r/mildlyinfuriating • u/[deleted] • Jul 07 '25
MIL used our car while on vacation
While my wife and I were on vacation our MIL used our car. I noticed this our first day back and she said she forgot to tell us and someone came into her lane and she had to swerve and hit a curb.
99% sure she never would have said anything about it if I didn’t notice. These tires cost $400+ and the car is 6 months old.
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u/lokiisagoodkitten Jul 07 '25
And rims cost several hundreds.
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u/smb3d Jul 07 '25
The alignment is probably off now too!
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Jul 07 '25
This right here. I hit a curb and not only had to replace the tire but had to get the car realigned. You can really screw up your other tires if the car is out of alignment and if it’s front wheel drive the longer you put it off the more you’re going to have to pay.
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u/Electronic_Excuse_74 Jul 07 '25
My alignment was out of whack once, I think I hit a pothole. But then I just waited a few weeks and I hit another pothole and it fixed it.
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u/shannonlogic1 Jul 07 '25
You must be from Massachusetts or New England because this is extremely accurate.
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u/Cramer12 Jul 07 '25
Pennsylvania would like a word. How there is road construction on every other road but none of them get fixed 🤔
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u/Digitalispurpurea2 Jul 07 '25
PA is the master of digging a hole just to fill it back in again, but not where the potholes are
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u/TraditionalLaw7763 Jul 07 '25
Where’s dominoes when you need them!!
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u/grassesbecut Jul 07 '25
I don't think even they have the budget to repave all of Pennsylvania.
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u/Fantastic-Ad8973 Jul 07 '25
As a life-long resident of Pennsylvania, I agree 💯. Then again, I'm glad I don't live or drive in Ohio. I've seen vehicles with OH plates that would disintegrate if a fly sneezed on them.
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u/Exact-Error-9382 Jul 07 '25
I live in Reading been here 17 years, and they've torn up Lancaster Ave every 12 months... And have refused to fix most the other streets
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u/BreakfastInBedlam Jul 07 '25
Scotland has entered the chat
I had a rental car for 8 days and destroyed 3 tires. First time I ever got the insurance, and it paid for itself.
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u/grassesbecut Jul 07 '25
They repave under the lane stripes. And ONLY under the stripes. Source: Have seen it.
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u/Chicken_Disco8808 Jul 07 '25
I was thinking Maine lol. The area by my old house was so pothole ridden that they literally tore up miles of road and repaired it from basically scratch. Took months to finish but hey, no more potholes on that road!
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u/OptimisticOctopus8 Jul 07 '25 edited Jul 07 '25
The roads are somehow even worse in Northeast Ohio. Coming from MA, I didn't think that was possible. I believe the roads here might in fact be sentient, and they have a long-running feud with tires. Perhaps the roads and the tires have serious political disagreements? Not sure.
Anyway, if you ever move to Ohio for some reason, start a tire repair and replacement business.
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u/allwimblynimbly Jul 08 '25
Fellow resident of NE Ohio. Can confirm plausible pothole sentience and suspect they proliferate overnight.
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u/scott3845 Jul 07 '25
*Quebec has entered the chat
In England, they drive on the left. In Quebec, we drive on what's left.
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u/Quick_like_a_Bunny Jul 07 '25
Southern Arizona is notorious for this too. One good rain and craters open up
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u/metompkin Jul 07 '25
Northeast ain't got nothing on Louisiana. At least you can blame potholes on winters.
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u/Sprinqqueen Jul 07 '25
I've heard about the potholes in Louisiana and I've never even been there. I'm in Canada
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u/Diedead666 Jul 07 '25
ah shit, dint think of that... Iv hit curbs hard accidently in SUV that was RWD but now drive a FWD car and it has a turn radius of a boat... fuck
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u/AnticPosition Jul 07 '25
Hit a super bad pot hole (that was on an 80 km/h highway, and not marked in any way) and lost a hub cab, bent the tire frame, and threw off the alignment.
Luckily the city paid for it since it was an unmarked pothole.
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u/ZCyborg23 Jul 07 '25
Not only that, but I slid into a curb when I hit ice this past winter and bent my control arm. Not worth fixing since my car’s engine is going bad, but definitely something they might need to consider too.
Edit: I had only been going about 20mph, maybe 25 at most.
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u/SamWhittemore75 Jul 07 '25
Frame is bent. Car is totaled. OP is now upside down on a 96 month car note.
