MY MIL “GIFTED” ME A CAR THAT HADN’T RUN IN OVER 10 YEARS — AFTER I RESTORED IT, SHE DEMANDED IT BACK
I’ve loved cars since I could walk, thanks to my dad, a semi-professional racer. By 12, I could change tires and top off oil like a pro. As an adult, I became a senior mechanic—and life was great, until I met my MIL.
When she learned I fixed cars for a living, she scoffed. On my birthday, she “gifted” me a rusty, non-running car she hadn’t touched in over ten years. “Fix it if you’re so good,” she said with a smirk.
Six months later, I transformed it into a $20,000 beauty. Word got back to her fast. One afternoon, she barged into my garage, waving the original title. “That car is mine! Give it back!”
I laughed. “You gave it to me. A gift isn’t something you take back because it turned out better than expected.”
She called the police, waving the title. But I had receipts, bills, and photos proving my labor and investment. The officers told her: if she wanted it back, she’d have to reimburse me—and she couldn’t.
She stormed out, defeated. That night, I cruised past her house every Sunday in my restored car, engine purring, paint gleaming. Her face in the window? Pure rage and regret.
