At some point, share with the wife that this is the kind of squirrelyness you were trying to avoid with your "higher" quote.
Sometimes insisting on a higher-priced item is you yearning to avoid crappy BS problems like this. If you're not happy with the level of crap you'll have to deal with with some products, then she wouldn't have been happy with the product, nor with you.
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything. "The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
