CAR DEALERSHIPS ARE MISSING OUT ON THE BUYING POWER OF WOMEN

“When I took my Range Rover Evoque for its rst service, I drew their attention to the airbag light being constantly on. I was told it was because ‘you ladies do like to put your handbags on the seat!’ When I needed to get the rst MOT done, which it would have failed, the dealership told me it was a Land Rover issue. Land Rover Assist came to the house and told me that I had been driving the car for three years with the airbag system disabled because of a loose connection. I wonder if a man would have been given the ‘handbag’ excuse?” is column originated back in 2018, when I was bending Maarten Ho mann’s ear back for the umpteenth time about how badly women were treated in many car dealerships by male salespeople. ey clearly had no idea that women make 80% of the buying decisions in households, and that by not treating women equally when buying cars, they were not doing the trade, car brand or women any favours.

Taking a straw poll of experiences from friends, family and business colleagues in recent weeks as to both good and bad car buying experiences, such comments seem to be still frustratingly and unnecessarily commonplace.

It appeared utterly illogical to me as a business woman as well, as it also meant that both pro ts and reputation would go down the pan as women are exceptionally good at spreading the word when hacked o – especially when it comes to cars.

Further Tales Of Woe Followed

“Ordinarily I would have walked away from this dealership but they are the only local dealer who sell Minis – a brand to which I am loyal. I have been a customer for over ten years but have had dire customer service. Most recently I seriously enquired about upgrading my current car (having bought ve cars from them previously). I wasn’t o ered a test drive and was just allowed to sit in it for ve minutes. It took almost a week to get a quotation and then they never responded to my query – clearly not interested in a sale.” – Hacked o woman #1

“Previously, they had sought to conceal damage to cars I have purchased including a signi cant windscreen crack and dent. eir piece-de-resistance was accidentally selling a car I had placed a deposit on to someone else. I always feel patronised and fobbed o by the male sales sta .”

– Hacked o woman #2

“I went to buy a Range Rover Evoque, and the dealer spoke to my husband the entire time, despite me asking questions about the car that I was clearly buying for myself. Misogyny is alive and well at that Range Rover dealership. Sigh” –Hacked o woman #3

“Every time I asked a question he replied to my husband. On the third response, my husband said something along the lines of, “you know, I think you’ve just blown it, mate. is car is for my wife. She is buying it and you should be talking to her. We left.” – Hacked o woman #4

I have too many experiences of my own, including putting a £1,500 deposit down on a secondhand BMW that had just been part-exchanged, and was being taken o to be valeted for me to test drive on the Monday. e car was too low for me in the end and I changed my mind and said that I would

Top Tips To Salesmen For Selling A Car To A Woman

Listen to what her exact requirements are:

• Never, ever presume you can read her mind

• Look her in the eye and only talk to her (not her partner, husband or friend)

• Expect a woman to negotiate with you

• Learn how to speak to women (as obviously car sales people don’t know) as female car buyers are increasing at 21% per year

• Bear in mind that over 74% of men buying cars are heavily influenced by their female partner. This means that over 95% of car purchases are controlled by women continue to research other BMW models. When I asked for my deposit back, the salesman said he would rather not give it back to me until I had found something else as it would muck up his paperwork. His commission, more like…

But there does appear to be some light at the end of a very long tunnel.

A dear friend, who has worked behind the scenes for almost 40 years in the motor trade at a Vauxhall dealership, has seen many changes, “ e younger generation of salesmen we have now are wonderful. ey are polite and genuinely kind, nothing like the male chauvinistic bunch of the past. We all work as a team regardless of our gender, so maybe times are a changing for the motor trade?”

And ending on a very positive note, one of our MDHUB Advisory Board members commented, “I went to test drive a Tesla, and from the moment we walked into the dealership, the sales chap was excellent. We had a full on conversation about the innovation and ground-breaking thinking behind the vehicles before stepping into one and testing out the 0-60mph (on a suitable road).

“ e dealer was thoroughly engaged – and engaging –throughout the whole experience and it was more like going on an adventure day than a test drive. Ten out of ten, and a massive ‘high ve’ to Tesla”.

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