My wife is trying to make me buy a more modern modern

[Insideimsmiling]

£15000! Thai bride and an old Jag would be cheaper and a lot more fun!

[Junkman]

Tell her you want an older car and a younger wife.

Isn't it interesting that wives hate to be lied to? Until you start telling them the truth, that is.

[dieselnutjob]

The problem she sees is that I will be working at customer sites.

 

As a customer, if I see a supplier arrive on site in an expensive car then I might think that I am paying said supplier too much.

[dieselnutjob]

What I bought a few months back for £7200.

It's a diesel with just over 100k on the clock.

[Junkman]

Those go regularly through the Shed of Shame at Cannock for 350 quid.

But not the ones with more than 100k on the clock. Those go for 200.

[mercrocker]

Years and years ago I was in a position where shit like this mattered.   I was refused a company car when I was promoted - even though the previous incumbent had one..... 

 

When I had to pick up an extremely important Japanese client from the airport I was told to take a pool car.   Being as the pool consisted of a knackered Rover 114 and a filthy Escort estate I took my Pontiac Grand Prix (and lost money on the mileage allowance). 

 

Very Important Customer-San turned out to be a Cadillac enthusiast and the run back from the airport was an absolute pleasure of American Automotive discussion.   I learned right then to be who I am and screw the rest of the world....

[Junkman]

What is it with these companies nowadays? I'm not allowed to be even a little bit un-PC (i.e. honest), but car racism is ripe and completely acceptable?

I'd buy the oldest clapped out heap there is on the World wide web and if someone says something against it,

invoke the grievance procedure to have that patronising little shit fired, ffs.

[mercrocker]

Never forget....Diversity in the Work Place.   

[Doctormop]

Always best to keep Domestic management happy and play the company game, I suggest you seek out a late model Suzuki Alto and please everybody,

http://www.whatcar.com/suzuki/alto/hatchback

 

ps my Wife hasn't spoken to me recently she claims I can be 'difficult'

[eddyramrod]

If what work thinks about one's car matters, I'm well fucked.  My boss has a 2008 Audi A4 turbodiesel estate, in Storm Silver or some such.  I go to work (half the week anyway) in a 43-year-old Cadillac in an actual colour, wafted there by 7.7 litres of finest Detroit cast iron, exercising little more than my fingertips to do it.  I also take up more space than anyone else in the car park, including him.  He hasn't fired me yet.

 

There's your answer, Fraser.... go out and buy a tax-free Cadillac.

[Junkman]

ps my Wife hasn't spoken to me recently she claims I can be 'difficult'

 

The truth is that we are such simpletons that wimmin suspect we are 'difficult', because they think we are hiding a hidden agenda, like they do.

[vulgalour]

Mrs Fraser, earlier.

 

[surprisingskoda]

The one time I ran up against this, and they did have a point, was when I parked an almost terminal skoda favorit between a couple of brand new fords anything the 4 franchise dealer I worked at. The owner told me in fairly sharp, not totally unpleasant, terms, to shift it across the road to the rough ground overflow car park out of the way.

I didn't mind, I was trying to see if I'd get away with it. I was supposed to get a company car at 6 months, I left after 6.5 months and got myself a favorit estate for the next job.

[chodweaver]

The many years I chose from the company car list (don't get too excited, most years it was Astra or Astra estate - though when I chose the latter with its keep fit windows and the turbodiesel + INTERCOOLER, I was dead chuffed - it went like the clappers) the list was always limited to 4 and 5 door models - just in case you had to take a customer anywhere. When the opt-out-with-allowance scheme came in, my job role had changed slightly - so no seating minimum, boot size or age limit requirements, it just had to get me there. After two very mundane cars, I started to experiment... I found out much later that my 'peculiar' choices of car after opting out were cited to prospective employees as an example of what a cool employer they were coming to work for.

 

So do what you want. You've already GOT the job.

 

And +1 for not appearing too affluent, either to your customers or whoever signs off your payrise.

 

*Aston is of course completely excepted from this rule

 

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[Laseraligningfoofooflanges]

15 Bags buys a lot of shite... Just saying.

 

Dont think you'd regret the DB7 Though fraser just to say you'd done it like.

[captain_70s]

Clearly you should do this the Autoshite way and spend your 15k on three presentable Rover P6s.

 

Desirable British classic, innit.

[Ghosty]

Bentley Turbo R/Brooklands/whatever?

[Laseraligningfoofooflanges]

Proper bentley ^ , Most definately would.

[billyboy406v6]

Think your mrs is ashamed of what you park on your drive and has nowt to do with work opinions ? Buy Aston, get rid of mrs ?

[sierraman]

I started a new job last week, and my wife is moaning about the impression my car will make. To me it is a modern. 2008 megane 1.5dci, 124k, owned since new.

Her problem is that it's 'well worn'. Exterior wise, it has many battle scars, and the interior smells of Scotsman, children and dog. With the appropriate detritus associated with all 3.

It happily returns over 60mpg, but she is looking at 2015 onwards cars that won't look shit in the car park.

 

Help required please.

 

Not car related advice but tell her to buy herself a new car If that's what she wants and worry less about what other people are thinking.

