Saturn Score Highest in Service Survey

AP Auto Writer Ed Garsten reports that Saturn, the General Motors Corp. division that pioneered no-haggle pricing and cozy customer relations, has become the first non-luxury nameplate since 1986 to score highest in the annual J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Index.

"It shows you don't have to be a luxury car make to satisfy customers," said Steve Witten, senior director for project operations at J.D. Power, which released its customer service report on Wednesday.

Saturn unseated the Lexus division of Toyota Motor Co. in the top ranking. Lexus had finished first for each of the past five years but fell to third in the latest survey behind Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti division.

The last non-luxury nameplate to finish first was Honda in 1986.

Saturn scored well with customers for ease of making appointments, friendly interaction with service personnel and respect for their time.

"Customers don't want to spend a lot of time waiting for their car, they want their needs met," Witten said.

The survey is based on responses from nearly 50,000 new vehicle owners and lessees during the first three years of vehicle ownership.

The customer service index is a number derived by factoring customer responses against pre-determined "importance weights."

The industry average in this year's study was 843. Saturn scored 900.

Major brands falling at or below the industry average were Ford, Dodge, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Pontiac and Volkswagen. J.D. Power doesn't publicly disclose the scores or relative rankings for those finishing at or below the industry average.