Whose side would you be on? UPDATE page 17 (?!?)

[sam_gordon]

Um no. I have lived in Manitoba for 50 years and you renew your license every year. You only get a new picture for your license every 5 years where you must go into an insurance broker to renew. Otherwise you can renew it online which is probably what you misunderstood.

Or so it has been since I got my license back in the 80s in Manitoba....LOL.

Well the picture thing is fairly new....

As for the OP I would just let it go. You would have paid more in car payments or whatever over the years than $1000. I would just drop it.

My apologies. I misread my research.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I haven’t read the whole thread.

But just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Yes the car is legally his but he should give you guys the money. It’s the right thing to do.

 

[katie111]

Who gives a rusty car as a wedding gift in the first place? That's probably the most bizarre part of this whole scenario to me.

Seems like your BIL was taking on some responsibility all along by keeping the registration in his name & the insurance in his name. It all seems a bit shady. If the car is not safe enough to pass an inspection, then I wouldn't be driving it. If I were the BIL, I would have said u can have the car but I want it out of my name in the next x amount of months or I'm taking it back. I wouldn't want someone driving around under my registration & insurance. Seems like borderline fraud to me. Aren't u supposed to list everyone on your insurance that drives your car on a regular basis??

I think he gets the check.

 

[kimblebee]

Who gives a rusty car as a wedding gift in the first place? That's probably the most bizarre part of this whole scenario to me.

Seems like your BIL was taking on some responsibility all along by keeping the registration in his name & the insurance in his name. It all seems a bit shady. If the car is not safe enough to pass an inspection, then I wouldn't be driving it. If I were the BIL, I would have said u can have the car but I want it out of my name in the next x amount of months or I'm taking it back. I wouldn't want someone driving around under my registration & insurance. Seems like borderline fraud to me. Aren't u supposed to list everyone on your insurance that drives your car on a regular basis??

I think he gets the check.

Read the thread before commenting..all of this has been discussed multiple times.

 

[kimblebee]

Since this thread has become a loop of the same answers and questions over and over I’m bowing out. Thanks everyone for the replies and opinions.

 

[katie111]

Sorry, didn't feel like reading through 7 pages before commenting but now I have scanned a lot of the responses. You asked whose side someone would be on. In reading your initial post and a few follow up posts I am just saying I would be on you BIL's side. It seems like whenever anyone says they are on your bil's side you have a response as to why you should get the check.

You asked for opinions & are getting them but you don't seem to like the ones that are not on your side.

And use of a free car for 3 years AND a thousand dollars seems like a VERY big wedding gift from someone you clearly don't like very much.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

In some States your insurance can go up even if you aren't at fault and the other driver's insurance paid. Crazy.

Yep. DH was rear-ended at a stoplight because the car two cars behind him didn't stop, and caused a chain reaction. He did hit the guy in front of him, but only scratched our hood and his rear bumper. My back bumper had a massive dent, scratched paint and loosened.

Then I was driving, going to make a left (same car) in a left turn lane (about 20mph) when a pedestrian ran out between the stopped cars (that were going straight) and I hit her as she went into the turn lane (no where near the crosswalk or light, it was about a city block up; very long turn lane). Paint on the passenger side was messed up, passenger mirror broke off. Woman got a broken leg, bruises, cut/scrapes, ruined leather purse and a scolding + ticket from the officer for jaywalking.

Rates didn't go up with those two accidents.

About 4 months later, I was in an accident while making a left turn out of a parking lot onto a side street; other guy was speeding and driving on the wrong side of the road past the cars stopped for the light (they left room for people to make turns out of the McD's) to get to the turn lane (just past the exit from McD's; left turn had its own turn lane out of the parking lot). Same car as the first two, and this time it totaled the car. Was pretty much t-boned (ok, more like '7') and frame twisted. I got hit with 50% on that one, and a ticket for unsafe left turn (pled down to speeding 1-5mph, no points after doing online driving course, and a small fine).

when our rates shot up to 3x the amount they were before (2 months later, at renewal), Geico quoted 3 accidents as the cause. They didn't pay a penny on the first one; they chose to pay the pedestrian in the 2nd, even though I was marked as not at fault (was cheaper than a lawsuit, I suppose), we didn't get the car repaired; the third they paid off my car (less my deductible) and covered a rental for 30 days and the other insurance company covered my deductible ($1000), and then reimbursed Geico for my car.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Well, you could have a mess on your hands in the form of strained family relations.
Clearly too many legal differences between here in California and your Province in Canada. It is a little surprising to me that it would not come up in the settlement with the insurance company.

