Ladies, have you heard of WSI?

Even though females buy or influence 85% of car purchases, it’s still common for salesmen to treat women differently than men.  As a result, going to the dealership can be an uncomfortable experience for many women.  But it really shouldn’t be and there’s an easy way to find out which car dealerships are the most “women-friendly”.

You may have heard about the Customer Satisfaction Index (or CSI score) which is the most common rating system for dealerships.  However, this rating doesn’t reflect how a dealership treats women.  To find that out, you’ll want to look at the WSI® score or Women’s Satisfaction Index®.

The WSI score is a part of a free service offered by Women-Drivers.com.  Women-Drivers is a resource that assists with the process of locating dealerships that already have a great relationship with women.   They’ve created the WSI score based upon reviews of car dealerships by female consumers.  Dealerships are rated on different aspects of a car purchase and assigned an overall WSI score.  In addition to viewing scores, once you visit a dealership you can come back and submit your own reviews too.

Even though I suggest negotiating over email to get the best car price,  sometimes price is not the only consideration.  You’ll still need to go to a dealership to sign paperwork, negotiate your trade-in and financing, or have your vehicle serviced.  It can be an intimidating environment and it helps to work with a dealership that has positive reviews from other women.

Ladies, once you’ve negotiated a couple good car prices over email, consider the WSI score for each of those dealerships before deciding where to buy.