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

gloriouslyhappy

Another option might have been for the friends to leave the car where it broke down or have it moved somewhere safe very nearby, then inform the owner where it was so he/she could use the free towing benefit on his/her insurance. That would leave the friends only needing to pay for their own travel home, which they would have had to do if the car hadn't been available in the first place. Whichever way I look at it, I still don't agree with those who think the OP should pay a share of the towing charge, unless the OP was given a choice and authorised the expensive tow before it happened, in which case they should definitely pay their share.

Again, not enough info, it would be nice if these MMDs had an 'update' or 'more info' boxes available..

rinabean

So borrowing your car and wrecking it isn't enough of a favour, they want you to give them money too? What planet are they from? No it's probably not their fault that it broke down, but if I borrow something from my friend and it breaks I pay for a new one or at the very very least, if I can't afford to, grovel a lot and try and make it up to them. To break someone's property and ask them for money - I'm appalled...

stmartinsdiver

If you had been in the car as well as your friends it would presumably have broken down anyway, but would they have offered to share your recovery costs?
If you think they would then pay the £50 but don't loan your car out again.
If you think the answer would have been 'no' because it was your car and therefore would have been your problem then they've got a real cheek to ask you to pay when you were doing them a favour.
If you'd been in the car by yourself and the same thing had happened then obviously you'd have had to foot the whole bill yourself.
It seems to me your chums should realise that you're already well out of pocket having effectively lost your car so I'm surprised they asked you to take a further hit as it seems like adding insult to injury.

davenport151

You brought your car a month ago -did you have anyone with motor knowledge check it over? Was it safe to drive and regulary maintained?
I would not have felt happy letting friends use the car anyway if it hadn't been.
Aside from that I go with the opinion that it would have happened anyway no matter who was driving. So I would at least reimburse for the tow.

PlymouthMaid

No I would not give them the 50 pounds as it was their problem to sort out. OP already had his own breakdown cover. Also it is possible that they drove the car to write off condition by continuing to drive when warning signs may have been obvious eg oil light etc. Sound like cheeky beggars to me.

Ferris

JimboRea wrote: »

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.

This is spot on. If you drive you are always at risk of breakdown and if the DRIVER (or any of the passengers) don't have breakdown cover then they have to accept responsibility for that.

Also, I disagree with the poster who said that for £700 the OP should have expected nothing more than a banger. My last car was £400 and lasted for eight years, never breaking down, never failing to start and flying straight through five of the seven MOTs (minor work on the others).

h15t0r1an

Do you have any recourse against wherever you bought the car from? A month does not sound as if it was sold in roadworthy condition.

Not sure these are really friends and I'm wondering what style of driving they were really adopting... Like most posters here, if they've got the lack of consideration to ask you to contribute then I might just in order to keep the peace BUT I'd never lend any of them anything again.

lionsixty

Agree with the general sentiment; you already did them a favour lending the car (accepting wear/tear and associated risks) and have lost out pretty badly financially -whether it was going to break down or not- if you know a friend is in a slump you should try and cover them regardless, not pile on the pressure to save just £16 each.

Also, I assume the £200 tow included passage home for them as well (not just the car), so I don't see why should you spend a car as well as £50 towards them getting home.

I'd question them bailing a day early like that and having to rely on others to get them home, that's a pretty unfriendly thing to do especially if you had all arranged to go home together prior to the trip (i.e. with you driving under your own cover) and it was their decision to go home early together.

drakeekard

For your generosity in lending them the car and saving them on the public transport/hire car costs they expect you to fork out for them? Yes £50 may seem little to keep their friendship, but did they think the same when asking you for the money? If I had borrowed a vehicle from a friend and it had a problem I would be looking to help by offering to take it down the garage and getting it fixed for that friend at my expense or at least a contribution towards it.

littlerat

Well, they're not going to like it if you don't I gather. I doubt they'd have been happy if you'd not let them take your car (if it was an emergency understandable, but all 3 going seems odd if so), they'd have spent probably that on filling it up depending on distance (unless they weren't planning on paying for the fuel), they should accept it.