Help me convince my boyfriend!

Well if he likes the power/looks of a charger getting him a prius could be very very difficult. In a situation where it looks like either he wins (charger) or you win (prius), a third choice may be the only chance where he does not feel like he caved in and let you win.

You might have better luck with a Volt. If you test drive it in Sport+L he might find it acceptable compared to a charger. One of my engineers, a regular motor head, made fun of the Volt when i got it, until I let him take for a drive... after which he said "wow its a real car" There are many volt owners that used to own Caddy CTS, BMW, etc. Even a few prior porche owners.. And of course it is the car Jay Leno, who can afford anything, drive daily.

 

The thing I understand about human nature is that people will always play the "It's my money, I will do what I want with it." Unless asked for your opinion, and mind you, opinion, you will be hard pressed to change a person in most regards.

As one other pointed out, the other problem will simply be that "What could have been...", or the "Midlife Crisis" type thing. Yes, it sounds stereotypical, but there will always be that sort of "What could have been..." moments and this is one of those times.

The important thing is, don't push it on him. While what you believe is the wise decision, human nature is all about the 'learning from experience'. Which means, first hand. Our own history has proven this time and time again, despite how many times we tell ourselves we have learned from the past, yet still repeat some of the same basic mistakes.

 

You've made your wishes known to him. The best thing now for you to do is to be silent about your wishes and let him decide.

When you go on the test drive of the other car, do not criticize ANYTHING about it. Be agreeable, and open, especially to any comments that he makes.

By not escalating, then he won't have to escalate either. Nor will he be put on the defensive, feeling that he HAS to defend his pick of the car or lose face! There might be things that he decides he doesn't like about the car, but unless he feels "safe" to express those things, he could choose to buy a car that he doesn't really like just because he feels to do otherwise would be capitulation.

Keep us informed of how it's working out, please! And remember--no arguing or criticizing about the cars from this point! Be agreeable--I'm rooting for you! :cheer2:

 

Hate to burst the bubble on your MPG calculations, but you will NOT be getting 22mpg with the Charger, despite the EPA rating.

The reason is that the Charger is a musclecar. It encourages you to accellerate hard, rev the engine, squeal the tires, etc. No one ever bought a Charger with the idea that they were going to have a great, fuel efficient car with a low operating cost.

The Prius on the other hand... well, I floored it once & now I'm over it. That's just not what it's about, and I enjoy the "mpg game" that it plays so much more than anything else that car can do.

Believe me, I'm a HUGE car nut & have been having a mid-life crisis for the last 30 years. Both cars that you're considering appeal to people on very different levels. And the Dodge's appeal is more towards the direction of heavy accelleration and lots of aftermarket mods to increase performance. The Prius... well, I've had very little interest in doing anything to mine except breaking into the next "level" of mpg.

So what I'm saying is that your real-world costs are going to be much different than your EPA-based estimates.

***
So what do I think? Let him get the Charger. It's what he wants.

Ever see that Harley commercial where the old man is sitting on the porch with his grandson & a harley races past, and he starts talking about "his" Harley. The grandson says "Wow Grandpa, you had a Harley?" The old man looks at him & says angrily "No, your Grandma wanted to get new aluminum siding for the house instead!"

 

Repeat after me: "Gas is over $4.00 a gallon, gas is over $4.00 a gallon......

That should do it.

 

I have had all types of cars and trucks I have had fast ones luxury ones and large trucks my last car was a range rover that I only had for 18 months.I now drive a regular prius 4 and love every minute of it. It is not the fast car not the luxury car or the manly car but it does everything well and is way less expensive to drive than all other cars.Buying this car has freed up a lot of money that I was wasting on gas. at the end of the day he is not going to impress anyone with a charger and it is a dodge and will fall to pieces right after the warranty runs out. the toyota will last a long time.
good luck
ps sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders at a young age.

Except for the no meat thing.

 

I think it's really cute that he wants a Charger of all things. I didn't know people actually buy those. What gave him the idea? He must watch a lot of football commercials or something.

If he wanted American power I thought he'd go for a Corvette or even a Mustang. If he had a sense of class maybe an M3. Again who buys a Charger? Weird. Sorry...

 

I would have gone for the Challenger. The new version looks and sounds really nice. Sucks gas like a pig! Still love the car!

