TEXT2DRIVE acknowledged that a previous J.D. Power study showed that dealers capture 88% of customers’ annual service visits during the first three years of new-vehicle ownership.

But TEXT2DRIVE wanted to know what keeps those service-drive customers returning after that span when the model is clearly a used vehicle, so the company conducted its own proprietary consumer research focused on dealer service satisfaction and retention.

According to a recent TEXT2DRIVE survey of 1,000 U.S. drivers, 54% want a digital vehicle inspection (DVI) tool they can view on a mobile device to authorize recommended repairs.

The study by the provider of fixed-ops customer experience suite designed to help automotive dealers improve the customer experience, increase profitability and raise CSI scores also showed close to 53% want text communications and notifications, followed by pre-scheduled vehicle pick-up at 48% and online payment and checkout at 45%.

When asked to identify the benefits of a digital experience that included a mobile-accessible inspection report with photos, videos, and pricing, TEXT2DRIVE discovered 53% of respondents said, “better understanding of recommended repairs,” followed by, “clear pricing quotes and estimates” at 50%, and “approve and decline repairs remotely” at 47%.

The survey also revealed that only one in three respondents are familiar with their vehicle’s factory-recommended maintenance schedule. It also revealed that text is the preferred communications channel for dealerships to keep owners on track with maintenance milestones.

Nearly half of respondents said they’d prefer receiving text communications for recommended maintenance reminders, just below appointment reminders at 57% and appointment scheduling reminders at 54%.

In fact, TEXT2DRIVE noticed texting was preferred overall by 42% of respondents, followed by email at 29% and phone communications at just 18%.

As for why respondents choose to service their vehicle at the dealership, TEXT2DRIVE indicated the majority (59%) believe the dealership is more knowledgeable about their vehicle, while 41% think dealers are more trustworthy, and about a third choose dealer service for convenience.

Of respondents who had recently visited a dealership service lane, only one in four said their past experiences exceeded their expectations, while 57% of respondents said their servicing dealership met their expectations.

Overall, only 17% of respondents said their service experience did not meet their expectations, according to TEXT2DRIVE, which polled 1,000 U.S. drivers ages 26 to 67 who visited a dealership’s service department in the last five years.

The survey was administered through Pollfish’s online survey platform. The goal was to uncover trends in customer satisfaction that might reveal ways for service departments to increase retention.

“Like the emergence of digital retail tools in front-end departments, COVID-19 helped tow service departments into the digital age, and as we can see from our survey, there’s no looking back,” TEXT2DRIVE chief executive officer Gregg Owen said in a news release. “We know that technology such as digital inspection, texting, and online payments not only elevates customer satisfaction, it also increases the close rate on recommended service and the dollars earned per repair order.

“This study confirms that these tech tools are key to retention and profitability,” Owen added about the study, which can be downloaded via this website.