Mercedes TOPS, Lincoln DROPS In U.S. Dealer Survey - Does It Match YOUR Experience?

One thing that Lexus pioneered was the dealership experience. It used to be old hat that dealers weren't exactly the most straightforward or friendly folks on the planet; however, when Lexus bursted onto the scene with its friendly approach and putting the customer first, things had to change across the industry.

Now Hyundai is changing that dynamic a bit with its newfound approach with its luxury car, the Equus.

But for the rest of us, the dealer is the only answer. And in a recent "Secret shopper" survey, Mercedes-Benz was the leader -- for the third year in a row -- in salesperson performance. Closely following Mercedes were Jaguar and Lexus in second and third, respectively.

For the mainstream automakers, Toyota and Ram were the best-in-breed.

On the other hand, the marques that are in desperate need of improvement are Lincoln, Mitsubishi and Suzuki. Considering these brands aren't setting sales figures on fire, they better get their act together quickly.

With this said, would you say that these results match YOUR experience on showroom floors?


Mercedes-Benz dealers were number one for customer treatment in the US according to an independent study by survey company Pied Piper. The California-based company hired 3,524 “secret shoppers” and sent them to US dealerships in order to determine how their salesmen were performing in anything from explaining a car’s features to closing a deal.

This is the third year in a row that Mercedes-Benz, which looks set to top the sales charts this year in the luxury segment, has topped Pied Piper’s study.

The German firm was followed by Jaguar and Lexus dealers, who tied in second place. According to the survey, Toyota and Chrysler’s Ram sales representatives were ranked the best among mass-market carmakers, while Mitsubishi and Suzuki finished at the bottom, as did Lincoln in the luxury segment...

[Source: Carscoop VIA Pied Piper VIA Reuters]


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veyron1001 - 7/12/2011 7:56:13 PM

+1 Boost

I mean just look at their shitty cars. I wouldn't be motivated either.

atc98092 - 7/12/2011 7:58:42 PM

+1 Boost

Years ago my daughter worked at a Lexus dealership in a "upper crust" city. She would tell us stories of the salesmen in the back office laughing at their customers for paying for gold "Lexus" license plate frames and simply paying the prices the cars listed at. Always made me warm and fuzzy about higher end dealerships.

I'm not picking on Lexus. I'm sure many higher end dealerships are the same way. This is the one example I am aware of.

0to60 - 7/12/2011 9:21:24 PM

+4 Boost

According to most of the nuts on this site, Lexus is to much of a value brand to make your accusations true

MercBasher - 7/12/2011 9:16:59 PM

+1 Boost

We have several great Mercedes dealerships in South Florida, great in terms of service, sales floor layout, accessibility etc. etc. The only thing I'd change is the sales force at a couple of the dealerships. I've found them to be so low key and desperate NOT to chase a deal that they are almost comatose, and definitely too passive. A couple of times it was difficult to even get a sales person to call me back. For the record I've bought four new Mercedes in the last three years [GL 450, C 300, SL 550, and another GL450]. Others may prefer the low key sales approach and rate Mercedes highly because of it.