Vehicle Service Interval Adherence Decreases by 15.6%

New research from DMEautomotive reveals vehicle age, and lack of awareness of manufacturer recommendations, contributing to drop in number of consumers following manufacturer recommended service intervals

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- Aug. 25, 2015: New research from DMEautomotive analyzes the factors influencing the decrease in the number of consumers who adhere to manufacturer's recommended service intervals for their vehicles. The study of over 8,000 respondents from 2011 to 2014 revealed that the number of consumers who indicate that they regularly follow manufacturers' recommendations has dropped by 15.6%.

With a 4.2 day increase in the service interval from 2013 to 2014, this data reveals a trend of Americans paying less attention to manufacturers' service schedules and servicing their vehicles less frequently.

The DMEa "2015 Service Excellence" study pinpoints several potential contributors to this drop, including the increasing age of vehicles on the road, level of awareness of recommended oil change intervals, and consumer indifference.

"Parts and service profit represents a large piece of dealership profit. In fact, 2014 NADA data shows, on average, that it eclipses new and used vehicle sales profit. That's why we continuously track exactly which service customers are being lost by the dealership, and why they're straying," said Mary Sheridan, PhD, Manager of DMEautomotive's Research and Analytics. "This data represents yet another call to arms for dealers to communicate rigorously with their customers, rather than relying on recommended service intervals to retain their customer's service business. A comprehensive in-store service experience that considers customers' needs is a much better strategy for building positive, lasting and more profitable relationships with those customers."

Key Highlights

23% of consumers surveyed say they are unaware of the manufacturer's recommended oil change interval, a key target for dealership marketing: of the 77% who do know the manufacturer's recommended oil change interval, 18% chose to ignore it, often delaying service.

Approximately a third of consumers who do not follow manufacturer's recommendations feel service at the recommended frequency is not necessary.