Am I invisible?

oh, we've got experience with salespeople talking to my husband instead of me. we wanted to check out a new car not too long ago- not to buy, just to see it. so we went to the dealership. and the sales dude comes out, and does 99% of his talking to DH. DH makes it quite clear i am the one who wanted to come see the car, etc. sales dude looks at me- to check me out, not to talk to me. hands a brochure to DH, who takes a big step back and points at me, indicating that he should hand the brochure to me. sales dude doesn't get it.

DH and i saw what was going on so we had a little fun with it and took off. but that happens all the time. they talk to the guy. i don't get it.

i can't speak to the height issue, though, i'm fairly tall for a female. it's still a frustrating phenomenon.

 

Just use it to your advantage.
If I were you I'd want the best price on the car. Once you get the car you deal with the service dept and they are usually much better to deal with.
My wife is invisible at car dealerships. One dealer actually told me he "forgot she was there"
So she makes full use of that by sitting in all the cars that she likes.
We usually deal with Internet sales managers but when we don't the customers can do the good cop bad cop routine with the dealer.
After all they know how unreasonable a woman can be. :rofl:
But does it have to be in Blue??? We have a great one in (insert color here) No it has to be blue, why because she only wants blue. etc...
We haven't had any real problems but I'm used to buying cars. My wife would not have fared as well. Nietzsche is alive and well at most car dealerships.

 

My wife is also Asian (Filipina) and only 4'11" these things play a big factor at "some" dealerships.
My parents used to just sit and smile at the dealer after saying hello and nothing more. He'd then have to deal with me and I'd point out that they want this or that and that was it. I got them some great deals that they wouldn't have gotten themselves.
It's pretty funny when I think back on it.
If you go yourself you can always make it work for you. But try and avoid dealerships that have sales people that are condescending.
If you find a sales person that you like, stick with them and only deal with them. No you don't want another sales person, you will come back when that person is there etc...
When you are spending a lot of money in a bad economy you should be treated better regardless of gender, height or race.

 

think you nailed it.... how many women have you seen selling cars?
it's a man's world......

 

At least two women car salespeople are active, helpful members of PriusChat. (Dianne Whitmire and Steffcat)

I've always bought my cars by myself and dealt with jerks and with really nice people. My rules of thumb: Don't take your husband or BF to the dealership with you to look and test drive. If it's your car and your decision, then establish the relationship with the sales person (male or female) first - then bring the hubs along later. And don't fear walking away from any salesperson who is condecending, rude or just plain stupid. (That rule is for men and women!)

 

My wife is ignored for the most part. So I told her have fun testing out all the cars, sit in everything and have fun.
I don't know why they don't mob you I guess it depends on the dealership. Honda is awful for that 20 salesmen running up to you asking if you need any help.
Checking out the cars with no hassle is a real good thing.
I think the sales people think you are just looking and when you show up with you "husband" then they will come over and help.
Thankfully I already have an appt before I go and prices all negotiated. I sold my Prius today so still looking for what to buy. My Honda dealer will sell me a Fit Sport below invoice. I might grab it. Not sure yet.

 

Do you chew a toothpick while you lean against things and flip a coin while your non-glass eye scans the dealership lot? That might be why you don't get attention... Other than that, you've got terrible dealerships near you, hahaha.

 

How sad ! I thought I saw a blue ribbon flash past me last weekend and wondered if you were out joyriding with the missus. I hope you got what you wanted for the Prius and that you'll be happy with the new choice - let us know what it is!

 

Hi MaggieMay, We actually drove the car about 3 hours away and sold it to a wonderful couple who are very happy with the car.
I did get my asking price of $21,500. Thanks Jabber for suggesting that price.
So we did get one last drive in it. My back held up pretty well but after we got back home it started to ache.
It looks like I will be buying another Honda Fit Sport with an Automatic. The Honda dealer will sell it to me for $200 below invoice. We are getting a Blue one that looks similar in color to our Blue Ribbon Prius.
Now that we have about 10,000 miles on our current Fit we are getting 37mpg combined, so that's not bad for a $17K car.
My entire family liked the Prius but what can we do.
My wife wants a Mini but the dealer is very far away and I'd want to rent one for a few days first. But there are no Mini rentals here so the Fit it is. :rockon:

 

Last time I bought a car, the sales guy had a glass eye. I bet it creeps enough people out that it works to his advantage.

FINE, I'LL TAKE THE UNDER-FLOORMAT SEALANT PACKAGE!!! JUST STOP STARING AT ME WITH THAT THING!!!!