I just completed my 5th car shop. Out of the 5 car shops I've done, 3 of them have been with a female sales person. Typically at the dealership there are a sea of male salespeople and one or two female. This made me wonder--as a solo female entering the sales area, do they automatically assign me the female salesperson if there's one working? Have any males gone on a car shop and been given a tour by a female?

If dealerships were smart they would send a female to deal with a solo female. Most modern women won't put up with some male pressuring her to buy what he thinks she should get.

I do chuckle at how often the salesmen get it wrong. My son is currently in the market for a new car so sometimes when he is over and we are headed out for dinner we stop in a car place for him and my significant other to look around. Son wanders away from the 'old folks' and a salesman swoops in on him to pressure for a 'sexy set of wheels'. Don't bother with what the customer wants, sell, sell, sell. But it has never been a female or older male who has swooped in on him.

Never run into female salespeople at any of the car shops I've done. That would be nice for a change.

Now maybe I'm digressing, but my last 4 car shops have been between bad salesmanship to borderline unethical:

- On a shop two separate negotiation sessions with the same dealer, the sales person never bother to show me the actual car I was buying because they had it parked offsite
- Another offered me a car they had in stock, only to find out the car wasn't ready, so I would have to settle with what he had on hand - But at least he offered a $5K markdown if I bought that night.
- Another just didn't tell me any details or features about the car I was driving and spend the whole test drive babbling. AFTER the drive he asked me for my license "to keep the boss happy". And let me go from the dealership without trying to sell.
- The definitive worst was the salesman who tried to convinced me that his list price was $5K ABOVE the sticker price "because that's how a business makes a profit" and was trying to sell me the most expensive possible financing rather than telling me what he was selling the car for: "At what monthly payment would you feel comfortable to take the car home?"

Anyway I'm ranting... I guess I haven't run into a salesperson that makes me feel 100% comfortable to earn my business if I was really shopping for a car...

Recently did one where the sales lead had a female name attached to it and I was very excited because it would be a first for me, and I would feel more comfortable. However, she was not available once onsite and I had a typical sales experience with a sales man.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2015 11:35AM by Chix.

Maybe I'm being sexist, but I would think that it would make sense to pair a female sales person with a male customer. They could encourage her to wear short skirts and a low cut top, and talk about how "sexy" the car made the customer appear..... Sex sells in this country.

OK, I was being facetious.

However, my true sexist comment is that maybe more women don't sell cars because they have more integrity? Yes, I know I'm opening a HUGE can of worms here. I don't know that I necessarily believe it, either. It's just a thought from a middle aged broad who would rather flip burgers than do high pressure sales. I have grown up having to prove myself as capable because I am female. I have always hated being pushed to do something without being given the chance to make my own decision. Therefore, I would not be interested in a job that required me doing to others what I hated having done to myself. Again, just the ramblings of a middle aged broad that lived through the feminist movement.

**edited for grammar**



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2015 12:51PM by KimRod.

I've had one female salesperson. It was nice-one of my standard issues to bring up when I 'm getting in the car for a test drive is to complain that there's nowhere to put my purse. Men don't get it, but the female completely understood. Doesn't mean she had a response to the issue, though.

Several years ago I did a series of six Volkswagon shops. At each location I was to inquire about the same make and model vehicle. The difference in knowledge and demonstration/sales ability between the salesmen (all men, I might add) was amazing. I definitely learned a lesson from that experience. Before I purchase my next new vehicle, I will decide which vehicle I want First and then visit several dealerships to get various perspectives before closing the deal with the most deserving salesperson. I might add, all six shops were video shops. Whoever viewed those shops also learned a lot.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2015 05:00PM by Shopperfest.

