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Trick or Treat? Scary Dealer Stories

October 29th, 2007

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:

Posted in Car Buying | 1 Comment »

Her Skirt!

October 27th, 2007

Car-Buy-Her loves Her Skirt . . . .Skirt!Magazine, that is. The self described magazine is all about women . . . their work, play, families, creativity, style, health and wealth, bodies and souls. Skirt! Is an attitude . . . spirited, independent, outspoken, serious, playful and irreverent, sometimes controversial, always passionate. Ahhh . . . the same quintessential qualities of a Car-Buy-Her, a woman that is informed, in control, and ready to buy. Car-Buy-Her’s are empowered through information and education and Skirt!Magazine is filled with information, articles, and wonderfully feminine messages and editorials each month.

Skirt!Magazine teamed up recently with Car-Buy-Her during our Fall (2nd) Auto Clinic for Women. Ladies attending the auto clinic not only received a wealth of great automotive information but each participant went home with a fun-filled Skirt! Goody Bag including a personalized hanger for Her Skirt!

Posted in For Women, Car Buying, Auto Repair | No Comments »

If I Knew Then What I Know Now . . . Getting Car Wise

September 20th, 2007

There’s value in education. When you know better, you do better they say and that goes for car buying as well. So I was just sitting here thinking how challenging things were for me 3 years ago when I was trying to find a car. I didn’t know what kind of car I wanted to drive and what kind of car I needed. I didn’t know where to go or what to do because I really didn’t know anything about buying a car. Now I know so much more about car buying and I have such a better understanding of the process. I planned on purchasing used — hey, that’s something I knew, but outside of that if I knew then what I know now . . .

- I could have saved myself two months of frustration. Looking for a car should be a fun experience and can be when you don’t have an immediate need.

- I would have planned and prepared a lot better by looking around and visiting dealerships before I really needed them.

- I would have had a better understanding of what I wanted and needed in a car (for example, I’d be driving a four door instead of a two door, only a recent discovery that I’m a four-door kind of gal).

- I would have explored more options because I would have had the time to do so.

Posted in General | No Comments »

Are Auto Dealers Resistant to Becoming Woman Friendly?

September 18th, 2007

Dealerships we’ve talked to love the idea of marketing more effectively to women, eg. as we see it “becoming more woman friendly”. Some even believe in these programs (yes, I’m quoting).

In a nutshell, dealerships know how important women consumers are to their bottom line and they do want your business, most of them anyway. They just don’t want to invest to get it.

Dealerships think it’s perfectly okay to work with someone, a consultant, broker or entity of sorts to generate leads — ummm. You see where I’m going? In many instances the broker is then paid off the said. In other words, when you buy they get paid.

Just for the record Car-Buy-Her is not a brokering company. We don’t recommend women to dealerships and then get paid off the sale. As a matter of fact, we’re not recommending dealerships unless they go through our evaluation program, a fee-based program in which we learn something about that dealership, how they operate and work with their customers, women in particular. There are just too many horror stories from women about purchasing cars to do things any other way.

In my opinion, dealers should welcome the opportunity for evaluation, to get trained and to learn how to do things better. An opportunity that allows them to see if they come even close to meeting the standards of our Woman-Friendly criteria.

Are auto dealers resistant to becoming women friendly or are they just resistent to anything that doesn’t line up with their male-defined traditional notion of what does and does not work when it comes to women in their dealership?

Posted in General | No Comments »

A Woman’s Perspective on Auto Repair

August 16th, 2007

Auto repair is a chore, no matter how you look at it:
- It takes time out of your day
- It takes money out of your pocket and
- There’s nothing fun about it

It is a fact of life, however, if you happen to own a car. It’s an absolute, so the best thing to do is to prepare. The problem is, you never really know whatâ€™s going to go wrong. There are so many possibilities, some minor and only slightly burdensome, others major and total disruptions. Take the increasingly louder noise I heard the other day on my way to a conference. “Oh no, is that my car I thought?” After turning down the radio and listening intently, I discovered that oh yeah, it was me. My only desire at that moment was to make it to the parking lot without any problems. I did. And then . . . well, I went on my way, along with my day, almost completely forgetting the little noise that troubled me on the way to the conference.

Once I returned to my car, it hit me, an instant reminder. I had problems turning the steering wheel. So there I was — in car maintenance hell — what could be wrong? Is it a minor or a major?

I got on the phone, called my auto service and arranged for a tow. One thing I knew. I would not be left on the side of the road!

