DealerRater Reputation Management

DealerRater’s public Dealer Rating isn’t a plain average of every star rating a dealership has ever received. Per DealerRater’s own published update to its rating calculation, more recent reviews are weighted more heavily than older ones, with the trailing 24 months mattering most — DealerRater ties this directly to average dealership staff turnover of roughly two years, meaning a rating from a salesperson or service advisor no longer at the store shouldn’t carry the same weight as a recent one.

A dealership also needs a minimum of 5 reviews within that trailing 24-month window before a Dealer Rating is calculated at all. Fall short of that, and the profile shows "Not Yet Rated" instead of a star score — which means a dealership with a thin or stale review history isn’t just under-rated, it may not be showing a rating at all.

Separately, DealerRater also calculates a PowerScore for dealerships that qualify for its Dealer of the Year and Consumer Satisfaction Award programs. PowerScore is a distinct Bayesian ranking built from average star rating, review volume within the calendar year, and response rate — it is not the number shoppers see on a dealer’s profile page, and it exists specifically to rank dealers against each other for awards eligibility.