mtn, dude... my situation exactly. My MIL is apoplectic over my Alfa and that just feeds my wife's negative feelings toward it. And I admit, when I go out on a Saturday and see oil seeping from possibly the rear main seal and ponder yanking the engine yet again to replace a $5.00 piece of rubber that just so happens to keep the engine from seizing, I do cuss and swear that I'm finally selling the dang thing. And she's happy. Then I eventually fix it and drive it and change my mind.
I WOULD sell the project for something more reliable but equally fun, and hopefully pocket some equity in the process. An NA Miata can be had for $4,000. Mine would go, with some effort, for about $6,000.
To respond to Axecleaver. Time is an issue, really. Two small kids, and I have to decide if I spend my weekend under a rust bucket or teaching my oldest to ride a bike and have a dance party with my youngest and still having some quality time with just the wife. Let's just say the car usually goes untouched for WEEKS. Sometimes longer. But it's sort of who I am, as silly as it sounds. I don't have much social life these days, but the "bonfire" aspect of owning this car, both with the other neighborhood gearheads and also online, sort of fills that need.
Anyway, to ketchup's comment, I did try last year to basically swap the Honda for something of relatively equal value. I brought home all sorts of used cars, from a 2008 Acura TL to a 2004 Lexus IS300 to a 2008 Mazda3i to a 2010 Civic EX. All had their merits, and of course problems, but the real issue, I think at least, is that my wife grew up in a home where every 5 or 6 years the family would drive to the Toyota dealer, trade in their Cressida or Camry or Previa or Avalon, whip out the checkbook, and go home in a brand new car. She doesn't trust used cars. She doesn't think they're a smart investment. And to her credit, she keeps cars for about 16 years. This is only her third car ever. She drives the wheels off of them. So anyway, that plan landed with a thud when I just could not get her comfortable with any of the options presented.
I think I'm just coming around to realize I hate commuting and just cannot accept spending money on a replacement car when the one we have now is relatively new, generally safe (airbag recall is done), low mileage, and reliable. I've even been trying to just keep my complaints about the ergonomics, fuel economy, or general insipidness of the stupid thing to myself. I used to gripe about it all the time and I know it upset her, because she's the one who decided we needed it. Safety and space being the driving criteria. So why is it such an issue that I just keep the thing for another 10-12 years? I'm 41 now, I'll hopefully be close to retirement by then or working from home with my own business (personal dream), with no more kids at home, and can just coast. Hopefully by then we'll be living in a place with actual public transportation options.
Marriage is hard, and it's the litle things that you'd NEVER suspect as a single person that makes it so.