Do you choose the family car - or does he?

we have a car each so there is technically no 'family car'.

He chose his

I chose mine

In the days when we did have just the one car we both had a say but the ultimate final decision was left with the person who used/drove it the most (in those days that was DH).

DH is a car nut so he generally has an idea what he wants. We discuss his choice and I put in my view, which he does listen to.

When it comes to the nittygritty of the details, I do that sums. He negotiates the deal.

I choose and research then run a couple of options by DH who just nods and looks blankly..he is more a computer geek really

Well we are a 2 car house hold, I have a my own car, and Dh has a company car. I have always chosen my car, though, I will listen to DH's thoughts as he does know something about cars. He approved of(as in, "yes, I hear good things about that car, go for it" not "Yes, wife, you have my permission to buy that car) my choice of the last 2 cars I have had.
He has had a limited choice in cars over the last few years (his company only allows Ford or Vauxhall due to corporate deal) and he he does listen to my input, as the company car will be the main family one.

In an interesting reversal of fortune though in his new job which he starts next month, he has been assigned out of the carpool a BMW rollerskate 1 series, a far smaller car than his current one a Ford tank Mondeo. So we are now thinking that we may trade in my lovely i30 (WAHHHHHHHHHHH!) as it is the same size as a 1 series, and trade it up for a big people carrier,which will become out main family car, the reason being is that the tax liability on the 1-series is very low, so will be cheap on tax.
In which case we will be deciding between us what we will be getting. As he has vetoed the Vauxhall Zafira and I am not having any fugly French piece of crap.

(Excuse me French people, you are lovely but you only make cars that fall to bits at the slightest provocation).

Sorry that turned into a bit of a waffle

Dp pretty much chooses but that's because he is a car dealer, he drives a different car every month or so and I get whatever fulfills our needs and was a good price when he saw it, no choice re colour/trim for me!

We choose it together, equal say in it as we both know nothing about cars

DH chooses his own car, but runs it past me to check I'm in agreement (I vet it for potential crazy 'mid-life crisis' choices and to check we can afford it).

With regard to my car (nominally the family car), I choose the type of car and give DH a shortlist of what I'd like (e.g. Ford C-max, Citroen Picasso or Renault Megane). DH then shops around to find the best deal (we usually buy second hand).

We don't 'choose'.

We schlepp round endless garages and showrooms trying to find anything dh *6 ft 8 and a bit) might be able to fit in without actual pain.

Then we either buy it, or go away appalled at the cost until someone else buys it.

Does that count as 'he chooses'?

i chose

Joint decision. We recently looked at 7-seaters. I did all the research, narrowed donw the options and we test drove a few together. Then I decided they weren't all that and we've decided to stick with what we've got.

I choose my car, DH chooses the family car as its what he has to drive the most to work and back.
We currently have an Audi A4 and he just went and bought it without me even seeing it!
However at the moment he wants a surfy van so we have compromised in that he can sell expensive audi and buy cheaper family car (Golf or similar) and have a van of his choice too.

As we pay for our cars individually i think its only fair that we choose what we want, within reason

I wanted one with sliding doors. Dh did the research and came up with 3 models which were all basically the same car but the best set up for us. (Citroen synergie, Peugeot 806 and ....er......the other one!)

I then bought one......

on Ebay....

without seeing it first.......

I do think women are better at shopping than men and it doesn't really matter what the product is. If I'm given a mission of something to buy then I can research whatever it is. Google is your friend.

I am a bit of a petrolhead but you don't have to be. Just approach it like buying a holiday. Pros and cons of different destinations/car models. Read opinions//reviews. Narrow your model choice down and then start shopping to see what the best deal you can find is.

If dh Was to buy a car he'd probably just go down to the local garage and say he wanted something diesel and big in his price range and then buy anything that drove ok.

I choose but do so in such a way that he ends up thinking he's chosen it

If he likes a car and I don't its guaranteed that we won't end up with the car. If its the other way round its different.

I chose our last family car earlier this year by myself. I know more about cars than DH does. He wanted a Vectra to replace his ancient Cavalier and I sniggered and said no way. Nothing French and not a Vectra.

I wanted to get a Passat but he gave me a budget of 7k which put a Passat out of range for the age/milage we wanted.

So then I thought ok, Skoda or Ford. I researched what was available online and locally. Found a nice Ford and went to see it by myself, booked a test drive for the next day for DH. We both went and he drove it and we bought it.

I buy my own cars without asking his opinion or even taking him with me.

dh chose his own motorbike though. And the family campervan.

DH has worked in car design so has very dearly-held views, and his Autocar browsing habit is not dissimilar to my MN habit... but I have acquired car knowledge over the years by osmosis / boring pub conversations, so will have my say and get to veto. And I have the most influence on when we can afford to buy a new car (so not now!).

Car decision made same as all other decisions in our household.

We both propose options, whoever can be bothered/has time does the research (would be DH at the mo!) and we go and look at a short list. This will usually include at least one car each that only one of us is really interested in, as well as some that we are both interested in.

So last time we went to sit in an Audi TT (to humour me, not DH, btw) and then in some other car (Honda Jazz maybe? I forget) to humour DH. We eventually chose the car that we both thought suited our needs best, although secretly we both hankered for another one that was gorgeous but a lot less practical/safe.

DH would not be buying a car unless I was happy with it. And it's usually me who suggests we make this and any other big purchase. Except possibly TVs.

both . We currently have 2 but need to be able to drive either.

We decided, my choice!, we both test drive(I do the long test drive) and I negotiated, DH paid.

He cares, I don't so he does it all and I have a veto if I don't like it. He does consult me but I care so little I have to feign an interest (once I've expressed my preference for size, manual/automatic, etc). I do insist on airconditioning, though.

Our options are so limited anyway (by finance and family size) so it's not like there is an enormous choice. Not that you would know that by the amount of time he spends making the decision.

Joint decision but more mine IYSWIM as I drive it 5 days a week, he only drives it at the weekend. We are currently in the process of buying a 7 seater

He chose his own car

With his car, I tend to do the research on a shortlist we've come up with together, he test drives them and, assuming they've driven okay etc, I can persuade him to get the one I think is the most practical.

When it comes to my car, it's exactly the same process.

Me- I make all the 'technology' decisions, from cars to pcs to tvs even to which mobile phones we have. Luddite doesn't even begin to describe him....