So i have a question- my 10 yr old son was at a friends house. They were using the friends ATV and my son crashed it into a tree. We did not give my 10 yr old son permission to drive this ATV, the parents did not ask us if it was okay. The kids parents were not supervising them when they were driving this 4 wheeler. My son had never driven an ATV before. Now they want us to pay for damages???

 

I think it comes down to two choices. 1) You say, "I'm not paying. You should have been watching the kids. I never gave permission." You lose the friends, your son is not invited over anymore and you save some cash. 2) You say, "It was my son. He crashed it and we are responsible for what he does whether we see him or don't see him." May stay friends and lose the money. Or, maybe somewhere in between. Both parents chip in, remain friends, and learn a lesson about adult supervision.

I don't know. It's kind of hard to know what the law would be on this. Were it me, and my son crashed it, I would pay for the repairs, and take it out of his allowance for as long as it takes to pay you back...

 

Make your son pay them out of his allowance. Teach him to be responsible, and teach the neighbor that your son IS responsible.

 

This would be my guess what Ann Landers might have said.. Plus make the kid do extra chores to pay a portion of it so he could learn something also..

 

I would be tempted to pay half and if they didn't like it give them nothing instead. They were the ones who let a 10 year old with no experience ride an ATV. What kind of friends do that?

 

Was this a child's ATV or an adult's sized ATV?
If a child's sized one I would go with jumbofrank's advice.
If an adult's sized ATV I would tell them to forget it & if they have a problem with that I would pursue charges against them for child endangerment (or your local equivalent).

 

Yes your kid or you has to pay , I leave my ATV at a friends house who has 20 acres in the country and I leave the keys in them . I kind of expect its not being rented out while I'm not their. If his 12 year old takes it out and crashes it his parents would pay without a doubt.

Even with permission if you wreak it you fix it, let alone taking it without permission.

So these people can not park their own ATV on their property with out guarding it at all times? Good thing your kid did not try their car or truck in the driveway out while he was at it.

I bowered my dads new 1997 500 sportsman 18 years ago and rolled it end over end 5 times down a steep hill (Without permission) and had to pay the $700 in damages, it was just understood without a discussion.

 

The only way to prevent something like this is to never ride something you don't own. Yeah, your son probably shouldn't have been on it but he was and somehow wrecked it. He was being a kid, not thinking about consequences just doing what was fun at the moment. The other kids encouraged him to get on it and he went for it. And I'm sure he had fun right up to the point where he wrecked it. He wasn't familar with how atvs ride and handle and was probably riding over his head. I think the more important thing to remember is that apparently he wasn't hurt badly. He could have easily gotten a broken arm or leg. Since he wrecked it, the right thing to do it take responsibility and pay up. You may not be legally obligated to do so but if you owned the atv and their kid wrecked it, wouldn't you expect them to pay? Its different when the shoe is on the other foot isn't it? I don't have any kids myself but I have let others ride my atvs before. But no young children. And nobody recently either. Putting a 10 year old on something like a Grizzly or Sportsman 500 might get them killed. I very seldom ride other's machines anymore because of the potential of what might happen. Its probably been at least 5 years since I've been on an atv that I didn't own or was attempting to buy because I was giving it a test ride.

 

That comes under, "Count your blessings". Quads are a lot easier to fix than bodies.

 

If you do end up paying for the ATV you own it and can sell any salvageable parts to make some money back.