Summary: Customer loyalty is built in the service lane. Insights from the Cox Automotive Fixed Ops and Ownership Study show that service experiences shape repeat visits, retention, and long-term value. This article outlines how proactive communication, transparency, and digital convenience help dealerships compete with independent repair shops and turn service visits into lasting loyalty.
It’s plain to see how a dealership’s service department contributes to the overall profitability of the business. However, awareness is relatively low on the impact fixed ops have on customer loyalty, repeat purchases, and lifetime value.
In late 2025, Cox Automotive surveyed 500 fixed ops decision makers from dealerships and 2,500 consumers who’d had a service visit within the last year. The resulting report tells us a lot about the opportunities that dealerships have for growing their business around service.
The Long-Term Opportunity
It’s estimated that each consumer spends more than $12,000 on service and repairs to a vehicle1 while they own it. But just because a person buys from the dealership doesn’t mean they automatically keep returning for service. In fact, the study shows that customers consider independent repair shops and dealership service departments equally – and when it comes down to who keeps the customer, the service experience is what matters.
Customers who slip through the cracks represent not only lost service revenue but also a lost opportunity for the next vehicle sale. So, let’s talk about how dealers can turn service experiences into long-term loyalty.
Beating the Competition for Customer Loyalty
Before a customer takes their vehicle in for its first service visit, they give both dealerships and independent repair shops 41 percent consideration. You may think your dealership can rely on brand, warranty, or proximity to win repeat visits, but that won’t necessarily seal the deal when a customer is a coin flip away from making a different choice.
Fortunately, it turns out that when service costs are equal, 45 percent of consumers prefer dealerships versus 32 percent preferring general repair shops. And once a customer has had their vehicle serviced at a dealership, nearly 90 percent of them consider returning.
So, how can you make sure the customer chooses you?
The First Service Visit Is the Tipping Point
When you consider that the first dealership service visit is where loyalty is cemented, that makes it vitally important that you get the first visit on the books as quickly as possible after a sale. Even though 80 percent of vehicle buyers in the study said they are likely to come back to the dealer where they purchased to get their vehicle serviced, only 30 percent said the dealer had set up their first service appointment.
Here are some quotes from customers about why they prefer the dealership for service:
- “I chose the dealership for expertise with my vehicle and warranty coverage. I trusted the dealership-trained technician to correctly handle brand-specific issues.”
- “That’s where I purchased the car, and I trust them—honest, loyal, and great customer service.”
- “Knowing that the dealership has my car’s full service history makes me confident they can provide accurate and consistent care.”
With sentiments like that coming from 80 percent of buyers, it makes sense to get that first service appointment scheduled as part of the vehicle purchase wrap-up.
Proactive Engagement Drives Repeat Visits
People’s lives are busy. Yes, they have every intention of keeping their vehicle serviced on a regular schedule, but an endless series of distractions can get in the way. That’s why many service visits aren’t planned; they’re prompted.
Dealerships that use advertising and marketing to stay in front of customers between service visits capture more service opportunities. In fact, 47 percent of customers who go to the dealership for service say service reminders drive otherwise unplanned visits, compared to 28 percent for customers who get their vehicles serviced elsewhere.
It’s important to note that customers who have their vehicles serviced by dealerships have a 14 percent higher appreciation for digital scheduling and reminders than independent repair shop customers.
Don’t hesitate to keep your customers informed about their vehicles’ routine service needs, warranty notifications, and previously declined services—and provide convenient scheduling links. Your silence only creates space for competitors.
High-Performing Dealerships Win on Transparency and Follow Through
The study identified certain dealers who outperform their peers when it comes to customer loyalty, efficiency, and profitability. Their advantage over competitors lies in transparency with customers while looking for ways to maximize profit opportunities with every customer.
These high-performing dealers are 16 percentage points ahead integrating photo and video into multipoint inspections, which results in higher average dollars per RO and faster approvals.
They also take proactive steps to treat declined services as future opportunities—not as lost revenue. The result is 15 percentage points higher declined service recapture than other dealers.
Finally, high-performing dealers are 9 percentage points ahead in offering both online scheduling and mobile check-in, which speaks to their focus on customer convenience and operational efficiency. Online scheduling goes hand in hand with declined services recapture, because when the dealership sends reminders or offers about those services, the customer is a mere click away from scheduling.
Although these may seem like relatively small performance gaps, once these workflows are in place, they compound over time.
Turn Insight into Action in the Service Lane
The study makes clear that customer loyalty isn’t built by a single interaction, but by systems that continually reinforce trust. Let’s look at some of the experiences dealerships should prioritize and the solutions that can help them be successful with consistent use.
Frictionless scheduling and confirmations
Getting on the customer’s calendar should be as easy and convenient as possible and we’ve seen that scheduling a car buyer for service right away is key to customer loyalty. Xtime Schedule integrates with VinSolutions to make it easy to schedule the first service appointment at the time of sales delivery. Overall, dealerships using Xtime Schedule with its 24/7 online booking and automated reminders experience a 17 percent increase in customer retention.
Proactive reminders and follow-ups
Whether a customer needs a repair, a routine service, or to catch up on previously declined services, it helps to send them targeted messages and offers. Using Xtime Invite, you can deliver these messages at just the right intersection of the customer’s needs and the shop’s capacity. Dealers who use Xtime Invite’s marketing tools to optimize shop capacity see about 174 additional ROs per month.
Visual transparency during service
When they say, “seeing is believing,” that holds true for photos and videos of multipoint inspections. When dealerships use multimedia to show customers their service needs, 35 percent of customers report better understanding and more confidence in the recommendations. These customers spend $230 more than customers who do not receive photos and videos from the service lane.
Xtime Inspect with Service Multimedia Pro lets your service technicians easily capture and share high-resolution photos and videos during inspections. When you document vehicle conditions and recommended repairs in this way, 49 percent of consumers say they’re more likely to approve recommended services.
Intelligent targeting to recapture declined services
Top-performing dealers offer customers reminders and incentives to encourage them to come back to address services they previously declined. Xtime Invite helps dealerships deliver timely, relevant messages via email and text marketing. Leading dealerships recapture more than $35,000 in declined services per month.2
Start Improving Customer Experience and Performance Now
Xtime offers a full suite of solutions that can help dealers act on the Fixed Ops and Ownership Study’s biggest service loyalty drivers:
- Digital convenience
- Proactive communication
- Transparency and trust
- Repeatable follow through
With the right solutions and processes in place, customers are easier to win, first time visitors are more likely to return, and loyal customers lead to long-term revenue.
The study confirms what top performing dealers already know: service builds trust. Dealers who invest in proactive, transparent service experiences don’t just retain customers, they maximize customer value across the entire ownership lifecycle.
Want to learn more? Take a self-guided demo and explore Xtime at your own pace.
Sources:
All statistics are from 2025 Cox Automotive Ownership Study unless otherwise noted
1Cox Automotive Ownership Research, Xtime data, The Zebra research, Estimation is based on the following assumptions: 1) 2.4 average service visits a year, 2) average length of ownership is 8.4 years, and 3) average RO per visit is $615 (among Xtime dealers).
2Based on 663 top-performing dealers between Jan 2025 and July 2025.
