how to tell the wife?
Discussion
Last Feb I asked my wife to drop me at the station " business in London " . Picked up a series 1 Elise and drove it back , picking up younger daughter from school on the way back . Sneaked car into garage . Wife says " how did you get back from the station " , younger daughter laughed , wife storms off with garage key , comes back and suggested I was born out of wedlock ....
Also tried to get a single wooden garage built behind a fence without her knowing , but the builders were a bit tardy and were still there when she got home .... " he said you wouldn't be happy if we were still here "
We agreed she can give up work several months ago , so now its not a problem ... no money to be sneaky with .
Also tried to get a single wooden garage built behind a fence without her knowing , but the builders were a bit tardy and were still there when she got home .... " he said you wouldn't be happy if we were still here "
We agreed she can give up work several months ago , so now its not a problem ... no money to be sneaky with .
king buy it, to it.
Nanook said:
I hear what you're saying, but from the OP, it didn't appear to be a financial concern. She wasn't worried that they couldn't afford it, she was worried it was too old and too small.
When my wife was looking for a new car recently, we discussed how much money we'd spend. I didn't tell her what size of car to buy, what colour to get, etc. Her car, her choice.
But the O/P has already said it was a financial concern. Something both he and his wife have acknowledgedWhen my wife was looking for a new car recently, we discussed how much money we'd spend. I didn't tell her what size of car to buy, what colour to get, etc. Her car, her choice.
jamesters said:
its more of a case of things are bit tight these days so wasting some savings on an old car seems very stupid to her at this time.
Rust is always worse than it looks, don't buy, whatever the wife says.
A carefully bought MX5 can be far less rusty, you need to either be competent at inspecting a car or else take someone who is. Bodywork is very expensive, will make the purchase price fade into insignificance. The earliest MX5 is a 1991 model - the latest chrome bumpered MGB is a 1974. 17 extra years for stuff to rust, minimum. MGBs in good condition are also still cars for the home spannering type, MX-5s generally just don't go wrong. In case you are wondering, I had 2 MGBs restoring one of them, and still have a 1991 MX5.
No, no cheap Boxster. If anything goes wrong there, and you may be tight on cash, it's giveaway time. And things do go wrong, regularly, some not so serious, some (compared to the value of the car) very. And again in case you are wondering, I also own a cheap-Boxster era Porsche and while some stuff that needed replacing in my ownership was model specific, other parts are shared across the range so would be just as likely to fail.
A carefully bought MX5 can be far less rusty, you need to either be competent at inspecting a car or else take someone who is. Bodywork is very expensive, will make the purchase price fade into insignificance. The earliest MX5 is a 1991 model - the latest chrome bumpered MGB is a 1974. 17 extra years for stuff to rust, minimum. MGBs in good condition are also still cars for the home spannering type, MX-5s generally just don't go wrong. In case you are wondering, I had 2 MGBs restoring one of them, and still have a 1991 MX5.
No, no cheap Boxster. If anything goes wrong there, and you may be tight on cash, it's giveaway time. And things do go wrong, regularly, some not so serious, some (compared to the value of the car) very. And again in case you are wondering, I also own a cheap-Boxster era Porsche and while some stuff that needed replacing in my ownership was model specific, other parts are shared across the range so would be just as likely to fail.
jamesters said:
wow quite blown away by all the replies on here. yeah i did drive the MGB i need to reinspect it but yeah i wasn't to fooled by outside shiny paint work it was restored in the 90s and then stored away for 23 yrs. The guy struggling to sell it at 3k then again at 2k...maybe for good reason.... probably because there no telling how good the body work restoration was done? and being so long ago...i took a look under the car and the sills were ok but were some rust signs. was also a bit on the chassis that did look far to rusty but other then the other bits looked fine. I was planning to go for a 2nd viewing and check it even further but i've had same advise with MGB that the rust is a major major issue. (it def wasnt 100% under the car) normally my wife lets me spend my money on what i want. last year I bought a new camera and even shown her the mazda mx5 you mentioned on an earlier post.... she laughed and said where would we put our 2yr old son? The reason for my post is we went to see mgb together and she was just telling me what an old wreck it looked. (i respect her opinion....and it still my own money not hers) for me the reason i was looking for mgb in blue was i had lot fond memories of my grandfathers mgb as a kid and sadly when he passed away the family sold it off, I always regret they did that. now i am old enough to get one the same i was looking to see what i could find... it seems they are now to old or require far to much maintenance so i am now very torn if I should even bother to do the 2nd viewing or just forget it now.
