Money Moral Dilemma: Am I paying too much for holiday car breakdown?

A question about : Money Moral Dilemma: Am I paying too much for holiday car breakdown?

Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on:

Am I paying too much for holiday car breakdown?

My friends and I went on a group holiday. Three of my friends wanted to come home a day early so borrowed my second-hand car, which I'd only had for a month, and drove it home - one of them was insured to drive it.!On the way back, they broke down. Because my cover only insures me in the car, they had to pay Ј200 for a tow home. They've asked to split the tow four ways to include me in the cost. The car's a write-off (Ј700 down the drain) plus I had to pay for the mechanic to have a look at it.!Is this fair?

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Best answers:

• A) You weren't even in the car
  B) You've lost your car
  If anything I would be asking them for money
• If it was a breakdown (and not caused by the driver at the time) then it would have happened even if you had been in the car - you'd have had to pay the mechanic and lost the car anyway. So the only additional cost is the Ј50 share of the tow fee - pay it. Are your friends worth losing for Ј50 - they must be good friends to go on a group holiday with and let them use your car.
  TBH I'd be mortified that the car conked out on them and would be reimbursing them the full Ј200.
• "on the way back they broke down"
  Incorrect, it was the car that broke down..your car.
  You pay the costs.
• it says if you were driving you'd have been insured and wouldn't have had to pay the tow fee,so i say no don't pay
• I think it's pretty fair all round.
  Your car was knackered and has cost them all Ј50 and a lot of inconvenience.
  They chose to borrow the car and therefore in a roundabout way accepted responsibility for it which included the need to pay if it breaks down. But if they had any idea the car was knackered then I'm sure they wouldn't have borrowed it.
  So splitting the tow costs 4 ways seems about right.
• Good friends are worth more than Ј50.
• I'm surprised that these supposedly good friends are expecting you to pay. Don't they feel gutted that your car broke down while they were driving and is now a write-off costing you Ј700, especially as you'd only bought it a month earlier? Ok, it might have broken down anyway and it perhaps wasn't their fault - unless they were driving erratically. I would suggest that the Ј200 is their loss and the Ј700 is your loss. If they want to split the Ј200 4 ways then they should also split the Ј700 4 ways.
• I'd be feeling sorry for you that your car's a write-off, and certainly wouldn't be asking you to split the towing bill, especially as you weren't even in the car at the time! As good friends, I think they should not be asking you for this contribution.
  How you handle your refusal, if that's what you chose to do, could decide how long the friendship lasts.. Lots of luck with this and getting new wheels sorted..
• You said your cover only insured you when you were in the car. I think if your friends were aware of that and chose to borrow your car without having any breakdown cover in place then they should accept the cost of paying for the tow. You cant be held responsible for the car breaking down whilst you weren't driving it.
  I think you are justified in not paying a share of the fee based on that principle however as others have said it depends on how strongly you feel about it and whether you would rather pay the Ј50 to keep the peace.
  Good luck
• You pay .It doesn't matter who was driving, the car broke down so it was going to do so no matter who was driving. If they had crashed the car that would have been their fault but the car breaking down is your responsibility.
• hmmmmmm this is a hard one.
  on one side of the coin, you did them a favour by lending them the car, so I think it's a bit cheeky of them to ask
  BUT
  in fairness, it sounds like it would have broken down anyway they next time you drove it, even if they hadn't have borrowed it.
  you bought a "banger", what do you expect for Ј700?
  if I were in the other parties shoes, I wouldn't have asked you to chip in.
  if I were in your shoes, i'd just pay the Ј50, but it would be noted, the next time those friends needed another favour.
• This is a difficult one as its nobody's fault that the car broke down and I'm fairly sure it would not have crossed anyone's mind what would happen if the car broke down when you were not in it before they set off home. Given that your car broke down from what sounds to be a maintenance issue and not the negligence of the driver it is just bad luck that you have had to pay Ј200 to tow the car away. As you have control over the maintenance of the car I don't think it is fair to say you have no responsibility for the recovery of the car. I understand it is a disappointing situation for anyone and I think your friends have tried to recognise this by offering to split the bill with you.
  Given that it is Ј50 it's probably not worth falling out with your friends regardless of who should you think should pay?
• Wait...so as well as borrowing your car for free they also expected you to provide them with free breakdown cover?
  I have an AA card and that covers me for any car I'm travelling in. If they had had their own breakdown cover they wouldn't have had to pay the tow fee.
  When you drive ANY car there's a risk of breakdown and IMO it's the responsibility of the people travelling to ensure they are adequately covered, not the person they blagged some free motoring from.
  So if this was me I'd lose no sleep over refusing to pay the Ј50 but as ever it comes down to whether the aggro that will result is worth saving the Ј50. Depending on who the friends were I'd probably cough up but make sure they know I'm NOT happy about being taken advantage of.
  And I'd definitely not lend them anything ever again.
• Why did 3 of them want to go home a day early? That's important to know - was it for a trivial reason?
  They want you to contribute towards the towing costs so are they going to contribute towards the write off costs - Ј700? That seems fair to me in view of what you've written.
  I don't think these people are really friends at all and I'd make sure you get some new, decent ones.
• No I wouldn't pay - you were covered for when you were in the car, they weren't, their choice. They were getting it for free useage as it was, they could have gone home and paid for public transport instead and tbh I wouldn't bother with them as friends in future.
• On the way there did you charge them a split of your breakdown cover that would have covered them if they broke down on the way up?