In association with MotorEasy
Best car servicing 2025: the best and worst brands at servicing your car
Is it best to have your car serviced by a manufacturer, or take your business elsewhere? We look at the nuts and bolts of the subject...
The cost of maintaining a car has risen by 33% in the past decade, from an average of £403 to £606 a year. And the rising cost of parts and the need to pass on increased business taxes, such as employer National Insurance, look likely to push it up even higher.
This means it’s more important than ever for car owners to know they’ll have a good experience when it comes to car servicing time. Three factors are crucial to this: getting good value for money, receiving good quality workmanship and a friendly and attentive attitude from those looking after you and your car.
Fortunately, What Car? can help. We’ve rated the car servicing experience of 9900 car owners, as part of the latest annual What Car? Reliability Survey, conducted in association with MotorEasy.
We asked drivers to give scores for attitude, quality and value, and collated their responses, enabling us to rate the performance of 30 different brands. The vast majority of new car buyers stick with franchised servicing for the first three to five years, so here we’ve only looked at the data for cars aged up to five years old that were taken to a main dealer for work.
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The top 10 car brands for servicing satisfaction: cars up to five years old
1. Lexus
Satisfaction rating 5 stars
Over the years, Toyota’s luxury car brand has built up a reputation for top-notch customer service as well as extremely well-built vehicles, so it’s no surprise to see it at the pinnacle of our satisfaction survey. Lexus gained the highest score of all of the 30 car brands, partly on the strength of the politeness of its staff and the quality of the work carried out. Perhaps more surprisingly, it was rated fifth best for value for money, behind Dacia, Honda, Suzuki and Tesla.
Lexus owners didn’t just rate its dealer service departments highly, they also sung their praises in the comments they left. One owner said: “The customer service I have received has been fantastic,” and others told us the dealership service had been “spot on” and “excellent”.
Staff attitude 5 stars
Quality of work 5 stars
Value for money 4 stars
Read our Lexus car reviews
2. Honda
Satisfaction rating 4 stars
With high ratings across all three of our service satisfaction criteria, Honda is only narrowly held off the top spot by Lexus. Honda has long been a familiar name at the top of customer service charts, and our Satisfaction Survey respondents tell us that it builds robust models that often outlast those of rival brands – no doubt helping its strong reputation.
While Honda couldn’t quite match Lexus for staff attitude and workmanship, it outscored the more expensive brand for value, with nearly half of those surveyed giving Honda the full five stars for this area and only 1% rating the brand as offering very poor value for money.
No wonder, then, that “the overall pleasure of ownership” was cited by a number of drivers as the thing they appreciated most about their Hondas.
Staff attitude 5 stars
Quality of work 5 stars
Value for money 4 stars
Read our Honda car reviews
3. Tesla
Satisfaction rating 5 stars
Tesla is making big strides in terms of customer satisfaction in the UK; it has leapt from 19th place in 2023 to third in the latest survey. Its mobile servicing scheme, which allows owners to book an appointment with a technician at a convenient time and location for them, is proving popular, and the long servicing intervals for many wear-and-tear items appear to be keeping costs down. Owners also cite over-the-air software updates that can be performed at home as very handy.
Overall, 90% of participating Tesla owners said they were very happy with the way they were treated by the dealership and servicing staff, giving the American electric car brand high scores in both of these categories.
Staff attitude 5 stars
Quality of work 4 stars
Value for money 5 stars
Read our Tesla car reviews
4. Suzuki
Satisfaction rating 5 stars
This Japanese brand is a fairly small player in the UK car market, but it consistently punches above its weight for both servicing satisfaction and the durability of its vehicles.
Our respondents rate Suzuki highly for both workmanship and the customer care provided by its staff. However, its overall score is tarnished slightly by the fact that it falls short of the very best manufacturers on value. Still, owners praise the dealership network for the care and attention it shows, and some cite the high standard of servicing as the reason why they have remained loyal to the brand for many years.
Suzuki is also rated highly by owners for the dependability of its cars. It came third in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey, with many owners telling us that their cars have been faultlessly reliable.
Staff attitude 5 stars
Quality of work 5 stars
Value for money 4 stars
Read our Suzuki car reviews
5. Toyota
Satisfaction rating 4 stars
Although it can’t quite live up to the standard of its luxury wing, Lexus, Toyota is a stalwart high performer in customer service polls, and it retains its fifth-place ranking for 2025 – the same as in our previous survey.
