Going Topless: One Woman's Revealing Look at Car Shopping

Even before I set foot in a dealership, I am finding it to be a pretty scary experience. Would I ask stupid questions? Would the salesman try to scam me as soon as I walked through the door? Would I forget the really important questions to ask? Can I do it alone?

I want to see if it could be done… rather, I want to see if I could do it on my own. Granted, I have the added perk of having a bevy of handsome, knowledgeable auto journalists a few feet away from me. But these guys are fanatics – once they start talking car shop, I’m in over my head about 10 seconds into the conversation. Plus, they’re all guys, so when it comes to knowing what it takes for a woman to get a fair shake at a dealership, I’d have to go it alone. I wanted to share my experiences with other women who were more than a little reluctant to go car shopping on their own. I guess you could compare it with going to a fancy-schmancy restaurant dateless – is everyone thinking that someone stood you up or do they feel sorry that you’re all alone in the car buying process?

I’ve heard the slack from all the convertible haters out there: It’s impractical. What will you drive in the winter? They just aren’t safe to drive. They’re easy to break into. You can’t wear a hat because it will fly off your head. But I’m a woman who knows what she wants, and ever since I saw Barbie in hers, I have coveted that incredibly sexy ride (without the pink paint job and useless Ken doll, of course).

The truth is, convertibles have come a long way baby. With the advent of the retractable hard-top, the convertible is harder to break into, is safer in a rollover and keeps you toasty warm in the winter. And because I have a larger-than-average head size, hats fit snug – there’s no chance of it blowing off when the top is down.

There are more than a few convertibles out there to choose from. Which ones should I consider buying? If I had the time and the money, you know I’d be all over the high-end rides (seriously, how awesome would I look in a Lexus or Mercedes convertible?). But realistically, that’s not going to happen. I’ll need to figure out what cars fall into my price range and fill my needs (and perhaps a few wants). And it’s probably not a good idea to test drive a car I’d have to sell my liver to pay for – I’ll be able to tell the difference when I take out the cheaper counterpart. It’s hard to go back to eating hamburger everyday once you’ve had a taste of Kobe beef.

My list of convertibles is going to comprise of four models. Once I’ve settled on them, it will be time to dig into some closets to unearth the skeletons. I’ll be examining reviews, both professional and customer-based. These will be able to give me a good idea as to what to expect from each car. Things like common issues and concerns or product recalls could be the deciding factor on whether or not a car makes it passed the elimination round. And armed with this knowledge, I’ll be able to ask the salesperson at the dealership what has been done to correct these problems.

Another important factor will be the different trim levels. Each model will come with its own set of standard features. When you go up the scale of trim levels, the price starts to creep up as well. This is where my handy list of needs will be invaluable.