Car dealership survey: 15 questions for the customer who just bought
Fifteen questions one buyer answers about one purchase, from your first reply to the day they drove it home.
- 15questions
- about 4 minto answer
- 5-point agreeplus one open answer
- 1 purchaseper response
The 15 car dealership survey questions
A car dealership survey is a short questionnaire a store sends to a customer who has just bought or leased a vehicle. It asks about that one purchase in the order it happened: first contact, test drive, price, paperwork and delivery. All 15 questions are loaded in the free online survey creator.
What you bought
Two fields for splitting the results later. Neither identifies the buyer.
- Thinking about the vehicle you just took home from us, how did you get it?Read new, used and lease buyers apart first.
- How did you first get in touch with us about it?
Getting started
Everything before a price is on the table. For a trained visitor's view of the same stage, brief one with mystery shopper questions.
- When you first got in touch, we responded as quickly as you expected.Judged against what the buyer expected, not your own target.
- Your salesperson asked what you needed before showing you vehicles.
- You were able to test drive the vehicle you were interested in.
Price and paperwork
The money and the desk, one item each.
- The final paperwork matched the price we had agreed.Any disagreement here deserves a call back the same day.
- The value we offered for your trade-in was explained in a way you could follow.Explained, not generous: buyers accept a number they understand.
- No one pressured you to add products you did not want.
- The paperwork took a reasonable amount of time.
Delivery
The day the buyer takes the keys.
- Your vehicle was ready at the time we promised.
- At delivery, someone showed you how the features work.
- Which part of buying from us took the most effort?A smooth purchase takes one tap. The rest rank your fixes.
In your words, then the verdict
One open answer, then two outcome questions. For a single recommend score across sales and service, add an NPS survey.
- What one thing should we change about how we sell vehicles?
- Would you buy your next vehicle from us?Loyalty to your store, apart from liking the make.
- Overall, how would you rate buying your vehicle from us?The headline to track month to month.
Sending it after a sale and reading the answers
Send it to the person who signed, a few days after delivery, and say that answers go to management, not to the salesperson.
Read question 15 first: the share of buyers who answered very good or good is your headline. Then score the agree items 5 down to 1 and average each block, leaving out the two opt-out answers.
Count every good answer as good. On a manufacturer's survey where 10 is the high score, an 8 or 9 does the dealer or salesperson no good, and the result is almost always tied to the salesperson's bonus plan.[1] Your own survey has room for an honest "Good".
Whether buyers stay with the make is a job for a brand loyalty survey. To see which stage of ownership needs a survey of its own, start with customer experience survey questions.
Car dealership survey FAQ
What questions should a car dealership survey ask?
Questions about one purchase, in the order it happened: the first reply, the test drive, whether the paperwork matched the agreed price, the trade-in, the finance desk and delivery. Then one open question and an overall rating.
When should a dealership send a customer satisfaction survey?
A few days after delivery, once the buyer has driven the car and read the paperwork at home, while the visit is still clear in their mind. Send it once, with one reminder.
What is a dealer satisfaction survey?
Usually a survey of a dealership's own customers, which is what this template is. The phrase can also mean a manufacturer surveying its dealers about support and inventory. That is a business survey with a different respondent.
Should one survey cover both sales and service?
Keep them apart. A buyer and a service customer dealt with different people. Send this one after a sale, and after a repair order send a customer service survey.
Michael Hodge, survey methodology · Updated 2 October 2026 · How templates are reviewed
Sources (1)
- Reynolds, J. "The Almighty Car Dealership Customer Satisfaction Survey." CarPro, 2 January 2025. carpro.com
Hear from the buyer who just drove away
Fifteen questions, about four minutes, and one rating to set beside last month.
Use this template