Canadian women still believe they are getting short-changed when it comes to car repairs, according to a new survey released Thursday.

In a Harris/Decima poll, 43 per cent of female respondents said they receive poorer service in autobody shops than do men.

As well, despite the recent collapse of all aspects of the car sector, almost the same percentage of women, 42 per cent, said they were even quoted a higher price for the same auto work than males.

Those figures were even worse in Western Canada where 58 per cent of women surveyed said they believed they received lousier treatment from their mechanics than men going into the same establishments.

The main problem appears to be the outdated attitudes of repair personnel regarding the knowledge level of women concerning automobiles, said Speedy Corp., the company that commissioned the survey.

The Harris/Decima poll of 881 women and 920 men, however, indicated that women are, in fact, very car savvy.

In the survey, seven out of every 10 females said they know how to check engine oil. More than 50 per cent said they could change windshield wipers and one-third are comfortable switching a flat tire.

The poll was conducted between Feb. 12 and 23 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.

"Across all our Speedy locations we are seeing a tremendous amount of interest from women regarding car maintenance and servicing," said Steven Goldman, the company's president and chief executive officer.

The ill-treatment of women drivers at the hands of mechanics or car salesmen has been a long-standing sore point for many years.

A survey conducted by the U.S.-based Car Care Council in early 2008 found that 90 per cent of females believed they received different treatment from car technicians.

Car shops and dealerships that hold 1950s attitudes in a 21st century world face real trouble in the current slumping economy, experts said.

After all, women either make or at least substantially influence eight out of every 10 vehicle purchases — and their tastes appear to run to high-end cars.

A Valentine's Day survey by LeaseTrader.com indicated the Top 5 car choices of the women asked were:

• Range Rover (31 per cent).
• Lexus (27 per cent).
• BMW (26 per cent).
• Mercedes (12 per cent).
• Volvo (four per cent).