The ‘pink price bias’: female drivers are stung with a 5% premium at car garages, undercover research shows
- Research by Caura shows that women have to pay a premium for the same car service as men
- About 59% of women say garages are more geared toward men than women
- In 2017, a third of women said their gender meant they were being ‘ripped off’ for maintenance work
Women across Britain in car garages are plagued by ‘pink price bias’, according to a new undercover report.
Car management app Caura recently conducted a blind survey of garages and service centers, and the gender pricing disparity identified in it has been described as ‘shocking’.
The study found that women have to pay five percent more than men for a car service, even if it is the same car in the same garage.
Women have to pay five percent more than men for a car service, even if it concerns the same car in the same garage, according to new research from Caura
The undercover investigation was carried out today in the run-up to International Women’s Day.
Under the aliases ‘Emma and Edward’, alternative Caura team members contacted 100 different garages across the country, requesting an MOT and/or service quote for the exact same car with matching mileage, to provide a quote for each to make lifelong comparisons.
Three different cars (in different price ranges) were used for the research: a Ford Fiesta Zetec 1.0 EcoBoost (2013) with 91,000 miles; BMW 3 Series 330i (2019) with 45,000 miles; and a Porsche Cayenne S (2019) with 67,000 miles
Caura team members contacted 100 different garages across the country and requested an MOT and/or service quote for the exact same car with matching mileage, in order to make a true-to-life comparison for each quote. This included a 2013 Ford Fiesta Zetec with 91k on the odometer
The other two models used for the study were a 2019 BMW 3 Series 330i with 45,000 miles (left) and a Porsche Cayenne S from the same year with 67k on the odometer.
Around 70 garages responded to both calls, revealing a significant gender difference in the quotes provided.
For a service, Edward was paid an average of £229, while Emma was paid an average of £241, an increase of five per cent for women.
The most worrying finding was a whopping 265 per cent premium for women in one garage, where Emma was paid almost three times (£475) more than Edward, who was quoted £130 for identical work.
And the same applied to the annual MOT quotes, something that is usually resolved.
There is also a maximum statutory rate of £54.85 that a garage can charge. Yet women – or Emmas – were cited on average two percent more than men.
The Caura team recently conducted a blind survey of garages and service centers, and the gender pricing differences that emerged were worrying, with a 2% difference in MOT quotes and a 5% service premium for women
Janice Pang, head of vehicle maintenance at Caura, highlights a systemic problem within the automotive sector that requires urgent attention: ‘A one percent price increase (when we look at men versus women) in both genders is wrong, but if our research shows that the like- for-like prices (on average) increase by five percent. We were shocked by the prejudice about women’s awards.’
Other gender bias in car garage pricing and treatment was exposed using Caura’s mixed methods approach, from mystery shopping to a YouGov of more than 4,000 women and men.
Three-fifths (59 percent) of women said they think vehicle maintenance garages are more geared towards men than women, and almost half (46 percent) of women surveyed said they felt rushed to get additional work done on their car to approve. booking and arranging work.
More than four in five (83 percent) of female respondents said they understood the language used when describing what their car needed in terms of maintenance – refuting the stereotype that women don’t understand car jargon.
In 2017, female drivers surveyed by MotorEasy said they would take their habit elsewhere if they felt they were being taken advantage of in terms of gender-discriminatory pricing at garages.
Worryingly, this data shows little progress from when we reported that women felt cheated by garages in 2017.
At the time, a third of women told car maintenance service MotorEasy that they had been ‘ripped off’ because of their gender, and almost one in three overall (29 percent) believed a garage would charge them too much for maintenance and repair work . purely because they are female.
Unsurprisingly, women warned that they were prepared to take their business elsewhere if they felt they were being taken advantage of.
And with younger generations telling Caura they feel more prejudice (65 percent of 18 to 24 year olds (both genders) agree that garages are traditionally geared towards men), chances are they will doing.
More than half of women would not feel safe at some public EV charging locations
A survey of more than 3,700 female drivers in Britain found that 55% are concerned about their personal safety when charging an electric car at some public charging locations
A joint survey of 3,712 female drivers by Electrifying.com and The AA found that two-thirds of women do not want to give up their petrol or diesel car, citing concerns about charging an electric car and a lack of confidence in infrastructure as main reasons.
More than half (55 percent) of women surveyed said they are concerned about their personal safety due to the location of some charging points.
Female drivers also expressed concerns about being left without their families in the car, with 60 percent citing this as a reason for their reluctance to switch.
Women’s enthusiasm for embracing electric vehicles has fallen dramatically over the past two years, with only 16 percent saying they are confident about the prospect of charging an electric car, compared to 40 percent of men.
While the number of women who are less confident about the prospect of driving an electric car than a petrol or diesel car has risen from 50 percent in 2021 to 60 percent.
Founder and CEO of Electrifying.com Ginny Buckley said: “As the founder of a female-led automotive brand, I know that owning a car empowers women and gives them independence. It is therefore crucial that female drivers are not left behind on the road to electrification due to a lack of knowledge.
‘Our research clearly shows that women have concerns and questions about electric cars that differ from those of men. That’s why we call on policymakers and car brands to provide clear and accessible information to help female car buyers get to grips with this new situation. technology.
“As the founder of a female-led brand and an EV driver for many years, I know firsthand that once women experience an electric car, they quickly get to grips with things like charging and enjoying the quiet, clean and fun driving experience.
‘Women have a significant influence on car sales and often have the final say in model choice – and we know that 48 percent of driving license holders are women – so it’s crucial to bring them along on this journey, not just for the air we breathe in our towns and cities, but also for the wider economy and the UK car industry.”