When you work hard for something, you want to do everything that you can to keep it in good condition.
What happens when you buy a nice car for the first time in your life and your girlfriend, who has a history of bad driving, says she wants to drive it sometimes.
That is the situation the boyfriend in this story is facing, and is wondering if he is in the wrong for telling her no.
Check it out.
So I (24M) recently bought my first “nice” car—a 2019 Mazda 3.
It’s not a luxury car or anything, but I worked my butt off for it.
I saved for years, drove beaters while I worked two jobs, and when I finally got this car, it felt like a reward for all my effort.
I take care of it, too—I wash it every weekend, never let it get below half a tank, and park away from everyone else in parking lots like a total dork.
Here’s the issue: my girlfriend, Emily (24F), wants to drive it.
I love Emily, but she is the single worst driver I’ve ever met.
Yikes, I wouldn’t let her drive anything.
And I’m not exaggerating:
1. She’s totaled two cars in the past two years. The first was because she “misjudged” the distance while merging on the highway.
The second? She reversed into a light pole in an empty parking lot.
2. She tailgates like crazy.
I’ve had to tell her multiple times to back off the car in front of her when I’m in the passenger seat because it feels like we’re going to crash.
3. She’s admitted she “doesn’t like paying attention” while driving because “it’s boring.”
I wish I were kidding.
She really is a bad driver.
I’ve let her drive my old car once before (a 15-year-old Civic I wasn’t super attached to), and she managed to scrape it pulling into a gas station.
After that, I said I’d never let her drive my car again, and we both kind of laughed it off.
Well, now I have this car, and she keeps asking to drive it.
At first, it was playful—stuff like, “Let me take it for a spin!”—and I just said no with a laugh.
A real conversation is needed.
But recently, she’s been getting more annoyed about it.
She says stuff like, “You act like I’m going to crash it or something.”
And, well… yeah.
The other day, we were driving to dinner (me driving, obviously), and she brought it up again.
She said it’s “weird” that I won’t let my own girlfriend drive my car and that it makes her feel like I don’t trust her.
I told her straight up: “It’s not that I don’t trust you—it’s that I’ve seen you drive, and I can’t afford to have this car wrecked.”
She got quiet and didn’t say much for the rest of the night.
Later, she told me I embarrassed her and made her feel like she’s incompetent.
I said I wasn’t trying to embarrass her, but she has totaled two cars.
Accidents do happen, but it is more often with bad drivers.
She said I should “get over it” because accidents happen, and that I’m being controlling.
Now she doesn’t even let me use her pc because “i may break it” when there has never been such an issue before.
I think it’s just childish.
AITA?
I can totally understand why she is embarrassed about this, but she has to come to terms with the fact that she is a bad driver and hopefully get help to improve.
Let’s see if the people in the comments have any advice.
This person questions the whole relationship.
This person says he should keep her off the roads entirely.
Good point, would insurance even cover her?
This commenter points out that she has no claim on his property no matter how good of a driver she is.
This person lost a loved one to poor driving.
She shouldn’t be driving anyone’s car.
Yikes.
If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.
