Yes this is a rant. And a long one at that.

My in-laws were in town for Xmas for about 5 days. For the most part they're great people. I like them a lot.

Santa dumped about 3"-5" of snow Xmas eve. I had to go work that Thursday and while I'm cleaning off my truck, my father-in-law takes a snow shovel and begins shoveling off my fiberglas tonneau cover. This freaks me out and I ****** the shovel from his hands explaining he's gonna scratch the paint. His explanation: "I thought the shovel had a plastic edge." I maintained my composure, thanked him for his help, and proceeded on my way to work.

In the last couple of days, it warmed up enough to melt all of the snow and ice . I was hoping for the best, that there was a decent layer of ice to have prevented any scratches but as my luck sometimes run, I now have two 18 inch long gouges to add to my mod list.

I got 2 estimates today, both for $450. The wife offered to pay for the damage but as mad as I am at the fact that my father-in-law doesn't have the good sense to know that a SHOVEL (with or without a plastic edge) will ruin a paint job, what really pi$$es me off is that my wife acts like I don't have the right to be mad, no make that livid, about my cover being scratched the he!! up!. None of her ***** was in pieces when they left.

My wife's family visiting was a huge inconvenience for me. I didn't want them here because our house isn't really big enough to hold the 4 of them. Every room I walked into I had to step over an in-law and after 3 days I had my fill of them. They broke my $300 DVD burner, I couldn't play the xbox I got for Xmas because the teenage boys were always on it, and to top it all off my tonneau cover is FUBAR. Everytime I see those scratches I want to cry. Plus they got me an ugly a$$ sweater for Xmas!

 

put the eggs your gonna use for easter eggs this easter out in the garage now....that way when your in-laws find them easter egg hunting this easter, they will be just yummie for them

 

Pissed me off just reading it! Send em a bill, if your wife doesnt understand send em your wife.

Tom

 

Tfleming I wish I could send my wife sometimes.
Sean I feel you pain my in-laws should be on Dr Phil
my sitiation is 2 fold:
1. they dont come and vist (stay all weekend)
2. they live 3 miles away ( they come every day)

I would have the father in law pay the bill there are no idiot laws and old people are slower ar learning right from wrong.
Ask you wife if she minds that you put some scratches in her best dining room table or something else she values, just as you value your truck, she might understand???

 

Thanks for the support. All great suggestions (welfare wagon, maybe we should form a support group. I actually want to keep my wife. Still a newly wed very much in the honeymoon phase after a couple of years of marriage. However, she knows how much I love my truck, and the time/money I put into it. She thinks I shouldn't be mad anymore because she agreed to pay for the repairs. Bu!!*****! I have every right to be pi$$ed off. Don't tell me how to react because the didn't destroy any of your $h!t!

I can only assume that her 60 year-old dad (which isn't old) is either a complete idiot or really doesn't like me. I can accept the latter because there's no way you can't know that beautiful fiberglas tonneau+shovel=scratches, scratches, scratches.

I get headaches just thinking about this because it's not like my 3 year did it. It's someone who should know better. It's killing me not pick up the phone and tell him how he f*&^%ed up my cover. Yeah tfleming, I also thought long and hard about sending him the bill too.

Thanks for the shoulder guys.

 

Sean,
Give him a call & tell him what happened & tell him the est. is 450.00 & that's why you went ballistic.(Is your wife against telling him ? )

j/k-not only should he pay to fix it a nice set of rims & tire's would also help for pain & suffering.

That does suck !! People don't think sometime's. I would be livid as hell too. Can't blame ya for that.

Good luck & let us know the outcome
Mike

 

Great minds do truly think alike. I wanted to tell him. In the interests of keeping the peace, I insisted that my wife tell him instead. We'll see if that happens.

I really question if he's firing on all cylinders but I'm pretty confident that once he hears/realizes that he scratched the cover, he'll want to pay for it. So another point of frustration is convincing my wife that her father needs to know he damaged the cover.

 

Move to Southerern Cali where it dosen't snow and your that much further from your in-laws.

Get some new paint on that cover or you can even take it off as we ony get like 2" of rain a year.

Problem solved

 

Just playing Devils Advocate.
Being that you are a newlywed (so to speak), You may want to bank this moment in your memory files. There will be, no doubt, a time when you do something very "guy like". At that moment you can always remind the love of your life how you "rose" above your time of dispair and found forgiveness. Trust me, you will do something that's going to pi$$ her off some day. Just a thought.
Damn sorry about the cover, hate to hear that one.
P.S.
I may have grabbed the shovel from my inlaw and faked a slip on the ice and wrapped it up side his head. OOPS!

 

Sean,

After reading your post, I can understand your fustration, but consider the following:

Don't think that your new wife doesn't notice that you value your trucks fiberglass cover more than her father, and that her parents are an inconviencence to you. It may turn into resentment someday and you'll regret it. Its not what you intended that's matters, its how she percieves it.

My wife's father passed away two years ago this month at 55, yesterday was his birthday. I would trade a 1000 fiberglass covers and my whole truck so she could have him back.

At 60, your father-in-law was raised in a time when a truck was a truck. I doubt he understands your attatchment to it.

dbarbee

 

True.

 

While I can definitely understand your frustration at the seemingly sheer stupidity of taking a shovel to a fiberglass cover, I have to agree with the points that are made by woody24 and dbarbee. Also something to consider...... If he was out there with you in the snow, he was there trying to help you. I know he screwed up your cover,,,,but it seems he was just trying to help you and probably didn't understand about how trucks are thought of by most ppl today. You know, the "truck is a truck" thing that dbarbee alluded to.

Accept it as an expensive reality check. I love my truck more than alot of things, sink alot of time and moneyinto it, and take pride in it . But it is not more important than my family or my wife's family. I know, I know, I would most likely be ready to go postal if my in-laws stayed for 5 days, but try to be forgiving of your dad-in-law. Your wife would appreciate it(and in turn, you would reap the benefits as woody24 stated).

dbarbee..........
sorry to hear about your father-in-law. I am sure you, your wife and all of your family miss him. I dread the day I have to miss my father or my father-in-law.