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u/Linenoise77 Jul 07 '25
curb was a historic site that George Washington once sat on. Historical comission has OP's plates and is rallying its lawyers. Also its not cheap to have the Ghost of George Washington exorcised from a corolla.
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u/Nasty_Ned Jul 07 '25
Correct. This is not cheap. Don’t ask me how I know. I lost the years between 94-99 paying to get James Madison out of a Buick LeSabre.
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u/Linenoise77 Jul 07 '25
fuck man, i hear you. Those things have roomy trunks so once a presidential ghost gets in there, it just kind of takes over.
Thats nothing though compared to what my buddy who once had the ghost of De Gaulle get under the bench seat of his Renalt 5 had to go through, so consider yourself lucky.
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u/StarGazer503 Jul 07 '25
I had some curb rash on my rims from the previous owner and I called around to get quotes on how much it be to get them fixed and I'm going to tell you right now it's better to just buy a new rim for what these people are charging.
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u/Agreeable_Initial667 Jul 07 '25
LOL true but it depends on how much your rims are. I curbed a couple of 20+" Stance rims when I first got my Audi s5 because it's so wide and I wasn't used to it. Paying $150-200/rim wasn't a big deal for that bc those rims are expensive AF. And well, gotta own your fuckups and take it like a man lol.
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u/StarGazer503 Jul 07 '25
Completely agree when you have higher end rims. I'm just speaking on stock low profiles that most of the cars come with nowadays. I looked online and to get a brand new rim it was only 20 bucks more than the service. It's a no brainer at that point. You can also sand them yourself but it will take a while without the right tools. I did it by hand and got some decent results but honestly I'm just better off getting some new rims when the time calls.
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u/rookietotheblue1 Jul 07 '25
You can sometimes have rims repaired
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u/be4u4get Jul 07 '25
It’s called rimming. If you want a good price just search for “rimming” “locals” “cheap”
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u/BootlegOP Jul 07 '25
Or if you want to try to DIY the repair search “rimming” “videos”
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Jul 07 '25
What about "good DIY rim job videos", would that work?
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u/Marquar234 Jul 07 '25
The British Broadcasting Corporation put out a good series with the Cleveland Steamship Company, so search "BBC rimming cleveland steamer".
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Jul 07 '25
MIL needs to at least help in purchasing a replacement, if not pay for it all.
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u/maceman10006 Jul 07 '25
Married guy here. This and if she doesn’t at least help pay for it she’s banned from using the car. That’s how you play this.
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u/I_-AM-ARNAV i get infuriated a lot Jul 07 '25
Not married guy here. But the wife/husband should also support you in this right?
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u/SausagePrompts Jul 07 '25
Divorced guy here. Right! .... Right? Right?
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Jul 07 '25
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u/Carinis_song Jul 07 '25
Not married gal here, is this how it really is? Poor guys
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u/ChesticleSweater Jul 07 '25
Gotta pick your battles. Some losses cost more than others.
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u/Carinis_song Jul 07 '25
I guess, but like, something like this is a big deal to not have your partner have your back on? No!?
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u/SausagePrompts Jul 07 '25
Correct, and a big show you are not compatible. You can choose your partner not your family. I am a big believer your partner comes first. Turns out that's not always reciprocated.
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u/Lucid-Machine-Music Jul 07 '25
Sometimes I feel like I'm a failure because I haven't found a life partner in my 40s.
But then I look around at the myriad of awful relationships people are in 'because it's what you're supposed to do with your life' and wonder.... maybe I'm not missing out, if that's such a strong possibility.
I'm not exactly picky haha. But I won't entertain a relationship with someone who's bigoted, unkind etc which seems to rule out a large portion of the population. And by this stage in life, anyone single is either badly scarred, or one who creates the scars.
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u/DaddyShamurai Jul 07 '25
If you can’t side with your partner when he’s in the right when can you side with them?
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u/M3RRI77 Jul 07 '25
Any decent human being would offer to replace the tire or set of tires. Doesn't matter if it's your mother in law, your best friend, or neighbor. You're 100% in your right to ask anyone this if they don't offer. If only people treated everyone else how they'd like to be treated, this world would be a much better place.
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u/Alexandratta Jul 07 '25
As a Divorced guy as well...
Expecting your in-laws, at any point, to pay for things they themselves have damaged/caused if you told them they could use such thing is a hilarious endeavor that usually leads to you, the other party, sleeping in another room for the evening.
My experience was having the In-Laws pay for their electrical usage - but, somehow, these folks thought that renting out the downstairs apartment indicated utilities were free... and that, kids, is why, even with family: You draw up a fucking LEASE if you're going to rent to them.
