Hi dannyboy,
I think the bit about the wife not being happy is an occupational hazard I'm afraid and you'd not be alone on club-xm.
Anyway, welcome to club-xm. You'll find it very friendly here with lots of people willing and eager to help you out. Have a look in the Self-Help Files section. there's lots of mini repair manuals in there for the most common XM faults. Feel free to download as many as you like.
Let us know whats wrong with your uncle's 2.1 auto and we'll try to help you solve the problem.
Cheers
noz