@Shopperfest wrote:

Several years ago I did a series of six Volkswagon shops. At each location I was to inquire about the same make and model vehicle. The difference in knowledge and demonstration/sales ability between the salesmen (all men, I might add) was amazing. I definitely learned a lesson from that experience. Before I purchase my next new vehicle, I will decide which vehicle I want First and then visit several dealerships to get various perspectives before closing the deal with the most deserving salesperson. I might add, all six shops were video shops. Whoever viewed those shops also learned a lot.

Like you, next time I'm in the market for a new car, I've learned a lot from these experiences, and I know what to avoid in a dealer...

I have done scores of new auto shops and had a total of 3 female sales persons. Two were a pleasure to work with and closed well. The third was a trainee who was not ready for prime time. As for the male SAs on all of the other shops, more than half had the "come back with your daddy when you are ready to buy" syndrome or (worse) the "I know wht'a best for you, little lady" syndrome. Maybe after their managers cringed while viewing those videos and reading the reports, they decided to hire more women?

@walesmaven wrote:

... As for the male SAs on all of the other shops, more than half had the "come back with your daddy when you are ready to buy" syndrome or (worse) the "I know wht'a best for you, little lady" syndrome...

That is so true, even for us guys when we pretend not to be "in the know". I'm definitely teaching my girls how to deal with this type of people when they grow up. And, how to buy a car and fix their own car. They won't need daddy or any guy to go with them.

@jnoyolapicazzo wrote:

@Shopperfest wrote:

Several years ago I did a series of six Volkswagon shops. At each location I was to inquire about the same make and model vehicle. The difference in knowledge and demonstration/sales ability between the salesmen (all men, I might add) was amazing. I definitely learned a lesson from that experience. Before I purchase my next new vehicle, I will decide which vehicle I want First and then visit several dealerships to get various perspectives before closing the deal with the most deserving salesperson. I might add, all six shops were video shops. Whoever viewed those shops also learned a lot.

Like you, next time I'm in the market for a new car, I've learned a lot from these experiences, and I know what to avoid in a dealer...

Two of my shops were with really awkward people who appeared to be new as well. It also made me wonder if they send the new people to the single women assuming we don't know as much about cars. Admittedly, I don't, but my husband does and LOVES to go into details about every aspect of them (groan) so I feel like I have a handle on listening to the features and mechanics. While both of them were polite, they were somewhat painful shops to endure.

I suppose some of the reasons dealerships operate they do is from experience. Honestly, I would never buy a car without my husband present. Not only does he know infinitely more about them, but with such a big purchase, I would want to make sure we were 100% in agreement on it. Likewise, even though cars are much more up his alley, he would never buy one without me there.

I have only done one car shop and it was with a female. I live in the Pacific Northwest and it's more progressive while also more down-to-earth and she was fine, and the male manager who was involved was also fine.

I grew up in the Midwest with a lot of "Car People." Not to overgeneralize, but the men in that world tend to react better to me as a female if I walk in and act like a total alpha female. I haven't had that problem here with salespeople (we bought our last car from a young male and he didn't act sexist toward me at all) but I use this a lot with the service director where I get my car serviced, who is a kind of old-school car guy. He used to kind of brush me off, but if I ask very direct questions and tell him exactly what I want, no problems, and no attitude. I'm not sure if he thinks it's because I'm not to be trifled with or if it's because that's how he is (very direct) and that's the type of client he prefers working with. I do know other customers of his thinks he is rude but I have no issues because I figure he's telling me what's wrong with my car and I don't need to sit down and have tea with him haha.

Even though I have never done a car shop I was reading this thread to find out if what was a girl thing. Last week my car died so on Friday I called the local Honda dealer to ask about several used Honda CRV's they had. They all were marked "with Zinon (or some other unknown to me name) pricing." I started out by asking him what Zinon pricing was. He had a real attitude because I had never heard of Zinon which I gathered is the company that owns this particular dealer whose name is Honda of Santa Monica and 160 others across the USA. I asked if he could tell me what the price was for a new Honda CRV as I may just buy a new one and wanted to see how much of a savings I would get purchasing a gently used one. Today is Wednesday and he has not yet called me back....I am seriously in the market...I have no car right now and I live in Los Angeles. You have all heard that it is impossible to live in LA without a car, the car capitol of the world. Well there are dozens and dozens of other dealers. This place is not getting my business. Too bad it was not a shop.

