Telling a wife anything reduces your chances of getting what you want. The ideal response you're shooting from her should sound something like this: "OMG honey, what do you think we should do?" Note two important, key words in this response:
honey, and
we. These indicate love and acceptance of a shared goal.
To bring her to this critical decision-making tipping point, you must draw her into her most suggestive state. It's like hypnosis, only better. And what is a woman's most open-minded state? I'm talking about her maternal state. When a woman goes maternal, she is open to anything that will resolve the problem at hand. And what better way to bring her to this state? (I'll give you a hint, it works on men too.)
Tears. That's right, tears. For you manly men unfamiliar with tears, they're tiny droplets of water that are emitted by the inner corner of your eyes. Coupled with spasmodic sobs, it's a very powerful psychological combination if used infrequently. Lots of manly men work on cars, so this technique will work twice as well if you're large and hairy, since it's completely unexpected. It will get an instant response from your woman, because they will never see it coming. The most opportune moment to bring this super-powerful technique to bear is when they're most vulnerable: in their sleep. Allow me to elaborate.
Lets say you've been following this thread and want to buy a Tech 2, only money is kind of tight, and let's be honest, a Tech 2 is not an essential expense to have, (at least in her eyes) compared to say, food, or home heating oil. Your goal: To convince her that not only is a Tech 2 desirable, but essential to your family's well-being.
Start by researching online to identify the best price and place to purchase your soon-to-be-ordered Tech 2. (Positive thinking makes any goal that much more attainable.) When queried by her, you'll need to have this info on the tip of your tongue so you appear to be a problem-solver. (This is one of the things women love about men.)
Wait until she's really tired and has been sleeping for about four hours, and is in REM sleep. Look this one up to identify when this is happening. Quietly whisper, "Tech 2 . . . Tech 2" about a dozen times. This will interfere with her dream state since she probably doesn't know what a Tech 2 is. (Or why she's hearing it in the middle of the night.)
This is the important part. . . Lying with your back toward her, start shaking your shoulders intermittently . . . slowly and increase the intensity. You want to slowly bring her out of her sleep but not be annoyed, -just curious. When she comes to and asks what's going on, start sniffling once every five seconds, and then say, "Nothing." At this point she should be curious, and will ask, "Are you alright?" This means her maternity state is in the ENABLED mode and you're almost there. If she asks, "Are you . . . crying?" Give your self an academy award nod of approval and hesitate before you answer -like you're embarrassed. "Maybe a little, I'm just scared." Continue sniffling, only at a reduced rate, once every twenty seconds or so. IF she turns on the light, immediately cover your face with your hands. This will add to the embarrassment factor and cover your performance. You get extra style points if you can really tear up, but pretend to wipe your eyes anyway with your back turned to her.
You're almost there. Pick up the pace and head down the home stretch now. Begin with something like this, only talk extra slow for added impact: "You know, we spent all of that money on the car and with the way the top has been acting up lately, there's no way we can afford to take it in to the shop every few months. I know it was my idea to buy it, and I feel like I've let you down, since it's starting to become a burden. It's starting to keep me up at night too. I feel so helpless. . . "
If you're been following along and really putting your acting chops into it, you should hear the words you've been working so hard for: "OMG honey, what do you think we should do?"
Lower your head, shake it slowly a few times, then turn to face her. Look into her eyes, and say: "There's a special tool the dealers use to fix all sorts of XLR problems. I can buy it at a discount online and it will pay for itself every time I use it. I just can't think of another way to keep this car without spending a fortune keeping it running as the car ages and more problems will appear. There's lots of support online in the XLR forums, but without the special tool, all I can do is read and sit on the sidelines." Expect her to ask how much this "special tool" will cost at this point. Without missing a beat, say, "It's about the cost of a few of your hair appointments, with a spa day thrown in."
Done.
Don't expect an answer right away. You may need to do this on two or more consecutive nights, so be prepared to change your narrative, but keep to the same basic script. And when she finally decides that you're right and tells you to order one, (don't call it a Tech 2, just a "special tool") you can really turn on the tears, --but they'll be tears of joy.
CCC
Trunk history originally showed there was a top position error & it didn't know the trunk lid ajar status. 
