Other than a few automakers with dedicated stores, such as Tesla, most folks have to go to a car dealer when it’s time to buy a new vehicle. The quality of these shops can vary considerably, even between the two of them selling products from the same automaker.
The Internet marketing company Widewail recently completed its annual survey that analyzed reviews of 18,000 new car dealers from 32 brands in the United States between 2023 and 2024. This amounted to 8.1 million Google reviews. The company used the data to create a Brand Reputation Scorecard to rank each marque’s dealer experience based on 27 topics.
Lexus Wins
Lexus has a reputation for offering stellar customer service in its showrooms, and this study only adds more evidence of that notoriety. The Japanese premium marque scored 97 out of a possible 100 in Widewail’s Brand Reputation Scorecard to top the leaderboard in 2025. Toyota narrowly came in second place with a 96-point rating. Honda and BMW tied for third place, each with a 95-point score.
Widewail noted that Lexus saw a 26 percent increase in review volume. On average, its showrooms get 27 reviews per month. The average person’s Google review ranks the dealers at 4.7 stars.
The research analyzes frequently mentioned customer experience topics. Lexus outperformed the rest of the industry in 10 of the 16 metrics. Its biggest strengths were “professionalism” and “car repair/maintenance.”
Reviews of Lexus dealers were 36 percent more likely to mention the showroom’s professionalism than the industry average. The company is also first among automakers for having the fewest negative mentions about maintenance and repairs in online reviews.
While Lexus’ dealers receive generally positive reviews, Widewail identified two spots for potential improvement. There was a 9.8-percent increase in positive mentions about the staff, but the industry average was a 13.6-percent improvement. The research also showed a rise in negative sentiments about showroom communication over last year.
More Takeaways From This Research
Acura had the biggest gain in this year’s study. It moved up five spots to take tenth place with a 91-point score. Mini saw the largest loss, falling six places to 23rd place with an 84-point score.
People are increasingly sharing their views about dealers online. Widewail found that 86 percent of automakers had more reviews about their dealers in 2024. Four brands saw their monthly reviews drop last year: Mini fell 29 percent, Volkswagen dropped 22 percent, Mitsubishi decreased by three percent, and Nissan also tumbled by three percent.
TopSpeed’s Take
Lexus is famous for the quality of its dealers, but this data shows just how far ahead the company is versus the competition. Other automakers should take notice and try to emulate the brand’s success in taking care of customers.
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