VW vs Wife..

[Slalomguy]

NVD married members:

Does anyone else face a tough sell job to their spouses, when it comes to work done on their VW?? Preventive or necessary maintenance (done by dealer, in my case) will usually be "tolerated", but stuff like rust fixing/painting, or "cosmetic maintenance" is always met with a lot of resistance (I guess if the car runs great, but looks like crap, that will always be an acceptable alternative for my wife). In my case, it is a 17 yr. old car, and I always hear how I will never get any money back that put it into it now, which I already know--if it is my "baby", I want everything done to it, to keep it in pristine condition..

I have the Jetta in today, to get what turns out to be some servicing on the brakes (squeak has started, just recently) ---bill will be $137. They also say that the front shocks and maybe struts (or bearings--this brain has already forgotten what NL told me) should both be replaced down the road, as they are just starting to go, and that will be a $950 touch... Even presented as required maintenance, I know I will take a lot of flak, to get that done. How do you married people get it done??? I know if I say "Up yours, I'm doing it anyways" , that will just make it worse.. Any tips???

[Tuna]

Re: VW vs Wife..

Well, I'm pretty lucky, my wife is in to cars and her Dad was REALLY into cars as she grew up (always went to the Seattle Drags and stuff) so she kind of understands the mentality. It can be a challenge sometimes as there is usually other stuff that we could probably use more, but generally if I have some spare cash that I really want to spend I usually can as long as it's not a huge amount or something really impractical.

And the whole reasoning "you'll never get back what you put in" arguement isn't really an issue for us because she knows that ANY vehicle, new old, VW, Honda whatever is a depreciating asset, no one will EVER get what they put into it back, but maintenance (preventative or otherwise), and mechanical wear are part of owning a vehicle. Things wear out and need to be replaced, at least your not like most people that just wait until something breaks before they do anything about it, or just let their vehicle rot away well before it should (do to not cleaning it) because then it costs 6 or 10 times what it would have in the beginning.

Oh, and not sure what the mileage on your car is, but i'm quite sure that you could ask WAY more than the average going price of a mk2 Jetta, so in a way, you ARE getting some of what you put in back. Things like, full dealer service history (with receipts), original owner, zero rust, super clean will all score big points if you ever sell it.

[Smarty39]

Re: VW vs Wife..

Just make it seem like the product was required for her enjoyment or safety....works for me....sometimes Also, it never hurts to "low-ball" the actual price of the mod. I mean really, does she tell you the "real" price of the clothes she bought?

[Tuna]

Re: VW vs Wife..

Just make it seem like the product was required for her enjoyment or safety....works for me....sometimes Also, it never hurts to "low-ball" the actual price of the mod. I mean really, does she tell you the "real" price of the clothes she bought?

Haha, tell her Northland is having a "sale" on preventative maintenance!

[Cedrick]

Re: VW vs Wife..

Im glad Im not married! :P

[nephilim]

Re: VW vs Wife..

May not be applicable but

"you wouldnt want to drive the baby around in an unsafe car"

usually does the trick for me.

[NeonGTI]

Re: VW vs Wife..

Well, first off, you will never 'get' any of the money back you put in to it. A car is not an investment, it is not a savings account. A car is purchased as either a tool or a toy. Take a look at garage sales and see how well those two classes hold their value. Cars do pretty good when compared to like objects. When you value the cost of input in to a car you have to decide if it will be of significant value to you over the life of the car. If you can justify that then groovy.

Second, does your wife/gf/whatever 'get the money' back from manicures, overpriced hairdo's, or shoes? Nuh uh!

Women I have gone out with know up front about my hobbies and when it is suggested that that money be spent on other things (usually involving her) I suggest taht she knew of the situation all along and um.. no.

[Aleks]

Re: VW vs Wife..

Danni is really great with the car, she even encourages me to do more, I've actually turned stuff down....

[Lars]

Re: VW vs Wife..

My wife is great she really doesn't care much she know I'm a mechanic and a gear head so she is fine with it. She buys stuff she likes so she sees know reason for me not to She also encourages me to do stuff also.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: VW vs Wife..

My girl is great she does not have much issue with me spending money on the car as I always spend some on her too. She is not a huge Euro car person but has an early 80s Supra that she would love to do an engine swap and also a 60s Mustang in her families garage that will need a restore sometime soon.

[VAG_Tech]

Re: VW vs Wife..

My wife is great too she actually points out VW shows and plans for a family outing!

[Slalomguy]

Re: VW vs Wife..

Thanks for all the great responses!!

To Tuna, and others, who's wives are either into cars, or ok with car expenses--TREASURE WHAT YOU'VE GOT!!!!!!

For my wife, a car is basically a mode of transportation--nothing more.. When her Neon A/C compressor died, after learning the dealership replacement price ($600, I think..), she decided she didn't need A/C any more (and still doesn't have it--got it disconnected..)...go figure..

And also to Tuna, I wish the Jetta was rust free--it's about 98%, and would be 100%, if I had it my way--I do have every receipt ever given to me from NL however, along with the original manual, warranty card, and a pristine shop manual. (car has 162,000 km on it now..)

To Smarty39, I do "low ball" cosmetic replacements--80% paid cash, 20% on debit, so if the wife is doing PC banking, she will see just a portion paid out to Northland VW (heh, heh..).. And YES---she shows me the clothing receipts, with the original price, the sale price, and the further price reduction she finally paid!! She only buys something if it is super reduced--knows how to really save money, and not spend money, unfortunately for me, in this instance..

Bottom line, it's going to be a tough sell, but citing MAJOR safey concerns, stuts and shocks), should help my cause, I HOPE.... (I've tried "This was 30% off, with a further 10% on white ticketed items" way too many times to work, now...)

[James]

Re: VW vs Wife..

haha Man, my woman would be the happiest person on earth if I kept the same car for 2 years....and you're approaching your second decade of owning that vechicle..Id say the money you've saved over the years in not switching cars should entitle you all the repairs and paint your car can handle hah

[Kor]

Re: VW vs Wife..

I am far from married but...

A nice car is obviously a luxury item... trying to justify it as a necessity is not going to work.

Justify it as a luxury item, something you save up for a little at a time to increase quality of life.

I know a lot of couples spend a lot of money on home renovations or home improvement, its the same thing applied to your driving space instead of your living space.

[Flanders]

Re: VW vs Wife..

my wife puts up with my car antics
No way I can sneak in a big turbo upgrade, but she's accomodating for any maintenance. Plus, if I do the work myself, I can put the extra money to BETTER parts

My wife is FAR from a car person, but my pop is a big time gear head, so she knows what to expect from me!