Dealer of the Year - Consumer Satisfaction Award FAQ

The Consumer Satisfaction Award was initiated in 2015 to recognize the top-reviewed dealerships on DealerRater for providing outstanding customer service and satisfaction. Consumer Satisfaction awards are given to a percentage of the top-rated dealerships on Cars.com and DealerRater as expressed by reviews submitted for the dealership.

The Consumer Satisfaction Awards is intended to recognize dealerships that provide an exceptional customer experience, and Consumer Satisfaction awards are given out to a percentage of the top-rated dealerships on Cars.com and DealerRater. There is no limit to the number of dealerships within a particular State/Province or brand that could receive a Consumer Satisfaction Award. Instead, each dealership is compared against all others on Cars.com and DealerRater when determining Consumer Satisfaction Award recipients.

In 2022 we introduced a Regional Award category, which awards the dealership with the top PowerScore™, regardless of brand, in 8 geographic regions. The eight regions that are awarded are: New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Plains, Rocky Mountain, Southwest, and West. The list of states included in these regions is based on the regional breakdown used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Any dealership listed on Cars.com or DealerRater.com is eligible to receive one of these awards, regardless of whether they are a customer. Award recipients are determined based solely on their reviews, as calculated through a PowerScore.

A dealer’s PowerScore is based on its average star rating, the number of reviews they receive within the relevant calendar year, and the response rate to those reviews. We use a Bayesian algorithm to determine an eligible dealer’s PowerScore for the year. The algorithm compares multiple statistics against a baseline average. Essentially, we compare each eligible dealer to the average of all the other eligible dealers to see where they stack up, and this gives us one number which we can use to rank the award finalists.

A dealership must meet the following criteria to qualify for either Dealer of the Year or the Consumer Satisfaction Award.

• Minimum of 25 reviews on DealerRater for the previous calendar year.

• Minimum of 1 review in each calendar quarter of the previous calendar year.

• An average rating greater than 4.0 (out of a maximum of 5.0) for reviews received during the previous calendar year.

• Minimum of 1 “Sales (New)” review in the last calendar year in the Brand of the award (for DOTY National & State awards only)

These awards are typically announced early in the year - in late January or early-to-mid February - in the award year. The 2024 awards (based on the 2023 calendar year) are scheduled to be announced on March 6, 2024. Winners will be notified by email. Additionally, at the time of the announcement, a badge will be added to the winning dealership’s profile page on DealerRater, and a banner will be added to the Dealer Panel to congratulate the winning dealership. Once the winners are announced, you can view a complete list of winners by following the links below:

For a list of U.S. winners, click here

For a list of Canadian winners, click here

The perks and marketing collateral that a dealer award winner receives will vary by award category. For a Dealer of the Year winner, here’s what you’ll receive:

• A permanent Dealer of the Year banner on your Dealer Profile Page.

• High-resolution Dealer of the Year graphics are available in your Dealer Panel, to be used however you choose.

• A customizable press-release template in your Dealer Panel to help announce your award.

• Customizable social media post templates to spread the word throughout your social channels.

• Priority placement on any directory on DealerRater.com in which your dealership appears, for the duration of the year of the award.

• Collateral that you can use in your dealership to promote your win: Regional and National Brand winners will receive a trophy and window clings, while State and Province Brand winners will receive window clings only. In most cases, trophies and window clings should arrive by late February.  

As a Consumer Satisfaction Award recipient, your dealership will receive the following:

• A Consumer Satisfaction Award banner on your Dealer Profile page for the duration of the year.

• High-resolution Consumer Satisfaction Award graphics are available in your Dealer Panel, to be used however you choose.

• A press-release template to help announce your award.

• Customizable social media post templates to help spread the word throughout your social channels

• The collateral you can use in your dealership to promote your award - window clings will be sent to all winners. In most cases, window clings should arrive by late March.  

If no dealership within a given state/province and brand category meet the minimum criteria for a Dealer of the Year award, then no award will be given for that category.

The manufacturer selected when the consumer submits a review on DealerRater will be used to determine a Dealer's rating for each brand. For a dealership that sells multiple brands, reviews for each brand are calculated separately. For example, a Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram store might win an award for Chrysler, but not for any other brands.

Note that the Regional award is not brand-specific. All reviews the dealer receives are counted when determining the winners for this category.  

The Consumer Satisfaction Award is not brand specific. A PowerScore is calculated for each dealership listed on DealerRater.com. If a dealership's PowerScore is in the top percentage of scores that are chosen to receive the award, that dealership will receive a Consumer Satisfaction Award.

The Dealer of the Year and Consumer Satisfaction Awards are based on the calendar year before the year of the award. For example, the 2024 award is based on reviews received during the 2023 calendar year.

If your dealership did not receive an award, it means that either your dealership did not meet the minimum criteria, or that another dealership within that category had a higher PowerScore for the previous calendar year. Put simply, another dealership had more reviews and/or a higher average score for the year. Because of the factors involved in calculating a PowerScore, it is very difficult to tell in advance which dealership will win a Dealer of the Year award. The Dealer of the Year calculations are often incredibly close, often down to a thousandth of a decimal point.