Fifty interviews and one woman (that’s me), who just wants to know about cars. So I took it to the streets.
For four days, I ventured in and around Kansas City asking women — and men — about cars and dealerships. I started in the Country Club Plaza area, rounded through Westport, hitting Pryde’s and Blanc Burger. But I didn’t stop there. I headed downtown to the Sprint Center, through the Power & Light District, to the Lenexa Chili Challenge and back down to Leawood to hit up Yia Yia’s and Standard Style. So many places and so many questions.
I wanted to start at the beginning by asking about their thoughts on the car buying experience. How people felt through the whole process, what could have been done better, what they dislike about it, and what they don’t enjoy at all.
People told me they were terrified, that the experience was awful, annoying, time-consuming and dreadful. As a woman who works in a dealership, these are not the answers I like to hear, but needless to say, the honest answers I got. Here is just a bit of what I heard.
Fifty interviews later and I’m still just starting to collect your input on the car buying experience. That’s what this blog is all about. So send me your stories, questions and thoughts about your car buying experience. Because I want to know!
1 Comment
Hi Lauren,
It’s really nice to see a woman taking charge in a car dealership com[any, and caring about other women, especially in this area. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been at car dealerships and been turned off by either being totally ignored, (I felt because I was a woman there alone), to being constantly hounded from the moment I walked onto the property. I’ve purchased many cars over the years (I am 57 years old) and the best experience I ever had, was when the the sales people first saw me, they asked if I needed help. When I told them I was just looking to see what I might want, and they left me alone, but just occasionally checked back to make sure I didn’t need anything as I went along.
When I decided to closer look at a car , somone was nearby. I didn’t have to hunt them down to ask questions, yet I didn’t feel like they constantly “hovering” over me like vultures. Once I decided on the exact car I wanted (I had already done a great deal of research on-line before I got there, and pretty well knew what I wanted), the salesman was freindly and helpful. He had a sence of humor, yet treated me with so much respect, that I felt like I was on an old, old tv show, called “Queen for a Day”! It was definitely the best car buying experience I’ve ever had.
This is the only experience I will share here. I’m sure you’ve heard about every night mare experience out there. I’ve had some good, some bad and everything in between. But thank you for doing this, and caring enough to put yourself out there in front of everyone, to show us you care. Take care and good luck in your ventures.
(p.s. We did just buy a used Chrysler mini-van for our daughter, from one of your dealerships in Olathe about 5 months ago. It was a very good experience.)