Finding the right dealer for your car buying journey can be the difference between loving a new car or regretting deeply every time you get behind the wheel.
California’s New Automobile Dealers Association predicts a whopping 1.71 million new car subscribers in 2025. According to a 2023 survey conducted by popular automotive services and technology provider Cox Automotive, only 69% of consumers are very happy with the car buying process.
So how can California’s new and used car buyers tell where to shop for vehicles and whether or not car dealers are highly rated? In 2025, more than one million car buyers are expected to challenge California car dealers and venture out for a massive shopping and a positive shopping experience.
USA Today, USA Today Network California, and market research firm Statista have worked together to compile the first-ever “California’s Best Automotive Dealers 2025” list to provide consumers with the best dealer options in Golden State.
What qualifies a car dealership considered one of the best car dealers in California in 2025? Customers who have purchased cars in the past two years, or who have been actively investigating car purchases, participated in a wide range of surveys, resulting in dealers and 5,000 personal ratings of 75,000 data points.
Statista also allowed car dealers to participate in another expert survey on the condition that they recommend only peers and not themselves. This data and a comprehensive ranking system allowed Statista and USA Today to compile a list of California’s top 250 car dealers. These 250 dealers account for less than 5% of the 5,000+ statewide dealers and are carefully selected based on strict methodologies.
Customer and dealer investigations were conducted between March and April 2025. Survey respondents can name the largest six dealers in California that they knew. Participants were asked how likely they would be to recommend dealers with personal experience.
Auto dealers were rated in the following categories:
- Consultation: Sales staff attitude and abilities
- Provided by: Information Clarity, Test Drive Availability, Additional Services
- Pricing: Price level, negotiating desire
- Repair: Quality of repair and maintenance services
- Overall satisfaction: possibility to buy again, after-sales service quality
The findings produced many of the powerful candidates filtered through the scoring model. The factors used to determine “California’s Best Auto Dealer 2025” are:
- Number of dealer recommendations
- Number of customer mentions (dealer brand awareness)
- Customer’s willingness to recommend dealers
- Customer reviews for the above five categories
- Customer information (or intended for use) regarding the scope of services used
California’s top 250 car dealers are a mix of mainstream and luxury car dealers and Tesla and Carmax dealers. The top 10 Best California Car Dealers are made up of multiple Honda, Toyota, BMW and Chevrolet dealers, with Stockton Honda taking the top spot. Research shows Los Angeles has the largest concentration of California’s best car dealers.
