Lisa Copeland, former managing partner at Fiat-Alfa Romeo of Austin, has taken her mission to empower female car buyers a step further with her new book, Car Buying, Her Way: The Fierce Girl's Roadmap to the Car of Your Dreams.
Copeland also runs the website carsherway.com and co-hosts a weekly "Cars Her Way" talk show on iHeartRadio. Both aim to help female car buyers. Copeland says she wrote the book to help women feel more confident and comfortable.
Some tips she shares with readers:
- Beware of pre-closing questions, such as "Can you see yourself driving this car?" and "How does this car make you feel?" because such questions lead to persuasion.
- Leave your emotions at home and treat the experience like a business deal. Shoppers should be hunting for the best deal, but if they say how much they love the car, the salesperson will be hunting them.
- Consider small dealerships, which value customer loyalty to support long-term growth.
- Avoid one-price stores because the best savings come from negotiation.
- When negotiating, deal with various aspects of the transaction separately. And go to the dealership prepared by gathering prices via email.
