CarMax: Purchasing a Vehicle Remains a Hassle for Women

RICHMOND, Va. (May 19, 2006) -- According to a recent poll conducted by CarMax, women say purchasing a vehicle remains a hassle. Executives said this year's study showed dealerships had made no improvement in women's biggest gripes in the buying process since the last time the poll was conducted in 2004.

"Women continue to experience stress when buying a car as demands on their time and need for convenience increase," explained Donna Wassel, regional vice president for CarMax. "That's why it is important to find a car retailer that focuses on providing a transparent, customer-friendly and easy car-buying process."

Women ranked "a quick, effortless transaction" at the top of their list as most lacking when they purchased a vehicle. A total of 21 percent of women said this was their biggest issue, which is exactly the same percentage who listed it last year.

Next in line, 15 percent of women said they had a hard time finding a salesperson they liked and trusted, as compared to 16 percent in 2004. Lowest pricing, or fair pricing, was the next largest gripe from the women, as 14 percent listed it as what they found most lacking, which is flat when compared to 2004.

Women also showed concern when it came to a fair trade-in value, with 14 percent naming this as lacking in their last purchase process, which is steady from 2004. After trade-in value, came the desire for respect and attention for a female's wants and needs, which 14 percent reported lacking, as opposed to 13 percent in 2004.

Another 6 percent of women identified "a fair, reasonable finance rate," as their biggest complaint, as compared to 7 percent in 2004. CarMax also found that women thought the paperwork they were handed during the buying process needed to be more understandable, as 4 percent cited this as their biggest problem, remaining flat from the 2004. As for the "other" category, 12 percent of women questioned listed items not covered by CarMax's list, compared to 11 percent in 2004.

The company said it surveyed more than 9,800 women on carmax.com for the study.