Empowering women to take the wheel in buying a car

Data from a number of leading surveys have continuously made clear that the fairer sex forms the majority of car buyers, both internationally and locally, with that percentage climbing higher in regard to the overall decision-making in the purchase of a car.

Seeing that women quite literally hold the… key fob firmly in their grasp, it begs the question of why the car purchasing process is still fundamentally not female-friendly.

By delving deeper and understanding the obstacles in the current purchasing process that women find a hindrance, we can reshape it into something that favours their preferences.

CARSOME took the time to attempt and overcome some of these obstacles in the purchasing process to better suit the preferences of female buyers. CARSOME intends to be more inclusive and help women to get behind the wheel of a car with peace of mind.

1. Easy and stress-free experience

Progressing from some of the surveys, close to 80 percent of women claim that car buying is a stressful process. Although visiting the showroom is very much at the beginning stage, this is almost single-handedly the largest obstacle yet for female buyers.

Most women tend to consult outside advice from family, a friend or trusted mechanic during a visit to the showroom. Only 1 out of 3 women visited a showroom alone in their journey to purchasing a car.

Furthermore, many conceded that the process itself was quite time-consuming as well.

At CARSOME, the ability to browse their inventory of cars online goes a long way in reducing the amount of time spent at the physical experience centres. By narrowing down a shortlist of cars that they fancy, women can step into the centres knowing what they want.

Additionally, by making a booking online and knowing the exact documents to bring, you can get the most time-consuming step done before even walking into an experience centre. 

2. A fair deal

All is fair in love and war… but definitely not in buying a car. One of the exhausting parts of buying a pre-owned car is the difficulty negotiating to what can be deemed a fair price.

Female buyers have reiterated that a fair price is one of the best motivations for putting pen to paper. Highlighting the key features or unique selling points of a car must be balanced out with the disclosure of any known defects.

CARSOME’s online inventory is accompanied by the final price and an estimate of the monthly installment breakdown for ease of comparison.

More importantly, however, the cars undergo professional refurbishment at the CARSOME Certified Lab and are CARSOME Certified while the minor blemishes that aren’t touched up are disclosed on the online listing complete with photos for reference.

Additionally, CARSOME’s celebration of women for the month includes some special deals for female customers until 31 March 2023. Top of the list would be the extended 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee. If the customer changes their mind about the car, they can return the car within 30 days for a full refund.

3. Trust and transparency

Back in the day during the times of BC (before CARSOME), many buyers of pre-owned cars fell victim to hidden charges from unscrupulous salespeople. Therefore, it goes without saying that female buyers were certain beyond doubt that “trustworthiness” was the main quality they looked for in a car salesperson.

The onset of technology has placed a wealth of information at the fingertips of buyers, especially women. With many being deterred by the intimidating purchasing process mentioned in the first point, women have embraced technology to access the required information to make the best decision.

With this information at their fingertips, it's now impossible to take women for a ride when they're shopping for a car. Therefore, transparency is key in building a trusting relationship with female customers and CARSOME’s process is as candid as it gets.

No hidden charges, what you see is what you get. That’s precisely what female buyers are seeking.

To further complement that, women also reported that female staff would help in fostering a trusting relationship. For example, JPMorgan Chase cited an example of an Arizona-based automobile centre that developed a programme that paired women with female sales, finance, and service staff. The strategy resulted in women feeling more confident and comfortable during the car-buying process.

Simply put, interacting with people from a similar background during a stressful experience will have a positive impact.

4. Online dealer reviews

One of the best things about the internet is that everyone gets a voice. Some might argue that’s also one of the worst things but we like to think that the good outweighs the bad here by lightyears.

Women reference online reviews of dealers and trust female reviews more. This is the best reason to encourage networking and building trustworthy relationships with clients as it generates more leads and brings customers into the showroom.

Every deal can be sweetened with some value-added services or simple free gifts to encourage buyers to share their positive experiences online.

5. Safety and convenience

To further smoothen the purchasing process for women, CARSOME has gone the extra mile with a special Extended 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee for women that is ongoing and concludes on 31 March 2023. Any female customer that buys a car from CARSOME during this period can return it within 30 days for a full refund if they’re unhappy with the car.

For added convenience, CARSOME has also introduced ladies-only parking at CARSOME PJ Automall, Kepong and Setiawangsa from 17th March 2023 onwards.

If you’re bringing your little one with you during your visit to the CARSOME showroom, you can keep them entertained at the children's play area at PJ Automall which will be in operation from 17th March 2023 as well.

Lastly, female customers at selected CARSOME experience centres (PJ Automall, Kepong and Setiawangsa) will receive a special goodie bag.

Special promotion for female customers only (8-31 March 2023):

In keeping with the celebration of women for the month, CARSOME will be going the extra mile for ladies by extending some of its key services to better their car ownership experience.

Next up, the ladies can look forward to a FREE 1-month premium on a Fi Life Term Life insurance policy. Customers must book a test drive appointment OR book an inspection appointment and can automatically receive a promo code for the insurance policy in their CARSOME app. Just click on the 'My Vouchers' tab to copy the promo code and apply it upon checkout when purchasing the insurance policy on Fi Life’s website to get the first month’s premium off.

Special promotion for female customers only (8-31 March 2023): 

In keeping with the celebration of women for the month, CARSOME will be going the extra mile for ladies by extending some of its key services to better their car ownership experience.

Up until 31 March 2023, members of the fairer sex will be privy to a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee on any car purchased from CARSOME. If a customer changes their mind about the car, they can return it within 30 days for a full refund.

Ladies can also look forward to a FREE 1-month premium on a Fi Life Term Life insurance policy. Customers must book a test drive appointment OR book an inspection appointment and can automatically receive a promo code in their CARSOME app under the 'My Vouchers' tab.

Starting 17 March 2023, CARSOME will prepare dedicated women-only parking for your convenience at CARSOME PJ Automall, Kepong and Setiawangsa.

If you’re bringing your little one along, rest assured there’ll be a children’s play area at the PJ Automall that opens on 17 March 2023 to keep them occupied.

Lastly, female customers that drop by the PJ Automall, Kepong or Setiawangsa centres will get a special goodie bag to take home.