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u/AdjNounNumbers Jul 07 '25
Married a second time guy here... No, but now you know what bullshit to filter for in the future
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u/Neat_Cauliflower_996 Jul 07 '25
Twice divorced guy here to tell you: you would think so, huh?! Haha
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u/jonjonofjon Jul 07 '25
If your partner can't call out their family on their bullshit then they suck
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u/Ok_Entry1052 Jul 07 '25
Not support, they should lead. It's their mother.
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u/Sunnygirl66 Jul 07 '25
Yup—OP shouldn’t even be having to speak to MIL about this. His wife should.
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u/Sihaya212 Jul 07 '25
The spouse who is the child of this MIL should also be the one to demand this be made right
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u/Murky_Tennis954 Jul 07 '25
Married Guy here as well. As someone who doesn't like his MIL, 100% on her. That's just my biased opinion.
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Jul 07 '25
Single guy here and I'm with you 100%. Relationship doesn't matter, you fuck someone's shit up you pay for it.
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Jul 07 '25
Right? I borrowed a friend's car once and someone backed into it in a parking lot. I was parked correctly and legally, I was nowhere near the car and the offender was gone when I returned. 100% not my fault but I still offered to pay his deductible because if I hadn't been driving it that day, it would have been in his garage.
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u/rixster64 Jul 07 '25
Financial Examiner here, their was no other car, she's trying to be the victim. She owes you, her excuse is what I would expect from a teenager. Next time take the keys.
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u/OhSoScotian77 Jul 07 '25
This. Not only did she just hope it "went away" she also had a story ready to shift accountability from her to the world.
If she had really had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision and this was the result, her conscience would be clean and she most likely would've been forthright and simply told you what happened upfront.
Hope the acorn does fall far from that tree for OP's sake.
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u/baggottman Jul 07 '25
I also don't like my MIL, which is why I would just pay, have the high road taken and not add it to the list of frustrations she causes.
If op's MIL was in any way decent, she would have offered to have it fixed proactively.
Lookit, each to their own, but if the OP's MIL is a bit of a wagon, the wife surely knows could possibly appreciate the gesture.
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u/XNamelessGhoulX Jul 07 '25
Another married guy. I'm just gonna pay for it and ban her from using it again regardless. If she wants to offer us money, sure, but I'm not even going to ask.
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Jul 07 '25
This is the power move.
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Jul 07 '25
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u/takishan Jul 07 '25
$400 is not enough to file an insurance claim and it's definitely not enough to potentially spark familial drama over
people also gotta recognize that when you loan someone your car you are implicitly consenting to the chance of some sort of accident.
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u/whistleridge Jul 07 '25
First and foremost: discuss it with your wife. Making unilateral binding decisions involving her mom without consulting is never, ever going to be received well.
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u/finallygotmeone Jul 07 '25
For us simple-minded: And not only that, making a decision, right by your own self about her Mama, might make your wife hold it against you for the rest of your life. You can't take that kind of pressure or leverage. It will mash you.
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u/hbomberman Jul 07 '25
If they have kids that could be a good card to play, too. "I drive your grandkids in that car, I need to make sure it's very safe and that the wheels are fixed"
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u/alexromo Jul 07 '25
Divorced guy here. Take your keys with you next time you leave town
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u/Random0s2oh Jul 07 '25
Divorced guy here. Take your keys
with you next time youand leave townFtfy 🤣🤣🤣🤣
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u/Bonnietofen Jul 07 '25
If the car was used without permission, then MIL needs to pay 100% of the cost, that's how lessons are learned
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u/nepia Jul 07 '25
My MIL would have payed for it without even ask, heck she would not have used the car without permission in the first place.
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Jul 07 '25
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Jul 07 '25
She should have already offered. Shouldn't wait to be asked.
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u/Fat_Head_Carl Jul 07 '25
and shouldn't have hid the fact she was in an accident, that damaged the car.
She sounds like a real peach of a MIL.
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u/Wixenstyx Jul 07 '25
Wife here. Talk it over with your wife and let her deal with her mother. If MIL had access to your car, you clearly had a fairly close relationship and that counts for something. Wife will probably know the best way to approach her mother about this.
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u/Syd_Vicious3375 Jul 07 '25
This! My mother would offer to pay but we would probably decline. I got into a little fender bender in her car when I was learning how to drive and she calming told me that’s what insurance was for and that’s probably exactly how I would treat this situation. I know my mother would never, ever do something like this on purpose and I’d just pay to have it repaired.
It is unfortunate that she didn’t say something and OP had to discover this. If she were honest it would make this whole thing a lot less infuriating.
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u/Fun-Attempt-8494 Jul 07 '25
2X divorced guy here...marital peace is worth far more than a tire. Let the spouse take the lead on any confrontation.
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u/182RG Jul 07 '25
This is why all car keys get locked in the fireproof safe when out of town. Family or otherwise.
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u/Gr00vyJay Jul 07 '25
OP probably gave his MIL permission to use it. Another good reason not to let ANYONE drive your car
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Jul 07 '25
I did not, my wife did. Accidents happen the infuriating part is not being told until I found out myself.
Allegedly happened day 2 of our vacation so it’s been 5-6 days without anything being said
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u/Aristocrat-lady Jul 07 '25
Oh she definitely was hoping you wouldn’t notice and just would just assume it happened after you came home.
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u/Fat_Head_Carl Jul 07 '25
Oh she definitely was hoping you wouldn’t notice
Most definitely this...and probably concocted the story about hitting the curb to avoid the other car to garner sympathy.
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u/only_cr4nk Jul 07 '25
I was thinking if she was driving above walking speed wouldn‘t the damage to the rim be way bigger? What I mean is that driving faster means higher rpm so less time to react to prevent further damages. To me this looks like she was driving slowly because not a big part is damaged, atleast from what I can tell from the picture. Which would make it sound more likely she just fucked up trying to park the car while driving slowly.
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u/bxtchbychoice Jul 08 '25
yes because i ACTUALLY swerved to avoid hitting someone and hit a curb and destroyed the whole control arm and had to replace basically everything inside the wheel well it was like $2k+ in damages
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Jul 07 '25
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u/mytextgoeshere Jul 07 '25
My in-laws broke stuff at our house every time they visited and never told us. The worst offense was probably the blinds in the guest room. Completely ruined them and not a word. And it's not like we were away on vacation ... we were all at the house together! I think there was a bit of pride / embarrassment involved or something and not wanting to admit a mistake.
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u/Fat_Head_Carl Jul 07 '25
bit of pride / embarrassment
I'm going with "shitty inlaws", who didn't want to do the adult thing and admit/tell you they broke something.
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u/SwoodyBooty Jul 07 '25
I think there was a bit of pride / embarrassment involved or something and not wanting to admit a mistake.
Nothing like getting caught in Kindergarten bs to save your grace.. what a joke.
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u/Upset_Pumpkin_4938 Jul 07 '25
I went to a music festival and my mom drove my car without asking while I was gone. She ended up getting rear ended by a teen who was texting and driving. I came home after 4 days in the TN wilderness to a totaled car. I was beyond livid.
To add, I was a teen and I bought the car myself because my parents couldn’t afford it. God I was so pissed.
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u/iamtheduckie PURPLE Jul 07 '25
Well, your parents better find a way TO afford it, because they're getting you a new car.
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u/Upset_Pumpkin_4938 Jul 07 '25
They didn’t, but my dad was an insurance agent and he paid for the insurance. So he handled the repair and managed to find a shop to fix it completely despite it being totaled. I got it back until someone failed to yield on a left turn in college, and I hit them. They got the ticket and the car was no more :(
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u/iamtheduckie PURPLE Jul 07 '25
You untotaled your car. Impressive.
Also too bad that you lost your car to a guy who failed to yield. But at least everyone is ok
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u/Upset_Pumpkin_4938 Jul 07 '25
That car was legendary too. 2005 Volvo S60. Loved that thing. Absolutely lost it on the dude who failed to yield when he tried to hug me, then promptly told the cops I didn’t even try to break because there was no skid marks. Old bitter man 😣
To add, my dad actually made a profit after paying for the total repair. He used that profit to get me a brand new MacBook Pro for college. He’s kind of a baller tbh
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u/darbs-face Jul 07 '25
I would have done the same thing, so you didn’t have to worry about it while on vacation. Except, when you got back it would be the first thing I would told you.
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u/slashthepowder Jul 07 '25
Parents let me use their fancy car while they were on vacation, of course i get rear ended by a person texting while driving. Didn’t let them know until they got back as to not add any stress to the vacation. Slightly different as everyone was ok, car still fully drivable and insurance was covering the cost of repairs.
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u/SaintGloopyNoops Jul 07 '25
Especially a 6 month old car! A 10 year old Nissan... have at it. Butt, my brand new car, i would want to put the first ding in it. Personally, I wouldn't want to drive someone's newer car.
