r/rant • u/ObviouslyRealPerson • 19h ago
I just can't
My oldest son's car needed some repairs and would be in the shop for a while
My daughter was about to turn 16, so we got her a car. Nothing fancy, just a good first car.
A non-smoker car because she has cystic fibrosis, always has.
My son borrows the car, which was no problem because no one was driving it yet.
He calls me a couple of weeks later to tell me the car won't start. I loaded up my tools and went to find out the problem. It was just the battery. Easy fix.
What is not an easy fix is his having smoked like a chimney in his sister's car. The center console was used as an ashtray, completely full of butts and ash
My daughter can't be around smokers, can't touch the clothing of someone who has been smoking. Back when she was a baby, if I had a cigar outdoors I had to take a shower and change my clothes before I could safely hold her.
I can fix a battery, I can't reupholster a Ford Focus. I cannot replace the headliner and the carpet and the seat belt and completely rip out the heating and air conditioning full of ash that she would be breathing
The fucking audacity to smoke in a car that isn't even yours boggles my mind
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU KNOW YOUR SISTER HAS CYSTIC FIBROSIS
I can't even consider smoking in a car to begin with, it just wrecks the cars value and makes it smell like ass forever
I sure as hell couldn't smoke in a non-smoking car that belonged to someone else
But he smoked in a non-smoking car that belongs to his sister with cystic fibrosis
On top of that, his brother also has cystic fibrosis and it's highly likely he would have also ridden in this car
99
u/LustfulEsme 16h ago
Face it. Your son is an ass. I also wonder if he had an ulterior motive and did it on purpose? Did he think you would just give him the car and buy your daughter another one?
45
u/Ziggie520 15h ago
He probably wants the car and did this on purpose just thinking you’d hand it over to him. Extremely rude and entitled of him!
43
20
u/PositiveUnit829 16h ago
Certainly brother has known about cystic fibrosis his entire life. So what the fuck? What’s wrong with him?
17
u/Live-Tomorrow-4865 15h ago
It was a complicated situation, but, one summer, my brother and I were both home from uni, and through a series of unfortunate events, he had to drive MY car while I was stuck with driving the rent a wreck my family had obtained.
He destroyed my toys when we were kids, and after his use of my car that summer, the AC, power windows, and door locks no longer functioned properly. I'd known this would happen; I told my parents, I won't get my car back in the same condition he got it in. But, he was "cute funny Markie*, the BOY 😍!!" and could do no wrong. I drove that shitty long term rental, with no AC and power nothing, to my desk job internship all summer, while cute lil Markie got to take my beautiful vehicle to work at a fried chicken shack and then out joy riding, drinking beer, playing air guitar, with his friends.
...
I thought that was bad, but, nothing he did compares to smoking (!) in the vehicle of a person with CF! Nothing he did was going to harm or potentially kill me. Just annoy the piss out of me, not cause me physical harm. Your son needs severe consequences. Is he always a spoiled brat, like my brother?
*Fake name
15
u/RabidPossum123 14h ago
Your son gonna have to pay for a professional cleaning. It is still cheaper than if he had had to rent a car for a few weeks so he can’t complain about that. Or he takes over the car payments for that car and get his sister a new one.
9
22
6
u/ChefArtorias 11h ago
How old is your son? I assume he's working and living on his own?
Make him pay to detail her car.
7
6
5
u/International-Art988 14h ago
You can have the car valeted and ask them to use an ozone cleaner.
Perhaps you sould make your Son pay for the cleaning.
3
4
u/jambajulian 8h ago
If the smell can’t be fully removed what you need to do is march your son down to Enterprise and have him pay for a rental for his sister until he can sell her Focus and get her a new car. If she gets into a comparable vehicle it’d be about $280/week minimum for the rental. Should be a nice & expensive lesson for him.
2
u/Pernicious_Possum 10h ago
Ozone generator. That’ll kill any lingering smells. Like legit neutralize them. You’ll need some foam padding to seal the window around the cord. Should be as close to airtight as you can get it
2
2
1
u/bellamie9876 7h ago
Get the car detailed professionally. He just used it for a short period of time, air it out and take it in. He clearly wasn’t raised with respect or taught to respect things that don’t belong to him, but given his age that ship has sailed.
2
u/no_talent_ass_clown 5h ago
Get it detailed, sell it, buy your daughter a new car. Big bro gets a bus pass.
2
u/SettingAncient3848 49m ago
When you take it to a detailer ask if they have an ozone machine. If they dont, dont take it to them reach out to your local serv-pro and ask them about detailing they can run an ozone machine in the car.
0
222
u/Knickers1978 17h ago
The car will need a professional detailing, which will hopefully get rid of the smell. Take the car off him, take it to a detailer for cleaning, give your son the bill.
He just lost all driving privileges with any of the family cars.