Over 39 per cent of Honda owners took their car back to a Honda franchised dealer for routine servicing. This compares with an all makes average of 26.3 per cent, according to the Castrol Professional Car Service and Repair Trend Tracker 2011 report.
Premium German marques, including Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, were in second place, capturing 36.7 per cent of owners’ servicing demand with all three brands exceeding 30 per cent servicing retention. Toyota scored 35.3 per cent, Volkswagen 30.4 per cent and Volvo 28.8 per cent.
Service retention varies because of a number of factors, including vehicle reliability, customer demographics and the types of new and extended warranties offered.
"Servicing retention is not just influenced by factors beyond the control of dealers. The operational excellence of dealers’ service departments can have a hugely positive effect on servicing retention," said Trend Tracker analyst Chris Oakham.
Service retention: performance by car brand
Honda 39.10%
Other German (Principally Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche) 36.70%
Toyota 35.20%
Volkswagen 30.40%
Volvo 28.80%
Other Japanese (Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, etc and includes Korean) 28.60%
Citroën 25.20%
Peugeot 24.50%
Vauxhall 24.20%
Ford 22.50%
Renault 22.00%
Fiat Group 21.50%