Wife has a fair idea what the cars cost. And the parts too for that matter. Like she knows I just spent about $1500 getting a new top and molding for her SL. When she sees that, she doesn't complain much if I wanna drop a grand or so on some old rust bucket that cought my eye. (or, recently, a '76 300D). Keeping the fleet running IS expensive. Good thing is, we know everyone is safely inside a Benz when they venture out. Since daughter has cracked up two of them with no damage to herself, we're pretty much on the same page. Easier to tell the truth, and I'm a lazy person.