The problem with borrowing

[misslady]

Morning. I seem to have alot to offload recently so sorry for boring you.

I recently did a house swap with a family member abroad and had a great 2 week break. We were planning to go to the middle east for a week at a nice hotel but they wanted to use our house during their UK visit (they used to live here) so we agreed to holiday at them for 2 weeks. Whilst there they said we could use their car. My hubby used to look after their car before they took it abroad so he knows it quite well. When my uncle gave us the car it looked really grubby but we didn't think much of it. We noticed a few things after driving off but never raised it.

Now that were back my brother said that there's a number of things wrong with the car, engine and hole in the seat. And that my cousin was using the car before us and said it was in good order. We're mortified. Had we have known someone else was using it first we would have queried everything.

He's now said that he will foot the bill. But that isn't fair. Would you offer to pay something towards it? How much? My cousin is denying that anything was wrong with it. And me being the honest idiot admitted that we saw everything on collection of the vehicle but thought it was just like that. Considering that hubby treated the car so well for over 2 years without them, why don't they believe us?

I told my hubby that we will never borrow or try to help out again. This is such a slap in the face.

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[BABSann]

Similar thing happened to us years ago when first married. We borrowed our friends lawn mower and within five minutes of using it it broke down. Hubby tried to fix it to no avail. Anyway, then I had the joyous task of ringing my friend and telling them their lawn mower was broken.
She was okish about it, but I felt really uncomfortable because I felt torn. On one hand i felt we should've replaced it but on the other I knew it wasn't us that broke it and it was quite an old mower.
I won't borrow anything like that again. I would seriously rather buy my own or go without.
As for the car issue, no I would not pay if I knew I wasn't responsible for holes in the seat etc. I would perhaps ask to see evidence of what was mechanically wrong with it and being as your hubby knows this car,he can see if this is wear and tear or if it's a result of how it's been driven.

 

[misslady]

Thanks for replying. That's food for thought. As soon as we sat in it hubby said that it didn't seem the car was being treated well since he last saw it.

Although they haven't said it I feel like they are calling us liars. If it wasn't family I probably wouldn't feel too bothered as maybe I wouldn't have to see them again or so often. But now it's dangling over my head because when we meet again it's going to be awkward if we don't pay. And if we do it's like admission. Plus I talk to my siblings everyday, but now I dunno what to say to them.

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