Do you choose the family car - or does he?

[HelenMumsnet]

Hello.

We've had a hunch for a time that women play a huge part in choosing what make and model of family car to buy. But advertisers keep telling us that's not true - it's the men who make car decisions, they say.

So, we thought we'd ask you what you think...

What part do you play in the decision to buy your family car (and we do mean family car, not the sporty two-seater your other half might have his mid-life-crisis eye on)?

Do you choose it by yourself? Or does he? Or perhaps you do all the research but it's a joint decision in the end?

Do tell...

i chose

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'?

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

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!

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

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

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.

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).

I have a big say - I like reliable, efficient, sensible cars. DH does not. We are currently shopping for a people carrier

I will do the ground work as to which is the most spacious, best design of seats, cheapest to buy, cheapest to run etc. And I will find the money to pay for it (although it will be money earned by DH as I only work PT, but I look after the family finances). He will come with me to look at them though!

HTH!

I chose DH's new car and mine is his old one, so a bit of both.

he chose his and I chose mine with help from him. (because I know bog all about cars!) Before I could drive, he chose the car because he was the one driving it. Fair enough. What would be the point me choosing a car that he had to drive?

We discuss our requirements between us, then usually I look on autotrader/local paper/ebay until the right things come up, at which point we'll go and look at them and he'll tell me if they're mechanically sound.

But our requirements are things like; we need one vehicle that can take us plus two children plus two dogs, one that can tow, one that fits a large number of tools in (he is self-employed tradesman), one that we can do large mileage at low cost, etc, etc - whilst only wanting two vehicles between us - so there aren't many options for us to narrow down from!

I then sort out finance, insurance, etc.

Our beloved family car was changed last year.
I wasn't remotely interested in the choice of the car. And I thought we could have kept the old one (which was about 10 yrs old) for another couple of yrs.
I must add that I don't drive and that we use the car only if we go away for the weekend.

I don't drive (am learning) but I had a lot of input into choosing our family car although I left the final choice up to him since he'd be driving it. We've talked vaguely about buying another car for me at some point and I'd choose that one.

I research them, choose them, find out where you can get the relevant one, take DH there, test drive together, we agree one, then I pay for them (with our money) but as someone else said I run the whole of our finances too. I don't take much notice of advertising, but do read car pages in the papers, and Which, also talk to friends about theirs.

I then organise servicing, MOTs, tax, insurance also do all the minor maintenance (checking tyre pressures, oil etc) or nag DH to do it sometimes. I know more about car maintenance than him.

DH doesn't drive and knows nowt about cars, so I suppose I make the decision.

I have no interest in cars and dont do a lot of driving, so DH did all the research, came up with his suggestion, then had to work pretty hard to make me agree since I was against getting a 4x4 to begin with. Then he sorted out getting the thing. Am perfectly happy with this arrangement (and I ended up loving the car)

We're about to buy a car for my new daily commute and this time I've done the research and have a pretty good idea of what to get, but would take DHs suggestions seriously because I'm really not that fussed about it and he has a lot of knowledge in this area.

DH doesn't "do" cars. To him, they're a tin can that should get him from a to b, without a) breaking down and b) making his back ache. Beyond that he couldn't care less.
I, on the other hand LOVE cars. Always have done. Used to sit in my dad's car from about the age of 5, making brmm brrm noises and studying the manufacturer's handbook.

So, I decide when we're going to trade in and I basically choose what we're going to have. I research them, test drive them, talk to the salesmen about them (once they agree to look at me instead of DH, assuming I can persuade him to come along) and organise the shifting about of funds to pay for them.

Likewise, if there's ever anything that goes wrong with his, he says "It's making a funny noise/a strange light's come on the dashboard. What does that mean?" and I deal with it. He stopped in the snow recently to complain about a high-pitched whine. Called me. Straightaway I could tell (from several miles away) that it was some snow on the bumper covering the parking sensor! He had no idea!

I wish DH would make the decision, but he's firmly in the " it's only a car" camp.

I listen to him talk about it, and engage in debate/merits of different models. But it's his research and his decision.

I chose the family/my car because I am Eminently Sensible and if I had to wait for DH to do research etc I'd still be waiting.

He chose his because he wanted a blue growly sporty car.

Neither dh or I know or care about cars. We are both of the 'keep it til it dies' mindset.
I researched on the net which cars would fit 3 9mth plus carseats in the back(didn't want 3 rows of seats type)and then we made our choice by seeing which was the cheapest of that narrow range.
I then checked that 'which car' said it wasn't a death trap and found 2 in local showrooms.
Dh also would not know where to start researching stuff on internet so that's why I do it.
We looked at them together, but I let dh do the talking because I'm afraid I think they are more likely to accept his negotiating than mine-I could be wrong, but I don't want to risk losing money as we have very little to spare.

We have until now had our own cars and each decided on our own car.
We have finally caved to the idea of a family car, and I ultimately decided which model I wanted, then DH found the right deal, usually car supermarket rather than overpriced condescending dealerships-Autoquake, very good
He now has my car as it made more financial sense to hold onto that car but when the time comes he will decide which car to change it for
We both will discuss each car lots,(we both enjiy buying the car) but ultimately one of us has responsibility for the car we drive the majority of the time
Am astonished that no-one has realised this, but it doesn't suprise me
As a buyer, I prefer to do my research at home usually on line comparing 0-60, mpg etc.
When we go to buy, I prefer a best price ie supermarket rather than this stupid wrangling which seems to be a male fighting charade.
And yes, i expect to be treated as someone who has quite a lot of input into the purchase and half the time, the whole say as to which car is purchased

Took my Mothers advice and gave permission for DH to buy the car he really wanted.
Result is happy DH, marital harmony. And the car is quite nice too.