While owners gave Toyota very high marks for the helpfulness of its workshop staff and the standard of work carried out, some felt prices were on the high side, giving the brand a lower score for this category.
Many of the Toyotas reported on were hybrid models, and owners of these were happier with all areas of servicing; hybrid owners awarded higher ratings overall than those with petrol or diesel models.
Toyota’s extended warranty is linked to servicing, with 12 months added with every annual service, up to 10 years old (or 100,000 miles). Some owners cited this as one of the things they appreciated most about their car.
Staff attitude 5 stars
Quality of work 5 stars
Value for money 3 stars
Read our Toyota car reviews
6. Dacia
Satisfaction rating 4 stars
Selling some of the UK’s cheapest cars is no barrier to providing good customer service, as Romanian brand Dacia – part of the Renault empire – demonstrates. Owners rated Dacia dealerships third highest overall for the quality of work and the value for money they offer; staff attitude was the only area in which the brand scored a little lower than the top performers. This tallied with the fact that low ownership costs and affordable servicing were areas highlighted by owners when asked what they liked most about their cars.
Looking at satisfaction rates by fuel type, owners of petrol-powered Dacia models were more impressed overall than those with diesel or bi-fuel cars. Having been rated fourth overall in our previous survey, Dacia is looking like a consistently strong performer for servicing satisfaction.
Staff attitude 3 stars
Quality of work 4 stars
Value for money 4 stars
Read our Dacia car reviews
7. Hyundai
Satisfaction rating 4 stars
Hyundai narrowly beats its sister brand (and South Korean compatriot), Kia, when it comes to keeping customers happy. Hyundai owners gave the brand almost the same score as Kia in the category of value for money, but rated it slightly higher for both the quality of work it performs and the helpfulness of its staff. Hyundai has improved its overall score and rank since the last customer service survey, in which it was rated 13th.
Most owners rated the service experience as good. However, a small percentage were disappointed that cars undergoing maintenance or repair were sometimes off the road for unacceptably long periods, due to delays in obtaining replacement parts.
Staff attitude 4 stars
Quality of work 3 stars
Value for money 4 stars
Satisfaction rating 3 stars
Mini was the top-scoring brand in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey, with a low percentage of faults on its cars and a high proportion of cars fixed for free, so it’s a shame that owners aren’t as satisfied with the brand when it comes to servicing its cars.
While Mini is rated highly for the attitude of its showroom staff and the quality of work carried out during servicing, a very low value-for-money score pulls the overall score down. Most owners don’t need to visit workshops very often, because most of the brand’s models have two-year servicing intervals. However, when the time for maintenance or repair does roll around, some owners reported that the bills were substantial.
Staff attitude 5 stars
Quality of work 5 stars
Value for money 1 stars
Read our Mini car reviews
9. MG
Satisfaction rating 3 stars
MG owners are generally happy when it comes to servicing. They rated the brand’s workshops as providing decent value for money, and they were very pleased with the helpfulness of staff. However, while some owners rated MG very highly for the quality of work carried out, a minority told us it was poor, bringing the overall score down.
Owners of petrol-powered MGs were more satisfied than those who own electric or hybrid models; the latter camp gave the brand lower scores for both quality and staff politeness.
MG’s fairly high placing for customer service is a stark contrast to the brand’s performance in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey; it finished last out of 31 brands, with owners telling us that its dealers were slow and sometimes expensive when it came to fixing faults. Thankfully, MG doesn’t have the same problems when it comes to servicing.
Satisfaction rating 3 stars
While Kia owners consider the brand as being only average for staff attitude and quality of workmanship, they’re more impressed with the value for money it offers.
Compared with owners of petrol and diesel models, those who own hybrid or electric Kias are more impressed across the board, rating the brand higher overall for all three areas of satisfaction.
As with sister brand Hyundai, the service experience was tarnished for a small percentage of owners because delays for parts kept their cars off the road for longer than expected.
Kia owners rated the South Korean brand slightly higher for servicing satisfaction than they did for the reliability of its cars; it ranked 11th in our latest reliability survey, just behind Hyundai.
Staff attitude 3 stars
Quality of work 3 stars
Value for money 4 stars
Read our Kia car reviews
The bottom 10 brands for servicing satisfaction: cars up to 5 years old
1. Fiat
Satisfaction rating 1 stars
Many Fiat owners are distinctly unimpressed with the servicing experience. The brand’s satisfaction scores for attitude and quality of work are significantly lower than those of the highest-scoring brands, and value for money is the second lowest of all 30 brands, just below the score for Porsche, with 25% of participating owners rating Fiat poor or very poor.
There were also numerous complaints of a poor dealership service. For example, one respondent – the owner of an electric 500e – told us: “The dealers don’t appear to know how my car works and don’t seem to be properly trained to repair it.”
This is particularly bad news in the light of the latest What Car? Reliability Survey, in which Fiat was towards the bottom of the brand table and owners reported faults that cost between £501 and £750 to fix.
Staff attitude 3 stars
Quality of work 2 stars
Value for money 1 stars
Read our Fiat car reviews
2. Mercedes
Satisfaction rating 2 stars
While Mercedes-Benz owners are mostly happy with the way staff treat them when they get their car serviced, they’re far less impressed with the quality of the work carried out, and even less pleased with the amount they have to pay for routine servicing.
The quality of workmanship wasn’t criticised by all owners, but 10% said it was poor and 5% deemed it to be very poor. It’s value for money where Mercedes falls down the hardest, though; it received the second-lowest score of all 30 brands, with 13% of owners rating it as poor or very poor.
Some owners told us that main dealer service costs were their biggest dislike with their cars, this sentiment being particularly prevalent among owners of older models.
Staff attitude 4 stars
Quality of work 2 stars
Value for money 1 stars
Read our Mercedes car reviews
3. Vauxhall
Satisfaction rating 2 stars
The servicing satisfaction rating for Vauxhall has plummeted since our previous survey, in which it was rated 19th out of 31 brands.
While the score for the politeness of Vauxhall staff has dipped only a little, the ratings for quality of workmanship and value for money have dropped more sharply. Just over half of owners still gave Vauxhall a rating of very good for the attitude of staff, but the rest were less satisfied. Meanwhile, the majority of respondents were far from delighted with the quality of the work.
Value is Vauxhall’s lowest-scoring category, with ratings from owners far lower than those of the best- performing brands. In comments, one owner told us the thing they liked least about their car was the high cost of servicing.
Staff attitude 3 stars
Quality of work 2 stars
Value for money 2 stars
Read our Vauxhall car reviews
4. Volkswagen
Satisfaction rating 2 stars
The last time we carried out this survey, Volkswagen finished ninth out of 31 brands, putting it in the top half of the table – a solid performance. Since 2023, though, it has slipped to be the fourth worst-performing brand.
Some owners complained about unhelpful dealership staff, leading to a lacklustre three-star rating in that area, and VW is the seventh-worst brand when it comes to value for money.
Worse, though, is the fact that it’s the third-lowest brand for workmanship. Owners told us that technicians struggled to fix some of the numerous electrical faults that have plagued some recent Volkswagen models.
Staff attitude 3 stars
Quality of work 2 stars
Value for money 2 stars
Read our Volkswagen car reviews
5. Ford
Satisfaction rating 2 stars
Ford has slipped farther downwards from 19th place in our previous survey, picking up lower scores across the board this time around.
Although Ford’s scores are lower than the best brands across the board, its strongest area is the way its staff treat owners. They aren’t as pleased with the standard of work carried out on their cars, though, and value for money is the category that Ford owners are the least happy with; 35% said the brand was average or poor for this aspect of servicing.
Owners of petrol and diesel Ford models are happier with staff attitude and the quality of work than hybrid and electric car owners, but the former group gave the brand a lower rating for value for money.
Staff attitude 3 stars
Quality of work 2 stars
Value for money 2 stars
Read our Ford car reviews
6. Land Rover
Satisfaction rating 2 stars
Although this British SUV specialist still finds itself towards the lower end of our table, it has improved its standing since our previous survey, in which it ranked as the second poorest- performing brand overall.
Land Rover’s strongest area is staff attitude; 70% of owners of models from the brand gave it the highest possible score in this area. Owners were also mostly happy with the work carried out on their cars, with 56% rating this area as very good.
Value for money is Land Rover's weakest area, with 45% of owners surveyed saying the brand is poor or below average in this regard, and only 35% rating it as good or very good.
A number of owners told us that the thing they like least about their Land Rover is the high cost of servicing.
