18-year-old occasionally borrows roommate's car, gets accused of using her when she refuses to co-own it: 'She is in no financial hardship'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
May 10, 2026 7:45 PM EDT

The whole point of lending something to someone is that they don't have to pay for it.

In a world where it increasingly feels like almost everything has a price tag, it is nice to be able to rely on the generosity of friends and family now and then. Being able to borrow stuff is great; you can save money, reduce consumption, and even find a way to repay the favor, thus making a relationship stronger. No matter how small the gesture, all of us have benefited from borrowing something at some point.

The downside to this system is that it can easily be exploited from both sides. Some people have no problem in being shameless freeloaders, and others only lend their belongings with significant conditions attached. In short, it is not wise to trust just anybody to lend you something, or to give out what you own to somebody who you don't really know. They may end up surprising you, and not in a good way. Plenty of relationships get ruined by an innocent deal like this gone awry. The one benefit is that it can show individuals you may not want to be associated with for what they really are.

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  • A young woman looks to the side while holding the steering wheel of a car
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A young woman looks to the side while holding the steering wheel of a car

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

  • In this story, a young woman had, with permission, borrowed a roommate's car on a few occasions. In return, she did a lot of the cooking and helped with maintaining their apartment. She felt like this was a fair deal.

    Eventually, the roommate asked her if she would co-own the car with her, which would mean them splitting the payments on the car. She declined, as she already had a lot of financial obligations, but offered to make payments towards gas and repairs. The friend was not happy with this compromise, leaving her wondering if she had done something wrong.

  • Am I wrong for not co-owning my roommate’s car and now she says I was using her?

    So I (18F) used to live with my roommate (19F) and we were best friends before all of this. She was having problems with her old roommate so I let her move in with me. We were really close, like we'd go grocery shopping together, I'd cook most of the food and
    via Fluffy-Lab-4432
  • bring it to her, and we just did a lot together. She has a car and I don't, so she would let me use it sometimes. I always asked first though, I never just took it or anything. Then she asked if I would co-own her car and split the payments with her even though
    via Fluffy-Lab-4432
  • everything is in her name. I told her I couldn't because I was struggling financially and also helping pay for my mom's medical bills, so I just didn't have extra money like that. She said I could do payment plans with her, but I still said I couldn't commit to that.
    via Fluffy-Lab-4432
  • Instead I told her I would always ask before using the car, always put gas in it, and I would pay half of any repairs or expenses if they came up. I also cooked most of the meals and helped out a lot around the apartment.
    via Fluffy-Lab-4432
  • Now she's saying I was "using her" and taking advantage of her car, and now things are really tense between us. I forgot to add she moved as we had a big argument because that really hurt me after everything Ive done for her, also she is in no financial hardship as she just got 20k from her mom for
    via Fluffy-Lab-4432
  • "moving money" she was planning to move out anyway but this caused the move out process to happen faster. I also paid for a new battery well half of it and always payed for gas if I drove, most of the time we would go together anyways so I rarely drove as we went everywhere together.
    via Fluffy-Lab-4432
  • A young woman laughs as she sits sideways in the driver's seat of a car
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A young woman laughs as she sits sideways in the driver's seat of a car

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

  • Nevilles_Remembrall_ NTA, she doesnt sound like a best friend.
    via Fluffy-Lab-4432
  • NoSummer1345 Split the payments but no right to ownership? H I no. She was a cheap a just trying to get money anyway she could. She was not your friend.
    via NoSummer1345
  • cocktail4u And you should have wondered the true reason why she had issues with her last roommate.
    via cocktail4u
  • I_like_beouf NTA, and honestly with time you'll realize what a gift you are given since you get to live without the hassle and she has to be stuck with her toxic self the rest of her life. Coming out of a codependent friendship can be hard but do some research into it and good luck healing and moving on from her.
    via I_like_beouf
  • creatively_inclined NTA. She's a user. You shouldn't even have had to pay for repairs for occasional use. The car is in her name and you get no benefit from making payments on something you don't own.
    via creatively_inclined
  • Sugar_Mama76 NTA. She was trying to get you to pay for half the car, insurance and repairs without having any legal ownership. If she sold it, unless you had a previous contract, she wouldn't have to give you a dime.
    via Sugar_Mama76
  • She's mad cause you're not subsidizing her life. That's not a friend. That's someone you need to boot outta your life.
    via Sugar_Mama76
  • TangerineCouch18330 You can't co-own a car unless you put your name on the title and only then would you want to participate in payments. And definitely you don't want to do that with someone that's not a close relative like a spouse.
    via TangerineCouch18330
  • MageVicky NTA and now you have a hint as to why she was having issues with her old roommate, it's her.
    via MageVicky
  • AmbientGravitas People who accuse others of using them are invariably users themselves.
    via AmbientGravitas
  • FrolickingtheWeb I'm glad she moved out, she sounds like the drama. One guess who caused the 'trouble' with her previous roommate.
    via FrolickingtheWeb

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car teenagers driving roommates money entitled people
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