AIBU to give conditions to car buying husband

[HappyKoala56]

My husband and I have 2 cars - we don't tend to think of them as my car and his car (i.e. they are both ours) but we do both tend to drive one more than the other. Both are automatic as I only have an auto license.

Car 1 was brought late last year. It was brought with me in mind and I drive it to work - this involves motorway and rural driving and around 60-70 miles per day. I picked it due to reputation for safety and maintenance (Volvo), it's mpg, mileage and cost (£8k second hand).

Car 2 we've had for several years and it needs to go. Has broken down a number of times in the past year, it's very unreliable and drinking petrol. DH drives this car to work, around 40-50 miles per day.

DH has tried to convince me to get an electric vehicle as he can charge for free at work. While this would be great, it would still cost more than paying for a second hand car in the £7-£8k region if split over 4 years. I gave him the same parameters that we agreed when choosing a car last year - mpg, mileage and cost. He keeps saying that 'he just wants something comfortable, and a car that will link to his phone so he can listen to Spotify' but all of the cars within these parameters he doesn't like and gets in a strop. So basically he wants the brand new or big car to smooth his ego, but doesn't want to admit it.

I've given him three options

1. Choose a car from a list of those meeting the parameters for mileage, mpg and cost

1. Let me choose a car meeting those parameters and he can drive the Volvo

1. He gets a manual car as there is then more choice, but obviously this means I couldn't drive it so would not be my favourite option.

I don't think I'm being unreasonable. I am trying to save money in the long run. I'm not asking him to drive a car that I wouldn't drive myself. But I'm perfectly ready to be told iabu. The money side of things, we can afford the £7-£8k but any higher we would need a loan.

AIBU giving him these options, or should he be able to drive what he wants?

You need to sit in the car for 20 minutes to get used to have it feels

If he could charge for free at work then the saving in fuel should offset the cost of a loan, surely. As long as they have chargers fast enough to give it a full charge whilst he's there, so not just plugging in a granny charger to a regular socket.

Alternatively, what about a plug in hybrid? Cheaper than full electric and lots of second hand options out there. Most do 20-30 miles electric only so he can charge at home for the way to work and charge at work for the trip home.

But mostly you both need to compromise. There's nothing wrong with wanting a car that you like when you are doing that sort of mileage. It all comes down to budget. Car prices have increased a lot recently so you would need to spend more to get something as good as a car that cost £8k a few years ago.