Consumer satisfaction with dealership service departments is on the rise — but there’s still plenty of room for improvement as they compete for business with aftermarket shops and direct-to-consumer brands.

JD Power’s 2026 U.S. Customer Service Index showed the overall average satisfaction score for dealership service at 868 on a 1,000-point scale, up 3 points from the 2025 study. That increase was led by premium brands, which jumped eight points to 886, while the mass market service experience was up 3 points to 865.

Still, JD Power said, the competition is fierce, with aftermarket providers prioritizing speed and convenience, and DTC brands such as Tesla and Rivian offering mobile and valet service options.

For example, maintenance visits — the quickest type of work — take three times longer at dealerships than at aftermarket facilities, with mass market brands averaging 1.61 hours for maintenance and premium-brand customers having to wait 2.46 hours. Meanwhile, 62% of aftermarket service visits take less than an hour for similar work, the report said.

And when customers who previously owned a vehicle from a direct-to-consumer brand come to a traditional dealer for service, the study found their satisfaction drops considerably. The score for premium-brand customers coming from a DTC brand drops to 855, well below both the premium average and the mass-market average. JD Power said the lack of mobile and valet service among dealers suggests they can differentiate themselves, elevate customer convenience and gain market share by adding those offerings.

In a news release, JD Power said speed and convenience are crucial factors for customers, who are looking for an experience that minimizes disruption to their daily lives while offering greater value.

“Progressive dealers never stop working to make service more convenient — a worthy effort given how rapidly the aftermarket can complete routine service,” vice president of customer success Stewart Stropp said. “Dealers can also more readily add value, for example, by returning the vehicle cleaner than when it arrived and completing a thorough multi-point inspection with digital documentation. CSI results show those efforts yield higher satisfaction and, in turn, boost retention.

“Another opportunity is to more consistently deliver on top key performance indicators like keeping customers informed of service status and explaining the work performed. Those elements, among others, meaningfully lift satisfaction.”

But many of the KPIs identified by JD Power aren’t showing up in dealership service departments. The study found just 26% of customers said they experienced nine or 10 of the top CSI KPIs, which include “value-enablers” like being met at the vehicle on arrival and having work completed properly the first time.

When all10 top KPIs are met, the research firm said, average customer satisfaction is 979. That plummets all the way to 632 when only three are met, which illustrates it’s not enough to focus on only a few high-impact behaviors. Even among customers who experienced seven or eight KPIs, the score drops by 63 points.

The study also showed 64% of customers said they would like to receive photo or video evidence along with multi-point inspection results, but just 26% of mass-market customers and 44% of premium customers said they get it.

JD Power said offer photo/video updates as a routine practice to, particularly early in the service process, drives the highest satisfaction score, noting scores for service advisors are highest (928 premium, 907 mass market) when photo/video evidence is provided while service is being done.

The index, in its 46th year, measures satisfaction with service at franchised dealer and aftermarket service facilities for maintenance or repair work among owners and lessees of 1- to 3-year-old vehicles, based on a survey of 51,228 vehicle owners conducted throughout 2025.

The score includes a compilation of vehicle owner service experience data and actual repair data among five factors: service quality, vehicle pick-up, service advisor, service facility and service initiation.

Porsche dealerships led all brands in service satisfaction for the second consecutive year with a score of 915, leading Infiniti (912) and Lexus (900) among premium brands. MINI was the top mass-market brand at 887, followed by Subaru (886) and Buick (882).

In the premium sector, Infiniti and Porsche (921) were tied at the top when it came to cars, with Infiniti (911) leading in the SUV segment.

Among mass-market brands, Mazda (884) was No. 1 for car service experience, Subaru (887) ranked highest for SUVs/minivans and Ford (869) beat Toyota (864) and Chevrolet (853) third in the truck segment.