Dealers

According to a recent study, buy a Buick or an Alfa Romeo if you want your car shopping experience to be enjoyable. If you like stress, shop with Kia or Genesis.

No one liked buying a car in 2022, according to the J.D. Power Sales Satisfaction Index Study. Overall satisfaction with the dealership experience fell for the first time in more than 10 years, but buyers were more satisfied with some dealerships than others.

Related: Dealers Lose Repeat Business Through Markups

The survey asked nearly 37,000 buyers who purchased or leased a new vehicle between March and May to rate their satisfaction with each dealership they bought from and those they walked away from without completing a purchase.

J.D. Power analysts then ranked the manufacturers’ dealerships on a 1,000-point scale. Overall satisfaction dipped to 786 from last year’s 789.

2022 Trends

A few trends emerged:

• Markups angered shoppers: In unsurprising news, J.D. Power learned buyers hate paying more than the sticker price. Those who spent less than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) reported an average satisfaction level of 850. Those who paid over? 757.
• Electric vehicle (EV) buyers were less satisfied: Buying an electric car remains a frustrating experience. Among mainstream brands, those who bought a gas-powered car gave an average score of 847. EV buyers reported an average score of 791. The same pattern held for luxury car shoppers — gas buyers gave an average score of 864, while EV buyers gave 831. Buyers were happier with their experience when dealerships demonstrated how to charge their new EVs. But 38% of the time, no one at the dealership bothered to show them.
• Shoppers are happy to order and wait: Those who custom-ordered their car and waited for delivery were happier (854) than those who bought from the cars the dealer had in stock (841).
• Car shopping is moving online: Last year, 88% of buyers physically entered a dealership at some point in the buying process. This year, just 85% did.

The Rankings

Luxury Brands

Mass Market Brands