New figures show women will buy five million cars this year bur when it comes to striking a deal, many claim they don't have the skills or confidence to haggle. Here are some tips on how to wheel and deal with the boys.

BUYING a new car should be an exciting, enjoyable experience.

But for lone women, entering the male-dominated lion's den of a car showroom can be an intimidating prospect.

Like servicing your car, getting an MOT or buying new tyres, there's always the sneaking suspicion that you'd be getting a better deal if you were a man.

And it's not just in our minds. Undercover research by consumer magazine What Car? found women really are getting a raw deal in showrooms, paying on average an extra £534 for a car.

Posing as potential buyers, teams were sent to 15 showrooms to haggle the best deal on five cars.

Each showroom was visited by a man, a woman and a couple.

The report concluded: "Men got the best prices on all five cars, felt they were taken seriously, didn't feel pressured to buy, received the best explanations of finance and cheap interest rates.

"Women were typically quoted £534 more than men to buy the same car, had the least success when haggling and were most likely to think salespeople had an arrogant attitude".

Julie Robinson, 49, of Accrington, works at Lookers as one of Blackburn's few women car saleswomen.

She said if women found the confidence to haggle, there was no reason why they couldn't give the boys a run for their money.

"Women buying cars is going to be the biggest boom over the next 10 or 20 years," she said.

"Nowadays women are more financially independent than ever before.

"They don't need a man to rely on, but some women still feel intimidated buying a car alone."

The most common reason for this is that women are less interested in what's under the bonnet than men, said Julie.

Women want to know if the car is right for their needs and selling at the right price and are not so bothered by horsepower or torque.

"Men are more technologically-led than women," she said.

"If the salesperson blinds the woman with science they can feel intimidated.

"Women don't like to haggle so much either, and they can sometimes feel embarrassed going on a test drive with a man because they tend to find it daunting to drive a different car straight away.

"They think the man might take the mickey out of them if they stall or do something wrong."

Julie's tip for women is to beat their fear of haggling by arming themselves with research.

"Come in with a bit more confidence and you'll probably get a better deal," she said.

"If I was going out to buy a new car I'd check it on the internet first because lots of retail outlets discount the cars. Know what you want to pay before you come.

"I'd just be totally honest and open with the salesperson and say this car is £15,000 but I've seen it on the net for £10,000.

"Then at least the salesperson can explain why the one you saw was £10,000.

"If you know what the bottom price is it puts you in a stronger position."

Vauxhall is so keen to make its showrooms more women-friendly it has released a Woman's Guide to Negotiation, supported by The Apprentice runner-up Saira Khan.

Saira, famous for her rottweiler-like haggling skills on the TV show, offered women tips on how to negotiate.

"The best bit of advice I ever got is people buy people' so sell yourself to the salesperson," said Saira.

"Let them know that if they give you a good deal you will give them repeat business.

"Perhaps you're planning a family in the next two years so you'll need a bigger car whatever's most likely to appeal to the salesperson.