Wise sales is hard to beat.
Explain it to her this way, "Buy the best and you only cry once".
I'm convinced the EU2000 is cheaper OVER THE LONG RUN. I bought my EU2000 in 2004, making it about 9 years old. It still runs like new and has been trouble free after many, many hours of use. I know I can always count on it.
Having said that, it still depends on your intended use. If you have very occasional usage planned, the Champion 2000 watt inverter genny has a big following and is quite a bit cheaper. If you plan on heavy usage, the Honda might pay off over the long haul.