Lincoln, Ford finance arms take top spots in J.D. Power consumer satisfaction study

For the second year in a row, the captive finance arms for Lincoln and Ford topped the rankings of the J.D. Power 2016 U.S. Consumer Financing Satisfaction Study. The study, released Nov. 17, 2016, measures on a 1,000-point scale overall customer satisfaction in four factors: billing and payment process, onboarding process, phone contact and website.

Lincoln Automotive Financial Services ranked highest in satisfaction among luxury-brand customers with a score of 879, up from 873 a year ago. This marks the fourth consecutive year Lincoln Automotive Financial Services topped the segment.

BMW Financial Services, with a score of 866, and Audi Financial Services, with a score of 864, rounded out the top three luxury spots. The average luxury score was 856.

Ford Motor Credit, with a score of 856, ranked highest in satisfaction among customers in the mass-market segment, and was up from a score of 838 a year ago. Bank of America ranked second, with a score of 854, and Kia Motors Finance came in third, scoring 851. The average mass-market score was 836.

Other key findings from the study:

• Overall satisfaction is 49 points higher among customers in the luxury segment whose dealer or finance manager explained account features, services or benefits of their financing than among those whose dealer or finance manager did not.
• Satisfaction improves by 42 points among luxury-brand customers and 61 points among mass-market-brand customers when email customer service is available.
• When online bill pay is available, satisfaction improves by 53 points in the luxury segment and by 86 points in the mass-market segment.
• Not surprisingly, satisfaction declines when a customer has to contact their lender more than once to solve a problem. Overall satisfaction among luxury-brand customers resolving a problem with one call is 875 points but declines to 821 when a resolution requires two calls.
• Customers with satisfaction levels above 900, in both luxury and mass-market brands, are nearly twice as likely to return to a particular dealership and are more than twice as likely to lease or purchase the same brand again as those who are less satisfied.

“In the seemingly complicated environment of vehicle financing, it’s the sometimes-overlooked customer-handling steps that can bring clarity to the customer and give dealers and lenders a unique competitive advantage,” Jim Houston, senior director of auto finance at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “Working together on the steps that clearly affect satisfaction levels can enable dealers and lenders to turn first-time customers into repeat customers.”

The study, which was fielded between July and August 2016, was based on responses from more than 19,000 customers who financed a new- or used-vehicle purchase or lease within the past four years, J.D. Power said.