Owners of Luxury Imported Cars

The other day, I heard an interesting story from someone working at a luxury imported car dealership. “It might be a stereotype, but cars previously owned by career women often aren’t in the best condition when they come in for sale.”

It’s not that all male owners keep their cars spotless, but it does seem that many men who buy luxury cars tend to take good care of them—repairing scratches promptly and washing their cars frequently to keep them in pristine condition.

Common Traits of Cars Owned by Women

According to that dealership employee, some typical characteristics of cars driven by career women include the following:

Worn-Off Buttons

Hazard buttons and those on the center console often have their markings worn off. Since many women grow their nails long, they tend to press buttons with their nails, which likely causes the markings to wear away more quickly.

I also usually keep my nails quite long, and when I type on my computer, I often press the keys with my nails. So I often notice the letters on my keyboard keys fading away.

Many Scratches on the Body

There are often many scratches from rubbing or bumping the car body, and sometimes these cars are brought in for sale without any repairs. When I started driving again after over ten years as a non-driver, I frequently bumped or scraped my car myself.

When this happens repeatedly, I guess it’s easy to think, “Since I’ll probably scratch it again anyway, maybe it’s fine as it is.”

Perfume Smell / Dirty Interior

It’s also common for cars owned by women to have the scent of perfume deeply ingrained inside. Plus, since they often touch the steering wheel and interior with hands that have foundation or makeup on them, the interior can get greasy or dirty. My husband sometimes says to me,

“After Mina-chan drives, it feels like there’s foundation on the door handle, and the steering wheel gets sticky. Do you wash your hands after putting on makeup?”

Since then, I’ve made an effort to wash my hands, but thinking about this, it might be that interiors of cars owned by men tend to stay cleaner.

High Heel Scuffs on the Door Sill

It’s also common to see scuff marks on the door sill caused by high heels. The dealership employee joked, “I wonder if they were in such a hurry that they hit the door sill with their heels…”

Indeed, when wearing high heels, you have to be much more conscious about lifting your feet higher than when wearing sneakers or flat shoes to avoid hitting the sill. Maybe they thought they lifted their feet enough, but the heel still caught on the sill.

Still, since these marks mean the heel hit the car with some force, it does feel like there’s a bit of a lack of care for the car.

My First Beloved Car: BMW 320i

I don’t think all working women’s cars are like this, and there are definitely women who love their cars and keep them clean with regular washes and care.

The BMW 320i coming to our home soon will be my first beloved car, and since I’ll be driving it the most, I want to take good care of it so it doesn’t end up being “one of those dirty cars owned by women.”