If someone borrows your vehicle...

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

I don't think you should have to provide her with gas when you lend her your car but I think it would have been a good idea, like other posters have said, to have mentioned the empty gas tank before saying yes.

 

[mtomlin66]

Wow - just wow. I would have been speechless. (which doesn't happen often.)

Upon second thought - maybe you could have suggested that next time, a car rental would come with a full tank of gas

 

[tarheel618]

Wow - just wow. I would have been speechless. (which doesn't happen often.)

Upon second thought - maybe you could have suggested that next time, a car rental would come with a full tank of gas

This, my opinion your friend was/is rude.

 

[happygirl]

I don't let people borrow my car also but you could have told her "Sure but I'm low on gas."

MTE

I'm curious to all those that allow others to drive there vehicles, my insurance doesn't allow others to drive my car unless they are on my policy how do you all get around that on your policy

 

[cluvsdisney]

If I had to borrow someone's car, I would absolutely put in more gas then I would use but I would appreciate a heads up that I would need to put gas in right away. As this is what I would do if someone else is driving my car...including my DH.* I would only borrow a car from someone I am close enough to make a joke about it with - I would never actually complain to the car owner.


*not that DH borrows my car but there's one car where he is the primary driver and one where I am the primary driver.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Is it assumed that you are supposed to have fuel in it? Or is it assumed that they will put there own fuel in it?

I ask this because I am busy cooking dinner for my wife, and a friend called and asked if she could use our van to pick up an item at a store that would not fit in her car in the next city over, about a 30 mile round trip. My gas light came on on our way home from visiting my MIL in the hospital this morning, and I didn't want to stop for fuel because I have a large meal planned.

Our friends called and complained about the van being on empty! She then said she put $7 in it!!! lol, gas is about $1.37 a litre here right now, ( $5.20 a gallon) my math tells me it will come back with even less fuel than was in it.

In your Humble opinion what should I have said? Sorry I'll give you some money for gas? Lol

What should you have said? Hmmm.....

Now what you should say and what you say are 2 different things.

To be honest that would have lit me up like a rocket so I probably would have said something nasty.

However a diplomatic answer would have been, sorry, gas is expensive and say nothing after that. Dead silence and crickets.

 

[Nancyg56]

MTE

I'm curious to all those that allow others to drive there vehicles, my insurance doesn't allow others to drive my car unless they are on my policy how do you all get around that on your policy

I can have others drive my cars. I must add anyone in the house to my policy.

I would have let the friend know I was low on gas. I am not faulting you but if the person did not know and had no money she could have gotten stranded.

 

[Kurby]

i don't often lend out my car and the couple of times i have i've made it clear that ok if they want to borrow it but it's low on gas

and no i wouldn't refund someone's money if the borrowed my car. the least they could do if i'm leanding my car is to put a couple bucks of gas in it.

i've borrowed someones car twice and put about half tank for a trip that took about 1/4 or less

 

[dislaney]

If I borrowed someone's car, I would fill the tank before I returned it. I would have told her it was low on gas, if I knew, but really I think she is in the wrong here.

 

[SandrA9810]

MTE

I'm curious to all those that allow others to drive there vehicles, my insurance doesn't allow others to drive my car unless they are on my policy how do you all get around that on your policy

My policy covers any one not on the title. The agent told me when I got IT, and its in the packet that came in the mail.

Just a for warned of there's not much gas should be enough. She should have politely said, I noticed you were low and put some in. She shouldn't had said how much.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

I don't think you should have to provide her with gas when you lend her your car but I think it would have been a good idea, like other posters have said, to have mentioned the empty gas tank before saying yes.

Regardless of my fuel level in the vehicle does it really matter? I'm guessing that if the light had not of come on there would have been no additional fuel put in the tank before being returned to me. That light cost my friend $7, sorry about that....

lol makes me laugh cause I now see how others think. If they thought they could of made it there and back (which I am sure they would have as I stated to her on the phone) then it would of came home bone dry....

 

[TLSnell1981]

Tell her you don't expect her to fill it up.

My thoughts exactly.