Staff attitude 4 stars
Quality of work 3 stars
Value for money 1 stars
Read our Land Rover car reviews
7. BMW
Satisfaction rating 2 stars
As with many of the premium brands in our survey, it’s the perceived high cost of servicing that adversely affects the score of BMW’s service departments.
Two-thirds of BMW owners rated the attitude of staff as very good, and only 6% said it was average or poor. Workmanship is regarded almost as highly, with 62% of owners saying that it was very good and only 9% not impressed with it.
In contrast, 50% of owners said value for money was below average or poor, with only 20% thinking it was top notch. A number of owners told us that the high cost of routine servicing and maintenance is the aspect of their cars that they most dislike.
Staff attitude 4 stars
Quality of work 3 stars
Value for money 1 stars
Read our BMW car reviews
8. Renault
Satisfaction rating 3 stars
Mediocre scores across all three servicing satisfaction criteria consign Renault to the bottom third of our league table. The brand’s ratings for staff friendliness and quality of work are the seventh and eighth worst of all those here, and only Renault’s value- for-money rating is outside the bottom 10 (in 12th place).
Unusually, owners of petrol and diesel Renaults are more satisfied with all three service areas than those with hybrid or electric models.
As well as concerns about the standard of work carried out, some owners told us they’d faced long waits for servicing appointments or to have faults fixed, and others complained about delays caused by parts taking too long to arrive.
Staff attitude 3 stars
Quality of work 3 stars
Value for money 2 stars
Read our Renault car reviews
9. Audi
Satisfaction rating 3 stars
Audi owners are happier with the cost of servicing than they were last time we surveyed them, and this has helped the brand to rise from a very poor 29th place to somewhere closer to the middle of the league table.
Owners rate the brand far lower than the best marques when it comes to value for money. Better news is that just over half (56%) of owners regard the quality of workmanship as very good, with 29% saying it’s good.
However, while most owners say the brand’s staff attitude is good, only a third of owners rate it as very good. Owners of hybrid and electric Audi models are happier with all three aspects of the servicing experience than owners of petrol and diesel cars.
Staff attitude 3 stars
Quality of work 3 stars
Value for money 2 stars
Read our Audi car reviews
10. Porsche
Satisfaction rating 3 stars
Owners of cars from the premium German brand have long regarded Porsche’s service departments as pricey; it was marked down in this area in our last survey, in which it finished in 15th place.
This time around, owners gave Porsche the lowest value-for-money rating of all 30 brands, relegating it to the bottom 10 in our chart.
However, in contrast to the other brands at this end of the chart, owners gave Porsche high ratings for both staff attitude and the quality of work carried out by its workshops.
Overall, owners of hybrid and electric Porsche models are happier than those with petrol cars; almost all rate the brand as good or very good in all three satisfaction areas. The low value scores from petrol Porsche owners, though, bring the brand’s rating down in that regard.
Staff attitude 4 stars
Quality of work 3 stars
Value for money 1 stars
Read our Porsche car reviews
Servicing satisfaction by brand for cars up to five years old
| Rank | Brand | Attidute | Quality | Value | Overall score |
| 1 | Lexus | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 2 | Honda | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 3 | Tesla | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| 4 | Suzuki | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Toyota | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| 6 | Dacia | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 7 | Hyundai | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 8 | Mini | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | MG | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 10 | Kia | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| 11 | Mazda | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 12 | Volvo | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 13 | Alfa Romeo | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 14 | Cupra | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 15 | Skoda | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 16 | Jaguar | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 17 | Peugeot | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 18 | Nissan | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 19 | Citroen | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 20 | Seat | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 21 | Porsche | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 22 | Audi | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 23 | Renault | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 24 | BMW | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 25 | Land Rover | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | Ford | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 27 | Volkswagen | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 28 | Vauxhall | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 29 | Mercedes | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 30 | Fiat | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Older car reliability
Among European countries, the UK has one of the largest number of independent car servicing and maintenance centres. In fact, 72% of all the UK’s cars are serviced by workshops that don’t belong to an official car manufacturer franchise.
There are two main types of independent workshops: those that specialise in working on cars from a single brand or car maker group, and more general non-specialist workshops.
However, our data tells us that motorists are choosing to stick with official workshops for servicing for longer than before, perhaps encouraged by the extended new car warranties offered by some brands, or by competitive pricing from official workshops.
Here, we compare how owners of six to 20-year-old cars rate official, specialist and general workshops for satisfaction.
