By Women, don't let car dealers disrespect you

By Stefanie Kelly & Robert Hammer

For most of us, the decision to buy a new car is at once an exhilarating and a dreadful one.

The prospect of driving out of the showroom in a brand new car that no one else has driven before - one that, perhaps, we’ve dreamt of owning - can be downright thrilling.

But the thought of having to haggle and squirm in the pressurized environment of a car dealership is enough to make most consumers queasy. What should be a fun transaction transmutes into a downright repelling one somewhere between the salesman’s initial greeting and the appearance of the finance manager (a.k.a. “The Closer”) on the scene.

This is especially so for women, who as a rule can expect little to no respect when entering a car dealership without the protective shield of a husband or a discernibly serious boyfriend. Whatever her reason for going to a dealership alone, a woman who does so - be she single, married, divorced or widowed - is likely to be in for an unsavory experience.

This point is perhaps best made by considering the married woman who goes to a car dealership with her husband; no matter how diligently - or convincingly - the salesman tries to demonstrate that he has equal respect for the wife, his instinct is to focus primarily on the husband. He gives the wife only peripheral attention; she is the equivalent of an accessory.

Unfortunately, sexism still prevails on the dealership floor, where the salespeople are like so many jackals awaiting their next meal ticket. They are trained to exploit every vulnerability a consumer reveals, and a woman who walks into a dealership alone is grist for this unsavory mill. (The friend who tags along to provide moral support provides only minimal defense.)

The fact is, one of the fundamental lessons in Car Sales 101 - the basic training through which every car salesman passes before setting foot on the showroom floor - is that women are more emotional consumers than men, and that male and female consumers therefore require different approaches. Women are treated like infants in this scenario, and in the “boys’ club” atmosphere of car dealerships, it is hard for women consumers to command respect.

What options does a woman have if she wishes to forego the shenanigans that take place at car dealerships? While it is an excellent idea for any consumer to consult with an auto broker (nothing to lose, everything to gain), the broker option is especially useful to single women.

A good auto broker can relieve the consumer of the need to visit any dealership,.except to see features and colors firsthand, or to take a test drive. In general, this cuts out a lot of hassle and wasted time - and usually results in substantial savings, as well.

But for single women, the broker experience also translates into a more respectful interaction. Buying or leasing a car through a broker effectively takes the power away from the dealership and puts it in the consumer’s hands. When a broker mediates the transaction, the dealership no longer holds all the cards; instead, it merely functions as a source for the vehicle.

The broker, acting as the consumer’s agent, empowers the consumer by eliminating the games and price-gouging that are par for the course when buying or leasing from a dealership.

And the consumer, by engaging a broker to do the legwork, can actually enjoy the experience of acquiring a new vehicle. Now, there’s a novel idea.

Hammer and Kelly are with Hammer Auto, a new car auto broker in Palo Alto. For more information, call 813-6100 or visit www.hammerauto.com.