TOPS AGAIN; SATURN, GM RULE ROOST IN J.D. POWER STUDY OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.

Byline: Ben Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer

Having seemingly mastered the low-pressure sale, dealers for General Motors' Saturn unit once again topped J.D. Power and Associates' annual customer sales satisfaction survey.

In fact, GM dominated the 1998 survey, with six of the company's brands registering above average. Ford also placed well, with four of its brands making the top 20.

The J.D. Power survey questioned new-car buyers on things such as whether they felt pressured to buy a car while at a dealership, whether the price negotiation was straightforward, and if the dealer kept all the promises made in the negotiating process.

Saturn's top placement notwithstanding, what the 1998 survey revealed is that for the best sales experience, customers should be prepared to spend a lot of money. From No. 2 Cadillac through No. 10 Infiniti, customers ranked the luxury sedan makers tops in closing the deal with a minimum of stress.

Filling out the top 10 were Lexus, Land Rover, Volvo, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and Lincoln.

While much of a customer's satisfaction in years past stemmed from whether the car he or she bought was problem-free on delivery, ``expectations are changing,'' said Loretta Seymour, director of sales satisfaction at Agoura Hills-based J.D. Power.

``Today buyers expect that the car is going to be in good condition,'' she said. ``What's important to making customers delighted with a dealer are consistency in the process and that the (transaction is) hassle-free.''

As in years past, discrepancies emerged on the list, with separate brands sold by the same manufacturer ranked at opposite ends of the spectrum. Just as the otherwise low-ranking Toyota found its luxury Lexus line well-placed at No. 3, GM's GMC brand fell to below average in customer sales satisfaction. Similarly, despite Infiniti's success, Nissan dealers overall ranked below average.

The big loser in this year's ranking was Chrysler, whose Dodge, Jeep and Plymouth brand dealers all ranked low. The Chrysler brand itself, however, came in at No. 15, up from a below-average ranking last year.

``I'm not sure there's a good reason for that discrepancy between brands,'' said Chrysler spokesman Jeff Leestma.

He said the overall trend in the auto industry is for improved sales satisfaction, so that while Chrysler dealers have over the years improved the job they're doing, the bar continues to rise.

``These surveys show relatively how you rank vs. your competitors,'' Leestma said. Chrysler's internal quality-control measures focus on the ``total ownership experience'' it delivers customers, independent of what the competition is up to, he said.

Chrysler, Toyota and Nissan all said they have recently instituted companywide changes in how dealers are trained, with an eye toward improving customer satisfaction.

``This isn't solely the fault of dealers,'' Leestma said. ``As companies, we need to give dealers the tools they need to serve the customer. We all agree we can improve.''

MOST SATISFIED

Make Rank Above Average

1. Saturn 144

2. Cadillac 143

3. Lexus 142

4. Land Rover 140

5. Volvo 139

6. BMW 138

7. Jaguar 138

8. Mercedes 138

9 . Lincoln 136

10. Infiniti 134

CAPTION(S):

5 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--Color) SATURN

(2--Color) CADILLAC

(3--Color) LEXUS

(4--Color) LAND ROVER

(5--Color) VOLVO

BOX: MOST SATISFIED (see text)