Non-specialist independents
Non-specialist independent workshops keep owners of older cars happiest when it comes to quality of work and value for money, but they don’t do as well as the very best brand specialists for staff attitude. That said, the non-specialists outshine both the specialists and franchised dealerships when it comes to perceived value for money.
At brand level, Suzuki owners are the most satisfied with the treatment they receive at non-specialists, giving them virtually top marks across the board. Jaguar and Land Rover owners rate non-specialist workshops highest for the cost and quality of work carried out.
In contrast, some Renault owners are distinctly unimpressed with the attitude, workmanship or value provided by general independents. Likewise, some Honda owners who venture outside the official service network aren’t as pleased as those who stick with main dealers.
Brand specialist independents
It’s a clean sweep for VW Group specialists; independent Porsche workshops lead the way, with the highest scores for both staff attitude and quality of work. Volkswagen and Audi garages also gain high ratings for staff and workmanship, and slightly higher scores than Porsche for value.
Mini owners are happier with specialist independents than they are with general or official workshops; they’re especially impressed by the staff politeness of specialists and the standard of work carried out.
At the other end of the spectrum, Land Rover owners are the least satisfied, closely followed by Mazda drivers, who are far less impressed by the staff attitude and quality of work they receive at specialists, compared with official workshops.
Similarly,Volvo owners are less impressed with the value for money offered by specialists than that of main dealer service departments.
Franchised dealerships
Owners of older Kia models rate official workshops higher for servicing than owners of newer cars; in fact, Kia is the highest-scoring brand for cars aged six to 20. Although Kia’s workshops are rated only average for value, their score is the joint best overall, tying with sister brand Hyundai for sixth place in this category.
Owners of older Toyotas are also more impressed with the brand’s official workshops than any other kind, telling us that they offer better workmanship and a better attitude from their staff.
Nissan owners rate the attitude of staff and workmanship at official workshops higher than what’s offered by independent garages. However, they rank the independents higher on value.
Land Rover’s official workshops take the wooden spoon, not helped by the second-lowest score for value (behind Porsche). BMW isn’t far behind, with value once again dragging its scores down. Interestingly, owners of older BMWs rate both specialist and non-specialist independents higher in all aspects of servicing satisfaction.
Servicing satisfaction by region
Wales tops the table for how its franchised and independent workshops keep customers happy, while those in Greater London are the most likely to have drivers frowning.
Car owners who use workshops in Wales give them the highest ratings for all three areas: staff attitude, quality of work and value for money. In fact, 77% rate the way they’re treated by staff of Welsh workshops as very good, 68% give them the highest possible score for workmanship, and 48% say they offer excellent value.
That’s a stark contrast to our survey findings for London, where car owners rate the level of care at their local workshops as poor or very poor. They aren’t all that happy with the standard of work, either, with many rating it as poor or average.
Value is the discipline in which satisfaction is at its lowest; 24% of respondents say London workshops are merely average in this regard, and 5% slate them as poor.
After Wales, car owners in Scotland are the happiest, followed by those in the north of England. Meanwhile, car owners in the South East and East Anglia are a little less despondent than those in London.
What Car? verdict
The highest-scoring official workshops – those of Lexus, Honda, Suzuki and Tesla – keep customers exceptionally happy, while Tesla’s versatile mobile servicing option and app-based booking system also impress. However, those at the other end of our newer car servicing satisfaction chart, in particular, Volkswagen, Vauxhall, Mercedes and Fiat, all fall short of customer expectations, especially when it comes to providing value for money.
This demonstrates that the level of satisfaction car owners can expect to experience is distinctly brand specific. So, if your car is from a high-scoring brand, you might be happier sticking with official workshops as your car ages. After all, owners of cars from certain brands – including Honda, Kia and Toyota – rate them highly in all three areas of satisfaction – for newer and older cars alike.
However, if your franchised dealer falls short in any area, and you’re not tied to a main dealer for servicing by a servicing plan or finance agreement, you might be happier taking your car to an independent
garage, even if your car is still under warranty. This sentiment becomes more compelling when you look at the high standard of care and workmanship supplied by some independent specialist garages, including those who concentrate on Porsche and Volkswagen models; such businesses sit far higher up the chart than their official franchised counterparts.
Land Rover and Jaguar owners, meanwhile, are happier with general workshops than specialist or official ones, which are clearly getting something wrong.
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