12 car brands that have the worst customer experience

• The market research company JD Power released on Wednesday its ranking of auto brands based on the quality of the sales experience they provide.
• Genesis received the lowest score, with 736 out of a possible 1,000 points.
• Kia and Jeep received the second and third-lowest scores, with 737 points and 749 points, respectively.

The market research company JD Power released on Wednesday its ranking of auto brands based on the quality of the sales experience they provide.

Genesis received the lowest score, with 736 out of a possible 1,000 points, while Kia and Jeep received the second and third-lowest scores, with 737 points and 749 points, respectively. Mitsubishi and Honda rounded out the bottom five.

Porsche received the highest score, 828, while Infiniti and Lexus received the second and third-highest scores, with 824 points and 823 points, respectively. Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac rounded out the top five.

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The list was based on responses from over 25,000 people who purchased or leased a new vehicle in April or May. The study found that car shoppers increasingly prefer to receive digital communication, like text messages, from dealerships. According to the study, shoppers who exchanged text messages with their dealer reported higher levels of satisfaction than those who didn't.

"Automotive dealerships are slowly moving toward more frequent digital communication, but as customers come to expect this opportunity for engagement, dealers need to pick up the pace for incorporating texting and emailing into the day-to-day sales process. For younger customers, this is how they engage," Chris Sutton, JD Power's vice president of the automotive retail practice, said in a release accompanying the study.

Customers rated brands based on dealership employees, price offered, the delivery process, the negotiating process, paperwork completion, the dealership facility, the dealership's website, and the dealership's inventory. The study took responses from consumers who purchased a vehicle at a specified brand's dealership and consumers who shopped at a specified brand's dealership before buying elsewhere.

These are the 12 car brands that provide the worst sales experience.