This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has bought a car from a dealership, but according to the recently released J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study, 21 percent of new-car buyers will walk out of dealership because of a negative buying experience at that dealership. Where do they go? Well, they buy their car at a different dealership, of course. But what’s more important, and automakers take note, 12 percent of those who walk out of a dealership because of treatment, change brands. That’s right, they might walk into a Honda dealer planning to buy a Civic, lets say, but because of sales pressure, dicey sales gimmicks, or just plain rudeness, they leave Honda and go to the Ford dealer across the street.

The study is a comprehensive analysis of the new-vehicle purchase experience. Overall customer satisfaction is measured for five factors: dealership facility; salesperson; paperwork/finance process; delivery process; and vehicle price.

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