MTE

I'm curious to all those that allow others to drive there vehicles, my insurance doesn't allow others to drive my car unless they are on my policy how do you all get around that on your policy

My insurance covers any licensed driver. They only need to be on the policy, if they live in my home. I AM liable for ANY and ALL accidents, no matter, who's driving, unless it was stolen. So, that is definitely a consideration.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Regardless of my fuel level in the vehicle does it really matter?

Does it really matter? No, not really but letting her know would have been the nice thing to do. Just like like filling up the gas tank after using your car would have been the nice thing for your friend to do.

 

[Kathi OD]

Look at it this way...she'll probably never ask to borrow your car again.

Problem solved.

 

[southern_redhead]

Unless you all are extremely close friends or you have previously said "Hey, anytime you need to borrow my van just ask"... I think it was rude of her to call and put you on the spot to let her borrow it in the first place. To then be mad that you didn't have the gas in it to cover her round trip is just icing on the cake. What I'd really like to know is - did she even THANK you for the use of your vehicle? Or was it just a gripe fest that the whole thing wasn't a freebie?

 

[C.Ann]

Our friends called and complained about the van being on empty! She then said she put $7 in it!!! lol, gas is about $1.37 a litre here right now, ( $5.20 a gallon) my math tells me it will come back with even less fuel than was in it.

In your Humble opinion what should I have said? Sorry I'll give you some money for gas? Lol

Seriously? (Underlining mine..) That's some kind of nerve..

Not only would I (as the "friend") not expect to borrow a van with a full tank to begin with, but you can be sure that I would return it either filled - or at the very least - an amount equal to what I had used.. The gas is just as expensive on your end as it is on your friends end..

I probably would have said something along the lines of - "Well since you were going to be using it for a pick-up, I assumed you would put in whatever amount you needed to get to and from your destination.."

 

[JLTraveling]

MTE

I'm curious to all those that allow others to drive there vehicles, my insurance doesn't allow others to drive my car unless they are on my policy how do you all get around that on your policy

My policy covers any licensed driver as an "occasional" driver. We have to list everyone in the home unless they have a separate insurance policy, but occasional drivers are fine.

I would have given a quick heads-up that the gas was low, but I don't think it's a big deal that you didn't. Your friend was incredibly rude. Like most here, I would return the van with *much* more gas than I used--not necessarily a full tank, but a good half-tank anyway. Pretty sure I wouldn't be loaning my vehicle to that particular person again, and I'm usually pretty laid-back about these things. Don't put gas in? Fine. Call and moan to me about it? Not so much.

 

[scrapquitler]

If I were borrowing someones vehicle for a short time (like the OPs need to pick somthing big up for a one time transport), I would return the vehicle with more fuel than was in the tank when I started. If it was a short trip, I'd probably put $10-20 worth of gas in it.

If I were borrowing a vehicle for a longer amount of time, I'd expect to put gas in it right after I borrowed it (and be pleasantly surprised if I didn't have to), and I would return it with A FULL TANK.

 

[golfgal]

MTE

I'm curious to all those that allow others to drive there vehicles, my insurance doesn't allow others to drive my car unless they are on my policy how do you all get around that on your policy

Read your policy, it's called "permissive user" meaning anyone you say can drive your car is covered under YOUR policy--which is why you should NEVER allow someone to drive your car, it goes against YOUR insurance if they have an accident with your car, not their insurance.

As for borrowing cars, we try very hard NOT to do this but on the rare occasions that we have, we return the car with a full tank, regardless of how much was in there to start.

 

[msmayor]

Does it really matter? No, not really but letting her know would have been the nice thing to do. Just like like filling up the gas tank after using your car would have been the nice thing for your friend to do.

I totally agree...but there are also times when I'm really not paying that close attention to how much gas is left in my tank, so its always possible that someone loans their car out and doesn't realize how low the gas is.

I DO think the friend should have not said anything about putting the extra gas in. It should have been considered a return of the favor.

We had to borrow a neighbor's car for my son to take his license road test a couple of weeks ago, because both our cars are not 'legal' for the test (center consoles block access to the emergency brake). The car had a little less than half a tank when we took it, and we only drove it about 40 miles. I returned it with a full tank as a thank you for the favor because I felt it was the right thing to do.