It’s great to have your own set of wheels, but let’s face it, cars are expensive.

They’re expensive to buy, expensive to fix, expensive to insure, and expensive to fuel.

But for many of us they’re a necessity, a fundamental part of our everyday lives.

So the brothers in this story were grateful that their stepdad was willing to help them out when it came to buying new cars.

But when the elder brother’s car was totalled and had to be replaced, the younger brother suddenly was not happy about the arrangement.

Read on to find out what happened between them.

AITA for “not respecting” a financial deal I made with my brother?

About a year ago, my little brother Jared had a Mitsubishi Lancer. My mom and stepdad, Scott helped him buy it.

Jared put some money down, and Scott covered the rest. Jared was paying Scott back monthly.

Later on, Jared upgraded to a new car. I wanted the Lancer, so I made a deal with Jared.

I would pay Jared $2,000 to reimburse him for what he had already paid into the car, and I would take over the remaining balance owed to Scott and pay him monthly until it was paid off.

Let’s see how that arrangement panned out.

So that’s what happened. A year went by, and I paid Jared his $2,000 in full, and then I started making monthly payments to Scott.

Fast forward a few months and the Lancer was totalled in an accident (not my fault).

I was without a car, and I didn’t have a lot money to work with.

So, Scott stepped in, bought a Honda Civic in cash, and the arrangement was that I would just pay him back monthly for that car instead.

But that deal didn’t go down well with Jared.

Since then, Jared has been cold toward me.

I asked him about it recently, and he told me he’s upset because in his view, I didn’t respect “the deal” we made.

He said the deal was that I’d take over his exact arrangement with Scott, and when the Lancer was totaled, he feels like I skipped out on that obligation.

He told me “a deal is a deal,” and that this isn’t something we can just agree to disagree on.

Uh-oh. Read on to see how the older brother felt about it.

But here’s my view: I honored our deal. I gave Jared his $2,000, which was the only money he ever had in the car.

After that, the rest of the balance belonged to Scott, not Jared. If Scott wants to forgive the debt or restructure it, that’s his call. Jared didn’t lose a dime, but he’s acting like I disrespected him.

To me, it feels crazy because I wasn’t out trying to cheat anyone. My car was totalled!! I didn’t just DECIDE that I wanted a new car for funzies.

I was left stranded and had to take what help I could get. It feels unfair that Jared is mad at me instead of being glad that his brother has a working car and isn’t financially drowning.

So he tried to work it out with Jared.

We had a long conversation about it on the phone and he is a very very stubborn person. He told me that I was disrespectful to him by not coming to him first and asking if it was okay for Scott to do do that for me.

I told him that I understand his perspective but I do not agree with it. And he doesn’t seem to be at peace with that.

Am I wrong for not following through with the deal exactly the way my little brother wanted, even though Scott, the person actually owed the money, was fine with it?

AITA?

Once the car had been signed over to his brother, and the $2,000 had been repaid, Jared had no business getting upset about this.

The older brother is right, his remaining money was owed to Scott, not Jared – and if Scott was okay with forgiving the loan, Jared should be fine with it too.

Let’s see what folks on Reddit had to say about this.

This person agreed that Jared has reason to be upset.

While others wondered if there was more about this situation than meets the eye.

Meanwhile, this Redditor explained that legally, everything was above board.

Scott was fine with forgiving the debt and buying his stepson a new car, for him to repay over time – and both brothers are really lucky to have someone in their life who is willing to help them out like this.

Moreover, Scott is probably just relieved that his stepson wasn’t injured in the accident that totalled the car.

Jared could do to take a leaf out of Scott’s book, rather than simply playing the jealous brother.

He’s being completely unreasonable, and it’s not a good look.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.