Man Borrows Sibling's Car, It Doesn't End Well: 'Woke Up to This'

A Reddit user's seemingly simple request for their brother to park their car in the driveway after borrowing it has led to an unwelcome surprise.

In a post, the user shared their frustration with a photo of their white car displaying noticeable scratches. Their brother had parked it on the street, not in the driveway as they asked, leading thousands of Reddit users to speculate on how—and when—the scratches were made. Since the post was published, it has received over 9,300 upvotes.

Newsweek spoke to senior psychotherapist Daren Banarsë about what the owner of the car should do next, particularly regarding his brother.

"Asked my brother to park my car in the driveway after he borrowed it. He chose to park it on the street instead," the poster wrote on Reddit. "Woke up to this dolly."

Reddit users were quick to weigh in with their theories and outrage, and, for many, the implication was clear: the damage occurred while the car was under his brother's care, and the decision to park it on the street may have been an attempt to hide it.

"He probably parked it there to hide the fact he did that hours earlier," one user wrote.

Another offered a plausible explanation for the damage: "Definitely took too tight a turn somewhere and kissed it in two different spots," they wrote. "Meanwhile, some other poor schmuck has your white paint all over his bumper."

The overwhelming feeling from the community was one of anger, not just over the damage, but the possible lying. "What kind of a brother is that!? I'd be furious, but really not because of the fact that he crashed my car, but because he wouldn't tell me, try to blame it on others and would let me deal with everything on my own," one commenter wrote. "The deception is through the roof."

What Should the Car Owner Do?

Banarsë said that, when a sibling blatantly ignores a clear request like the poster's, important truths about the relationship dynamic are brought to light.

While it could reflect personality traits like disorganization, Banarsë said: "There's a key psychological insight here: personality doesn't excuse accountability, especially when it comes to other people's property."

Navigating boundaries when sharing resources like cars is crucial for family harmony moving forward, he added.

"The key to healthy resource-sharing lies in moving from implicit to explicit agreements," Banarsë said. "Successful resource sharing requires several elements: explicit rules about usage conditions, clear consequences for violations and consistent enforcement."

For the Reddit poster, Banarsë recommended a strategic approach to addressing the issue, focusing on facts over emotion.

"To de-escalate … the poster could say: 'I asked you to park in the driveway. You parked on the street. The car now has damage that wasn't there when I lent it to you. You've said this damage existed before you borrowed it, but I would have noticed this level of damage. I need us to work together to resolve this situation,'" Banarsë said.

And, he added, the costs should definitely be shared.

This incident, according to Banarsë, is more than a simple accident; it is a situation laden with red flags about the sibling relationship—and calm, confident repair is needed to move past this incident and prevent others.

Newsweek reached out to @alonso1511 for comment via Reddit.