WAILN6

yes, 5 cars between two here as well. 4 of them “land cruisers” and one Porsche. That’s the problem- she wants to know why I still have the 66 when I rarely drive it. Good point really. I don’t fit in it, and while amazingly cool, you just need three specialized impractical cars.
Sweet 80 BTW. I still regret selling my LX450 way too soon.

Ale_72

My wife does not really cares about cars but when, after the Morgan, I bought the 987 she told me: "Good that we now have at least a reliable car".

Diamond Dave

DrBillyD

I've been single for so long now (almost 10 years) that I've practically gone feral. The thought of having to obtain another person's approval to make a purchase is now almost literally physically repulsive to me. Though having been married for 25 years, I understand the situation and realities of a long term marriage. At my age, when I think of marriage I can't see any benefits and have no trouble enumerating many, many downsides.

Remember telling a friend that when I got my first Boxster, I only had to do ONE negotiation (with the dealer) and not TWO (with the dealer and SWMBO) to get it sitting in my garage.

Another funny story: When I got my Spyder an older neighbor said that he liked convertibles in his youth but that his GFs at the time always balked b/c driving with the top down messed up their hair. I dead-panned that if a woman is with me, mussed up hair is part of the package. :-)

And though it was not the only factor, I have pulled the plug on several relationships over the years when a woman was 'unenthusiastic' about my automobile choices. As might be imagined, such 'unenthusiasm' is always accompanied by other traits, behaviors, etc. that disqualify a woman from being GF worthy.

CaymanCarver

IMHO ..dumbest thread ever. Belongs on the Cosmopoltan Magazine forum (if there is such a thing).

Just quell her concerns or negotiate with a $50K pair of earrings
But still be prepared for the "revenge shopping spree".

absoluteczech

One would assume that logically before making any large purchase such as a car that you run it by your spouse regardless of who the breadwinner is or whether or not its of even significant financial issue. My wife was on the no train for quite a while. Until she finally broke down and just said, "fine i'm never going to stop you, so just get it" persistence won. but took over a year.

almill13

My wife is a car person but she doesn't understand the addiction I have. I honestly don't think she ever will understand it but she can tolerate it most days. I have a couple other cars besides the cayman and she never turns down a ride in any of them but she doesn't understand the point in going to car shows and hanging around for more than an hour, she would rather go on road trips or nice drives out in the county than stop and look at other cars. Currently my biggest problem is the wife keeps bugging me about getting her a Porsche to call her own. She really wants a 356 or a 964 so at least she has good taste.

WAILN6

nah, the dumbest thread ever would be “does this DME report make my butt look fat?”

txbdan

My wife isn't a car person, but she's an intelligent human being that understands both finances and my interests in life. We operate as a team and are pretty much in sync. We both trust each other not to make stupid decisions and pretty much let live. If I were to dangle expensive earrings in her face, she'd slap me for insinuating she was a fish. :-D

Kancamagus

My wife was the best, and really encouraged my automotive purchases/passions. But, as it turned out, she shared most of your collective sensibilities about the electrified Boxster. So she moved out last week, after reading the thread...

Dave in Chicago

Very long-term partnership here, so yes... spousal approval brings tranquility - highly recommended .

All these cars have made sense during our lifestyle phases... from hauling a family of 4, to racing, to the perfect car for a couple to travel in together.

It's nice to share driving duties with spouse and others in your household. Helps if everyone actually likes driving. Even better if they like winding out gears and rowing their own, like we do.

Tips for the open-air crowd:

• Buy a bag of new hair bands, keep in armrest
• Stash a baseball cap behind the passenger seat
• Maybe a store a scarf in the car (for the Princes Grace types)
• Toss a couple of old sweatshirts or golfing pullovers in the trunk

You will never hear any objections again when asking "hey, mind if we put the top down?"

Erok77

Hmmm, I was always of the "it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission camp". Maybe that's why I'm divorced now. Oh well, LOL.

WenigerAberBeser

Not really ‘required’, but I definitely talk it over with her.

We each have a joint account that we put money into to pay for monthly expenses (groceries, utilities, property taxes, etc) and other jointly agreed things like vacations.

We then keep the remaining of what we make to spend on whatever we want as long as we don’t take out debt (which I don’t finance my cars). Although we both agreed on an investment / retirement plan, too.

My wife likes it because she doesn’t feel like she’s paying for things only I enjoy or paying for her own gifts I give her.

***Edited so DrBillyD doesn’t get PTSD

Tom R.

"I didn't buy the Vette. We were $500 apart from our top number"
"You listened to me over $500? You don't want the Vette, you walked from how many opportunities to get Vettes? You want another Miata"
"Maybe the Z3?"
"Yeah, buy a Z3"
A few years later:
"Paul traded in his Silver Cayman S a few days ago"
"Buy it and sell the white M Roadster"
Two years later
"So if you sell the silver Cayman S and buy the blue Cayman S with more miles it wont have IMS issues and it has a bigger motor?"
"yes"
"OK, but we really do have to think about redoing the kitchen"
"ummmm, sure"
5 months later
"A trailer for tires? How much? Is it going to cut into the kitchen fund"
show her an email from the PO
"Shyt, for that little I can pull the cash out of my purse. I'll buy it for you since it's your birthday tomorrow. Happy $60 trailer birthday present."

losblancos

My wife is not a car person, but I use her as a sanity check and now she knows more about IMS bearings than probably 90% of these cars' owners.

What it comes down to is we both love convertibles. The cherry on top is that, when we drove a Boxster, something I always assumed was impossible happened: she seemed to genuinely enjoy the flat-six soundtrack as I ripped past 6500rpm (and appreciated that the car was downright slow compared to my previous AMG Benz).