Money Moral Dilemma: Am I paying too much for holiday car breakdown?

gloriouslyhappy

tain wrote: »

I think it's pretty fair all round.

Your car was knackered and has cost them all £50 and a lot of inconvenience.

They chose to borrow the car and therefore in a roundabout way accepted responsibility for it which included the need to pay if it breaks down. But if they had any idea the car was knackered then I'm sure they wouldn't have borrowed it.

So splitting the tow costs 4 ways seems about right.

I'm sure if the OP had any idea the car was knackered, they wouldn't have bought it the month before!

AIKO

You pay .It doesn't matter who was driving, the car broke down so it was going to do so no matter who was driving. If they had crashed the car that would have been their fault but the car breaking down is your responsibility.

19lottie82

hmmmmmm this is a hard one.

on one side of the coin, you did them a favour by lending them the car, so I think it's a bit cheeky of them to ask

BUT

in fairness, it sounds like it would have broken down anyway they next time you drove it, even if they hadn't have borrowed it.
you bought a "banger", what do you expect for £700?

if I were in the other parties shoes, I wouldn't have asked you to chip in.

if I were in your shoes, i'd just pay the £50, but it would be noted, the next time those friends needed another favour.

Cookie1986

This is a difficult one as its nobody’s fault that the car broke down and I’m fairly sure it would not have crossed anyone’s mind what would happen if the car broke down when you were not in it before they set off home. Given that your car broke down from what sounds to be a maintenance issue and not the negligence of the driver it is just bad luck that you have had to pay £200 to tow the car away. As you have control over the maintenance of the car I don’t think it is fair to say you have no responsibility for the recovery of the car. I understand it is a disappointing situation for anyone and I think your friends have tried to recognise this by offering to split the bill with you.
Given that it is £50 it’s probably not worth falling out with your friends regardless of who should you think should pay?

JimboRea

Wait...so as well as borrowing your car for free they also expected you to provide them with free breakdown cover?

I have an AA card and that covers me for any car I'm travelling in. If they had had their own breakdown cover they wouldn't have had to pay the tow fee.

When you drive ANY car there's a risk of breakdown and IMO it's the responsibility of the people travelling to ensure they are adequately covered, not the person they blagged some free motoring from.

So if this was me I'd lose no sleep over refusing to pay the £50 but as ever it comes down to whether the aggro that will result is worth saving the £50. Depending on who the friends were I'd probably cough up but make sure they know I'm NOT happy about being taken advantage of.

And I'd definitely not lend them anything ever again.

MoneyconcernsRus

Beauborg wrote: »

I'm surprised that these supposedly good friends are expecting you to pay. Don't they feel gutted that your car broke down while they were driving and is now a write-off costing you £700, especially as you'd only bought it a month earlier? Ok, it might have broken down anyway and it perhaps wasn't their fault - unless they were driving erratically. I would suggest that the £200 is their loss and the £700 is your loss. If they want to split the £200 4 ways then they should also split the £700 4 ways.

I agree with Beauborg, I would also feel gutted and would certainly not expect you to pay any tow fee, knowing you had already lost money on the car. I also assume that if they had to leave a day early, then by borrowing your car, you saved them money they would have had to spend anyway either by hiring a car or public transport? Also as to the comment about 'old banger' when driving on motorways, which I do every day with my job, the cars sitting on the hard shoulder are nearly always newer cars. As one other poster says, you had no idea when you bought the car it would break down, there are plenty of 'old bangers' that last for years and years. You also had yourself covered for break down, your friends must have known that, but chose to take the risk anyway, so paying toward the tow fee? A big NO!

happyinflorida

Why did 3 of them want to go home a day early? That's important to know - was it for a trivial reason?

They want you to contribute towards the towing costs so are they going to contribute towards the write off costs - £700? That seems fair to me in view of what you've written.

I don't think these people are really friends at all and I'd make sure you get some new, decent ones.

Kirri

No I wouldn't pay - you were covered for when you were in the car, they weren't, their choice. They were getting it for free useage as it was, they could have gone home and paid for public transport instead and tbh I wouldn't bother with them as friends in future.

hogger84

On the way there did you charge them a split of your breakdown cover that would have covered them if they broke down on the way up?

MoneyconcernsRus

cammy253 wrote: »

Good friends are worth more than £50.

Would 'good friends' have asked you to chip in after you'd already lent them your car (assuming free of charge) and knew that you'd lost so much financially already?