I've done probably 40 or so new car shops and have only had 1 female. She also knew more about cars than any of the salesmen I've had. When I say she knew more, I mean she knew WAY more. Some of the guys knew basic number like horsepower and could tell you about all the bells and whistles. This lady could tell you the horsepower of every car on the lot and what it was about each car that made a difference. This was a Chrysler shop and she knew what they did to the engine in the Challenger to make it have more horsepower than the same engine in the Charger. Lady was smart.

She also got mad when I was doing 110 down the interstate and slow people got in my way and I had to slow down.


Ooooh. I forgot the one that I bought a car from. So two. She wasn't as good as the other one though, just happened to work at the right brand.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/2015 02:34PM by bgriffin.

The most annoying thing about salespeople is the assumption that I must ask my husband to buy anything. I do not have a husband and I am fully capable of making decisions on my own. When not on a shop (shopping for a car for myself), if I am ignored as I am a single female looking at the car, I will leave as they must not want my money.

@sandyf wrote:

Even though I have never done a car shop I was reading this thread to find out if what was a girl thing. Last week my car died so on Friday I called the local Honda dealer to ask about several used Honda CRV's they had. They all were marked "with Zinon (or some other unknown to me name) pricing." I started out by asking him what Zinon pricing was. He had a real attitude because I had never heard of Zinon which I gathered is the company that owns this particular dealer whose name is Honda of Santa Monica and 160 others across the USA. I asked if he could tell me what the price was for a new Honda CRV as I may just buy a new one and wanted to see how much of a savings I would get purchasing a gently used one. Today is Wednesday and he has not yet called me back....I am seriously in the market...I have no car right now and I live in Los Angeles. You have all heard that it is impossible to live in LA without a car, the car capitol of the world. Well there are dozens and dozens of other dealers. This place is not getting my business. Too bad it was not a shop.

You should do some car shops. They are kind of fun and you would learn tons about what car to get.

bg,
She got "made"???? At 110 miles an hour that must have been quite an adventure!

Getting made at 110 MPH is completely mad!

I've never had a salesman suggest that I should get my husbands approval, ever. They always just want and pressure me to "sign on the dotted line"....

Yeah yeah yeah. I edited it!

bg,
Let's face it; you are funnier when you are not even trying!

Which is crazy because I'm hilarious when I am trying!

I'm a man and had a female salesperson on a mystery shop. She complained about her personal life during the entire test drive.

@ShopUntilYouDrop wrote:

I'm a man and had a female salesperson on a mystery shop. She complained about her personal life during the entire test drive.

HAHAHAHAHA!! Sounds like yours was as socially awkward as one of mine was! Bless their hearts...

I am a male. I have done too many car shops to count so lets say over 100 which is still low. I have had less than 10 female sales persons. The females in my experience stick to the facts on the car and don't make small talk but at least they don't ask me what color I want like the men sales persons.

I perform car shops regularly, and I have never experienced this. Perhaps it's because there are not a lot of female car salespersons in the many car shops I have completed.

I don't agree dealerships should hire female associates who then work with female customers. How about they hire and properly train qualified associates who treat customers with respect? While I have often said car dealerships are the last bastion for the die hard misogynist, there has been a lot of feedback from male shoppers who are not mechanically inclined and get treated poorly. I usually feel dealerships hire anyone and just wait to see if they succeed or fail while not being really concerned with how badly the successful ones behave.

I have kind of made new car sales my speciality. I've done them throughout the Southeast. I have found a few dealerships with female sales staff, but I have never had one that was my sales person.

The best one that I have done was where the salesman told me the trunk was big enough for a body or two provided that you cut them in half.