Have to choose between happy marriage and classic Micra

[AlphaMicra]

Good god. Why does this have to exist? $555, an hour and change drive from where I live, very low mileage, and it's the exact model I had originally wanted; the 5 speed coupe, doesn't even have a radio:

http://wwwb.autotrader.ca/a/Nissan/M...PO&orup=8_15_8



Fenders and body side moulding look pretty rough, but if the underside is solid, it shouldn't be anything I couldn't handle.

Unfortunately, my wife won't have any of it. It's too old, it's someone else's junk, we don't have room. It'd be a shame to see this go to the scrap yard.

[MetroMPG]

Oh man. I'd buy that! (If it were local.)

someone else's junk

It doesn't have enough KM on it to be junk! (Unless too rusty underneath.)

go to the scrap yard

I know a guy in the used car business, and he regularly sees older, low kms economy cars just like this one (the classic "driven to church on Sundays and the grocery store once a week" cars) going through the auction and getting no bids = going to the scrap yard.

[Ustauk]

At $500, better to ask forgiveness then permission Do you have or plan to have kids? Say you're thinking of it a first car for them.

[AlphaMicra]

Have a kid. He'll be driving in a couple of years. She won't have him driving a car older than a decade. She says no car like this until I'm retired, but by then, I think all remaining K10 Micra's will have been crushed and recycled into soda cans.

The only option I can think of is to see if my parents will let me store it at the farm. She'd still be pissed though. She's read horror stories about guys restoring classic cars and how it destroyed their marriage; she doesn't understand that this isn't an MG or classic Porsche. Fenders are only 45 euro's each, and the engine and transmission probably don't need any work.

Unless any of you have any words of wisdom that I can share with her to convince her. My son is behind me all the way, in fact, he's the one who discovered it.

[Ustauk]

I'd see if you can store it on your parent's farm. Then it won't be cluttering up your own home, which takes away one of the arguments. Explain to her you'll only be getting parts from the junk yard inexpensively, and won't be buying parts off of eBay and paying large shipping charges. Say you're going to buy this to drive around yourself while your son in the future is driving around your safe new Micra. And finally, market it as an educational opportunity and bonding exercise for you and your son to do together. You and your son should take your wife out for a nice dinner, bringing along some flowers, or, better yet, jewellery, and broach the question of this great family bonding exercise Good luck!

[AlphaMicra]

Parents are good for storage in the barn. Nick and I will drive up this weekend while wife is at work to see if it's worth the trouble.

[MetroMPG]

Cool! Fingers crossed that the underside isn't swiss cheese...

[aftica]

Hide the car in the barn and no one needs to know...

Also, the dash and interior in general on that '89 looks much more sophisticated than how I remember my base model 2dr, 5sp '87?

[Ustauk]

Hide the car in the barn and no one needs to know...

Also, the dash and interior in general on that '89 looks much more sophisticated than how I remember my base model 2dr, 5sp '87?

If Mrs. AlphaMicra keeps an eye on the finances at all, a mysteriously missing $500 is a recipe for disaster. If Alpha can convince his parents to buy it for the him to use so the grandchild can use the family car and keep it in storage, then that might work

[AlphaMicra]

There's good news and bad news.

Apparently, this car sold right away, and there's no threat to my marriage for the foreseeable future.