She Drives a Benz – I Drive a Honda

My wife is a very loving, caring, intelligent and beautiful woman whom I love dearly.  However, when it comes to finances and how we see things we were not even close to being on the same page.

She is about going on nice trips, enjoying life and having the finer things.  Me well in one word I am cheap.  Not in the sense of not wanting to ever to do anything or spend money but rather I am rational.

I can’t for the life of me agree to spending money on something I want if there are other things out there that we as a family need.  Needless to say we have had plenty of disagreements and most ended up being about finances.

Let’s Talk About Cars

The last two cars that my wife owned have been the Audi A4 and C350 Benz while my last car is a 96 Honda Civic Hatchback.  She has the fully equipped Benz with leather, sunroof, AMG kit, navigation, and the works.

I drive a hatchback that is almost 20 years old with no A/C, no power locks or windows, no sunroof, and it has a large dent in the back from a rear-end collision from a few years ago.  Oh and did I mention I am 6’2 and drive a hatchback?

Sadie as my wife calls her gets a measly seventeen miles to the gallon, costs more then I would like to discuss, cost an arm and a leg to fix, dents and scratches stick out like a sore thumb.

While Betsy the Civic is on the other hand sips gasoline, is low to maintain, gets me from point A to B, doesn’t require full coverage, and only cost $35 to fill up.

The Cost of the Benz

Without going into to much detail on how much we end up spending on Sadie the Benz from Hell lets just look at the cost of tires.  I was reading a post the other day were someone mention that they were able to spend $150 per tire.

Heck I would welcome the opportunity to buy tires that cheap for my wife’s car.  Tires alone for her car run about $230 for the front and $320 for the back.  Yes you read the prices right, and no I cant get them cheaper I have tried other tires and the ride is just horrible.

Mind you this doesn’t even include the cost of the mounting, balancing and alignment.  If you think this is a lot you should try buying the tires from the dealer.  This is a steal from TireRack.com and you can add about another $30-45 per tire if we go to the dealership.

And What About Betsy

Well for comparison everything on Betsy runs about $500-750 per year but just for giggles we will only compare tires.  I don’t need to replace the tires on the Civic that often.  We she does need tires I can go to any local tire shop and they usually have what I need in stock.

The tires new usually only run about $65 and yes the ride is horrible but what do you expect the car is older then my son.  I don’t get soft tires as they wear a lot quicker the hard tires that seem to last forever.

The Difference the Benz Made

When we first got in engaged my wife was in love with her car.  But that love affair wore off after the first couple of payments.  Then a little more when people started hitting it with grocery carts and car doors.

I could care less if someone hit my car with a baseball bat and I have no monthly payments.  Though I really don’t like the Benz because of the up keep and cost I like it as a car.

The big difference the Benz has made is that my wife now understands that there are a lot more important things in life and a car is well just a car.  When you buy an expensive car you have to be ready for everything.

Sadly too many people just see the car payments and not how much the upkeep costs and how many of these cars get poor gas mileage.  She once thought that have a car payment was something she would have for life.

Now my wife has turned a new leaf and vow that once this car is paid for never again well she get a car payment.

Teaching My Son About Money

Another thing Betsy has been able to do is help me teach my son about money.  One day I was taking him to school and my son said, “why do you drive this old car?”  What do you say to that?  Most people might have thought it would be time to get a new car.

I used this as a teaching opportunity and gave my son an example.  I asked him if he would rather have a nice new truck that cost him $700 per month and another $300 in gas or would he rather have a used car that is paid for and be able to spend the $700 on other things.  He chose the used car!

Do We Waste Money On Cars?

Why do we spend so much money on cars?  Do we really need them?  I have a friend who says it’s different for men then it is for women.  He said if he drove a car that was old and beat up woman would just him.

Though he doesn’t think its fair he says that how he rolls up makes a difference in how women see him.  Per him he could care less what a woman drives and she could on roller skates.  I think it’s an excuse for him to own an M3 but I do admit there is some truth to it.

Personally I just need a reliable car to get me from point A to B.  I don’t need anything fancy as I have a lot of other things I need to focus money efforts on.

Women do you spend just as much money on cars as men do, if so why?  Do cars help to prove that we are successful and to show to others that we made it or are we just using that to help stroke our egos?

Photo Credits – Benz, Civic, Inside C350