J.D. Power: Saturn Service Managers Most Satisfied With Manufacturers' Service Ability

4 November 1997

    AGOURA HILLS, Calif., Nov. 4 -- Saturn took top honors in the
benchmark J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Service Managers' Satisfaction
Index(SM), released today, with a score of 128, closely followed by Lexus and
Acura.  Saturn's strengths lie in their warranty policy, information given to
service managers by the manufacturer and their easy-to-use repair manuals.
The industry average for this first year of the study was set at 100.
    "It is clear from the J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Service Managers'
Satisfaction Index(SM) that two factors, among the seven looked at in the
study, are critical to service managers' satisfaction with the brands they
represent: Warranty Policy and Technical Support," commented Rose-Anne Moore,
group director for J.D. Power and Associates, who supervised the study.
"These two factors each represent approximately one-quarter of the index
total.  It's easy to see that "people factors" are very important, because the
single most important attribute for Warranty Policy is helpfulness of
manufacturer warranty support personnel, and the Technical Support score is
driven by rankings for factory service reps," said Ms. Moore.
    Warranty Policy is comprised of rankings of manufacturer warranty programs
on attributes such as, ease of warranty, claim submission and accuracy of
compensation.  Technical Support includes rankings of manufacturer technical
representatives on everything from consulting on merchandising, marketing and
promotion, to rankings of tech support (how easy to reach, how helpful the
support people are and accuracy of information).  The other five factors that
compose the index, in descending order of importance are:

    * Manufacturer Information; 18% -- Comprises rankings of general service
bulletins, dealership communications systems, recall bulletins, and technical
and business training.
    * Tools; 10 % Comprises rankings of diagnostic and special tools.
    * Diagnostic Systems; 8% -- Comprises the ease of use, accuracy of
information, timely updates of information.
    * Repair Manual; 8% -- Comprises ease of use, freedom from errors, timely
updates, etc.
    * Parts Quality; 6% -- Comprises scheduled maintenance parts, light repair
parts and heavy repair parts, collision parts, etc.

    The study also looks at how service managers feel about overall vehicle
reliability and service ability.  Approximately one-fifth of service managers
rate their vehicles as excellent for both.
    "The only real area of concern is problem diagnosis," said Ms. Moore.
"Only 3 percent of service managers said that their vehicles' problems were
extremely easy to diagnose.  This not only adds to the aggravation consumers
experience in the repair of their vehicle, it can also lead to ultimate
dissatisfaction which may impact future vehicle choices," concluded Ms. Moore.
    The J. D. Power and Associates 1997 Service Managers' Index(SM) received
responses from nearly 2,800 service managers nationwide, representing more
than 30 makes.  They responded to a comprehensive eight-page questionnaire,
which was designed to elicit their reactions to the policies and procedures
instituted by manufacturers.
    J.D. Power and Associates is an international firm best known for its
marketing information services in key business sectors including market
research, forecasting, and customer satisfaction.  The firm's quality and
satisfaction measurements are based on actual customer responses from over a
million consumers annually.  With its headquarters in Agoura Hills,
California, the firm also has U.S. offices in Torrance, California; Michigan;
and Connecticut.  Its international locations include Japan, Korea, England,
Canada and Brazil.
    J.D. Power and Associates can be accessed through the World Wide Web at
http://www.jdpower.com.  Email: info@jdpower.com.
    No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in
this release or J.D. Power and Associates survey results without the express
prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates.

                    J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Service
                       Managers' Satisfaction Index(SM)
    Saturn                            128
    Lexus                             127
    Acura                             124
    Honda                             117
    Mercedes-Benz                     113
    Toyota                            112
    Oldsmobile                        106
    Hyundai                           105
    BMW                               105
    Buick                             102
    Mazda                             102
    Dodge                             102
    Mitsubishi                        102
    GMC                               101
    Volkswagen                        101
    Pontiac                           101
    Industry                          100

    Finishing below industry average in alphabetical order are: Audi,
Cadillac, Chevrolet/Geo, Chrysler/Plymouth, Ford, Isuzu, Jeep/Eagle, Kia,
Lincoln/Mercury, Nissan, Subaru, and Volvo.

    Note: Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, Saab, and Suzuki have not
been ranked due to insufficient sample size.

    Source: (C) J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Service Managers' Satisfaction
Index(SM)

                    J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Service
                       Managers' Satisfaction Index(SM)

                                Index Factors

    Warranty Policy                   26%
    Technical Support                 24%
    Manufacturer Information          18%
    Tools                             10%
    Diagnostic Systems                 8%
    Repair Manual                      8%
    Parts Quality                      6%

    Source: (C) J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Service Managers' Satisfaction
Index(SM)

SOURCE  J.D. Power and Associates