Does your better half shed or barge?

Does your better half shed or barge?

Author
Discussion

carmadgaz

3,201 posts

182 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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Just got rid of her first car (a Rover 220d) for an '05 plate Golf Plus.

She's always wanted a Bini so I expected her to turn up with one. No that's not a practical 'students' car (she's 20) so she's bought an inflated Golf. Not a bad thing to potter around in tbh though.

R6VED

1,364 posts

139 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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My wife has a 4.4V8 X5, she only does a few thousand miles a year so a diseasel just wasn't warranted.

She loves the way it growls and it really does have a surprising turn of pace, especially in sport.

I have to say I quite like it and it handles remarkably like a car.

I have a CLS 500 which she likes and a 33 year old Merc 500 SEL which she isn't to sure on as it "smells a bit funny" :-)

Mr E

21,580 posts

258 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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Yes. Both.

HarryFlatters

4,203 posts

211 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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We currently drive the same 2004 Clio. It's a shed, it's dirty, it leaks a bit, it creaks and groans, the brakes judder, the rear fog light dash light comes on when the headlights are on and you either brake or put on the indicators, the suspension is like Trigger's broom, it's on mismatched tyres, the left heated door mirror doesn't work but the fking thing refuses to break down.

Currently saving for a deposit for a Golf R.

jamieduff1981

8,022 posts

139 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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My wife prefers barges. Well, not so much the barge aspect. She wants super saloons or Maserati-sized coupes or cabriolets. She likes space, power, grip and good handling.
She likes classic, but doesn't like worn-out/damaged/tatty/battered/ingrained dirt etc.

I'm fine with all that, but it doesn't allow us to run a Lamborghini and an old Mondeo - the car funding needs to be fairly evenly split.

bennyboysvuk

3,491 posts

247 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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My wife wants a 911. However, her company car is a 250 mile old Merc A-class with super-efficient, but not very exciting diesel engine. As a nearly free car though, it's pretty good.

Stuart70

3,910 posts

182 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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Opel manta gt/e, saab95, Volvo xc90.

Fair to say she makes her own car choice and drives well.

Next on the plan is a full fat RR, although practicality /7 seats makes the current tank hard to give up.

LouD86

3,278 posts

152 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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The OH drives a 14 plate M3, she liked the look of the car, before knowing the full details of what it really was. But then, comparing it to her 116i, anything was an upgrade, and when Dad was paying, who can complain.

Makes my fleet look rather sheddy compared to hers

oldcynic

2,166 posts

160 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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My wife talked my aging V70D5 out of me a few years back - bought at 6 months old but now 170K at 11 years old.

We came into some money this year so I bought myself an XC90 to replace the dying Mondeo I'd got stuck with. I started looking at eminently practical things like a newish Honda Jazz to cover her 5-10 miles round town each day and was met with disbelief, so the V70 will be driven 'til it falls apart.

(Personally I find our old Volvo more comfortable and quieter but she flatly refuses to hand it back, and I fear for the bodywork on the newer one if she did)

wiliferus

4,053 posts

197 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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My OH has a diesel Touran which is knee deep in soggy toast, half eaten biscuits and horse paraphernalia.

Having had the lottery discussion her perfect car is a 'top spec BMW'. I cried a little bit when she said that. At least she'll be cheap to keep happy.
Eta- by Top spec in her mind that's a 320d M Sport in blue with leather, not an M5....

Edited by wiliferus on Friday 24th October 08:31

E24man

6,654 posts

178 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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Mrs E24man's car history since we've been together is;

Impreza Turbo SportWagon
Impreza WRX SportWagon (Company car)
TVR Griffith 500
Audi S3
Impreza WRX PPP SportWagon
Audi S4 Cabriolet
BMW 530d (Company car)

The Griff and then the S4 have been her second cars through the rest of the list until recently but the ten year old S4 is her sole car and she has barged it from 44 to nearly 100k miles with barely a hint of protest....... from either her or the car.

She has started eyeing F-Type Jags as its replacement though.

Perik Omo

1,883 posts

147 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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2006 Renault Kangoo is the wife's hack and is very much a work-horse. Not worth having anything better as the number of supermarket dents she manages to attract is horrendous so we've given up getting them sorted, and no, she's not the one doing the damage as they've all been done whilst she's in the shop and I'm sure some of the dents are inflicted on purpose. The driving standards of some of the old dears here has to be seen to be believed.

B'stard Child

28,320 posts

245 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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Me nuts......

She doesn't drive but she has an opinion on all my cars.....

skyrover

12,668 posts

203 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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She encouraged me to buy the jeep hehe

ChasW

2,135 posts

201 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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I find myself in a difficult position because the OH appreciates that I have a strong interest in cars and buys the "man maths" arguments I put to her. However she has a distaste of old cars and anything with a BMW badge. The "old cars" thing is to do with someone else having used it and sat in it, yuk. She gets a new or nearly new ex-demo/management car every 3 to 4 years. Currently it's Audi A4 Avants. The BMW issue is just simple prejudice. If she was choosing for me it would be an R8 or Maserati neither of which I can afford right now nor would they be high on my list anyway. I'd like an V8 S4 or S5 but these would seen as old, yuk.

Dave Hedgehog

14,541 posts

203 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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we are looking at a Golf R for her this weekend to replace her GTi, so she neither sheds or barges

TBH I am amazed she has a clean license


jimi

521 posts

262 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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My wife likes cars, used to run and XK8, Boxster and Chimaera. However at the moment with 3 little kids a shed is a necessary evil. She runs a 2001 Volvo v70 which cost us about £50 to buy off my Nan who has given up driving.

I work for Mercedes so get a new car every 4 months which she uses at most opportunities!!

AC43

11,433 posts

207 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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SWMBO currently drives a 14 year old Clio. It needs a leaky front strut replaced for the MOT so I'm about to stick a couple of Bilsteins on it but it's surely getting to the end of its life (it's starting to get gets odd electrical glitch, the sunroof is not as watertight as it once was and so on).

It will get replaced with a Mk5 GTI at some point in the next 12 months but for now it does the city think OK and costs buttons to run (proper branded tyres £35, Blisteins £40, etc).

(But, no, I've never managed to convince her to consider getting a 201 or a 124 which I personally would prefer a city runabout).

sawman

4,915 posts

229 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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Sort of - she drives an 11 year old v6 cherokee.

but she refused to even sit in the 1989 Merc W201 that I had a year or so ago - so there must be a line in the sand somewhere.


Dog Star

16,079 posts

167 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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Kind of; she works from home and we need something for towing dirtbikes (not any more cos it was stolen), for borrowing my parents (completely never gets used) caravan (but my dad won't lend it me, despite me being a cleaning OCD type) because I and my friends "will get drunk and vomit in it" confused and for general "other" duties such as shopping, tip, leaving for days on end outside the pub til we collect it". And for winter. Although last winter was the mildest ever.

It's a 2004 Volvo V70 2.5T AWD, which is a 210bhp, inline 5 auto. Does mid 20s mpg these days (only gets used round town). Goes very well in a straight line but is like a comedy boat cornering. It's got winters all round and had every option when it was new (TV, satnav, heated seats, leather, dog guard etc). Banging stereo. So comfy and quiet too - although there's a nice "wooooof" if you boot it. We got it off a friend who'd had it from new and it was full Volvo history, mint and it's only got 80K on it. Great car and I can't see any point in getting rid of it. We could actually manage on just the one car since she now works from home, but mine is an SLK and we'd be stuffed if we needed to transport anything or anybody.

Why does she like it? It's got heated seats.