Adult son had friend take son's car without permission 3/30/25 and he wrecked it, now won't fix it 5 weeks in

[Jestmaty]

Houston, Texas

My 24 year old son was legally gifted my pristine 2013 Kia Optima 3.14.25. On Sunday morning, 4/1/25, he gave the keys to Joe to go sit in the car at an after hours club while my son closed out a tab. ~ 4am

Joe decides to take car for a joy ride without permission and wrecks it, suspension and body damage. No other vehicles or persons thankfully involved.

Dad (me) tries to help my son Tyler along, but a lesson needs to be learned here by son, so I'm on the sidelines. I can't helicopter any longer but it kills me to watch my son get shat on.

My son Tyler was told by Joe that back around 4/20/25, the car was repaired mechanically at Firestone here in NW Harris county, was paid for by Joe, and is now being addressed by a body shop for the cosmetic damage.
Yesterday, 5/8/25, we went to the Mossy Nissan dealership that Joe said my son's Kia was at to check on progress. The car is nowhere on the property. I did have concerns as to why a Kia would be in a Nissan collision shop, but again, I'm trying to teach my adult son how to adult..

My son was lied to. I've confirmed that the car is still at Firestone, just waiting to be paid for, which my son will not be responsible for.

I figure tell Joe to give my son whatever money he has to put toward his joy ride/accident, my son will pay the difference to retrieve from Firestone. The car is driveable.
Get quotes for cosmetic fender/door/bottom sill damage from a few body shops.

Bring Joe to small claims court in Harris County which caps out at $5k. My son also has a seasonal job servicing pool equipment, and has missed out on 5 weeks of work since he has no vehicle.

Dad is pulling his still-thick(ish) head of hair watching his son Tyler get boned and ignored.

What to do?

 

[Taxing Matters]

If Joe has a car of his own he should have insurance on it. In that case, your son would want to make a claim on Joe's policy. If isn't covered by insurance of his own then his remedy is to sue Joe for the damages to the car. If the damages exceed what small claims court allows then he has the option reducing his claim to the $5,000 limit, or, if he wants more, sue in one of the regular Texas trial courts.

 

[Mark_A]

Harris County Justice Courts:

Q. What is the maximum amount I can sue for in Small Claims Court?

A. The maximum claim amount is $20,000 (or $10,000 if the case was filed prior to September 1, 2020).

http://www.jp.hctx.net/civil/faq.htm#max

However, even if a defendant is ruled liable by the court, it may be difficult to get money from them.

 

[paddywakk]

Didn't your son have insurance on the car?

 

[quincy]

Tyler should have reported the accident to his own insurance company. His insurer can handle the claim against Joe.

 

[LdiJ]

Tyler should have reported the accident to his own insurance company. His insurer can handle the claim against Joe.

What you want to bet that Tyler only had liability coverage?

 

[quincy]

What you want to bet that Tyler only had liability coverage?

Or no insurance.

I suspect that Tyler did not tell dad the whole story.

If Tyler was settling a tab at a club at 4 am, I suspect neither Tyler nor Joe were entirely sober when the vehicle was driven. And I also suspect that something besides the vehicle was damaged in the accident. Cars don’t get wrecked by running into nothing.

Whatever the case, dad really does need to let his adult son handle the situation, as hard as it might be for a parent to back off.

 

[commentator]

I was wondering if anyone else was going to say this. It is an old story, pretty much "my dad can't kill someone else's kid., but he could kill me!" ( or take my car back.) So they change the stories in the telling for dad's benefit. And don't be surprised if it turns out they never do take the friend to court and no one ever pays for anything. The whole "he decided to get in the driver's seat and take the car for a joy ride" scenario sounds very suspicious. Not to mention the whole "its in this dealership and he's paying, yeah....."

 

[quincy]

… And don't be surprised if it turns out they never do take the friend to court and no one ever pays for anything. The whole "he decided to get in the driver's seat and take the car for a joy ride" scenario sounds very suspicious. Not to mention the whole "its in this dealership and he's paying, yeah....."

Or dad pays for the repairs.

I think that by the time a child reaches the age of 24, a parent has already done what they could to teach the child “how to adult.”

 

[AlmostThere]

Or no insurance.

I suspect that Tyler did not tell dad the whole story.

If Tyler was settling a tab at a club at 4 am, I suspect neither Tyler nor Joe were entirely sober when the vehicle was driven. And I also suspect that something besides the vehicle was damaged in the accident. Cars don’t get wrecked by running into nothing.

Whatever the case, dad really does need to let his adult son handle the situation, as hard as it might be for a parent to back off.

Or Joe is not licensed.

 

[Jestmaty]

Didn't your son have insurance on the car?

24 years old, in Houston, highest premiums in the state (Harris County), it's almost 13 years old, so liability only on the Optima

 

[Jestmaty]

What you want to bet that Tyler only had liability coverage?

That is correct, only liability on the Optima

 

[LdiJ]

24 years old, in Houston, highest premiums in the state (Harris County), it's almost 13 years old, so liability only on the Optima

I figured that was the case. If he is telling you the truth about everything then your son's only choice is to sue him, and even that is not a guarantee that he will ever see a penny from his friend.

 

[Jestmaty]

Or no insurance.

I suspect that Tyler did not tell dad the whole story.

If Tyler was settling a tab at a club at 4 am, I suspect neither Tyler nor Joe were entirely sober when the vehicle was driven. And I also suspect that something besides the vehicle was damaged in the accident. Cars don’t get wrecked by running into nothing.

Whatever the case, dad really does need to let his adult son handle the situation, as hard as it might be for a parent to back off.

You are correct, both were not sober. However, I got a panicked call at around 5 am from son asking if the Optima was in the driveway. I looked and it was not.
Joe commented earlier in the night how cool and nice the car was... said he wanted to get one. Joe is known for getting black out drunk, in this case, his brain decided to take it for a spin by himself.

He hit a hard curb, not one of those gently sloping ones, that did front and rear driver's side suspension damage. No other cars that we know of.

My son actually thinks he found the curb that was between the club and where the car wound up, which was 2 miles away from my house... in front of Joe's house believe it or not.

 

[Jestmaty]

Didn't your son have insurance on the car?

Liability only.... Houston Texas is not kind to single males in their mid 20's.