'[I thought it was] gesture of goodwill for borrowing my car:' 24-year-old woman’s uncle borrows her car without permission, changes two of her tires without her request, then goes on to demand she repay him $120, tension rises when she refuses

Author image for Emma Saven
Emma Saven
Nov 2, 2025 1:00 PM EST

If one did not ask for a favor, why should they be burdened with the now you owe me's?  If you need a clearer explanation, have you ever seen that episode of Friends where Joey insists that there's no such thing as a truly selfless good deed, arguing that people only help others to feel good about themselves? Pheobe spends the whole episode trying to prove him wrong, but theoretically fails miserably, making her rethink the whole idea of why we help others. This story is going to make a lot less sense than that episode, so hold on tight (and you might as well check your wheels too)

This woman was getting ready to leave for work, until she realized something was missing from the driveway: her car. Her family told her that her uncle needed to borrow it for a few errands that day. Annoying? Yes. A catastrophe? No. So she Ubered to work and after 8 long hours, returned home to find that her 'perfectly good' tires had been changed. Her uncle told her it wasn't driving smoothly enough (for his liking) and that he went to get them changed for her. She thought it was a sweet gesture, yet failed to see the necessity of it all. Until things took a strange turn, and he started asking her for the money to repay him for the tires…She automatically refused because a.) He had taken her car without permission b.) He had changed her tires without permission, and c.) no further explanation needed. 

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  • Within a matter of seconds, this ‘gesture’ had translated into a major family feud, with her aunt and uncle giving her the cold shoulder…claiming that she is just proving to be super ungrateful! 

    Yet he never offered to pay towards the gas he used, didn't even bother to ask if borrowing the car would be inconvenient for her, and now he is expecting her to get on her hands and knees to pray to him as if he's the Tire God. That's just not how this works…Yes, she is grateful, but that does not mean she should reimburse him for something she saw as completely unnecessary…especially with no valid receipts on the table. 

  • 01
    Man driving his car.
    via aliaksandrbarysenka

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    AITA for refusing to pay for the new tires my uncle got me

    So about five days ago, as I (24 F) was getting ready for my doctor's appointment, I noticed my car wasn't in the driveway.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 03
    Panicked, I asked my cousins and aunt were my car was and they told me their dad had borrowed it to run a few errands here and there, but would be back by the time I needed to get to work.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 04
    I didn't tell them I had an appointment that early, so I didn't worry about it and decided to cancel the appointment and reschedule.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 05
    I was a bit irritated that he'd take my car without asking first, especially since we aren't close at all, but I let it go.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 06
    My uncle's work has him located in another country so he's only here for about two or three months at a time, and in that time he uses my cousin's car because she work's from home, but she had to go in that day.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 07
    Ten minutes until I had to get to work and he was still not back yet so I just called an uber instead.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 08
    Employee checking her watch.
    via gettysignature

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 09
    Not a problem until I realized later that my work keys were in my car and I wouldn't be able to close up or leave without them.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 10
    I called to see if he was back yet so I could have someone bring them to me, but he wasn't.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 11
    They told me he was at the mechanic changing my tires, so I had to wait forty minutes for him to bring my car to me so I could lock up and go home.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 12
    Now, my tires weren't bad at all. They weren't great, but they were in good enough quality to last me a good while until I could afford to get them replaced.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 13
    Mechanic changing a tire.
    via rossandhelen

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 14
    He complained that the drive wasn't "smooth" so he got two of them changed. I didn't ask for that, and it caused me a bit of an inconvenience, but I was grateful nonetheless that he went out of his way to replace my tires despite me never mentioning wanting them changed.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 15
    Fast forward to yesterday after dinner. Randomly, my aunt went on about how it was quite rude that I hadn't even brought up repaying my uncle for the cost of the tires and that it was bad manners to let the person bring it up themselves.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 16
    Honestly I was flabbergasted here because it genuinely never even crossed my mind that he would ask me to pay for new tires that I never even asked him for.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 17
    Also, part of me thought it was maybe a gesture of goodwill for borrowing my car without asking.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 18
    I told her I was grateful that he did, but that I couldn't pay for something I didn't personally want.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 19
    Besides that, I didn't even have the money for it, and given the current state of my bank account and future expenditures, I will continue to not have the money for at least two more months.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 20
    She suddenly blew up at me and said she was just trying to help me "save face" and not come off ungrateful.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 21
    Since then the atmosphere in the house has soured. My aunt and uncle flat out ignore and avoid me now, and my cousins all say it is a bit messed up that I never even considered paying him back for the tires, and that he spent a good while waiting at the mechanic to get them done so the least I could do was offer to at least pay for it.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 22
    What do I do? Could I actually be the AH here?
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 23
    Young woman being reprimanded by an older woman.
    via gettysignature

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 24
    Connect Flounder6855 Call the shop and ask if the tires he got rid of were damaged.
    via Connect_Flounder6855
  • 25
    OP Parking_Extension695 That's smart, but I have no idea where he got them changed, and he hasn't given me a receipt.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 26
    snootnoots Ooo, good point! 7) how much fuel did he use and did he refill the tank?
    via snootnoots
  • 27
    OP Parking_Extension695 Haha no. He neither paid for the miles nor the gas, and certainly didn't pay me back for the uber
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 28
    wannabeemefree How were you expected to pay without a receipt?
    via wannabeemefree
  • 29
    OP Parking_Extension695 My aunt just told me that the price for both tires were $120. I didn't ask him for a receipt because I thought it'd stir up a fight, now I see I should grow a back bone and just ask for it.
    via Parking_Extension695
  • 30
    Nenoshka Who buys/changes a set of tires for someone whose car does not really need new tires? Did your uncle drive your car in such a way as to damage the original tires? When he finally got back with your car, did he explain and/or show you the receipt? His whole story sounds fishy as h*ll.
    via Nenoshka
  • 31
    OP Parking_Extension695 Now that I think about it, he didn't. He didn't even bring up the price. My aunt and uncle just kept going on about how he'd done me a favor by changing my tires. which sort of led me to assume it was a gift.
    via Parking_Extension695

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fuel smooth expenses car uber work gift driving tires borrow aunt uncle without-permission repay workplace entitled family change late Reddit cousins Story Time
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