Which Brands Do Women View Most Favorably?

September 17, 2009

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PITTSBURGH — It's becoming more and more apparent that women have a huge say in car buying. So much so that Women-Drivers.com is reporting that more than half of all car purchases, or 54 percent, are made by women, and an astounding 80 percent of purchases are influenced or initiated by women.

The company's first national brand report contains information from thousands of women who have visited the site and shared their purchasing, browsing and servicing experiences at dealerships throughout the U.S.

With that data, Anne Fleming, president and car-buying advocate for Women-Drivers.com, has devised a Women's Satisfaction Index that rates dealership brands on a scale from one to five (five being the highest) in three categories. Only brands that received a score from 3.8 to 5.0 are considered Certified Women-Drivers Friendly Dealers.

"Car companies and dealerships that treat and respect women well are placing themselves in a strong position to convert more browsers to buyers and get more referrals," said Fleming.

"Women are short on time and want to do business with dealers that are already treating women well," she added.

So, now comes the big question. Which brands fared the best? According to the data collected, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus each placed in the top five for each category.

In purchasing experiences, Chrysler dealerships placed first with a WSI of 4.9. The rest of the top five were: Mercedes-Benz (4.81), Kia (4.73), Buick (4.53) and Lexus (4.43).

Fleming reported that the average score was 4.33 and that many brands attained a 3.8 or higher, which would garner them the designation of a Certified Women-Drivers Friendly Dealer. Also, she noted that women seemed to be very satisfied with Chrysler in terms of engagement and treatment by salespeople, overall dealership experience and the financing process.

For browsing experiences, where women went to a dealership but didn't purchase a vehicle that day, Mercedes-Benz grabbed the top score at 4.52, with Chevrolet second (4.32), Mazda third (4.08), Chrysler fourth (3.66) and Lexus and Ford tied for fifth at 3.63.

The report showed that the average for all brands in browsing experiences was 3.58. Also, women customers who visited Mercedes-Benz dealers appeared very satisfied with the engagement and treatment by the salesperson as well as the overall dealership experience.

Finally, in servicing experiences, Honda came in first with a WSI of 4.84, followed by Acura (4.65), Mercedes-Benz (4.57), Lexus (4.34) and Chrysler (4.33).

The average WSI score for servicing experience was listed as 3.95. The winner, Honda, received high marks with women who said they had an easy time scheduling a service visit; received an estimate prior to work being completed; had alternative options provided; felt they were treated respectfully and advised of the process; and paid an amount consistent with what was quoted.

Fleming noted that 61 percent of the reviews entered on the site were from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Maryland.