AITA for not helping my daughter pay for her car?

A Redditor (43F) recently faced a dilemma after gifting her daughter (17F) her old car, only for her to get into a minor accident after seven months. While the daughter is safe, the car sustained significant damage, including a smushed bumper and deployed airbags. The repairs are estimated to cost $5,000.

The mom decided that, since the car was a gift, her daughter should take financial responsibility for the repairs as a lesson in responsibility. However, her daughter feels this isn’t fair, considering her fast-food job and limited income. Read on to see how this family navigates the question of responsibility and consequences.

‘ AITA for not helping my daughter pay for her car?’

I (43F) gave my daughter (17F) my old car for her birthday. My car ran perfectly smooth and there was nothing wrong with it but the radio. She only had the car for 7 months before running into the back of a semi truck. After everything she is safe and okay however the cars airbags came out and the font bumper is smushed in.

I told her because the car was givin to her she will need to pay for the repairs. The repairs cost about $5000 and she works in fast food. I told her the reason i’m doing this is so she learns a lesson on responsibility and paying attention. I feel as if she doesn’t believe this is fair. So, AITA?

Take a look at the comments from fellow users:

ostrichfood −  Why doesn’t insurance cover it? I don’t understand how she learns a lesson on “responsibility” or “paying attention” ….was she texting? On her phone? Doing something she wasn’t supposed to? ….or was it an accident? How old is this car and how bad was the accident that it had 5k worth of damages….and it wasn’t deemed unfixable?

Most older cars in an accident with the air bags being deployed would be considered totaled unless it was an expensive car….Must have been an expensive old car…and if that’s the case….

why would you give a 16/17 year old an expensive car if you didn’t think she was responsible. Also, how is she going to pay for the repairs…if she cannot get to work? 100% positive this is a f**e post….i just don’t know why I keep responding to them……

sheramom4 −  YTA for not having full coverage insurance on a car given to a teenager. Then she would only need to pay for the deductible. In the end, expecting her to come up with $5000 in time to fix the car so it doesn’t sit too long and the like is ridiculous.

Artistic_Tough5005 −  Info: How much is the car worth? She could easily buy a car for $5000

Trick_Few −  Info- Exactly how is she getting to work with a car that is currently unsafe to operate?

CubanDave87 −  A lot of people calling you the A are the reason we have so many e**itled douches walking around. They expect you to pay for repairs for a car she wrecked?. I do have a few questions

1. How did the accident happen exactly?
2. Why isn’t insurance covering this?

DraftPerfect4228 −  Yall are wild. She was given a whole car. For free. And yall are big mad that dad expects her to pay for damages? Get real.
So many people would be thrilled to be given a whole car.

kickrocks2958 −  NTA. For the folks saying this is unfair, life is unfair. Gotta learn to deal at some point. Better now when safe at home than in the future and end up homeless/something worse….as in, instead of a semi, being on the wrong end of a vehicular manslaughter charge….. Right now op’s daughter can learn about buying a new car, making major decisions in life, stuff like that…..

AllCrankNoSpark −  NTA. You gave her a car, not a lifetime subscription to cars.

Mumsydar −  NTA – Our son had an accident with our car when he was 17 – causing $1,700 in damage (he was driving too fast for road conditions and went over a median – thankfully no other cars involved and he wasn’t hurt). We made him pay for the repairs – but we came up with a payment plan.

He ended up paying it off faster than the agreed upon payment plan. If it had been $5,000, we likely would have covered half (as he was working to save up for college… so either pay now or pay later! 🤷‍♀️) – but we firmly believed he had to pay for the repairs so he understood the importance of attentive and safe driving – and what the consequences were for not being a safe driver.

He was very, very lucky that it was only the car that was damaged! That was 5 years ago, and he is a great driver. He bought his first car after graduating college and getting his first job 2 years ago and is fully aware of the consequences of his actions and is mindful of them when making choices.

phyrsis −  NTA. She can pay for the repairs or do without a car. Her choice! But she needs to learn to take care of nice gifts, and you paying for it won’t teach her anything.

Do you think it’s fair to ask the daughter to pay for the car repairs as a lesson in responsibility, or is the cost too high given her limited means? How would you handle this situation with your child? Share your thoughts below!