Historically, men have been the designated family member responsible for buying a car and maintaining it, which made sense since they were the ones commuting to work every day and putting the most miles on the car. As the number of working women has increased however, and as women have filled their lives with long lists of errands and other duties, things have changed when it comes to the family cars.
With women spending a lot more time driving, the effects have rippled through to changes in certain car models to accommodate the needs of women drivers, to auto repair shops upgrading their business style and environment to cater to women. Since statistics show women tend to drive more safely than men, more of them on the road may improve driver safety for everyone.
Differences between Women and Men Drivers
Men and women have different driving behaviors, which tends to affect their car choices, the number of accidents they are involved in, and the severity of the accidents. Women are less likely to drive when impaired by alcohol. They are also less likely to drive at night, or engage in other driving behaviors such as aggressive driving, that contribute to hazards on the road. When doing online research about cars, women tend to look for information on car financing, insurance costs and registration fees. Men spend much more time surfing online car auctions, looking at luxury vehicles, and spending time on car enthusiast sites and forums.
Top 9 Cars More Women than Men Buy
Women purchase 52.5% of all new cars, and influence the purchase of many more. Of all the car manufacturers selling vehicles in the United States, certain ones appeal more to women. This is especially true with the continued increase in gas prices towards $5 per gallon. The top 9 car models that have significantly more female buyers than male buyers are:
- Volkswagen Tiguan
- Volkswagen New Beetle
- Hyundai Tucson
- Kia Sportage
- Nissan Rogue
- Volvo V50 Wagon
- Volkswagen EOS
- Honda CR-V
- Nissan Sentra
Women’s Buying Criteria
Women take about 17 weeks on average to do their homework when looking into buying a new car. Men, on average, spend about three weeks less than that. Women spend time looking for cars that have performed well in crash and other safety tests, along with models that have a good maintenance history, since having a breakdown on a deserted road with small children in the car is something that every woman driver wants to avoid. Additionally, The car needs to be reliable and get good gas mileage. For women who stay home to raise children, a tight schedule of events that depend on shuttling children around constantly can cost quite a bit in terms of gas. Women are also willing to work at finding all those features in a new car for a bargain price. Men, on the other hand, put power and performance as the most important things to look for in a new car, and men who need to drive clients around focus more on luxury sedans that put forth a prosperous image.
Car-Buying Tips for Women
A few key tips can help women be well-prepared to go into a dealership and walk out with the perfect car.
- Be clear on options, the car model you want and your budget before going to the dealership. Stand firm on what you want and learn to laugh at the hard-sell tactics of pushy salespeople.
- Check for new car buying guides and magazines at the local library or online and make note of relevant details, reviews, options, sticker prices and invoice prices. Dealers prey on any buyer who is not fully informed.
- Start comparison shopping before leaving home. Use Auto Trader and other online sites to price cars before going to a dealership in person.
- Know the dealer’s invoice for the car you want. Be prepared to negotiate with the salesperson, and shop toward the end of the month when salespeople need to meet their sales quota. Dealers have between 10% and 20% leeway you can negotiate with over the invoice price.
- Get financing ahead of time from a credit union or bank, since rates will most likely be more competitive than the dealer’s rates. Many dealers do not treat cash or credit any differently, so stay focused on getting the lowest price possible regardless of how the car is paid for.
- Consider ordering the exact car you want, with only the options you need. This may help keep the car’s price down, and if the dealer has a better car on the lot and wants to make a sale that day, he may be willing to come down on the price.
Nuts and Bolts
People usually think it is men who take care of all the car maintenance. However, according to the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, women have been taking over the responsibility for maintaining vehicles. More than 65% of car owners taking their vehicles in for service are women, and women end up spending about $300 billion each year on car on used car purchases, maintenance and repairs.
Used Luxury Cars?
A new trend is developing, with more women buying used luxury cars. Women are more cost-conscious than men when it comes to their vehicles, and they prefer to let someone else pay for the first year or two of depreciation on a luxury car. Women do so much research on car purchases, and combined with a little help from Carfax reports and certified pre-owned vehicles, buying a used luxury car for a bargain price has never been easier.
Changing Times
Women are becoming more of a driving force in the automotive industry. Women prefer to have many more details when shopping for a car than men do, and almost half of the visits to car-buying websites these days come from women investigating potential car purchases