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The average Canadian is spending $23 less in 2011 on maintenance and repairs than in 2010, according to a recent J.D. Power and Associates study of drivers with vehicles 4 to 12 years old. However, this is mainly due to a 9 per cent decrease in the amount of service visits.

"Study data suggests owners of older vehicles continue to de-prioritize maintenance and repair spending in the face of uncertain economic conditions," said Ryan Robinson, director of the Canadian automotive practice at J.D. Power and Associates, in a press release. "This is creating an increasingly competitive environment for automotive service brands as they fight for share in a contracting market."

And it appears that Napa Autopro is winning that fight. The company was first with 875 points on a 1,000-point scale used by J.D. Power in its 2011 Canadian Customer Commitment Index Study to measure overall customer satisfaction with automotive service and maintenance providers. Costco was at the other end of the spectrum, scoring just 746 points.

Five factors were used to determine that level of satisfaction: the process used to get the vehicle in for service; the service advisor performance; the quality of the service facility; the quality of work performed, and the process used for vehicle return/pick up.

Owners of vehicles 8 to 12 years old are more likely to take their vehicle to an aftermarket facility rather and a dealership. The reasons why:

Fifty-eight per cent were attended to immediately, compared to 39 per cent at a dealership

Eighty-five per cent said the service advisor put them at ease, compared to 80 per cent at a dealership

Seventy-three per cent said the advisor provided helpful advice, compared to 66 per cent at a dealership

"Aftermarket facilities seem to be beating dealerships at their own game," said Robinson.

The list: Repair shops ranked best to worst (out of 1000)

Napa Autopro, 875 Great Canadian Oil Change, 864 Pennzoil, 845 Goodyear Auto Service Centre, 842 Midas, 836 Subaru dealerships, 832 Acura dealerships, 829 Mr. Lube, 825 Jiffy Lube, 821 Mercedes-Benz dealerships, 821 Hyundai dealerships, 812 Toyota/Lexus dealerships, 812 Active Green & Ross, 811 Ford/Lincoln dealerships, 811 Fountain Tire, 811 Ford Fast Lane, 808 Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealerships, 807 GM dealerships, 807 Kia dealerships, 804 Honda dealerships, 803 Mazda dealerships, 797 Volkswagen/Audi dealerships, 796 Nissan/Infiniti dealerships, 794 Volvo dealerships, 793 Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express, 779 Canadian Tire, 764 BMW dealerships, 762 Costco, 746

The study is based on responses from more than 19,500 owners in Canada whose vehicles are between four and 12 years old. The study was conducted between January and February 2011 and June and July 2011. Independent garages and repair shops were not included in the study. Included but not ranked due to their small sample size were Esso, Firestone Auto Service Centre, Kal Tire, Meineke Car Care Centre, Mitsubishi dealerships, Mr. Muffler, OK Tire, Petro-Canada Certigard, Shell, Speedy, and Suzuki dealerships.

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