 

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[sierraman]

What sort of job dictates what car you ought to be driving if they aren't going to provide one for you? What next?

[Tamworthbay]

Put a private plate on it?Vast majority of people have no idea what age a car is by the style. It's either modern, old-fashioned, classic or retro.

When I bought my 15 year old 318 touring loads of people at work were commenting on how I must have come into money or that it wasn't like me to drive something like that (most of my dailies are 40+ years old) and were amazed when I said it was a 2001 car and that doesn't even have a private plate. So many people just look at the badge.

[Split_Pin]

Honestly, I get the impression that some people's other halves would prefer it if they had absolutely no possessions at all.

[purplebargeken]

I think mine has finally given up. It took a while mind.

[Formula Autos]

If the Missus wants a new car go on a charm offensive. Offer to go around garages looking, but insist on taking her with you, and insist on going at a time when she's rather be doing something else.

 

There's two possible outcomes.

 

1) she goes along with it, with the nagging feeling that she should be visiting her mother/shopping/whatever instead. If you happen to stumble across something she's keen on mention another similar car you'd have to try first, as this is a big decision. £15k's a lot of money, after all. Rinse and repeat until she's bored and/or Christmas shopping takes priority. At least you can say you tried ......

 

2) She won't come at all, and you can delay the decision until she deigns to join you. Refuse to do the legwork on your own, as it's a big decision, innit? At least you can say you tried ........

 

Oh, and don't forget to report back on here if you do go round garages. I'd imagine you'll have plenty of tales to tell about unbeatable* finance deals, excellent* ride quality, and useful* modern conveniences.

[gordonbennet]

Christ i'd go completely the other way if the company gave a monkeys what we rolled up in, our car park sees everything from the gaffers chopper right through to some of the most moth eaten chod you can imagine, some of the workforce have gone for £199/299 a month clone stuff, some of us run (older) old school 4x4's, some run 3 to 5 year old mainstream cars that i couldn't identify without looking at the badge, some run wallet emptying luxury Germans/Jags, 1 penis extension (brand spanking Mustang, currently broken) but there's a healthy number of us that run all sorts of old and middle aged chod.

 

The only pleasure working somewhere staffed by corporate clones who worried about the image of the car park would be to arrive daily in the most fucked thing i could find that still just about ran, that hopefully needed jump starting every day and filled the car park with smoke, just to annoy the bastards.

 

As for image, SWMBO is quite happy that we run the oldest cars where we live, she doesn't worry when hers collects another dent at the supermarket, so long as it goes like fuck and is cheap to run on LPG and starts first time every time she's sorted.

[DaveDorson]

I'd get a new Mrs myself mate.

 

Sorry, just telling it like it is.

Sarah likes the Newbie Mk1 that we have, because it's "cool", it's slammed on coilovers and Porsche cup style wheels.

 

The Frontera she loves because it's high up and easy to get in and out of.

 

The Polo she loves because I can buzz it around and park it easy, even though it's covered in dings and scrapes.

 

Alternatively, buy an old Morgan is you're after kudos in the company car park .  One of the Triumph engined ones preferably that marks its spot

Women and executives seem very excitable over these for some reason, even though they're utter dross to drive and live with.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Think your mrs is ashamed of what you park on your drive and has nowt to do with work opinions ? Buy Aston, get rid of mrs ?

 

TBH this crossed my mind as well. 

 

Thankfully my Mrs is now at the point where she doesn't care what car I drive as in her words "I don't care, Its not like I'll be driving it". She also actively encourages me to buy what makes me happy which is why she is such an awesome wife. On top of that she has eventually acknowledged that while my chod tends to need more fiddling with than her modern, mine tends to cost a lot less over the year to run as I do all the fiddling myself.

 

I also suspect she likes me having hobbies, as its the lesser evil than having an affair (not that I would, but that's woman logic at work there)

 

There is a bit of compromise required, we will tend to take her car on family trips etc - I learnt this early on as out of badness I used to drop her at her previous workplace in my extremely scabby mk1 mondeo - think Onslo turning up to big shiny corporate digs - as her coworkers would look down their nose at it.

 

Her car is nothing special, a silver 307 turbot diesel but it has nice (OEM) wheels and a reasonable spec. Looks presentable polished up and I keep it clean for her. It sort of just blends in and doesn't feel out of place anywhere which she likes.

 

I know this is very un-autoshite but at the end of the day there is nothing at all wrong with buying a nice modern if its what YOU want. But you need to take a good hard look at yourself if you are doing it to please other people....

[UltraWomble]

She wants to spend £15k on a 'nice car', 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1976-LAND-ROVER-SERIES-3-109-4-CYL-38-000-miles-/182290623212?hash=item2a715e2aec:g:rGYAAOSw4shX5QID

 

or perhaps:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1967-FORD-MUSTANG-CUSTOM-V8-CONVERTABLE-PICKUP-/181827832479?hash=item2a55c88a9f:g:t58AAOSwqBJXWJEu

 

Whatever modern you buy for £15K now will look equally as shit as the megane in a fe years, so why not buy something timeless?

[dugong]

Yue Loong Feeling 2000 Turbo 'Horsey Horseless' edition.