Buying a Car Remains a Hassle for Women
Recent Poll Shows Little-to-No Improvement From Previous Year's Biggest Gripes
RICHMOND, Va., May 17 -- Buying a car remains a hassle for women, according to a recent poll conducted by CarMax, Inc. , the nation's largest retailer of used cars, on the company's website. The poll shows no improvement in women's biggest gripes from previous years in which the poll was conducted.
CarMax recently surveyed more than 9,800 women on carmax.com about what was most lacking in their car-buying experience. The responses are summarized below, compared with the responses to a similar survey conducted on carmax.com in 2004.
What was most lacking when you bought your last car? Criteria This Year's Response Response in 2004 * A quick, effortless transaction 21% 21% * A salesperson I liked and trusted 15% 16% * Lowest, fair pricing 14% 14% * A fair trade-in value 14% 14% * Respect for/attention to my wants and needs 14% 13% * A fair, reasonable finance rate 6% 7% * Understandable paperwork 4% 4% * Other factors 12% 11%
"Women continue to experience stress when buying a car as demands on their time and the need for convenience increases," says Donna Wassel, regional vice president for CarMax. "That's why it is important to find a car retailer that focuses on providing a transparent, customer-friendly, and easy car buying process."
Wassel offers the following 10 tips for women car shoppers:
1. Use the Internet to research vehicle types, makes, models, options,
features, and prices. Visit websites such as carmax.com to see actual
prices and photos of nearly every vehicle make and model.
2. Print out fact sheets or information about the vehicles you are
interested in, so you can remind yourself about what you want when you
step onto the lot.
3. Bring key paperwork items with you, including title and registration
for your current vehicle, your driver's license, and insurance card.
4. If you have been pre-approved for a car loan, bring the approval
letter with you.
5. Find a car retailer and salesperson you like and trust by asking
friends and family for referrals.
6. Find a car retailer that is open and transparent in the transaction.
7. Look for a retailer that offers low, no-haggle prices and a la carte
pricing on each part of the car buying transaction -- the vehicle
price, the warranty, the trade-in, and the financing. Beware of
extraneous, unexplained fees.
8. Get a fair offer on your trade-in separately from your car purchase.
You can bring your car to CarMax for a free appraisal. Having the
appraisal offer will help you understand the fair value of your
"trade-in" before you start shopping.
9. Have confidence in your car shopping abilities. You have done your
research and are prepared to make a smart car buying decision.
10. Do not hesitate to ask lots of questions -- as many as you need so
that you understand exactly what you are paying for. Be prepared to
walk away if you are unhappy with your car buying experience.
"Being prepared to walk away can be tough to do, especially if you have spent a lot of time on one car lot," says Wassel. "But if you are not pleased with the car buying process, it's worth it -- remember, you are the one who has to drive the car and make the payments, not the salesperson."
About CarMax
CarMax, a FORTUNE 500 company, and one of the FORTUNE 2006 "100 Best Companies to Work For," is the nation's largest retailer of used cars. Headquartered in Richmond, Va., CarMax currently operates 70 used car superstores in 33 markets. CarMax also operates seven new car franchises, all of which are integrated or co-located with its used car superstores. During the twelve month period ended February 28, 2006, the company sold 289,888 used cars, which is 93 percent of the total 310,789 vehicles the company retailed during that period. For more information, access the CarMax website at http://www.carmax.com/.
