National Automotive Retailers Assoc ranking of Subaru

I just saw the 2004 ranking of car brands based on USA dealer assessments, as published by the NARA.

Though this does not include direct feedback by customers, I'm sure dealers that see irate customers are not happy with the brand that generates them! Most dealers represented are multiline (they carry more than one brand). Some are local some national.

Subaru falls just above average, but in the tight cluster that includes BMW, Chevrolet and Mazda. I don't know the statistics behind this ranking, but compared to last years, I suspect differences of a few points are not significant.

For the person on this group wondering about Audi, I hope you didn't buy one. Based on this, Audi and VW are just a few points above Oldsmobile, which would have rated a 48 if they still had any dealers in 2004!

Lexus 95.9 Toyota 88.5 Porsche 79.4 Honda 79.3 Cadillac 79.1 BMW 75.8 Mazda 75.5 Subaru 74.9 Chevrolet 74.7 Ave 73.4

Saab 71.7 MBenz 71.6 Dodge 70.9 Pontiac 70.5 Mitsubishi 62.3 Audi 58.3 VW 51.5

Regards, Philip

Reply to
Philip Procter
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I don't know. Dealer satisfaction could be anything. It could be the pissed-off-ness of the dealer because he didn't get as many sales spiffs with Subaru as he does with another brand. It could be that Subaru customers are a pain in the ass to deal with. I know I am. It could be low margins on parts and it could be that Subaru mechanics need more training than Lexus mechanics. Who knows.

My dealers seemed quite happy to sell me new Subarus and that's about all that matters to me.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

I've never sold cars, but I did a brief stint in computer sales some years back and found that it was much easier to sell a computer or computer hardware to someone who DIDN'T know what they were getting into. For instance, at least once a week someone would come in wanting to open a .ZIP file, and they'd be looking for an Iomega Zip drive. Although I would never take advantage of that situation, I always wondered how many unscrupulous salesmen did. On the other hand, experienced computer users usually didn't fall for the extra crap my coworkers tried to heap on them, the equivalents of rustproofing and other add-ins that auto dealers try to add onto the sale. Since Subaru owners seem to be a knowledgable group, I'd expect that they are a pain in the ass compared to the multitudes of drones buying Chevys.

In regards to Lexus dealers, they really are top notch. I purchased my Subaru from a Lexus dealer, used of course, and from their "bargain area" near the back. It had paint chips out of the front bumper and 108,000 miles on the clock, and yet they still rolled out the red carpet for me. I was surprised and impressed at the quality of service, enough that I'd definitely go back - if they had another Outback parked in that back lot. ;)

-Matt

Reply to
Hallraker

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