Dealers that offer car buyers service plans, cosmetic repair insurance and extended warranties are achieving significantly higher levels of customer satisfaction, a major survey has found.

Automotive retail customer review platform JudgeService analysed more than 436,100 customer surveys and concluded that offered upsells drive higher net promoter scores. This is in contrast to traditionally expressed views that buyers can be turned-off by such upsell attempts.

The survey recorded the biggest overall increase in customer satisfaction in service plans, from from 53% when not offered to 86% when offered.

Such plans have long been seen as an effective customer-retention tool and JudgeService managing director Neil Addley said the survey shows dealers have an opportunity to maximise their revenue opportunities by ensuring processes are in place to promote upsells in every single car buying transaction.

“Customers appreciate being offered them – introducing service plans are easy conversations for sales executives and our results suggest many are successfully articulating the cost-saving benefits, which is driving up customer satisfaction and their propensity to purchase them,” Addley added.

“We know from our Profit Clinics that when dealers offer service plans there is a 48% uptake, so introducing them should always be part of the vehicle sales process”.

The offer of cosmetic repair insurance saw promoter scores increase by 41% to 81%, extended warranties saw an improvement of 20% to 84% and wheel protection rose 19% to 84%.

Addley concluded that buyers appreciate being given the opportunity to look after their newly purchased vehicles. “It’s revealing just how low the customer promoter scores are when upsells are not offered, which makes it profitable, customer centric and within the power of dealers to remedy”.