Cars.co.za Customer Satisfaction Survey yields invaluable buying advice

If you’re shopping for your next car, it’s wise to base your purchasing decision on the most up-to-date market insights at your disposal.

It’s very helpful to know which brands provide the best after-sales service to their customers and, which vehicles are most likely to be recommended by their owners, to name just two examples.

These are questions that the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey answers – and ongoing public participation in the survey enables the site to deliver the most relevant data-driven insights to consumers.

Cars.co.za and data specialists Lightstone Consumer conduct a comprehensive Ownership Satisfaction Survey for the purpose of gathering real consumer input on local buying, servicing and ownership experiences.

To date, thousands of verified surveys have been completed by South African car owners, resulting in one of the most comprehensive and significant databases of its type.

And, since last year, the findings have had a whopping 50% impact on the outcome of the #CarsAwards programme, which recognises the very best derivatives offered for sale in 13 distinct categories of the South African new vehicle market.

“When we repositioned the Cars.co.za brand in 2015 as a consumer champion, we realised that we had to find a way to gather real, credible, worthwhile consumer input,” explains Cars.co.za Consumer Experience Manager, Hannes Oosthuizen. “Journalists may evaluate a product against its peers, but when it comes to what it’s like to live with a vehicle, you have to engage with the people who use (and live with) those cars every day… the owners.”

The data gathered during the survey’s first “harvest” (from 2015/16) sheds light on some fascinating insights:

Likelihood to Recommend (By Model Type)

In terms of the 45-odd vehicle models that achieved sufficient sample size, the following vehicles recorded the highest “Likelihood to recommend” scores of all:

Overall Service Experience

Based on their after-sales service experience (at a franchised service agent/dealership only), owners were asked to indicate how likely it was that they would recommend the dealership to a friend or family member.

Owners of the following brands said they were most likely to recommend the dealerships where they serviced their vehicles:

1. Suzuki
2. Mitsubishi
3. Audi

Suzuki’s performance in this Survey contributed to it being named Brand of the Year in the 2016/17 Cars.co.za Consumer Awards – powered by WesBank.

Reliability (By Model Type)

In terms of the 45-odd vehicle models that achieved sufficient sample size, it is interesting to note that the following cars are rated as the most dependable by their owners:

Remember, ongoing public participation in the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey enables the site to deliver critical insights to consumers.

By taking part in the survey, owners can have a direct say in the outcome of the #CarsAwards (the findings of the survey have a 50% bearing on which vehicles are named the winners in the 13 respective categories of the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards – powered by WesBank as well as a 100% bearing on which manufacturer/importer wins the prestigious Brand of the Year award).

To participate in the survey (even if you have before, you are free to do so again) click on this link and you will stand in line to win one of these prizes:

A GoPro Hero 5 Session Full HD Action Camera

A Samsung 48-inch Full HD LED TV

An Apple iPhone SE 16GB (Space Grey)

A Dji Spark Drone or a Playstation 4

The competition runs until November 30.

Take the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey today and have your say!