If its that cheap and that hard to sell even for a "bargain" price then clearly theres more issues than you currently know about.Being restored 23 years ago means very little as (a) you dont know how thorough that was and (b) it probably should have had another major restoration since then.
Does it start and run? Whats your budget for the restoration? £3K? £5K? £10K?
Mr2Mike said:
psi310398 said:
I'd agree on the Boxster. A comparable MX5 is surely just a cheaper way of moving ferrous oxide from A to B?
Buying an old MX5 because you don't want to deal with rust on an MGB is not a sensible move.Moot point though....
996TT02 said:
No, no cheap Boxster. If anything goes wrong there, and you may be tight on cash, it's giveaway time. And things do go wrong, regularly, some not so serious, some (compared to the value of the car) very. And again in case you are wondering, I also own a cheap-Boxster era Porsche and while some stuff that needed replacing in my ownership was model specific, other parts are shared across the range so would be just as likely to fail.
If his budget is £2-3K then yes, absolutely, avoid a Boxster, however £5-7K buys you a very nice 2003-2005 car. 
Not read this whole thread so apologies if I'm mirroring what others have said, but here's my top tips:
– Have a 'really bad week' the week before, need to let your hair down and blow off some steam… retail therapy and all that.
– Emphasise how much of a good deal it is and how much its saving you – this one is really important.
– Man maths the fu(k out of it, have at least 5 reasons why its a sensible idea in the long run – running costs, comes with 4 new tyres etc etc
– Be prepared to also book a holiday (hotel break might cut it), alongside your new purchase.
– Have a 'really bad week' the week before, need to let your hair down and blow off some steam… retail therapy and all that.
– Emphasise how much of a good deal it is and how much its saving you – this one is really important.
– Man maths the fu(k out of it, have at least 5 reasons why its a sensible idea in the long run – running costs, comes with 4 new tyres etc etc
– Be prepared to also book a holiday (hotel break might cut it), alongside your new purchase.
I have an S4 Alfa Spider. I then told my wife I was thinking of buying an MGB (because I've never owned one and they are an itch that I wanted to scratch).
My wife, whose eyes can be relied on to glaze over when I raise anything to do with cars, suddenly piped up with a long exegesis on how the 60s Alfa was a technically far more accomplished vehicle than the contemporaneous MGB - far more advanced suspension etc etc, the Nord engine something to behold etc etc and strongly suggested (with menaces) that I'd be a fool to buy an MG.
After recovering from the surprise, I remembered saying something not far from word for word over lunch a few months earlier. She'd clearly listened more than I'd given her credit for...I believe the phrase is hoist with your own petard
The killer, however, was that she wouldn't stand in my way if I really wanted one, but I'd have to sell the Spider. That wasn't going to happen for an MG!
My wife, whose eyes can be relied on to glaze over when I raise anything to do with cars, suddenly piped up with a long exegesis on how the 60s Alfa was a technically far more accomplished vehicle than the contemporaneous MGB - far more advanced suspension etc etc, the Nord engine something to behold etc etc and strongly suggested (with menaces) that I'd be a fool to buy an MG.
After recovering from the surprise, I remembered saying something not far from word for word over lunch a few months earlier. She'd clearly listened more than I'd given her credit for...I believe the phrase is hoist with your own petard
The killer, however, was that she wouldn't stand in my way if I really wanted one, but I'd have to sell the Spider. That wasn't going to happen for an MG!
psi310398 said:
My wife, whose eyes can be relied on to glaze over when I raise anything to do with cars, suddenly piped up with a long exegesis on how the 60s Alfa was a technically far more accomplished vehicle than the contemporaneous MGB - far more advanced suspension etc etc, the Nord engine something to behold etc etc and strongly suggested (with menaces) that I'd be a fool to buy an MG.
This has reminded me of Lou and Andy off Little Britain, Andy (in the wheelchair) says very little and gives every impression of being a bit lacking int he brain department, yet when Lou quotes him, the quoted statement is uncharacteristically verbose and suggests a higher than average level of intelligence and insight, e.g.. "I thought you said Cosmetic enhancement was symptomatic of a sick society which worships a cult of youth and beauty, and anyone seeking the quick fix of physical change was left morally wanting."
My wife going on a diatribe about the relative detailed technical merits of sixties sports cars would leave me concerned she has been possessed by the spirit of a recently deceased man called Brian who enjoyed real ale, Morris dancing and greasing the underside of a Mimosa Yellow MGB called known as Gertie, I hate it when that happens....
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