Its not that we're buying it new so the cost is a non issue here... so the judging can be put aside.
It's her choice, it's the category she likes/wants ... If they are ginormous it's irrelevant to what is being asked in terms of reliability, etc.
Sure, in a better world we would all drive Smart ForTwo cars diesel that go 75 mpg ... however that is not the case. :)
Not trying to insult. I just think one nice thing about the forum is people question the assumptions you make in what you ask (e.g. "where do I get a cheap iPhone?" answer : "back up why do you want an iPhone"
You did say
She is not frugal as me, however, at least she says she doesn't want to spend much in a car due to her driving and because she values other things more.
I just wanted to point out if you value other things more you could suggest your wife expand her car search.
We have been down that road.
Like I said... I talked to her, made my points and the reasoning... she still is adamant on it.
After I made a few points, at first she wanted the Jeep at a dealership -a used one of course. She is now saying she wants me to look for a deal in a private market. After telling her Id rather a Toyota or Honda (for reliability) she has opened it as well...
But again like she says - it's the first car she is buying with her money.... it's her money and she works hard for it. A 4,000 dollar "splurge" in an item that actually needs replaced (her other car is not the best and unrelieable) is not the end of the world... and cost wise in terms of gas is not much because I get gas for really cheap.
Actually, she is saying she feels bad and doesn't want to part ways with her Jeep - it's still the car she drives when her parents gave it to her for college. Another point, which I agree, she doesn't like to have to borrow her mothers car everytime we need to go further away for a weekend and such or drive a considerate amount of miles.
Regarding the iphone analogy, is probably because you guys don't know me personally. I am the first to buy something cheap if it doesn't bring value. Even when buying a car I try to stick with something if I were to resell, I would at least break-even or profit. Actually all my cars were sold at either break-even/profit after I put considerable miles on them.
Stressing the point to her after we talked it out, would probably lead to an argument which is not worth it. Slowly with test drives maybe she sees the cars are big and is flexible towards other smaller ones - after she saw the Jeep she kinda was saying it felt heavy and big.
I think the fact its her 1st car purchase ever probably has an emotional impact on her - and we all know how women in general are - having to be the "perfect" choice and adequate. :D
She is not frugal as me, however, at least she says she doesn't want to spend much in a car due to her driving and because she values other things more.
I just wanted to point out if you value other things more you could suggest your wife expand her car search.
I disagree. Sounds like he has already been down that road. My wife would be pretty pissed at me if we had said discussion and her agreement to be frugal was to drive a 10-15 yr old car that can be had for less than $5K but I still had to be a jackass and tell her that she is picking the wrong car and start the discussion over again from ground zero. It would be more useful to help the poster with their question than to try to encourage an argument between a married couple.
\
I'm sure the OP knows what discussion will work and what won't, but if he is out getting recommendations for reliable cars, then there is an opportunity to give input that steers the decision (without suggesting something completely different than what she wants or starting the whole discussion over). So...look at reliability ratings for something on the smaller side of the category she's looking at...why not a CR-V or a Subaru Forester or Outback? AWD, reliable, plenty of utility, fairly high seat position (not so much with the with the Outback). Go look an Consumer Reports for reliability ratings and get the top recommendations and take those to her, along with information which should show that she can get a newer/nicer version of these rigs for the same or less money that the jackwagons she is currently interested in (all without pushing, of course).
Or...maybe the OP has done that and knows it is a lost cause...in that case, I'd look elsewhere for recommendations
Nope. Like I said I was open to suggestions under the same category or a little smaller. I wasn;t aware of Outback for example.
CRV was an option but she has a peeve about those tail lights of CRVs going from bottom to top. Honestly, it's something I don't like either however I couldnt care less about the looks of the car.
I have never seen a Highlander in person is it smaller than a 4Runner?
AS you probably could tell by now, I am not native English speaker so I wasn't aware of CUV's ... what Cars fall under this category? I think that category would fit her great if I can collect like a few models to present to her and she would pick out of those.
Regarding the 20 cents per gallon... well my grocery store gives points on your purchases that deduct on the price of gas per gallon up to 25 gallons per fill. They don't exclude purchases of gift cards... so I just buy Visa Gift cards. So, 600-700$ worth of cards gives me enough points to get 25 gallons of gas at 0 cents at the pump. The 20 cents per gallon comes from calculating the fee of buyng the Visa gift card into the out of pocket cost.
Regarding the list I have:
- Highlander
-Pilot (after seeing the dimensions not so much inclined to it)
- Mitsubishi Outlander (Japanese... it seems to be a CUV ... not sure in terms of maintenance in US if parts are as available as Toyota and Honda...)
- Nissan Rogue (the size of this would be perfect ... we test drove one last weekend however this is a model that only started after 2010s so price is much higher...so most likely this wont be it just put in this list to give you guys a comparion in terms of size "comparativeness");
- Subaru Outback (good its japanese... however it seems more like a station wagon a little bit? )