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Volume CXXXIII, Number 4 |
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Friends don't let friends use their cars
LINDSAY
J. MULLEN
COLUMNIST
Dear Lindsay,
My parents let me take a car to school this year but gave
me strict instructions not to let other people use it. On several occasions
I've let my roommate borrow it, since she doesn't have a car. I felt really
uncomfortable letting her use it in the first place but was really annoyed
when she left it parked in an illegal place and got a ticket. Even though
she apologized and said she'd pay for it, she hasn't given me the money
yet and still asks to use my car! I never should have let her use it in
the first place and don't know how to start telling her she can't anymore.
- Driven to Despair
Dear Driven,
When your parents handed over the keys, they also presented you with one simple rule: don't let other people use the car. Apparently as you drove away, you flung this rule right out the window. So, unless you have severe attention deficit issues and weren't able to tune in long enough to get the message, you have used (in the words of your parents) "bad judgment." Now would be a good time to hang your head in shame.
I can imagine all the excuses you've come up with as to why you caved and let your roommate use the car, but I'm guessing that your parents wouldn't go for a single one. There was a reason for your parents' restriction, and chances are that it had to do with their insurance company. Most car insurance companies only cover the specific people who the car is insured under, and I'll bet that Mom didn't think to put down the name of your roommate. This means that the insurance company may not cover damages if your roommate gets in an accident while driving your car-even if the accident is not her fault!
You probably didn't know that lending your car to your roommate put your parents in such a compromising position. It sounds as if you were just trying to foster good roommate relations by sharing the car. My cousin was thinking along the same line as you and let her best friend, Jenny, borrow her mother's Volvo one sunny afternoon. Now, I'm sure that Jenny didn't mean to run the car into a fire hydrant, but indeed she did. The damage appeared minimal, so Jenny hopped back into Aunt Emily's Volvo and went about her business as if nothing happened.
The story does not end here. Shortly after her little run-in (pun intended) with the hydrant, smoke started pouring out of the hood of the car. Realizing that this couldn't be a good thing, Jenny pulled the car over and looked for the nearest place to use a phone. Fortunately, the smoke decided to make its appearance while she was in a residential area, so Jenny had her pick of doors to knock on. Out of all the homes surrounding her, Jenny had to pick the non-English speaking one. After gesturing towards the smoking car and then holding her hand up to her ear like a telephone, Jenny finally managed to break down the language barrier separating herself from the little old Chinese woman.
While on the phone with AAA, Jenny heard the old woman's voice getting incrementally louder and more frantic. It wasn't until about the eighth exclamation that Jenny understood what she was shouting, "Fiyah! Fiyah! CAR ON FIYAH!" Running to the front door, Jenny looked out upon a very sad scene. Aunt Emily's Volvo was ablaze. Quickly returning to the phone, she dialed a different number than before: that of the fire department. However, by the time the big red trucks arrived on the scene, it was too late. R.I.P Aunt Emily's Volvo.
And R.I.P. Eve, my dear cousin who let her best friend borrow her mother's car. Don't think for a moment she went unpunished. Actually, what she did was hop on her bike and "run away." To this day, the rest of the extended family and I are still wondering how far she thought she'd get on her 10-speed. The moral of the story: don't let your friends use your parents' car. Even though it's been over ten years since this little incident, Aunt Emily still holds it over Eve's head. And, I'm sure that the little old Chinese woman still hasn't fully recovered from that day.
After reading this car story gone wrong, I hope that it is easier for you to come to your senses and realize that you must lay down the law with your roommate. I don't imagine doing this should be too difficult for you, seeing that the way she has chosen to show her appreciation in taken the form of a parking violation. If you don't speak with her now, you're just complicating your life. Either you'll be stuck in the same position you got yourself into in the first place or you'll have to start convincing your roommate that Razor scooters are back, and this time all the college kids are using them. Good luck with that one.
The only other option I can think of is taking your car to Macco, getting it painted a different color, and then saying, "What car?" the next time your roommate asks to use it. I'd go with telling your roommate that it's your parents' car and they are letting you use it under the agreement that you are the only one driving it. Stress the part about the insurance, and admit that you used "bad judgment" before.
Let your roommate know that you'll give her lifts when the two of you
are going the same way; you'll come across in a favorable light. What
I do not advise is offering to drive your roommate wherever she wants
to go whenever she wants to go there. Inevitably, this will lead to another
problem, and you'll just be writing in next week about how your roommate
treats you like her chauffeur.
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