I personally would make sure there was at least as much gas in it as when I got if not more. But other people think differently. For domestic bliss I'd let it slide but just be wary that he could be a taker.
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April 28, 2011 4:27 p.m. ArthurDent Reader
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April 28, 2011 4:38 p.m. JThw8 SuperDork
I was raised under the rule "always return it full" Dad was a stickler for it. Of course it backfired on him when he borrowed my 75 Olds with a 455 V8 and 20 gallon tank. But he practiced what he preached and always returned it full, and somehow he always had a knack for borrowing it when it was empty.
Heck even if I take my wife's car somewhere or she takes mine we both always return it full.
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April 28, 2011 4:48 p.m. Joshua Reader
I usually fill it back up to max, unless its a really big tank!
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April 28, 2011 5:32 p.m. ransom Reader
I try to always return a borrowed car with a full tank. Some flexibility for super-short usage and friends/family close enough that this sort of thing comes out in the wash.
Not the sort of thing I formalize or ask for explicitly. Most of the folks I know feel the same way I do and it works great. Usually folks who see it differently end up being folks I wouldn't be all that inclined to loan a vehicle to anyway.
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April 28, 2011 5:50 p.m. Cone_Junky HalfDork
Domestically it works differently. My wife has left her truck for me to drive with only 1 mile showing on the "miles til empty" gauge. The gas station is 1.6 miles away. Somehow it made it a few more blocks affter it said "0".
I'd pay her back, but she knows where I sleep
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April 28, 2011 5:50 p.m. Grizz New Reader
Most of my vehicles were big/thirsty enough that making people fill the tank was a bit sadistic. 3/4 ton trucks and land barges can take a lot of fuel. I normally apply the "fill it to what it was when you picked it up" rule.
My older sister & her husband never put gas in my Ram 2500, and I owned that back in 2005. If you take a big gas pickup with 3/4 in a 27 gallon tank and run it till it's coughing when it costs that much to fill it, you lose truck privileges forever.
I don't borrow vehicles, the temptation to drive crazy is too strong.
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April 28, 2011 6:08 p.m. Datsun1500 Dork
If the Brother is truly tight on money I would forget it just to keep the peace. If he is tight on money but seems to have the money around to buy smokes, beer, etc. I would request that he pays his due. Either way, it's the last time he borrows my stuff.
I am one of the people that bring it back full, even if it was empty when I got it. I have never had a tank of gas that was more than the U-Haul would have cost me anyway...
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April 28, 2011 6:29 p.m. 914Driver SuperDork
Go buy or rent a truck for the price of a tank of gas.
Sex by yourself ain't half as much fun.
Sorry man, I have nothing to offer.....
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April 28, 2011 7:31 p.m. Toyman01 SuperDork
The last time I borrowed a truck I put 1400 miles on it. Not only was it full, it was washed and waxed.
It depends on the person. If it was my immediate family I probably wouldn't care. Several of my friends I wouldn't care.
My BIL can walk. I wouldn't even rent my vehicles to him. I can't stand him. The wife knows it and agrees, so no worries there.
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April 28, 2011 8:04 p.m. BoxheadTim SuperDork
If I have to borrow someone's vehicle then I put at least as much gas in the tank as it had in there when I got it. It doesn't matter if you're broke or not, anything else leaves me with the bad taste of having taken advantage of someone. I don't like being taken advantage of either, so I try and treat other people the way I'd like to be treated.
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April 28, 2011 8:41 p.m. Kramer HalfDork
Filling it to where it was when you got it does not account for the favor of using the vehicle-only for the use of the vehicle. Nobody is required to lend you their truck. By not putting in more gas (or other favors) than what you started with, what "rent" are you paying? Someone else went out of their way to loan you their expensive item; the least you can do is make it worth their while.
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April 28, 2011 9:03 p.m. fastmiata Reader
Return it in better shape than you got it. You cant make people live up to that expectation but you can lead the way.
