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Honda owners smilingAccording to a recent study, drivers of Hondas are well ahead of the pack when it comes to new-car servicing satisfaction

By NEIL DOWLING

HONDA owners are Austra-lia’s happiest motoristswhen it comes to new-car servicing.

But most car owners saythat poor repair work andhigh service costs bydealers are turning them offsome brands.

And transparent servicecosts — known as ‘‘capped-price servicing’’ — have yetto change motorists’ minds.

Australians rated Honda,Subaru and Mazda respect-ively as the best manufac-turers for their standard ofservice in a national RoyMorgan survey.

Interestingly, none ofthese car makers offercapped-price service pro-

grams. Hyundai, which hasa comprehensive capped-price program, recorded abelow-average result.

Only three car makers(Ford, Toyota and Nissan)with the program betteredthe 85.8 per cent industryaverage of customer servicesatisfaction and one (Mitsu-bishi) equalled the average.

But Hyundai, which re-corded 80.3 per cent, arguesthat the survey was conduc-ted before it started its five-year program.

Hyundai Australia spok-esman Bill Thomas says thesurvey ran from March 2011to March 2013.

‘‘We introduced capped-price servicing in Augustlast year, so we expect thatto have a positive effect go-

ing forward,’’ he says. ‘‘Wecertainly receive a lot ofgreat feedback about ourcapped-price servicing, andthe standard of service thatour dealers are providing.

‘‘We have thousands ofcustomers all across thecountry who are satisfiedwith both our vehicles andour after-sales service.’’

Roy Morgan Researchspokesman Norman Morrissays, of the top 10 brands bysales volume, Hondadrivers are most satisfiedwith services (94.3 per cent),with satisfaction levels al-most 10 percentage pointsabove the industry averageof 85.8 per cent.

‘‘Subaru and Mazdaround out the top three with90 per cent and 89.3 per cent

total satisfaction respect-ively, closely followed byFord on 89.1 per cent,’’he says.

Mr Morris says the own-ership experience and re-lated warranty coverage‘‘is becoming an increas-ingly important factor forcompanies trying to sellnew cars’’.

‘‘Many makes have intro-duced four- and five-yearwarranties in an attemptto woo potential buyersfrom competitor brands,’’he says.

‘‘However, while over twoin three Hyundai ownerswho returned the car to thedealership for servicingwere covered by a five-yearwarranty, the make hadthe lowest service satisfac-

tion score — more than 5percentage points below theindustry average.’’

Mr Morris notes that carsare becoming more reliable,saying that the bulk of ve-hicle servicing today isroutine, such as the replace-ment of oil and otherfluids, the tyres and thebrake components.

Mazda Australia says ow-ners get the best ownershipexperience through a genu-ine Mazda service.

‘‘We have adopted Recom-mended Maintenance Serv-ice Pricing (RMSP) so thatowners can plan ahead andsee the approximate cost offuture services,’’ saysMazda Australia spokes-man Steve Maciver.

‘‘Prospective Mazda ow-

ners can also speak to theirMazda dealer to get an indi-cation of the future servic-ing costs associated with thecar they’re considering.’’

Mazda’s RMSP shows thata 2010 Mazda3’s 70,000kmservice should cost $245.

Mazda’s schedule re-quires servicing every sixmonths and though notcapped, the program showsvehicle owners what coststo expect.

Roy Morgan says it inter-viewed 50,000 motoristsfrom all around Australia inthe survey.

However, while it askedfor opinions on a scale fromone to five, it did not askeach motorist what specific-ally had caused their levelof satisfaction.

RoadAhead safety exhibition gets a revampThe Australian Trucking As-sociation (ATA) is planningan overhaul for its RoadAhead safety exhibition.

A $1.3 million trailer, theRoad Ahead display has beenon the road for five years andhosted 80,000 visitors.

It was developed in orderto educate children andadults about the road trans-port industry and roadsafety, with a particular fo-cus on sharing the road withheavy trucks.

‘‘Sharing the road safely is

everyone’s responsibility,but nowhere in theirdriver’s tests are L- andP-plate drivers taught tointeract safely with atruck or oversized ve-hicle,’’ says ATA chiefexecutive Stuart St Clair.

Trucker comes up trumpswith BigHaulwinA QUEENSLAND farmer-trucker who has never wonas much as a ‘‘meat tray in apub raffle’’ has just won a$400,000 Kenworth.

Graham Nitschke, fromthe small town of Dysart,was given the keys to his

new rig last month as part ofCastrol’s The Big Haul pro-motion.

‘‘I’m still up in the clouds,’’he says.

Nitschke runs a fleet ofseven Kenworths, rangingfrom a 1975 W925 to a 2009

T908, and will put his newtruck straight to work.

‘‘I thought about stick-ing an 8 x 8 tray on theback and using it asmy ute, but that wouldbe a bit over the top,’’Nitschke jokes.