As if car dealers didn’t have enough to worry about between affordability and supply issues and the economic and political climate, they might now be facing a loyalty crisis.

Data from VehicleLyfe shows loyalty among automotive dealership customers has dropped to its lowest level since the company began keeping records in 2019, a situation it characterized as a “loyalty crisis.”

The automated customer engagement platform said the rate of customers returning to a dealership for repeat purchases or service dropped 12% in 2024, with just around 20% of dealership sales coming from repeat customers. That’s far less than the one-third VehicleLyfe said is considered healthy for long-term sustainability.

The data comes from VehicleLyfe’s analysis of more than 2.7 million dealership records through its integrations with dealership management software providers, including CDK, Reynolds and Reynolds, Dealertrack and Tekion, among others.

“Dealers have relied on loyalty for decades to bring repeat business to the dealership,” VehicleLyfe CEO Alex Snyder said. “But the pandemic disrupted trust and dismantled positive word-of-mouth reviews, and five years later we still haven’t rebuilt it.

“Customers are telling us loud and clear they don’t feel valued, and it’s up to dealers to rebuild the relationship.”

In the service department, VehicleLyfe’s DMS records show the cost of the average repair visit climbed from $283 in 2019 to $521 in 2024 — an 85 percent increase — with high-mileage vehicles averaging nearly $700 per visit.

Those numbers, combined with higher car prices and dealership profits in the wake of the pandemic, have contributed to falling customer loyalty.

“Customers watched the industry make money while they shouldered higher prices,” Snyder said. “Whether that was reality for individual dealerships matters very little. That’s a hard perception to undo, and dealers aren’t just losing transactions, they’re losing trust and seeing impacts from negative word-of-mouth marketing.”

In a news release, VehicleLyfe cited NADA data from 2016 showing the average cost to a dealership was $633, while re-engaging a previous customer cost less than $100, saying the difference makes customer retention an essential strategy.

“Customers aren’t looking for another sales pitch,” chief operating officer Tom Harsha said. “They’re looking for guidance. Ownership is complicated — between warranties, financing and service schedules, vehicles can have monthly payments that mirror mortgages in some cases. Dealers who position themselves as trusted partners to help owners enjoy and maintain their vehicle, especially when another purchase or service isn’t pending, will earn loyalty back.”