Fast forward three days later, yep, the auto shop was closed, it just happened to be a weekend and so my poor car had to sit by idle over the weekend before she (my car) could get some relief. The verdict —- a minor (that’s when your bill is under $500 ).

So here’s what I decided. As women we have to take better care of our cars. And we have to do it, not someone else. At our women’s auto clinic back in April, our female automotive mechanic told us something that was very enlightening. She said that we were the experts when it comes to car maintenance — not her. Wow! Talk about power. How revealing it was to find that out. Although we might not be the technical experts, we are indeed experts. Why? We’re the ones driving the car on a daily basis and we’re the ones that know when something feels funny, sounds funny, or runs funny. We just have to do a better job when it comes to descriptions (I’ll share more on this in another blog).

Being a Car-Buy-Her is not about being an automotive expert; it’s about becoming informed and empowered when it comes to your car, it’s care and it’s maintenance. We can do that by being better stewards of observation. By taking notes and listening to the heartbeat of the vehicle we’re in. And then by putting those that we entrust our beloved to, to meet the standards in which we’ve set.

Posted in Auto Repair | No Comments »

Women-Specific Automotive Education is Needed

April 25th, 2007

The ladies packed the room, listened intently and hurled questioned such as: What do you think of auctions? What about auto dealers that remove the haggle from car buying? How do you get your credit score? How often should you get your transmission checked? How often should you service your vehicle? Is it true that car color raises your insurance? These very engaged ladies were participants of Car-Buy-Her’s 1st auto clinic for women What Men Don’t Want You to Know: Auto Buying and Maintenance Clinic for Women, held this month in conjunction with the Car Care Council’s National Car Care Month.

Ladies attending the clinic shared car stories and chocolate; laughter and camaraderie as a panel of female automotive experts provided information and insight on car buying, auto financing, auto insurance, and auto maintenance.

“I had loads of fun and was very enlightened by the knowledge of all of the speakers. I took away great information to share with my policyholders both present and future, says Sheri Robinson of Triple AAA Club South. “This was a great clinic. I have a page full of notes”, stated Pamela Coman.

The three-hour clinic was the first of its kind held by Car-Buy-Her and the first comprehensive clinic for women covering all-things automotive.

“This was our first automotive clinic and it was hugely successful and a confirmation of the need for this service. We are already in talks with women’s groups, Parks & Recreation departments, and credit unions about hosting additional clinics. Educating women is one of our primary goals,” states Sheronde Glover, Car-Buy-Her founder and the coordinator, organizer, and developer of the auto clinic.

All ladies attending the clinic received a certificate of achievement for their participation and recognition as an official, Car-Buy-Her, a woman that is informed, in control, and ready to buy.

For more information on how to request this clinic, attend this group or become a sponsor, visit our website at http://www.car-buy-her.com.

Posted in For Women, Car Buying | No Comments »

Car Mall: How Many Cars Can I See Today?

March 14th, 2007

If you’re looking for a great selection and have a couple of hours to spare, you’re heading to the mall. Likewise, if you’re searching for a car and you want to see the best the manufacturers have to offer this year, then you definitely want to head to the auto show, in this case the AJC International Auto Show, being held this week in Atlanta. Walk into the GWCC (Georgia World Congress Center) showroom and you feel as if you’re in the Car Mall as you’re greeted with over 600 shiny, top of the line brand new cars from virtually every manufacturer.

So, what’s a woman to do? Shop, of course!

Posted in Car Buying | No Comments »

Salesman Wanted: How Well Are Car Dealerships Handling Diversity?

March 12th, 2007

About a year ago a friend of mine told me she was interested in working in the automotive industry. She had been attending auto auctions with her husband and the two had decided they might have an interest in selling cars.

Later she shared an incident in which she applied for a sales position at a car dealership. The general manager reviewed her application and blatantly told her she wouldn’t be interested in working there. The reason: the sales guys wouldn’t work well with her, she’d be competing against them and it wouldn’t be a happy environment. Wow! I was shocked. Pam (my friend) had never worked in car sales before but she does have an extensive, results oriented sales background and could easily hold her own on a car lot.

Several months later a colleague relayed a similar story. She had worked at a dealership for a very short time. Her summary: It wasn’t a friendly environment.

Needless to say, when I was driving and saw the sign SALESMAN WANTED at a car dealership, it got my attention. Prior to hearing the two stories above, I would have thought very little of it, but today I have this question:

How well is the auto industry managing diversity in the showroom?

