Why does native speakers rather say 言う通り not 言った通り?

Question

I was watching a drama (無痛 ep.3) when a short sentence baffled me. The main actor's wife was taking her last breaths, thanking her husband, who himself a doctor, told her, that it would be best to die at home in his care rather than in a hospital for a number of reasons. She says:

英介さんの言うとおりにしてよかった。

It's translated as: I am glad that I listened to you. Thank you. If I would have said something like that, I would have said

言ったとおりにしてよかった。

I asked a native speaker about it but all she could tell me was, that she doesn't think 言ったとおり would be wrong. However she herself would say it like in the drama... But why is that?

Answer 1

The same reason that in English you can say 'like you say'.

If someone says 'I had maabou doufu last night and it was amazingly delicious', and some time later you decide to try it yourself and agree, you might tell them 「君の言ったとおりだ」. 'It's just like you told me (some time ago)' - you're referring to a specific instance of them telling you.

If you're both at the same restaurant, and either you order maabou doufu on their recommendation, or they give you some to try, you might tell them 「君の言うとおりだ」. 'It's just like you say' or 'it's just like you're telling me' - you're referring to the fact that they think this, and you would expect them to say this regularly.

It seems to my non-native ears that 言う通り would also be valid if someone has told you 'maabou doufu is amazing' several times in the past, and you've now tried it and agree - once again, you're not referring to a specific instance of them telling you, but the fact that they do tell you on a somewhat regular basis. I'm not 100% sure of this, though.

(more here: http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/8897632.html)