Here, you have 10 days to report a transfer of ownership. And you have to have your own insurance. The people driving a specific car have to be listed by name on the insurance unless they are driving it for less than 30 days.
We don't have safety inspections of cars being sold (or given away). Safety inspections are only if you are trying to register a totaled car that has been fixed and put back on the road.
We have Smog inspections, but gifting of a car between family members are exempt from Smog checks.

I would be concerned about the safety of a rusted car, not about whether the cost of repairing rust exceeded the value of the car. The rust repairs would get you many more miles and years of service, and there is value in that well beyond the resale value of the car. I have no idea how many times my Uncle in Saskatoon replaced the sheet metal on his 1977 Plymouth Grand Fury station wagon before he passed away in 2014. But he always said the repairs were at least $20,000 less than a new car, and none of the new cars had the 440 V-8 he wanted to pull his trailer with. Resale value of the car was never a consideration.

My sister had a car that had a hole in the floorboard under the passenger's feet! She never got it repaired, and wouldn't let anyone ride in the front seat. Drove the car for 3 years that way (but she didn't drive much, to the grocery store or Walmart once a week, maybe). Didn't have to get the car inspected at the time, and it would pass smog, so when she'd take it in for smog, they'd put a piece of wood over the hole and then a bag filled with paper trash (napkins, etc) on it so the tester wouldn't move it.

OP: I think some people are trying to(or aren't trying) understand the difference between Canada and US vehicle policies. As for my opinion, it's your BIL's money.

 

[ronandannette]

In some States your insurance can go up even if you aren't at fault and the other driver's insurance paid. Crazy.

I've heard of cases here (although thankfully never experienced one) where two parties in a collision happen to be "unlukcy" enough to to be covered by the same insurance carrier. In an at-fault accident the carrier tries to share the fault between both parties so they can raise the rates on both drivers. That really sucks!

 

[Disney Doll]

Legally it’s his car.

If I were him $1000 wouldn’t be enough money for me to upset family harmony if I otherwise got along well with you guys.

But I’m not him.

 

[Disneylover99]

Read the thread before commenting..all of this has been discussed multiple times.

Everyone is going to read the first post, but you can't really expect everyone to read the entire thread. I think if you had of included the rules about Manitoba insurance in your first post, in particular stating that your husband's accident would absolutely not affect your bil's insurance rates in anyway, people may have not questioned you as much. You might want to still update your first post.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I have read the whole thread. (And that's forty minutes of my life I can't get back! )

My sense is that the OP's husband is being put in a lose-lose situation by the attitude of the OP. He should not be forced to choose between his wife and his brother, who she admits to having "longstanding issues" with.

That small amount of money isn't worth the loss of whatever family harmony is left, even if it's not great to begin with. OP says she'll leave the room if BIL comes over (if he gets the money). If that happens, pretty soon BIL won't be coming over. Is that type of estrangement worth $500? I don't think so.

I agree with others who say they've had three years of use of a car, and for that, they should be grateful. It is what it is: beater/rust bucket or not, it did the trick. And it was OP's husband that upset the apple cart by having an accident to begin with. Yet it's the brother who is being made out as the bad guy. I just don't see it.

BIL was nice enough to come out that night right to the scene of the accident, follow OP's husband as he drove the car home, then come in to the house to wait while husband called the insurance company. Seems decent.

OP then goes and asks BIL, right then and there, "Who gets the money?"

I mean, maybe that just wasn't a great time to ask about money, or even bring it up at all!

Let's just get through the moment!

Then the next day (day of OP) she is fixated on the money issue as it relates to the car, which is GONE now!

Maybe that energy would've been better spent just finding another car (and letting issues w BIL go for now). Around here we have companies that sell cars with no money down and no credit checks, etc., for just this type of situation. Granted, interest rates are high, but bottom line you'll have to get a new/used car and $500 isn't going to make that much of a difference.

Kim, I know you're upset, but please consider letting your husband salvage the relationship with his brother. You don't want to have your husband resent you down the road for coming between the two of them. Just my $.02.

UGH

My husband rear ended someone last night and now our car is a write off. Thankfully, he’s ok, as well as the occupants of the other car.

We live in a province with no fault insurance. Meaning, we do not have to pay the other persons deductable to fix their car, we’d only have to pay to fix ours which won’t happen because the damage far exceeds the value of the car. I’ve said before that it’s held together by rust, and that’s not an exaggeration.

My bil (who I have long standing issues with) went to my husband and followed him as he drove the car home. Then, he came in while my husband called our insurance to report the accident. The car got towed to an impound lot where it will stay until later in the week when the adjuster takes a look at it.

I asked my bil point blank- who will get the money for the car after it’s written off. He said he would EVEN THOUGH he gave us the car as a wedding gift. I was soooo mad and voices were quickly raised.

I said we should get the money because A he gave us the car and B we are the ones who paid for new brakes, a new windshield, and a new fuel pump when they were needed. We’ve also being paying the insurance all that time, too.

The car is registered to bil because it wouldn’t pass a safety inspection to have the title transferred. So, when the cheque is written it will go to him. That’s his reasoning for keeping the money, legally it’s his car.

So, who do you think should get the money? It won’t be a lot, probably $1000 or so, so not a fortune, but enough to want it lol

Sorry for the novel..I’ll add more details if asked for them.

 

[mnrose]

Not having read all the responses, I would say this is a risk you took in having a less than "above board" transaction. Both of you were trying to skirt the law (transferring the car without meeting all the legal requirements to do so). And, this kind of thing happens. It's a crappy deal for you, though.

There is absolutely nothing you can do to "force" him to transfer the money to you.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

And in thinking about it a little more, I bet this whole thing is just the way the OP reacted in the moment to the stress of the whole situation, knowing it would be super hard to replace the car they had. My guess is that already she's probably feeling less angst about the whole thing.

 

[mnrose]

No, his insurance won’t go up, but my husbands licence will when it comes time to renew.



That’s the thing though, he WASN’T paying the insurance. We have been from the second he gave us the car. He hasn’t put one penny towards it in three years.

But, the insurance is in HIS name, right? You guys should have had all this sorted out before hand. An accident is something that can always happen. If this "deal" was what you think it was (you pay insurance, maintenance, and get the insurance money should something happen), it should have been spelled out explicitly from the beginning. In the absence of that, you are SOL. Lesson learned for you, I suspect.

 

[sk!mom]

Who gives a rusty car as a wedding gift in the first place? That's probably the most bizarre part of this whole scenario to me.

Right? That's one reason that I question whether the brother intended it to be a gift.

Sorry, didn't feel like reading through 7 pages before commenting but now I have scanned a lot of the responses. You asked whose side someone would be on. In reading your initial post and a few follow up posts I am just saying I would be on you BIL's side. It seems like whenever anyone says they are on your bil's side you have a response as to why you should get the check.

You asked for opinions & are getting them but you don't seem to like the ones that are not on your side.

And use of a free car for 3 years AND a thousand dollars seems like a VERY big wedding gift from someone you clearly don't like very much.

Agree. I might give a family member an old car but I would want it out of my name asap. The brother actually sounds pretty generous- the use of a car for three years, the gift of a BBQ. It just doesn't line up with him taking a relatively small amount of money unless he considered the car to be on loan and now it's a loss.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm still trying to figure out who buys collision coverage on a car that will only net $500 if totaled. Most here would just choose to carry liability coverage on a car like that. Do they require everyone to carry collision in Canada?

 

[CdnCarrie]

I'm still trying to figure out who buys collision coverage on a car that will only net $500 if totaled. Most here would just choose to carry liability coverage on a car like that. Do they require everyone to carry collision in Canada?

As stated many times previously car insurance differs from province to province. Nothing is required nationwide.
Our province (the OP and I) happens to be a government run car insurance province. You can only buy car insurance from the government.

 

[CrankyDad]

Op did not like everyone being on the bl side so she got mad and left. Tells you all you need to know

 

[NinaBella]

Personally, it doesn't sound like the value of this car is even worth the 9 page thread on DisBoards, much less OP thinking twice about it. Move on... get a new vehicle and follow the laws.