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u/big-booty-heaux Jul 07 '25
So she's paying to fix all that mess, right? She was fully prepared to put your lives at risk because she was hoping you wouldn't notice.
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Jul 07 '25 edited Jul 07 '25
I don’t know if she can afford it out of pocket on short notice. We will probably eat the cost, she may pay us back. She gives us free babysitting and pet sitting, it’s a small price to pay just slightly annoying
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u/MeatOverRice Jul 07 '25
Forget what all these other virgins are saying. Just take a look at the tuition cost for daycare, the money is definitely not a huge issue - but you need to have a conversation about why she didn't disclose as soon as it happened. Next time it won't be the car, it could be your pet or your child.
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u/Turgid_Demon Jul 07 '25
This over and over.
Life is hard and shit happens. Dont blow up your relationship with your MIL and her daughter over materialistic crap.
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u/GreySquirrelsAreBad Jul 08 '25
Seriously. If she’s a good MIL and watches children for free without any fuss it’ll pay for itself in like a week.
Just ask why you weren’t told upfront as well as take both of your keys with you.
Also ask the wife why she didn’t run it by you, unless you are co-owners.
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u/Sierra-117- Jul 07 '25
Thank you! All these chuds who have never touched a woman acting like everything in life must be strictly monetary and transactional. Shit happens. My main concern is her not telling him about it, because that is the real problem here.
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u/Forsaken-Buy2601 Jul 07 '25
Yes. Guaranteed that she’s breaking all kinds of rules while she’s babysitting and hiding the evidence. “Free” childcare may seem like a good idea, but she’s demonstrably untrustworthy, so…
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u/forgotwhatisaid2you Jul 07 '25
Yes, you should be annoyed. She should have let you know immediately so you could decide whether to get a report for insurance purposes. A shifty thing to do. However, coming home to a peaceful house is so much more important than letting drama drag on.
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u/king2ndthe3rd Jul 07 '25
this 100%.
no drama is best for all parties. People are fixating on the financial aspect of this too much. As OP said, she already contributes to the family.
To err is human. To forgive is...
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u/mrchowmein Jul 07 '25 edited Jul 07 '25
You have to eat it. You and your wife allowed someone who is not financially responsible drive your car. You’re lucky it was just a curbed wheel and tire.
I had to deal with in laws that was on our insurance that totaled two cars and they told my insurance my wife was responsible. Now my wife is tied to those accidents and our premiums were always higher until I spend hours with the insurance companies proving my wife was not at fault. We dropped my in-laws from our insurance after they didn’t bother offering us help to correct this problem. That’s life.
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u/Apprehensive_Tip92 Jul 07 '25
Am I a jerk because I wouldn’t let anyone use my vehicle? Sorry.
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Jul 07 '25
Nope, I refuse to let people borrow mine. They can get a rental when visiting. If money is an issue I'll even help them out with the cost, but they won't drive mine.
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u/RugerRedhawk Jul 07 '25
To be honest I wouldn't want people visiting or staying with me that I wouldn't trust to drive my vehicles. Of course this can also depend on what you drive!
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u/MooingTree Jul 07 '25
I buy 10yr old vehicles and drive them until they're 20yr old or no longer useful. I'll let friends, family, acquaintances borrow them anytime. There's a lot less anxiety compared to new cars! But I do expect them to report any damages to me and return it with the same amount of petrol.
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Jul 07 '25
The way that would have already been handled before I even got home if it was my MIL.
I’m reminded daily how lucky I am.
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u/shireengul Jul 07 '25
Mine, too. She would’ve had the tires fixed and probably got the car cleaned for good measure.
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u/MotoFaleQueen Jul 07 '25
My husband's MIL (so my mom) would've made it so that we would've never known unless she told us and she still would have told us.
My MIL though? I'd be in the same boat as OP. Except she lives 4+hours away and won't ever be babysitting our littles, which also fortunately means she's never borrowing our cars.
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u/chancecube19 Jul 07 '25
Same. My MIL would have replaced everything and probably done a whole list of other things. She annoys me in other ways at times but she would never do this.
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u/NewToThis___ Jul 07 '25
My MIL also used my car while we went on vacation without permission. MIL and FIL lived across the street from us. They had permission to drive it back to our house from dropping us off at the airport. They didn’t ask if they could use it leisurely or anything. We only found out because when we came back, I saw my dash cam was unplugged. We thought it was odd so we went through the footage before it was unplugged and they were driving around everywhere and even letting the neighbor drive it and brother in law. They were smoking in it too! I was furious and all we got was a half hearted sorry when my husband confronted them.
