Letting someone borrow something of yours that is precious to you is always a risk.
No matter how much you trust this person, you can’t help but worry that whatever you lent them won’t be returned to you in the same condition it was in when it was lent out.
Thankfully, most people know to protect and care for truly valuable things that belong to others.
Unfortunately, there are also those who might return something damaged or altered without a second thought.
A recent Redditor was more than happy to help her parents get out of a bind by offering them her car while theirs was getting repaired.
Unfortunately, when the original poster (OP)’s parents returned her car, it was in less than tip-top shape.
Shocked and unhappy with this discovery, the OP made no effort to hide her displeasure from her family.
After her parents called her behavior “petty”, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole’ (AITA), where she asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for going off on my parents for not filling up my gas tank after borrowing my car for a month?”
The OP explained why she felt the need to lash out at her parents when they returned her car:
“I (25 F[emale]) recently had surgery and have been recovering at home.’
“I work remotely and get groceries delivered, so I haven’t needed to drive.”
‘Around the same time, both of my parents’ cars needed costly repairs they couldn’t afford right away.”
“Because I wasn’t using my car, I offered to let them borrow it for a month until they could get theirs fixed.”
‘I didn’t ask for any money or request they do anything, I just thought I was helping them out while they were in a tough spot.”
“They drove it every day during that month without any issues, and even picked me up and took me to doctor’s appointments on a few occasions with it.”
“Today, they brought my car back because their own cars are now repaired.”
“Later that evening, I decided to treat myself to takeout since I haven’t been out in weeks.”
“But as soon as I put the key in the ignition, the car wouldn’t start and made a loud thumping noise.”
“I panicked a little because I’m not a car person and didn’t know what it meant.”
“I called my parents to ask if anything had happened while they were using it.”
“My mom casually said, ‘Idk, maybe it needs gas’.”
“I asked if they’d filled it before bringing it back.”
“She said no because it’s ‘my’ car, so they assumed I would do it.”
“That annoyed me.”
“They’d had the car for a whole month, drove it regularly, and returned it empty.”
“I thought the polite thing to do especially when someone is doing you a favor would be to return it with a full tank, or at least enough gas to start the engine.”
“Instead, I got my car back in worse shape than when I lent it.”
“I went off on my mom and told her I thought it was disrespectful and inconsiderate, and now both my parents are calling me petty and saying I’m overreacting over ‘just gas’.”
“But to me, it’s about the principle and basic courtesy, not just the money.”
“AITA?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community unanimously agreed that the OP was not the a**hole for going off on her parents.
Everyone agreed that it was extremely inconsiderate of the OP’s parents to return her car with an empty tank, as after she helped them save huge amounts of money by lending them her car instead of their having to rent one… and if anyone was being “petty”, it was the OP’s parents:
“NTA.”
‘Let’s put this into perspective.”
“You let them borrow your car for a month.”
“Had they rented a car, it would have been a ton of money.”
“You did them more than a little bit of a solid & they ran the car SO low in gas, there wasn’t enough to start it.”
“Now you have to get a gas can, an Uber, or have somebody drop you off, etc.”
“In addition, running your car THAT dry can screw things up badly enough to destroy sensors, etc.”
“They easily could have damaged or decreased the life of your car’s components because they’re selfish and self centered enough to do such a thing.”
“They have two options.
“1) They pick you up, buy the gas tank & gas, drive you back, follow you to the gas station and fill the tank the rest of the way, and pray there’s no engine faults, or 2) you’ll never do them favors ever again.”- Low_Attention_974
“NTA.”
“Filling the tank should have been an absolute no-brainer.”
“Not to mention driving a car with a tank that’s empty can cause overheating, clog the fuel filter, etc.”
“How did they time it so there was only enough gas to drop it off?”
“That’s a whole new level of stingy.”
“Don’t do them any more favors.”
“They are the ones who are petty and ungrateful.”- TALKTOME0701
“NTA.”
