Car purchasing and repair surveys
Supercharge customer satisfaction with automobile repair and purchase surveys.
For most people a car is a major purchase, second in cost and consideration only to housing.
It’s not surprising, then, that many car buyers globally do quite a bit of online research before they make a purchase by exploring manufacturers, models, options, and financing.
Customers are doing their research, and you should do yours too. Use the online survey alternative to find out what customers need and how can you make your dealership, rental agency, auto shop, or car parts and accessories company the place where they want to take their business.
Get started fast with an expert survey template, or create your own custom automotive survey questions. We’ll make it easy to gather answers and analyze the results, too.
How to use car purchasing and repair surveys
Use SurveyMonkey online surveys to see how you’re doing with customers who want to buy or service a car. Whether you want more market, customer, or competitive insights, our online surveys can get you the information you need to make better business decisions.
1. Perform market research. New car buyers survey. Car buying patterns. Research needs. Car trends and preferences. Market research surveys can give you a great idea about the types of cars your customers are looking for and the aftermarket services they prefer. Create a car reliability survey to understand how customers perceive their vehicle purchase after they have owned their sedan, SUV or truck after multiple years. Demographic data can help you shape product and service offerings, determine promotions and pricing, and sort customer groups based on needs and interests. You can also benefit from an insurance questionnaire to understand how people safeguard their new vehicle purchases. Looking for the right people to take your survey? Try SurveyMonkey Audience, to send your survey to respondents that fit almost any criteria. You can even learn how likely buyers are to purchase an electric car or hybrid.
2. Assess customer service and support. Do high-pressure sales techniques cost your dealership customers? Is your service department proactive about customers’ car maintenance—and does it deliver a high quality of service? Is it easy for customers to find information on your website? Create and deliver online customer service surveys to ask your prospects and customers about their experiences with your business at each touchpoint, from test drive to post-purchase service.
3. Ensure customer satisfaction. With drivers buying a new car only about once every decade on average, repeat business might seem scarce. But drivers need regular maintenance on the cars they purchase, and they also have family and friends who may be looking for a new car. Whether yours is a small auto exchange or garage, large dealership or service department, customer satisfaction and loyalty are critical to your business. Check satisfaction levels often by using online questionnaires. Make sure you ask for feedback on what’s working and what’s not, and find out if overall, your customers would happily recommend you to others. If you are in the car rental or leasing industry, you can obtain valuable feedback with a car rental survey.
4. Provide training and development. Car sales and service require a great deal of expertise. Sellers must be knowledgeable about the features and value of the cars themselves, and at the same time be able to answer customers’ questions about financing, long-term maintenance, environmental impact, and more. In addition to having outstanding mechanical and technical skills, service people must be skilled communicators when they interact with less technically savvy customers. Online polls are a terrific tool for capturing insights from your staff about the situations they encounter every day with customers and vehicles. Use these insights to shape employee relationships and to drive improvements in the overall customer experience you’re delivering.
5. Run non-profit programs. Do you run a car-donation program? Poll people online to gauge the supply of and demand for donated cars in your area. Post a survey on your Facebook page, and then tweet it to your followers. Or incorporate a link to an online survey in your next awareness campaign for your program.
4 quick tips to improve survey response rates
We provide guides on how to write effective survey questions, as well as create and conduct surveys. Check them out! And in the meantime, keep your favorite motorists happy by making sure they complete your automotive surveys.
1. Introduce your objective. Provide context with a brief sentence. Tell survey takers why you’re asking these questions and how their feedback will help, e.g. “Your suggestions will help us to better understand how we can deliver the selection and services you want most.”
2. Keep it short and focused. Make sure each question brings you closer to your goal. Respect survey takers’ time, and word questions clearly.
3. Pre-test your survey. Pre-test your survey with a few folks from your shop or members of your intended audience. You might uncover inconsistencies or unexpected question interpretations.
4. Keep rating scale questions consistent. You know people need their cars to get places fast. If you’re using rating scales, help them cruise through by using the same points system throughout your survey. If 1 means “extremely satisfied” and 5 means “extremely dissatisfied,” maintain this scale for all questions.
Sample survey templates
SurveyMonkey has a robust collection of survey templates to get you started. Professional survey methodologists write all of our templates, so you can use them as-is. You can also customize templates to fit your needs, or create your own using the certified questions available in our Question Bank.
Market Research – Product
With 10 quick questions, this survey lets you find out what your customers think about your new product – what they like, what they don’t, and if they prefer it to the competition’s.
Market Research – Service
Get your target customers’ opinions of the new service you’re introducing with this 10-question survey.
Customer Service Survey
Use this 9-question survey to ask your customers about their experience with your service representatives.
The Net Promoter® Score
Discover customer sentiment and willingness to recommend your business with a single question: “On a scale of zero to ten, how likely are you to refer a friend or colleague?”
U.S. Demographics – Snapshot
This 6-question template asks respondents about gender, age, education, employment, household income, and race.
U.S. Demographics
In addition to the 6 questions posed in the short survey, this 12-question template asks about geographic location, housing, marital status, ethnicity, business or farm ownership, and personal income.
Website Feedback
Use this 8-question survey to discover how you can optimize your online experience for customers.
Apps
As part of your go-to market research, use this 6-question survey to find out if it makes sense to create a mobile app for your product or service.
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