Capital One Survey Finds 75% of Women Car Buyers Plan to Bring Man Along to Dealership

Knowledge is a Better Companion for Bargains on New '05 Models, Experts Say

MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 5 -- As most of the new 2005 vehicles roll into car dealerships now through December, a national survey of automotive buying habits shows that a significant number of women feel disadvantaged in the car-buying process. The survey of more than 800 female car buyers commissioned by Capital One finds that 75 percent of women plan to bring a man along for their next vehicle purchase, mostly to feel that they're getting a fair deal. About 40 percent of women felt their gender negatively influenced the way they were treated during their last visit to a dealership.

"The messages in this survey tell us that today's women still do not feel as empowered as they should in the car-buying process. While these findings are troubling, it's important for women to realize that showroom purchasing power begins and ends with education," said Diana Don Colby, director of financial education at leading financial services company Capital One. "Instead of relying on male companions for support, women should instead turn to the host of educational resources available for free -- both online and off-line."

According to the survey, 74 percent of the women surveyed report that the most difficult aspects of the car-buying process relate to the financial elements of the transaction. When asked, women listed the ability to obtain a good deal on price (31 percent); pressures from a sales person to buy more of a car than they can afford (16 percent); the ability to understand all of the purchase fees and costs (16 percent); and obtaining a good deal on a loan (11 percent) as the most difficult parts of the process.

"Everything you need know about car-buying is available online today including dealer invoice pricing and the price other people are paying for the same car. But that's just one part of the equation, consumers also need to shop around for financing," said Kelley Blue Book Consumer Advice Editor Joni Gray. "Women have become savvier car-buyers, but they often forget about shopping for financing, which can be a mistake costing thousands of dollars over the life of the loan."

Indeed, the survey shows that auto loans are often overlooked by women car buyers. When asked to rank aspects of the purchase process they spent the most time researching, car loans ranked last (17 percent). Further, nearly 60 percent of in-market female car buyers said they have conducted no research on their vehicle loan.

What Can Women Do To Get The Best Deal?

Education is the key to helping ensure that women get the best possible deal on a car. Kelley Blue Book Consumer Advice Editor Joni Gray and Capital One have compiled a set of tips to help give women the knowledge and confidence they need to manage the car-buying process on their own -- from choosing the right car to finding the right financing -- BEFORE arriving at the dealer.

  * Learn about vehicle pricing.  Use the Internet to research new and used
    car prices, including dealer invoice pricing, transaction pricing, and
    how much you can expect to get on your trade-in.  Know what you can
    afford and use those target numbers as a reference point for your
    pricing negotiations.

  * Research and compare different financing options.  There is a range of
    auto financing options available, including dealer financing, loans from
    banks and credit unions, and pre-approved no-obligation online loans.
    Researching your options and finding the lowest rate that you qualify
    for can save you a substantial amount of money over the life of your
    loan.

  * Treat the car-buying process as three separate negotiations.
    Determining the: 1) vehicle price; 2) trade-in value; and 3) financing
    are three separate transactions, and you should negotiate each
    separately.  This strategy will simplify your deal.

  * Read the final contract carefully.  Don't sign a contract until you're
    confident that everything is correct and is stated as it was explained
    to you.  To help familiarize yourself with the general terms and
    conditions of the contract, consider picking up a blank copy from your
    local dealer prior to negotiating the final sale.

  * Stay in control of the process -- it's OK to walk away.  If it's not the
    price or deal you want, be ready to walk away.  There is another dealer
    out there who will be willing to accept your price.

Capital One's Don Colby added, "Women who empower themselves with information before they go to the dealership can be confident and walk into the experience aware of what they want, what they can afford, and how to ask for it - on their own."

Financial Education Help

In an effort to help educate consumers, Capital One offers easy-to- understand consumer education resources on topics such as budgeting and developing spending plans. Educational materials are free and can be accessed from the "Managing Your Money" link located in the Customer Center area of the Capital One home page at http://www.capitalone.com/.

Survey Methodology

For the Gender Rules of the Road Survey, Braun Research was engaged to conduct 803 interviews, with women age 25-55, who were also either persons who had purchased or leased a car, van or SUV in the past 12 months, or who planned to purchase or lease a car, van or SUV in the next 12 months. Surveys were conducted by telephone from August 4th through August 12th, 2004. The margin of error for this study is plus or minus 3.46 percentage points. Interviews were monitored at random.

Sampling for this study was conducted using a random digit dialing method covering the 48 contiguous states in the United States. All interviews were conducted using a computer assisted telephone interviewing system. Statistical weights were designed from current year population estimates. These weights were based on the statistical database facilities of Claritas, the leading analytical database provider of Census based statistical demographic data.

About Capital One

Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One Financial Corporation (http://www.capitalone.com/) is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Capital One Bank and Capital One, F.S.B., offer consumer lending products and Capital One Auto Finance, Inc., offers automobile and other motor vehicle financing products. Capital One's subsidiaries collectively had 46.7 million managed accounts and $71.8 billion in managed loans outstanding as of March 31, 2004. Capital One, a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest providers of MasterCard and Visa credit cards in the world. Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 500 index.