Women and men differ over buying
THERE are some sharp differences in the way women and men buy vehicles in SA according to a Gumtree Autos online survey.
Jeff Osborne, Head of Automotive for Gumtree SA, says the research showed women were more interested in affordability and safety when deciding which car to buy while men were more likely to be looking for brand, style and power. “30% of women said they consider price to be the most important factor in the purchase, followed by fuel economy (25%) and safety (15%). Men rated the brand name of the car as the most important attribute at 19%,” says Osborne.
Men are also more likely to be swayed by advertising, with 22.7% of men saying that a commercial directly led to their last car purchase – double the amount of women who said the same.
When it comes to making the decision in the first place to buy a new vehicle, necessity due to increased maintenance costs is the key motivator for women at 31% followed by rising fuel costs (28%) and changing family needs (26%). For males, changing family needs (33%) was the most common reason given, followed by fuel cost (25%) and advertising (23%).
“Female respondents were also half as likely to refer to their “dream cars” during questioning, using words like affordability, reliability and comfort when describing cars they would like to buy. Men were more likely to use words like power, trust, class, style and engineering during the conversation.”
The genders also take a different approach when buying a vehicle, with women twice as likely to ask their partners which car to purchase before starting their research. “Nearly half of the male respondents said they knew enough about cars to make an independent decision about which car to buy, while 36% of women stated they feel they know nothing about cars and needed assistance in order to make a purchase decision,” says Osborne. “But half the female respondents said they actively seek out information about cars even when they aren’t in the market to buy one while nearly three-quarters of men said they would do that, so I do think the behaviour is going to shift.”
Osborne also says the sources men and women use to seek that information is telling. “53% of all respondents use classifieds, 58% use social media and 28% have subscriptions to magazines or auto-related websites.”
According to Osborne, women should trust their gut and use the resources at their disposal when making a purchase decision. “Cars are definitely not the domain of men alone. I think it’s important that women empower themselves with information in order to make a decision when it comes to their cars.
“Women are very active on Gumtree when it comes to buying and selling household items or running businesses, and cars shouldn’t be any different. Do your research, take a car for a test drive and don’t be intimidated by the process. If safety is a concern, make use of a service like B3S that will handle the sale and the paperwork on your behalf. After all, a car should match your pocket – but also your lifestyle and personality!”