Leaders are Mercedes, Acura, Honda, BMW and Lexus

Women account for about two-thirds of all dealership service visits, and many of these women have spoken. Women-Drivers.com captures reviews about their dealership experiences – and the company has just announced the 2011 top car brands as rated by women.

On the site, dealerships’ scores range from 1.0 (the lowest rating) to 5.0 (the highest). Dealers with a Women Satisfaction Index or WSI® scores between 3.8 – 5.0 are recognized and marketed as Certified Women‐Drivers FriendlyTM.

The 15 Brands with the highest SERVICING WSI® scores at new car dealerships:
Mercedes- Benz dealers received the highest WSI® rating from women with a 4.71 WSI® score. The average for all brands was 4.04.

1. Mercedes-Benz: 4.71
2. Acura: 4.67
3. Honda: 4.62
4. BMW: 4.57
5. Lexus: 4.42
6. Buick: 4.23
7. Toyota: 4.18
8. GMC: 4.16
9. Jeep: 4.12
10. Subaru: 4.03
11. Chrysler: 3.97
12. Dodge and Nissan: 3.93
13. Hyundai: 3.91
14. Volkswagen: 3.87
15. Chevrolet: 3.85

Trends
The 2011 WSI SERVICING score was higher than the last 2010 report, up from a 3.91 score for all brands. The two brands that had the biggest increase were Toyota up from 3.76, Chevrolet up from 3.58. The brands Jeep, Hyundai and Dodge have jumped considerably as they were not listed in the 2010 report. Chrysler is down from their 2010 score of 4.47.

Criteria
These top brand consistently scores well with women on:

• Ease of scheduling service appointment
• Receiving an estimate prior to work being completed
• Being kept informed of the progress or any changes – and the financial implications of those changes
• Being treated respectfully
• Work being completed to satisfaction
• Car being cleaned
• Plans to have service work done there in the future

Opportunities
“The average customer buys a new car every 40 months, according to NADA. However, during the same time duration, those customers make an estimated ten visits to a dealer's service lane. These interactions are crucial to a dealership for several reasons,” stated Anne Fleming, President and Car Buying Advocate. “There is a higher rate of net income that is derived from the service department, for starters, and – if a she has a good experience, there is a much higher probability she will be returning to this dealership to buy – especially if she is staying with that brand.”

“Brands that maintain very strong WSI SERVICING scores are continuously meeting women’s expectations,” maintains Fleming. “It's all about trust and treatment”.

WSI impacts CSI
The company notes a positive correlation between the WSI® and CSI. Higher ranking WSI scores at many dealers have impacted those same stores’ CSI scores.