Customer Satisfaction Leans Luxury, Domestic

The University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index for 2007 was released today and identifies some interesting trends about how happy buyers are with their car purchases. This year, Lexus led the way with a score of 87, compared to the average of 82. Four other companies tied with a score of 86: Buick, Cadillac, Lincoln/Mercury (both owned by Ford) and BMW.

Toyota dropped three points from 87 to 84. The survey suggests that poor customer service and a number of recalls over the past year are to blame for the fall. Rounding out the bottom of the list is Jeep, which scored a lowly 75. Dodge and Chrysler were also both below average at 80 and 79, respectively.

Besides the success of its Lincoln and Mercury nameplates, Ford also saw the largest improvement, moving up three points to 80.

Full List of ASCI Scores
Car Buyers Give Toyota Lexus Top Score (BusinessWeek)