Who is responsible for car damage when car is borrowed?

Question

My son drives a car that I own. He is 17 and has a provisional license. He allowed an 18 year old, licensed driver to borrow the car to run an errand. The car was subsequently damaged when it scraped up against a pole - dented, paint scraped off to the metal, damaged trim. Seems to me the person who borrowed the car should pay to fix the damage - either out of pocket or via insuarance. The father of the kid wants me to pay half.

Should I just call my insurance agent, file a claim to get the car repaired, and leave it up to the insurance company to get after the father (or his eventually his insurance company) to pay?

Answer 1

The father has nothing to do with this accident.  The 18 year old is no longer a minor.  You are responsible for the damage, since you are the owner.  File a claim under your Collision coverage, and ask the borrower to pay for your deductible.  He gets the surcharge, not you.

Answer 2

I'm with you - you borrow something, you break it, you make it good. End of story.

Answer 3

my suggestion for this issue is that you contact your insurance agent and ask them.  You should not be responsible for the cost of the repairs as you were not operating the vehicle or even in the car.

Answer 4

The friend that actually damages the car is. Its not your sons fault at ALL!(or yours)

Answer 5

Make the father pay.His son wrecked it not you. Also if he is not listed on your insurance there not going to cover it. In fact they just might cancel your policy for letting them drive it. Also your rates will go up,

Answer 6

Whoever damaged the car MUST pay for the damages. No need to get insurance involved will cause a headache in the long run. Its not fair if you need to pay half. The dad of the kid should pay the entire bill! Good luck!

Answer 7

the driver when the damage was done.

His Dad is tripping, or a loon.

take him to court, your insurance company won't help.

Answer 8

Both the driver and the owner are at fault. The driver, for negligent driving, and he will be cited and will remain on his driving record. The owner of the vehicle, because the vehicle was involved. Depending upon what type of coverage you have on your insurance, you, as the owner, may get stuck with the surcharge for the next 6 years. Contact your insurance company. The father of the 18 year old shouldn't even be involved in this, as the other driver is an adult. His offering you to pay half is his on personal kindness. He doesn't have to pay you anything, nor does his insurance company need to be involved. Its the 18 year old (and his insurance company) you need to go after.

Answer 9

Your son's friend had permissive use to drive the car.  Although, he's also supposed to take care of it.  I would call my insurance company & go through them...yet have the other family pay your deductible.

Answer 10

ahh you can do it 2 ways

file a claim and have premium go up or you and the childs dad can work out some sort of way for car to be repaired even tho the child that was driving is to pay all costs cause he was in postion of motor vehicle

Answer 11

I think your son showed poor judgment in allowing his friend to drive your car w/o your permission and, therefore, I would hold him responsible for pmt of the deductible.  This would be a good time to teach him about being responsible.  I know I'm going against the flow here but that's how I feel.  

Altho if the driver got a ticket, you certainly have a legal leg to stand on.  If that's the case I would ask the father to cover the deductible or require his son to do so.  If he fails to, there's always small claims court.

Answer 12

borrower

Answer 13

the person driving it is responsible for it,that's always been the case,but you may have a hard time collecting from them,i loaned my car one time in my life and it got wrecked,that was 20 some years ago,since then no one has drove anything i own,it pays to be safe rather than sorry these days,id try and collect from the driver if possible,you may have to push this one all the way to small claims court if you really want to pursue it,good luck with it.

Answer 14

Well, good luck on that.  Ultimately, you're going to have to sue the kid for the damage to the car.  You might get a judgement, and you might not.  You might be able to collect on the judgement, and you might not.

Bottom line - the car was loaned, with permission.  Ultimately, the owner of the car - you - is on the hook for the damage.

It's very possible that the other person's insurance isn't going to cover the damage to YOUR car.

Answer 15

whoever drives the car pays and the father should step up to the plate and pay. Don't let him get out of it by you paying half.