Walk into any dealership and you see one consistent theme. The bulk of the sales and management staff are male. You’d be hard-pressed to find one behind the receptionist desk though. Why is that? A 2002 study by CNW Marketing Research presented by AWARE (Advancing Women in Automotive Retail) showed that 60% of women working in car dealerships worked as office staff, while only 7.1% are general managers, 4.9% are owners, 4.2% work in new car sales, and 2.1% work in used car sales. Now there’s a discrepancy! Consider the fact that subtle stereotypical advertising like Salesmen Wanted vs. Salesperson Wanted still exists and you see the dilemma.

Car-Buy-Her maintains its position that in order to build woman-friendly environments within dealerships, the auto industry needs to establish better diversity and recruitment programs that make the dealership both attractive and friendly for women. In our report How to Build a Woman Friendly Dealership, we make this point: Until the industry employs a comprehensive recruitment program that includes balancing the employment work force, the industry will continue to lag behind.

Posted in Industry Marketing | No Comments »

Women’s Advocacy Still Relevant and Important

February 28th, 2007

When I first started Car-Buy-Her I knew advocacy was a part of the equation. I knew it, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to say it. After my personal experience, a lot of secondary research, and a number of conversations with women, I recognized that women had to take a stand. Women Standing Up was the title of a speech given by Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta at a League of Women Voters meeting this month. For those of you who are not familiar with Mayor Franklin’s work, her accomplishments are too numerous to mention. Mayor Shirley Franklin has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune magazine, Ebony magazine, Black Enterprise and many other local and national publications and is certainly one to be admired. I listened intently at the issues at hand, the resounding message and completely understood the many variables that play into the everyday lives of women.

It’s hard for some to get it. Many don’t want to accept the fact that speaking to women, for women, with women, is not about separation, but more so about recognition, confidence building, self-awareness, relating, understanding, and support. Although the context for the meeting was a discussion of the local politics at hand the inferences were across the board.

Here are some of the Mayor’s sentiments and how they relate to women and car buying:

1. Women have a different perspective - Women’s viewpoints on car buying are different. Women tend to look for cars that are safe and reliable. Women look for showrooms that are clean and visually appealing. Women tend to like low-pressured sales tactics and want to be acknowledged, respected and told the truth.

2. Women shouldn’t try to emulate men - Absolutely! Whether in business, politics or car buying there is no need for women to go at it as if they are men. Women can be informed, empowered, and in control as their own feminine selves!

3. Reflect the experiences of women - One of the goals of the Car-Buy-Her site is to listen and share women’s stories and to provide useful information that can be used to make the car buying experience more enjoyable.

4. Gender Budgeting - I had never heard of this one, but in a nutshell there are cities that actually budget for women’s issues. Are you listening dealerships? It’s time to incorporate a Women’s Budget into your marketing plan. Car-Buy-Her has both training and marketing programs that can help dealerships work more effectively with the women they serve, but it’s up to the dealership to determine that it’s important enough to address and invest in. We know that many of you have, and for the others I suggest you give us a call when you’re ready.

Car-Buy-Her will continue to advocate for women as we fulfill our mission to 1. educate women 2. educate dealerships and 3. bridge the gap between the two.

Posted in Industry Marketing, For Women | No Comments »

WOW! Women On Wheels Tuning - Car Club for Females!

February 28th, 2007

Women are coming together more than ever to equalize the automotive playing field. Just ask Mishy Smith, the brains behind WOW Tuning, an automotive club for females. Women can network, learn about cars, discover different automotive interests and hone the skills, talent, and passion that they already have for automotives can be done in one spot.

Why WOW Tuning? According to Mishy . . .

The automotive industry is a heavily male dominated arena. Many women initially find it intimidating to break into such a scene. We have often found ourselves bombarded with imagery of show girls and machismo guys at car venues, almost exclusively male racers,
and the majority of spectators at such events being male. This can create a lack of appeal in an otherwise interested woman (we hear you Mishy, we understand and we agree).

WOW-T wants to change all that. It was created to be both a social group and a way for women to network with other fem-friendly automotive organizations. Our mission is to make women in automotives just as conventional and respected as the men. And we are not far off.

The Goals of the organization are:

- To be a nationwide resource for women already in or just breaking into the automotive scene

- To be a social network for local and national females with interests in cars

- To give women a comfortable place to learn about different automotive interests and activities without the â€œgood-ol-boyâ€ feel

- To show the automotive world the feminine side of cars and racing

- To mainstream women in the automotive industry, becoming more than the exception or the accessory

- To give women just starting out the same opportunities as the men

- To give women a different option for the car club scene than the largely male dominated clubs out there

Ready to join? Check out WOW at wowtuning.com

Posted in For Women | 1 Comment »

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