 

VF,

If your BF is as young as you sound like you are, relax and let him enjoy his new car.
I’m sorry….but quite frankly, it sounds like you're just a bit of a control freak, at least on this issue which is an unfortunate position for a girlfriend to be in. I don't know to what extent you guys co-mingle assets, and frankly it doesn't bear very much on this situation, since I know a lot of married people who have "his" and "her" money.
It really doesn't matter.
It's difficult to judge a person by what they write without spending time and space, so I might be a little off...but that's how I'm reading things.

OK....so you didn't get the Prius.
Keep reading and posting.
You're both young and working…and it sounds like you’re DINKS (Dual Income – No Kids)
Sooner or later one of the Dodges is going to go TANGO-UNIFORM. That means Toes-Up. BTW...and you're going to need another car.
Or......it could be that the "new" will wear off of the Charger in time and you guys could do a two-for-one swap, and revert to a one car family.
When (if) you decide to start punching out kids, the Prius (v) may win out by default both for utility and economy.

It's tough to say...but one things is for certain.
You lost this one.
Put a chalk mark down on his side of the scoreboard. Try to resist the urge to needle him about the car, and the next time that the "change car" light gets illuminated, you can gently remind him that he got his dream car last time, and now it's your turn.
I’m not telling you to be a doormat on this one, I’m suggesting that if you go to war over this one possession, it might cause him to bond more firmly with the car…even if it turns out to be a POS.
I mean….it’s a Dodge.
We guys are a quirky bunch sometimes where cars are concerned.

Good Luck to you both!!!
Like I said. Keep reading and posting.
THAT way when the time is right, you'll get YOUR color, YOUR car, and you'll be more knowledgeable about all things Prius!

 

[/ATTACH]

Tell him to buy the Prius - I love mine; and I am a Wild Willy!

(Click on the pic to enlarge it)

MrBill

 

I'm going to respond, then read all the replys -

Let's talk about some of the 'emotional' type of things that make Prius so great ....

Imagine a car you walk up to with key tucked in your pocket or purse, reach for door handle, bam, it unlocks for you, that's Prius.

You sit down, push brake and a power up button, 2 seconds, it's ready to go. No waiting, you put it in gear immediately, how convenient is that? That's Prius.

Feel like a little more responsiveness out of your car? Hit the PWR MODE button (even while driving) and the gas pedal becomes more responsive within about 5 seconds or so.

I pulled in garage last night with MPG gage showing about 58 MPG. No lie. Granted the gage is optimistic, it's probably 55 or 6 actual, but 55 MPGs including a lot of city work?? I know of midsize motorcycles that can't get that.

Before I bought 2011 Prius, I thought at times, I do not know, it looks just ok next to that Mazda3 hatchback. Prius looks a little utilitarian. But, after buying it, tell ya what .... it looks more than fine to me.

Comfortable, reliable, so practical and efficient. I would not want anything else (well, of course I'll have the hots for the next great Prius... 4th gen, etc...but I don't need to make a habit of buying cars and losing $$$) . My 2011 is my car, and that's that. I'm set for the next 15 years or more. Knock on wood for no big accidents.

 

Did he try PWR MODE when he drove the Prius? Make sure he does that!

 

Let him have the charger. You're only young once. You can always trade in in on a Prius later.

 

Welp, the Charger may look good to him for the first few days and week that he owns it, then it will just look the same everyday. What's inside? Where's the technology? Does it have mulit-info gages to play with? Does it even have an MPG gage?

I've owned a lot of used cars, too many actually - VW Jetta, Scirocco, Mustang GT, bunch more, new Accord Coupe, many sportibikes Yamaha R1, CBRs, GSXR's ... for gettin' around, daily driving, I'll take Prius, TYVM.

When stuck in nasty Bay Area traffic, (20 minutes to go through downtown Hayward yesterday), I'm awfully darn glad I'm in a full hybrid.

 

Honestly, your best bet here is to say something like, "Honey, I know that this is your decision. I'm sorry that we seem to have gotten into a bit of a disagreement about this. I know this isn't an easy decision, but I have confidence that you will make the decision that's right for you. I want you to know that I will support you 100% no matter which way you go. Please let me know how I can help."

Then stop talking about it. It is his decision. Let him make it. He's way more likely to ask your advice and opinion if he can see that you are supportive.

If you lose this one... so what? Hopefully your relationship will last way longer than a car. Who know, you may learn to love the Charger.

 

Or, you can also go with some of the suggestions that Raellia got when she was trying to convince her husband... Deny him sex.

 

Here is a couple ideas to jazz up the the Prius....