Auto Estrogen

It’s 2008, a new year filled with new and wonderful possibilities. You’ve resolved to get into shape, take that class you’ve been wanting to take, and be a better person. You’re taking on the challenge of improving both your professional and personal life so why not take it a step further and improve your car life. In 2008, we have to get into 5th Gear and to do that I want to extend 8 automotive challenges to you:

1. Become an official Car-Buy-Her – This year Car-Buy-Her is launching it’s 5th Gear Challenge for women. You can join the challenge and become an official Car-Buy-Her in 2008.

2. Become more empowered as a consumer – Knowledge is power! Everything you read pertaining to car buying and maintenance will inevitably point you towards the importance of doing your research, getting as much information as you can and educating yourself. I believe an educated consumer is a better consumer, all the way around.

3. Get to know your car –Whether it’s driving to work, kids activities, social gathering or for travel, we spend a considerable amount time in our car. Don’t you think we should take the time to get to know it a little better? I know ladies that name their cars, but don’t know what an alternator looks like. Not that this would be on your top ten list of “need to know information”, but considering it’s a major part of the workings of your vehicle, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to at least have an idea of what it looks like. You don’t have to put on overalls and get up under the car, but the next time you have a little time, why not pop the hood and learn a little something about the floods that go in your car?

4. Put together your emergency kit – Learn what ten things you need to have in your car. You really don’t want to be driving around with these.

5. Review your Owner’s Manual. Stop ignoring the most important thing in your car. Open up the glove compartment and take a look at what’s inside.

6. Get more involved in automotive areas – Most women don’t get really excited about car stuff but it’s important that we get more involved. There are small things you can do to get more involved, for example learn to purposely ask more questions. When getting quotes for auto repair, ask them to show you what they will be doing to your car, what their hourly labor rate is, and if you can purchase your own auto parts (if feasible).

7. Pay more attention to maintenance needs. Don’t wait to take your car in when you know you’re having a problem. Think of your car as your child. If one of your children were ill, would you wait two months to take them to the doctor? Of course not! Well, why do you do that with your car? Don’t make a minor situation major or turn a little problem into a large one.

8. Attempt one maintenance task on your own. If you’ve never popped the hood on your car, checked the oil, or tire pressure, this is your year. You’d be amazed at the things you can do and you’ll feel better knowing how to do them.

It’s 2008 and the challenge is on! Car-Buy-Her is challenging 2008 ladies to join our 5th Gear Challenge to become engaged, educated, enlightened, evolved, and empowered in car buying and maintenance.

It’s time to take control of your car life and you can do that by joining the challenge. Car-Buy-Her is offering monthly teleconferences, webinars, workshops and clinics to provide information and resources for women.

It wasn’t that long ago that I was left on the side of the road, literally, and overwhelmed and frustrated by the car buying experience. There were so many things I could have been doing to prepare myself — but I didn’t know that at the time. So, I’m on a crusade to develop Car-Buy-Hers, not automotive experts because here’s what I discovered: You don’t have to be an automotive expert to get a good deal, you just need to be a Car-Buy-Her.

Here’s a definition of an expert: Having, involving, or demonstrating great skill, dexterity, or knowledge as the result of experience or training

Here’s a definition of a Car-Buy-Her: informed, in control and ready to buy

In my honest opinion, women don’t want to be automotive experts, but they do want to be informed and in control.

And if we really want to make a case towards the experts, let’s first determine who’s the real expert — is it the dealership or auto repair mechanic or would it be you?

Who knows best about your lifestyle, your needs, wants, and current situation? Who drives the car, takes care of it (or not) on a regular basis? That’s right, you do?!

So why then are we (women that is) relying on everyone else to make the deal and tell us what’s best for us?

It’s time to get into 5th Gear ladies! Join us, why don’t you . . .

Learn more about the 5th Gear Challenge

In an interview with Ed Brown, the founder of Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute, an educational company that helps individuals develop charisma, Brown states that there is a connection between the car we drive and the perception people have of us. “Your car goes where you go and is an outward expression of who you are. The world revolves around style and substance, but it’s not enough just to have substance you must also have style,” states Brown.

With that being said, what does your car say about you? Consider the color, the style, the make and the model all as an outward expression of who you are. People buy cars because they need them, but when they’re in them they usually want to make a statement, “I’m fun, outgoing, successful, thoughtful, considerate, powerful, etc.

What we drive offers, if nothing but a superficial glimpse of who we are, what we like, and how we expressive ourselves outwardly.

When we go out we want to look our best, from the clothes that we wear to the bag that we carry. We understand the importance of our accessories, the image we’re portraying and what we want to say to the world around us. The car we drive, our largest, mobile accessory, portrays a significant image.

Research shows that when it comes to car buying, women in general, consider affordability, security, and safety in their purchases, while men think power and luxury.

Cute, practical cars such as the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Saturn L300, and Toyota RAV4 where among some of the top sellers for women while high powered cars like the Acura NSX, Dodge Viper SRT-10, and Mercedes Benz S55 AMG are among some of the top sellers for men according to the Forbes.com article, What Your Car Says About You.

See my full article Cars, Image & Style: Are You What You Drive and listen to the interview with Ed Brown on Auto Estrogen Live!

At the dealership that is. A conversation with a young lady prompted this question. She had recently purchased a car and had a really good experience, but only after visiting a total of 10 different dealerships. How many dealerships does a woman have to visit before she’s satisfied enough to buy? That’s the specific question to the general one: Are women satisfied with their dealer experiences?

I don’t know the full answer to that, but I can tell you that I’ve talked to a lot of women. Just yesterday I was having a conversation with a woman who is interested in hosting a Car-Buy-Her Auto Clinic for Women. After we finished our talk regarding the clinic, she shared her experience with the dealership she purchased her car from. Do you have training for them too, she asked, because I walked our of their dealership. She went on to share that the services department was really good but there was certainly some needed training when it came to the sales staff. I understand. I’ve heard it before. And yes, we do offer training for dealerships.

A recent survey conducted by Consumer Reports National Research Center found that overall car buyers are largely satisfied with their dealership experiences when buying a new or used car. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they were very satisfied with their experience, with another 31 percent saying they were somewhat satisfied. The survey noted that satisfaction rates increased with age and household income, which are probably influenced by the consumer’s accumulated experience with the car-buying process and possibly by the purchase of higher-end models. The same survey found that ten percent said they were somewhat or very dissatisfied. This was a random, nationwide telephone survey of 2,000 households conducted during October of this year.

However in a poll of 12,000 women conducted by Car Max, car buying was found to still be a hassle for women. When it came to Ms. Alexander, the enthusiastically determined car buyer that visited 10 dealerships, the majority of her dissatisfaction was from her interactions with the sales staff. At one dealership the salesman yelled at her and at another dealership, the salesman kept showing her models she wasn’t interested in then walked away.

Why is that I’m hearing the same complaints from women? Why aren’t women getting the satisfaction at the dealership they should when clearly they are a huge buying force within the industry? I’m still asking this question. I’m yet to find the answer.

Statistics say that more than 65% of customers that take their vehicles to repair shops are women and women spend approximately $300 billion dollars on used car sales, maintenance, repairs and service, but for many women maintaining a car can be troublesome and problematic. So I wanted to talk about that. Here are some of the questions women have when it comes to auto repair:

1. What do I need to know about auto repair?
2. How do I find a good mechanic?
3. What are some general principles/rules for maintaining my car?
4. How can I become more knowledgeable?
5. How can I squeeze car maintenance into my busy routine?

To help answer some of these questions, I spoke with Towanda Cooper, owner of
Cooper Automotive Repair, Inc. Towanda has over 20 years of experience in the vehicle maintenance and repair industry, which has provided her with a very broad knowledge base. Towanda’s many strengths include her unique ability to accurately diagnose and repair mechanical problems on American and foreign-made vehicles. Here’s my interview with Towanda:

Car-Buy-Her: One of the things that you have said in the past that has really helped me a lot and many of the women in our auto clinics is that you (meaning the mechanic) is not the expert, but that the woman (the driver) is actually the expert. Can you talk a little about that because I think many women would find that somewhat comforting?

Towanda: What I mean by that is that women (the driver) are the ones that know their car best. Not their spouses or the mechanics. Women are the ones that drive their cars every day and have a better feel for the car.

Car-Buy-Her: What can a woman then do once she knows somethings wrong with her car and she had to take it into the repair shop? How can she feel more comfortable going into the auto repair shop?

Towanda: I recommend that when you start hearing a noise or something like that, look at your speedometor and notice the speed. If you notice a smell, be able to tell them how it smells. Don’t use terms like I don’t know. Be as specific as possible. Also, ask to ride along with the mechanic so the two of you are hearing the same things.

Car-Buy-Her: Are there some key things that women need to know, som general principles or rules for keeping your car up?

Towanda: Get to know your car and do maintenance check-ups on time.

