More women enjoy shopping for vehicle

September 16, 2002

Auto.com reported that shopping for cars and trucks at dealerships is becoming more fun for women.

In a summer survey, 45 percent of women said they enjoyed shopping for a vehicle, compared to 36 percent of men. Only 7 percent of women said they hated the vehicle shopping experience compared with 15 percent of men, according to a poll by Moritz Research, a St. Louis marketing research company.

"The old notion that women are treated poorly at the dealership seems to have gone by the wayside, as they are reporting more positive feelings toward vehicle shopping than men," said David Ensing, director of research and development for Moritz Research's Automotive Group.

"On the other hand, one-fifth of Americans still dislike the vehicle shopping process. Luckily, the two biggest reasons are people and process issues -- things that the dealers can easily address," he said.

The main things survey respondents said they disliked or hated about vehicle shopping were: dealing with salespeople, negotiating a final price, the length of time it takes and arranging financing.

The random national telephone survey included 501 men and 503 women.