Do you let your wife/girlfriend drive your car?
 

Was sitting at the dinner table this week and out of no where my wife says "You should let me drive your car." That was a shocker. She's never asked me that before, and we've never discussed it. As I choked down my last bite, I calmly said "Sure", knowing that was the only answer that would be acceptable!

On one hand I was somewhat excited, thinking it might get her more involved in my hobby. On the other hand, I'm wondering if this will lead to her wanting to take the car without me in it! Don't think my stomach could handle that one. :_paranoid

Thought it might be interesting to see how others have or would handle this situation.

:drive:

lol at the vote so far.

'Taking it out without you" would be my biggest worry. Almost like letting your 16 year old son take it out for a night on the town with his friends. I would be very uneasy.

True story, last week my wife had to drive me to a doctor appointment since I was not going to be able to drive afterwards. We were in her mini-van and she pulled into a parking space with a high curb and scraped the front end on the curb. Then she realized she was across the line in the stall so she backed up to get straight then pulled forward and scraped the curb again. All I could think of was how much that damage would have cost to repair on the Camaro. I will have to change the subject if she asks me the same question.

The more my wife enjoys the car the easier it is for me to justify spending more money on it. Also, she makes more money than me so it's in the best interest of the car and I that she likes it. J/K kinda ;)

Not only naw, but hell naw. Sorry, but nobody drives my cars...not even my wife. I love her to death, but there are certain things she does that I feel I'm not entitled to, therefore, my cars apply to her in the same manner. And she understands that and has no problem with it believe it or not.

Sounds like you wear the pants at your house too...:rofl:

My wife knows not to even ask.... She knows the answer.

My wife doesnt drive manuals. She like the idea of driving it... but prefers to be a passenger. Good thing for me... she doesn't have any desire to drive it. If she asked... i'd teach her though... its insured... and i'd actually be kinda stoked to see her drive it. But i know she wouldn't enjoy it. Reason is..... she would ACTUALLY HAVE TO DRIVE! They dont drive themselves like todays cars!

Laurie never asked to drive the Bucket. I actually had to push her into it. She was a bit nervous at first and that made for some pretty good entertainment the first few drives. Once she understood the car's personality and awesomeness, she did great. We even talked about her taking some classes with Mary Pozzi and doing some autocross. She only drove it once without me and that was to her work (Las Vegas Police Department) to show it off to her co-workers. She was so nervous about something happening to it, that I had to go pick it up in the middle of the night. Pretty funny seeing as it was locked in a garage all by it's self and inside a secure compound.

In the end she knew the car was mine and she respected that. Now if she was dragging the wheels of her car along curbs all the time.....yeah all of that would have been VERY different. lol

My ex drove my truck once and did well until it was time to park. You could tell she was VERY nervous. Never asked again.

Now, I don't have this problem. Single life :thumbsup:

Right there with you man. My wife drives all of our cars, and autocrosses them too. She enjoys them as much if not more than I do. Not only is it easier to justify the cost of parts, upgrades, ect.... it makes it more interesting and enjoyable. I know everyone does not have a wife that's into this stuff as much as mine, but she grew up around cars and racing and we don't have any kids to worry about either.
If the wife shows interest, by all means I would let her get involved. If she decides it's not for her, that's fine too. I wouldn't force it either way. I would highly recommend some type of driving school to take the edge off driving one of our cars. I know my wife's ability behind the wheel has been greatly improved by taking a class with our local SCCA autocross group as well as the Evolution school. Even if they never compete at an event they will learn more about car control in one day at the EVO school than they have in their whole life. I plan on going myself next year if I can.

Some guys have wives/familes that enjoy this together and I think that's great! ^ I think you have to own a 66/67 Chevelle to get into that club though...:lol:

I've never had a wife or GF drive one of my Camaros. Too hard core for them I guess?

They don't ride my softtail Harleys either (I barely do these days!). Ex wife used to drive our weekend car - Porsche, but I wasn't too happy about that on many levels. I did teach her to go get the truck/trailer when we were taking the boat off the lake, but that's a threadjack...:yes:

My wife did the autocross school, autocross, and drag strip at RTTH's. We both had a blast. To the point where once the 68 Camaro is "done" will start looking for a second classic car. Surprisingly she had more trouble at the dragstrip than the autocross. She did great at the autocross, but she was either short shifting or bouncing off the rev limiter at the strip. I guess I need a brighter shift light??

Like Josh said " it's insured" and to be honest with what these cars seem to be selling for lately it's probably over insured. As long as no one is hurt I'm not worried about what happens to the car. I know she's scared of messing the car up, but I'm not worried. She can't beat on the car any harder than I do, and if something happens that's not covered by insurance I just gives my a reason to make it better than it was.

All I could think about at Thunderhill this weekend... is buying (as Charley chided me about all weekend) a Renegade Stacker -- and having a car for Gwen so she could track at her own level (spec Miata etc). She'd love it - but would never admit to it... LOL

I think I'll send her to Bondurant and see what happens.:woot:

I converted mine to a stick.



Wife can't drive a manual car (thinks it's a waste of time).

:lol:

I can't believe all these wives/gf's that can't drive a stick. I think everyone should be able to drive a stick. My wife daily drives a new 6 speed turbo Regel. My vote was for the coffee sipper automatic. She was the one that wanted the manual trans.

my wife used to daily drive the camaro and i would drive the TA(4th gen) lol
plus she would always been extra carefull when driving since she knew how i felt she has never curbed either of the f-bodys, me on the other hand...:_paranoid

my wife is the same way about sticks, she learned how to drive with one and has always preferred one ever since, even in her car she pay attention when parking (she drive a lowered jetta 6 speed) you get to close to a parking block and the front bumper is done!

This would be a plus. Especially when buying parts, parts and more parts.:unibrow:


This would be the negative.:faint:
I voted on change the subject.

My used to be able to drive a stick, but MS has pretty much taken that away. Otherwise, she would be more than welcome to drive any car we own/build.

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

i don't have a problem with my wife driving my car. heck she can drive better than most guys i know. lucky to have one that tolerates my hobby.

I would try to change the subject, but I would let her drive it if she insisted. It would only seem fair since she has made quite a few sacrifices, time & $$$$$, over the years while I have been building the car. Not to mention the support she has provided for something really doesn't understand why anyone would want to do.