Car-Buy-Her: Speaking of time. Women tend to be very busy and are often challenged by that and maintaining their cars. What strategies or tips can you share to help women begin to incorporate maintenance more naturally into their daily routine?

Towanda: Keep a log of maintenance. Add repairs and schedules to your daily planner or palm pilot. Pay attention to your owners manual. Schedule maintenance just like you schedule anything else.

Car-Buy-Her: Can you share tips for preparing for the winter months?

Towanda: Two particular things come to mind for winterizing. 1. Check the state of your battery and make sure that your battery can make it through the winter months. You can go to an auto parts store and have your battery checked. 2. Check antifreeze to make sure that it can make it through the winter months. You can purchase an antifreeze tester.

Car-Buy-Her: A big concern women have at our clinics is safety and what happens if they are on the road and their car stops. Can you talk about the idea of the emergency kit?

Towanda: What I consider an emergency kit is having in your car: A quart of oil, transmission fluid, a toolkit, a gallon of water, and a flashlight.

Car-Buy-Her: From your standpoint working on cars on a regular basis, are there some additional thoughts and points you can share for maintaining our cars and being on the road?

Towanda: I want to point out the importance of keeping your tires maintained. Tires must be properly inflated and could cause drive-ability problems if the tires are low. Keeping your tires aired up helps your brakes out as well. When tires are low you put more pressure on your braking system. Make sure you have antifreeze in your car because that helps your heating system.

Car-Buy-Her: Let’s say I’m a woman and I want to become more familiar with my car and more knowledgeable, what are some things I can do today to jumpstart that process.

Towanda: A good start is to attend one of the Car-Buy-Her auto clinics for women. I also recommend reading your owners manual. Also don’t be afraid to talk to the mechanic and ask questions.

Car-Buy-Her: As a mechanic, what should a woman look for when looking for a good mechanic or some questions we should ask to find a good mechanic?

Towanda: The first thing I would recommend is checking with the Better Business Bureau to make sure there are no complaints. Also the auto industry has a certification program for mechanics called ASE so if you go into a shop make sure that they have ASE certified mechanics on duty. In addition you can ask your friends for referrals.

To hear the live interview, visit www.blogtalkradio.com/auto-estrogen

Don’t like going to dealerships? I understand. Many women don’t. But you need a car so what can you do about it? There are some alternatives that you might consider. In our latest segment of Auto Estrogen Live, our extended radio version of our blog, I discuss several considerations to help you stay off the dealership lot.

Here’s a list along with a podcast of the show for you to listen to:

1. Shop online- Make your car buying experience less frustrating and more convenient by spending more time online before going into the dealership.

2. Consider an Auto Broker- Consultants that help you buy a new or used car or help you get into a lease. These individuals can save you time, money and frustration if you can find a really good one.

3. Buy Private Party - Talk to friends and relatives, take a drive around your community,
and look in the classifieds of your paper. There are always individuals looking to sale a car and you can often get better deals shopping this way than with the dealership.

4. Visit a car auction - Auto auctions are interesting and exciting ways to purchase a car. A unique experience that has to be carefully facilitated.

If you’re the parent of a teenager, there will come a day when you have to address the issue of driving. When that day comes, you will begin to consider things like: when should they get their driver’s license, are they ready to be on the road, can they handle a car, do they need a car, so forth and so on.

For the teen it’s one of the most exciting times in their life. It symbolizes maturity and basically says to the world ‘I’m trustworthy, so much so that I’ve been given the keys to a car.’ The problem is teens don’t always do so well when it comes to driving. Statistically speaking, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for 36% of all deaths in this age group, according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). Of course there are methods to counteract these statistics, safe driving courses for one. And we can’t lump all teenagers in a category of irresponsibilty. As a matter of fact, for many parents, putting a teen behind the wheel is a welcome relief, freeing up schedules of chauffeuring to and from practices, ballet classes, sporting events, work, and the like.

Whatever stance you happen to take, there’s still the inevitable act of buying that first car and I wondered what specific considerations a woman might have when it came to purchasing that first car for a teen. It just so happens that a good friend of mine is preparing to purchase a car for her daughter. She gave me a little synopsis of how things are going, some of the decisions they’ve made and just how harmonious the idea of car buying for teens might or might not be.

1. They’ve opted for a cash purchase on a used car.

2. Although her daughter had originally saved some money towards the car, she’s since spent the money and now the parents will be making the purchase, while her daughter will be responsible for her own gas money — no money, no gas, no driving.

