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Finding the right dealership for your car purchasing journey can be the difference between loving your new car or deeply regretting it every time you get behind the wheel.
The California New Car Dealers Association forecasts a whopping 1.71 million new vehicle registrants in 2025. Only 69% of consumers are highly satisfied with the car buying process according to a 2023 study conducted by Cox Automotive, a popular automotive service and technology provider.
So, where should new and used car buyers in California shop for their vehicles, and how can you tell if an auto dealer is highly-rated? Over 1 million car buyers are projected to venture out to car dealers in California in search of great deals and positive shopping experiences in 2025.
USA TODAY, the USA TODAY Network California, and market research firm Statista collaborated to compile the first-ever "California's Best Car Dealers 2025" list, in an effort to provide consumers with some of the best dealership options in the Golden State.
In the Salinas area, 101 Motorsports on Prunedale Road made the list for used vehicles. The dealership sells all brands, according to the list. Freeway Toyota of Gilroy also made the list for new and used Toyotas.
For Monterey County residents looking to shop nearby, they can visit one of these dealerships on the list.
BMW of Monterey, 1 Geary Plaza, Seaside
Cardinale Nissan, 1661 Del Monte Blvd., Seaside
Capitol Volkswagen: 911 Capitol Expressway Auto Mall A, San Jose
Lexus Stevens Creek: 3333 Stevens Creek Blvd., San Jose
Capitol Toyota: 775 Capitol Expressway Auto Mall, San Jose
Capitol Honda: 745 Capitol Expressway Auto Mall, San Jose
Capitol Nissan: 1120 Capitol Expressway Auto Mall, San Jose
What qualifies a car dealer to be considered one of the best car dealers in California for 2025? Customers who had bought a car in the past two years or were actively researching a car purchase participated in a broad survey resulting in 5,000 individual evaluations of dealerships and 75,000 data points.
Statista also allowed car dealers to participate in a separate expert survey on the condition that they only recommend peers, not themselves. This data and a comprehensive ranking system allowed Statista and USA TODAY to compile a list of the top 250 car dealers in California. These 250 dealers represent less than 5% of over 5,000 statewide dealers and have been carefully selected based on a strict methodology.
Customer and dealer surveys took place between March and April 2025. Survey respondents could name up to six California dealerships they knew. Participants were asked how likely they were to recommend the dealerships they had personal experiences with.
Consultation: Demeanor and competence of the sales staff
Offerings: Clarity of information, test drive availability, additional services
Pricing: Price levels, willingness to negotiate
Repairs: Quality of repair and maintenance services
Overall Satisfaction: Likelihood of buying again, after-sales service quality
The survey results yielded plenty of strong contenders, which were filtered through a scoring model. Factors used to determine "California's Best Car Dealers 2025" include:
Number of recommendations by dealers
Number of mentions by customers (brand awareness of the dealerships)
Willingness of customers to recommend the dealership
Customer ratings in the five categories listed above
Customer information on the extent of services used (or intended to be used)
The top 250 car dealers in California are a mix of mainstream and luxury automobile dealerships as well as some Tesla and CarMax dealers. The top 10 best California car dealers consist of multiple Honda, Toyota, BMW, and Chevrolet dealers, with Stockton Honda taking the top spot. Los Angeles is home to the largest concentration of the best car dealers in California, according to the survey.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Buying a car? See the best California Central Coast car dealers in 2025
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