“Bringing a borrowed car back low on gas isn’t great, but bringing a borrowed car back empty to the point where it won’t start is ridiculous.”- LazyAd622
“NTA.”
“and now we know why their cars needed costly repairs.”- Senior_Parking6305
‘How did they even get it there with so little gas?”
“That’s ridiculous, rude, and entitled.”
“You’re NTA, but they’re huge a**holes.”- Narciii
“NTA.”
“Your parents are animals.”
“And cheapskates.”- prefix_code_16309
“NTA.”
“It’s courteous to always fill up the tank when borrowing someone’s vehicle for a few days or longer.”
“Even if they gave you their car with half a tank, it’s the courteous thing because they helped you by allowing you to drive their car.”
“I would say it’s common sense, but I’m learning common sense isn’t so common.”
“I think it’s incredibly disrespectful and rude to return someone’s car with little to no gas.”-archetyping101
“NTA in the slightest.”
“They used your car and didn’t fill it up!”
“WTH.”- Valuable_Ice_5927
“NTA, they are.”
“Basic courtesy when you borrow someone’s car, even for a day, never mind for a month.”-ScarletNotThatOne
“NTA.”
“Learn from this and don’t loan out anything as important as your car again!”- Free-Place-3930
“NTA!”
“Hubs and I recently had car troubles.”
“All this year so far, it felt like.”
“When we borrowed my dad’s car, I reminded my husband to fill it up, and then we took my dad out for ice cream afterwards.”
“And that was only for a couple days!”- BanditKitten
“Sorry your parents are jerks.”
“NTA.”- Early_Mycologist_280
“NTA.”
“Now you know why their vehicles needed costly repairs.”- Ok-Recognition9876
“How do they expect you to get gas when your car doesn’t run.”
“NTA.”- megans48
“NTA.”
“Your parents are entitled A-holes.”
“In addition, running the car until empty can damage the fuel injector (and other parts).”
“So if your fuel injector craps out in the next few months (especially once the weather gets cold), you’ll know why.”
“That happened to my car. The Fuel gauge malfunctioned, so it ran out of gas while still showing half full.”
“My mechanic warned me that the fuel pump may have gotten damaged.”
“It was fine for a few months, and right when the cold weather hit, the fuel injector crapped out.”
“Mechanic said that’s not unusual if the fuel runs out.”- Mirvb
“NTA.”
“Letting a car run completely out of gas can cause engine damage, and it is especially likely to cause fuel pump damage.”- Physical_Ad5135
“NTA.”
“This confirms that you should never loan your car to anyone.”- Old_Confidence3290
“I borrowed a car, but due to circumstances, I couldn’t fill up that gas tank before handing the keys over (I didn’t realize the last time I drove it I wouldn’t drive it again, and I was going to fill it up then) in that case I filled up the person’s truck.”
“Considering I borrowed a fuel-efficient sedan and bought twice as much gas for their truck, I didn’t feel bad.”
‘A principle I try to live by is to try to leave things better than I found them.”
“So NTA for expecting basic courtesy to have a filled gas tank.”- Ok-disaster2022
“NTA.”
“Gas please!”- FlashyHabit3030
“Wow.”
“When you loan someone a car you should always say ‘bring it back full’.”
“Just in case.”
“If you don’t then I don’t think you really have any room to complain.”
“HOWEVER, only a complete a-hole returns a car so low on gas that you can’t even start it.”
“So, NTA.”
“Your parents should have at least returned it half full.”
“Also, ask your parents how you are supposed to fill it up when you can’t even start it.”-BeginningSun247
As many have pointed out above, letting a car run so low on gas is very risky for several reasons.
The OP’s parents should consider themselves lucky that they didn’t end up needing to put her car in the shop as well.
One can only hope that the OP’s parents won’t ever need a favor again, as chances are, the OP will be less than willing to help. them…