3. Insurance is a concern as it will increase their premiums by upwards of $3,000 annually, so they will look into insuring her separately.

4. It seems that both my friend and her daugher are quite ready to move things along, although her husband is moving very slowly. According to her, the only car that pleases him thus far is a Toyota. Her daugher researched almost 200 cars and he wasn’t pleased with any of them.

5. Her goal is to have a car by the end of the year. At this point, her daugher doesn’t care what model or color, just a reasonable sized car, with good gas mileage, that’s a two or four door automatic.

As I inquired about how things were going, she did let on that the whole car thing is now a very sore spot at the house. So to answer my own question, Do Teen Driver’s Cause Havoc in the Home? Looks like the answer is no, it’s the teen father’s that do!

Stay tuned for the article, Things to Consider When Purchasing a Car for a Teen

Auto Estrogen goes live today. I just taped the first show of Auto Estrogen Live! We’ll be talking about everything automotive as it relates to women and their cars as an extension to our blog. You can check it out here www.blogtalkradio.com/auto-estrogen

Our introductory show covered a few of the mistakes that I made when I was shopping for my car several years ago. We have some exciting ideas, topics and speakers for the fututre as we help you manage your life as a woman on the road.

So if you’d like to hear about car buying and maintenance in addition to reading about it, then by all means subscribe.

Listen to our Introductory Show:

In a recent appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show, Suze Orman discussed what she knows best — Money. With an audience full of women, Suze discussed credit, debt, investing and more. This newfound awareness of women and their money is an interesting one, so much so that Orman dedicated a whole book to the subject. In it she states, Women have been thrust into an entirely new relationship with money that is profoundly different from anything we have ever encountered before. The shifting roles of women at home and at work have dramatically changed where and how money interacts with a woman’s life.

I’ll say it has, take a look at some of these statistics:
- Women control $7 trillion in consumer and business spending and make over $1 trillion dollars annually
- Sixty percent of adult women in America work outside the home and thirty percent of married women now out-earn their husbands.
- Over the past thirty years, women’s income has soared a dramatic 63 percent.
- Women bring in half or more of the income in the majority of U.S. households.
- Women account for more than 50 percent of all stock ownership in the United States.

Women have reached a time in our society where they are much more powerful when it comes to finances. Over the last several years I’ve received numerous invitations to dinners and lunches hosted by financial institutions focusing on women and money.

Why all the sudden interest and attention? Well, if the stats didn’t give you a clear answer, there’s also the fact that women are living longer (twice that of men) and divorce rates continue to climb so at some point and time in her life, a women will have to manage her own money. And we obviously need some help. With all this money and power, women can still find it all a bit intimidating. During her appearance on Oprah, Orman stated that women often don’t trust themselves when it comes to money. Her advice: Women should trust themselves more than they trust others.

There is an interesting relationship between women and money and when you add additional components to the equation, buying a car for instance, things become even more complex. Why don’t we trust ourselves when it comes to cars and money? Why haven’t we taken more interest when it comes to investing, financing and cars?

Now that we have, what can we do? How do we get the knowledge, one Oprah audience member asked? Well for one, we have to get educated. Purchasing Orman’s book is just one way to get started, among others.

So what about you? What will you do?

It’s time for Halloween and there are thousands of kids (and adults) ready to put on scary masks, costumes and makeup, visit haunted houses and go from door to door, yelling, Trick or Treat. Kids love the sweet candy treats they get going from door to door and the scary tricks that hid behind corners in dark rooms filled with ghostly goblins, monsters and witches. And even adults like a good scare every now and then, but not when it comes to car buying.

The idea of buying a shiny new car can quickly go from treat to trick when things go badly at the dealership. Here’s a list of some of the scary things that can happen at the dealership.

Scary List of Auto Dealer Experiences:
1. I ended up with two car notes! Eeek. Talk about scary, but it happened. This scenario played itself out after the dealership supposedly bought the customer’s trade-in. Come to find out they had not. In this case, the customer ended up paying for a new car as well as the one she already had. Ouch! Read more of this story.

2. 56-year-old woman tackled by salesman. Are you kidding me?! It’s true according to a posting on My Dealer Stories. Apparently, the dealership couldn’t figure out whether they wanted to take the customer’s cash or not so when she got up to leave the salesman tackled her. Now that’s scary!

3. Car dealership steals customer’s vehicle. If you haven’t seen this story floating around you absolutely have to check it out. Can you imagine going to bed with your car in your driveway then getting up and finding it gone, by the very people that sold it to you in the first place?! Watch the video: