An RAC survey into consumer attitudes to used car dealers has been accused of being “misleading”. The survey found that 39% of motorists would not return to a used car dealer again under any circumstances because of their bad experience.
The study into the car-buying habits of 1,500 motorists also found that 40% of people said they have had a problem with a vehicle bought from a used car dealer and almost a third (29%) said the dealer did not do well in putting the problem right.
The RAC used the survey findings to help publicise its RAC Buysure scheme. Director of the NFDA, Sue Robinson, said the survey did not treat franchised dealers fairly.
“The RAC findings imply a level playing field when it comes to customer service within the motor industry but this just isn’t the case. “We know from information provided to us by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) that our members rank highly in terms of customer satisfaction.
“According to the most recent CAB report, although franchised dealers are responsible for the vast majority of used car sales in the UK, they are responsible for just 14 per cent of complaints both to the CAB and the NCS.
Dale Woodley, sales director at JudgeService also criticised the RAC research as “misleading”. “Whilst the RAC’s research into customer service from used car dealers is interesting, it is misleading in presenting the UK’s motor industry as one homogenous group.
“We proactively gather customer feedback from over 800 dealers across the country and from this a staggering 92 per cent are completely or very satisfied with their service and 94 per cent would recommend to friend or family – a fact which isn’t evidenced in these findings.
“It’s very easy to tar dealers with the ‘Swiss Tony’ brush when in reality many deliver extremely sophisticated customer service programmes, aligning staff training and development with the customer experience.
