General Etiquette > Life...in general

Car Situation...HELP!!!!

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madmusician:
Ok, here's what's going on. I live at home and am attending community college. A couple years back, I bought my mom's old car from her. Free and clear, I gave her cash, she gave me the car. I have the keys, there's a spare key on the key rack in our kitchen.

Every time I go out of town, I come back to find that they have driven my car all weekend and haven't put gas back in it. I can barely pay for college, and I certainly can't afford to buy gas for them. She is married to a fairly well-off guy with a cushy government job. Why does she need my cruddy car???

I wouldn't be that upset except that
(A) It takes a full-out battle to get them to put gas back in after using it, and
(B) I feel that it shows a huge lack of respect that she feels she can just take my car whenever she wants, just because she feels like it, without asking me. If she asked, I would be much more OK. If she filled it up after she was done, I would be much more OK. But she doesn't. At one point, she even called me while I was out of town to BERATE me for NOT LEAVING HER MY SET OF KEYS--because my set has a lock/unlock remote. When did I agree to LET her use my car?

I am going out of town for New Year's Weekend. Today she politely asked me to clean out, vacuum, and wash my car so it wil be clean for them to use this weekend. I point out that they always use up my gas. She says they always put gas back in--yes, often after several days of fighting over it. Then she says, "Well, you know, it's just there in the driveway, so we use it."

This made my blood boil. So the next time they're out of town, can I take her luxury sedan, just because it's there? And when I feel like joyriding, can I pull his Corvette out of the garage and take off, just because I feel like it?

It's my car. It's not there for her personal use. All I want is a little respect--that she will ask before driving it and fill it up before I come home.

Am I overreacting? Here is what I have considered doing:

Before I go out of town next weekend, put a polite note on my steering wheel stating something to the effect of, "Before you drive my car, I would appreciate it if we could rationally discuss the use of my car."

And then, when she called me screaming, I would make two simple requests.

1. If you want to drive my car, please ask first.
2. If you drive my car, please put gas back in it before I come home.

Am I being unreasonable or irrational? What is the most etiquette-correct thing to do? And most of all...when she has a luxury sedan and a frigging Corvette at her disposal, why does she have to hijack *my* car?

MadMadge43:
You are not being unreasonable and I can't for the life of my imagine why she wants to use your car when she has her own.

I would not mention anything at all about it and just pull the spark plugs before you leave.

(It is parked out of the way, so they can get their cars out right?)

sammycat:
I'd be annoyed too.  Can you take all the keys, including the spares, with you at all times, not just this upcoming time?

madmusician:
See, that's the thing. She is INCREDIBLY volatile, and if I take the keys or do anything like that, she will be ENTIRELY FURIOUS and very very bad things will happen...besides, despite how happily I would pull the spark plug wires, I've always been raised to respect my parents no matter what. Even if she doesn't respect me, I want to try to solve this peacefully and respectfully first.

madmusician:
Oh, sorry, in answer to your question, I always park it out of the way. Usually on the street.

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