In the Driver's Seat
The Female Car Buying Experience
By Kara Stefan
 I
remember the first time I haggled to buy a car. It took 6
hours, and I had my 6-year old son with me. He was an active
little guy, racing around the showroom making car sounds.
I'm proud to say he made the process as trying for them as
it was for me.
Actually, having my son there helped me stay focused on two
things: Not committing to higher payments than I could afford
and getting out of there as quickly as possible. Notwithstanding
the 6-hour ordeal I endured, I did walk out of the dealership
with both the car and price I wanted.
I looked at several cars that were similar to the one I was
seeking, so I picked the one with the lowest mileage. Then
I announced that I could afford no more than a $200 monthly
car payment. That's when the sales guy started sweating. First
he suggested $300, then $250, then $225. I glanced over at
my son and told the man I'd have to cancel my son's swim lessons
for that extra $25 a month (which was true).
His next tact was to talk me into taking one of the other
cars with higher mileage. I wasn't exactly up for another
test drive so I didn't budge. What seemed like an eternity
later, he came out of his sales manager's office, held out
his hand, and congratulated me--I owned the car.
But it wasn't over. They sent me to another office where
I had to haggle with a contracts guy about service warranties
and a long list of "extras." I had no idea there was anything
else involved and felt very confused.
I called my father from outside the contract office. He wasn't
home, but after hanging up the payphone and mustering my conviction,
I announced that my father advised me not to purchase the
warranties. I suddenly felt more confident, and the contract
guy seemed to understand that father knows best.
When I finally drove the car off the lot, I didn't even know
if I got a good price or not, but one thing was for sure:
Never again would I go through that living hell.
A Better, Brighter Future
Come to find out, I'm not alone in my harrowing car-buying
experience. Women comprise 54% of new car buyers, and studies
reveal they pay an average of $200 more than men for new cars.
And women are also 40% more likely to pay the dealer's asking
price. Now if that's not marked discrimination, I don't know
what is.
Finally, we have the means to level the playing field with
men. It's called the Internet, and if you're reading this
article, you've tackled the hardest part of buying a car (learning
to use a computer). One of the more popular car-buying sites
for women, Autobytel.com,
recently conducted a survey of women car-buyers. It found
that women's greatest concerns when buying a car are:
- Convenience
- Being in control
- Being discriminated against when buying and servicing
their car
Taking your car to a mechanic without a man with you is still
a monumental challenge, but with the help of the Internet,
at least the car-buying process is gender blind. You can shop
for your preferred model, color, accessories, and even name
your own price.
Plus, you can find out everything you need to know online--and
get answers to all of your questions--before you make your
decision. And you can do all of this in your bathrobe over
ice cream at midnight.
One site you may want to check out is Autobytel.com.
It has a "For Her" section that's just for women and provides
articles and information covering many of the questions that
women typically ask, as well as stuff about which you may
not know enough to ask.
There's even a "My Garage" section that helps you manage
maintenance on your car after its purchase, with service reminders,
safety recall notifications, and a repair cost estimator so
you can gauge when you're getting ripped off.
So take advantage of what the Internet has to offer--it may
well prove to be more reliable than having a man around to
do it for you.
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