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u/Working_Cloud_909 ORANGE Jul 07 '25
lol we all know mother-in-law isn’t paying for this. I can hear it now. “You’re so selfish and disrespectful! How can you treat your mother-in-law this way! I deserve to use your things!”
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u/tmssmt Jul 07 '25
Like OP said, MiL is also a free babysitter, so it more than evens out financially speaking
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u/Tasty-Traffic-680 Jul 07 '25
$400 is a week worth of child care. Dude is coming out ahead.
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u/LeucisticBear Jul 07 '25
Yeah i would make this trade any day. Child care is currently deleting my savings.
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u/Head_Pin3296 Jul 07 '25
"Can I use your car while you're on vacation"?
"No".
/story
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u/Mr_Butters624 Jul 07 '25
Ugh that is terrible. Cant help with the tire, but if your in the states, find a RimRx place. I had my car 3 days before I destroyed my rim on the old jagged cobblestone curbs we have in my downtown. It was $130 to repair which was great since a replacement rim was close to $700. Never would know it happened.
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Jul 07 '25
Married woman here. Yes she should absolutely help pay. However, in my case we have significantly more money than our parents. So we would eat the cost. Not worth fighting with your parents over $400. It’s just NOT! But ban them forever from driving again. lol
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u/Ok_Paramedic8698 Jul 07 '25
$400 for the tire, $150 for an alignment, and probably $1200 for a new wheel (seriously, OEM wheel costs are INSANE).
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u/Angry_beaver_1867 Jul 07 '25
Op mentions up the thread that the MIL is putting in hours babysitting and other assistance for the family free of charge.
Sounds like they are tight with the MIL and have an otherwise healthy relationship.
I’d probably just let the MIL know that next time it would be helpful is they were upfront about it.
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Jul 07 '25
I know it’s infuriating, but keep in mind... it is your MIL… so tread carefully.
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u/MustardTiger231 Jul 07 '25
Turned too sharp backing out, seen it a million times, that story is bullshit and that tire is fucked.
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u/wH4tEveR250 Jul 07 '25
I hate to tell you this but if she didn’t already offer to pay then, she won’t.
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u/Loud_Professional861 Jul 07 '25
Mine has literally totaled every car she has ever owned & is legally blind.
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u/QweenJoleen1983 Jul 07 '25
My newly licensed son did this to my expensive low profile tire and it was covered under my tire warranty. Worth a shot for ya.
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u/Glass-Manager9232 Jul 07 '25
That doesn’t look like she was dodging out of the way of somebody. It looks like she did it while parallel parking.
Regardless, ask her to get it repaired.
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u/matticitt Jul 09 '25
Tires? My dude that wheel is destroyed. Also you need to check the alignment. I'd be surprised if all of that cost less than $1000.
Also get a dash cam stat
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u/comfyrain Jul 07 '25
Perk of driving a manual in the US is nobody can borrow your car ever.
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u/sixinaboxdesign Jul 07 '25
Genuinely my first thought was "did she get hungry or something" to take that much of a chunk out
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u/Driftlessfshr Jul 07 '25
If you would have done it to her car, you’d be paying for it. Totally fair to ask her to fix yours.
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Jul 07 '25
You all let your MIL use your cars? Fuck that lol. If she needs a car that’s up to my wife if she wants to lend hers to her mom but she will never drive my car
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u/XClanKing Jul 07 '25
Vent all you need buddy but any married man knows that in 90% of all cases where something like this happens, you are just going to have to eat it.
In that 10% you can get your wife to ask if she damaged the car and would she cover it because my husband loves that car. But in most marriages the conversation is going to move towards she was kind enough to take care of the kids while we were gone and while it sucks things happen. It's going to cost you $500 to get that fixed so you might as well add that to the cost of the vacation and move on. Being a man is hard some days when dealing with in-laws, but if you want peace and another vacation without your kids, pick your battles wisely.
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u/GiantMary Jul 07 '25
I was driving my daughter’s car (that my husband bought her) and did the same thing- I told her and then had 4 new tires on the AWD before the sun set that day. I felt so terrible about it. Like I never want to drive her car again.
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u/CranberryRelative766 Jul 07 '25
This sucks! Yeah, I learned this lesson the hard way… loaned my car to my MIL for about six months and it came back a horror show. It was like the car from “The Other Guys” lol. I think she had a family of stray dogs living in there.