Giving a car to your spouse for Christmas

Apparently there are still a lot of couples out there (from polls on this board) where spouses still keep seperate checking accounts and have a “my money is mine, their’s is their’s” mentality. I’m not one of them and I still don’t quite get them.

We’re thinking about buying a new car next year - now you’ve got me wanting to ask them for a big-assed bow for it. :smiley:

Do it, do it! :smiley:

If we had joint accounts, we’d be eating steak every night – by candlelight, because the electricity would be shut off. :slight_smile:

We think the ads are silly too, but at least most of them focus on the deal.

Probably more about inventory. Manufacturers rarely (if ever) time the introduction of a new model year with the calendar year – in fact, in the past, it was traditional for the Big Three to introduce their new models in the early fall.

by December a well run dealership is all out of the previous years models.

A touching commercial for the season: Merry Christmas..........bitch! | By Haluze na webe | Facebook =)

Exactly. And so this time of year, they’re trying to off-load all the 2010 models they still have on the lot. I notice that most of the commercials just say ‘Come in for a December spectacular!’ They don’t mention that the deals are all only for the 2010 models. I could be wrong, I’ve never shopped for a vehicle at this time of year, but that’s my impression.

Thanks to poor visibility and slippery roads, my dad put his car in a ditch last week, stopping when he hit a telephone pole. Given the age (13 years) and milage (250K), our expectation is that it will be totalled rather than repaired.

So my parents did some car shopping last week.

Saleslady–“Wouldn’t this car make a nice Christmas Present?”

My mother (probably not outloud)–“NO. The Christmas money has already been spent on a new refrigerator and a new radio.”

Yeah, this was mentioned on Sunday when the guys were here for NFL. Pretty much everyone agrees that this is odd.

But I did know one man who bought his wife and himself a new car “for Christmas” every year. He prided himself in being possession rich and cash poor.

We have joint accounts, because when we got married neither of us had a pot to piss in.

My dad buys my mother’s cars. He used to not even talk to her about it. He’d think about it, research it, make a decision and not care at all about color, it was a matter of what he could get the best deal on and it would show up. Now he at least mentions “honey, you need a new car, I’m going to start looking.” Since he does it anyway, putting a bow on it for Christmas or her birthday would at least be a nice touch (he doesn’t, they just show up).

He handles all the money, she doesn’t know what they can and can’t afford. He always pays cash. She did finally tell him that she’d like to - I don’t know - maybe pick the color or choose between a compact sedan and a full size SUV (she’s had both - you can’t tell with my Dad). He does not park it in the lawn or decorate the tree.

I would guess that the percentage of buyers who actually give cars as surprise Christmas gifts (let alone with a giant red bow) is vanishingly small. But the ads are still effective at getting the brand into the heads of people and couples who are in the market for a new car anyway.

They’re also good at making guys feel really inadequate about those fuzzy slippers under the tree.

Not everyone is in the same financial situation… a friend of mine bought her husband a Porsche 911 for Christmas. Didn’t need a loan… wasn’t a big deal. This was about 20 years ago, and yes it had the big red bow.

I bought my current car without asking my wife. I took her to the lot and told her this was going to be my next car but she didn’t believe me. It wasn’t until I told her I needed a ride to the dealership to bring my old car home that she saw the new one in the garage. We are still married.

A co-worker bought his daughter a car for Christmas. The dealer not only offered the big bow but offered to deliver it on Christmas morning.

Now here’s one for the ladies.
Baby, where is my Mercedes?
Girl, I’m waitin’ for the ribbons and the bows.
Just keep me guessin’; oh baby, I’m confessin’.
I know, you want two of them and three of those.

Sweet Tequila Blues by Chip Taylor (brother to Jon Voigt) & Carrie Rodriguez

Ever since I saw my first parked-in-the-driveway, bow-on-top Christmas commercial years ago, I’ve been hoping for such a gift. So romantic! Sigh . . .

And no, I didn’t mean that snowblower, honey. Nor the bucket of Fast Melt. But I can use the lovely shovel to dig a biiiiig hole in the back yard, come spring. Are you getting a clue yet, my dearest?

I don’t know about your dearest but I got the message loud and clear.

For those who want a bow for a used car or for some other large gift, there’s an entire website that specializes in big-ass bows.

Live in it. I blew our savings on a Lexus. :smiley: