A woman drives a coworker to work every day, and he sends her $20 a week for gas. After he spilled a protein shake all over her passenger seat, she paid $350 to have the car professionally cleaned.
He sent her $100 and said the gas money he’s paid over time should cover the rest, since that money is for the car anyway. She’s now trying to decide whether to let the remaining $250 go or ask him to make up the difference.
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Carpooling to Work
Her coworker rides with her to the office every day. The arrangement saves him the hassle of driving and gives both of them a faster commute.
Carpooling can be a good deal for everyone. It cuts down on gas costs, parking, and wear on a second car.
For her, the setup has been convenient too. Having a passenger also lets her use the carpool lane.
$20 a Week for Gas
Every week, he sends her $20 through Venmo. The memo always says “gas.”
Over a year, that adds up to about $1,000. It helps cover fuel costs for the trips they share.
She’s always seen it as gas money. She never thought of it as covering repairs or damage.
Iced Coffee on the Floor Mat
A while back, he brought a large iced coffee into the car. It tipped over during a turn and spilled onto the passenger floor mat.
He apologized right away, and she told him it was fine since the mat could come out. That night, she hosed it off and let it dry overnight.
The next morning, she told him that if he brought drinks into the car, the lids needed to be shut tight. He agreed that was fair.
Protein Shake Over a Speed Bump
Later, he got into the car with a large protein shake. The lid was on, but it wasn’t screwed on correctly.
When they went over a speed bump, the shake spilled. Most of it went on him, but some soaked the passenger seat, the seat back, and the area underneath.
He tried to clean it up with napkins. She told him to get what he could and that she’d clean the rest properly when they got to work.
Cleanup That Didn’t Hold
At work, she spent time wiping down the seat with paper towels. She also left the windows cracked in the parking garage all day.
When she got home, she put the windows all the way down. Somehow, the smell got worse.
The next day, she found more spots she’d missed. Some of the shake had run into a narrow gap between the seat and the center console where she couldn’t reach.
$350 at the Detail Shop
That Saturday, she took the car to a detail shop. The worker told her that once dairy soaks into a seat cushion, vacuuming won’t fix it.
The car needed an extraction, enzyme treatment, ozone treatment, and a few other services. The total came to $350.
Even after the cleaning, the detailer warned that she might still notice the smell for a few days. He told her to park with a window cracked.
$100 and an Argument About Gas Money
On Monday, she told her coworker about the $350 bill. He said he’d send her something, and he sent $100.
She told him she wasn’t okay with that, since he made the mess. He said the weekly gas money already added up to more than the cleaning cost and that money was meant for the car anyway.
She reminded him that she’d already asked him to keep drinks closed. He said the threads were off and the speed bump made it spill, so there wasn’t much he could have done.
Eating the Cost or Asking for More
They haven’t brought up the remaining $250 since. He still rides with her, and the weekly gas money keeps coming.
She could let it go, ban drinks in the car, and accept that the carpool lane and gas money are worth more than $250 over a year. Or she could ask him to add another $20 a week until the balance is paid off and tell him he can’t ride with her if he won’t, and she’s left deciding whether keeping the peace is worth feeling like she got played.
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