Reddit Stories - PARTNER'S auto TECHNICIAN ACQUAINTANCE repaired her vehicle at no cost on a weekly

Episode Date: November 8, 2025

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #relationships #carrepair #kindgesture #generosity #gooddeedSummary: PARTNER'S auto TECHNICIAN ACQUAINTANCE repaired her vehicle at no cost on a weekly basis, showcasing kindness and generosity.Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, partner, auto, technician, acquaintance, repair, vehicle, cost, weekly, kindness, generosity, good deed, car, mechanic, free, service, automotiveBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

I hope you enjoy this story. Partner's auto technician acquaintance repaired her vehicle at no cost on a weekly basis, and chauffered her to various places as his own partner grew wary, prompting me to tail them and discover him tampering with the vehicle. Her car to create fake emergencies. My girlfriend Dana and I have been together for about eight months now. She's got this friend Thomas who she's known since high school, he's a mechanic and owns his own shop downtown.

The guy has always been weird around me, like giving me these looks when I'm talking or just generally acting like I don't exist when we're all hanging out together. Here's the thing though, Dana swears up and down that Thomas is just protective of her because they've been friends forever. She says he's like this with all her boyfriends

and that I shouldn't take it personally. But man, it's hard not to when the guy literally turns his back to me during conversations or changes the subject whenever I try to contribute something. The situation got more complicated about three months ago when Dana's car started having issues. It's this old Toyota that she bought used and it was making these weird grinding noises. I offered to take it to the dealership or find a reliable shop, but Thomas immediately jumped in saying he'd fix it for free since they're such good friends.

Dana was obviously thrilled about saving money, so I didn't push back even though something felt off about it. Ever since then, Thomas has basically become a permanent fixture in our lives. Dana's car breaks down at least once every two weeks, sometimes it's the alternator, sometimes it's the brakes, sometimes it's something with the transmission that I've never even heard of. And every single time, Thomas swoops in to save the day. He'll pick her up from work when the car won't start, he'll tow it to his shop, and then he'll spend hours fixing it while she hangs around his garage. The worst part is that Dana has started canceling our plans because of these car emergencies. We had tickets to see this band she really wanted to see, but her car died

that morning and she spent the entire evening at Thomas's shop instead. We were supposed to go to her cousin's wedding together, but the brakes went out the day before and she said she couldn't risk driving that far even though Thomas fixed them the same day. I couldn't use my truck because my friend needed it, I've started keeping track, and I swear this car has needed more repairs in the past three months than my 10-year-old truck has needed in the past three years. When I mentioned this to Dana, she got defensive and said that Thomas knows what he's doing and that older cars just need more maintenance. She also pointed out that he's not charging her anything, which would be costing us hundreds if we went somewhere else. But here's what's really eating at me, I went to pick up

Dana from Thomas's shop two weeks ago, and when I walked in, they were both leaning over the hood of her car. Nothing inappropriate, just looking at the engine, but they were standing really close and talking in these quiet voices. When they saw me, they both straightened up real quick and Thomas started explaining some technical stuff about the carburetor that I know Dana doesn't actually care about. Then last week, Dana mentioned that Thomas had been texting her about car stuff pretty late at night. When I asked to see them, messages, she said she'd already deleted them because they were boring technical details and she didn't want to clog up her phone with useless messages. That seemed like a weird excuse

since she keeps every other conversation we've ever had. The breaking point came a few days ago when we were at this barbecue with a bunch of Dana's co-workers. Thomas was there too, even though he doesn't work with any of these people. Somehow the conversation turned to cars and reliability, and Thomas started going on and on about how Dana's Toyota was actually in great shape for its age and how he'd been able to keep it running smoothly with just minor adjustments here and there. I couldn't help myself and asked why it seemed to break down so often if it was in such great shape. Thomas got this weird look on his face and said something about how some cars are just temperamental and need regular attention from someone who understands them.

Then he looked directly at me and added that not everyone has the patience or skill to handle something that requires that level of care and understanding. Dana laughed it off and changed the subject, but I could tell several people at the party picked up on attention. I've been trying to figure out if I'm being paranoid or if there's actually something going on here. Part of me thinks Thomas might be sabotaging Dana's car to create reasons to spend time with her,

but that seems crazy even as I'm typing it. On the other hand, I can't shake the feeling that this whole situation is designed to make me look like the bad guy, either I'm the jealous boyfriend who doesn't trust his girlfriend's friend, or I'm the useless boyfriend who can't help when she needs it. The thing that really gets to me is that Dana used to come to me when she had problems or needed help with something. Now it feels like Thomas has become her go-to-person for everything, which somehow extends to picking her up from work, giving her rides to run errands, and basically being available whenever I'm not around. I know I need to have a serious conversation

with Dana about all this, but I'm not sure how to bring it up without sounding like I'm accusing her of something. I don't think she's cheating, but I do think Thomas has feelings for her and is using these car problems to insert himself into our relationship. The question is whether Dana realizes what's happening or if she's genuinely just grateful to have a friend who can fix her car for free. What would you guys do in this situation? Update 1, a couple weeks later. Well Reddit, you asked for an update so here is. it is. A lot of you suggested that I should try to catch Thomas in the act or at least figure out if he was actually sabotaging Dana's car. I wasn't sure how to do that without looking like a

complete psycho, but the universe kind of handed me an opportunity. Dana had to work late one evening, and her car wouldn't start when she tried to leave. She called Thomas like always, but apparently he was dealing with some family emergency and couldn't come get her right away. So she called me instead. When I got to her office building, I took a look under the hood while we waited for the tow truck. I'm not a mechanic, but I know basic car stuff from helping my dad work on trucks when I was younger. The first thing I noticed was that the battery terminals were completely corroded, like, way more than they should have been given that Dana said Thomas had just cleaned them the week before. But the weird part was that the corrosion looked fresh, not like the old crusty buildup you usually.

see. It was this white powdery stuff that hadn't had time to really set in. I scraped some of it off with my pocket knife, and underneath the terminals were actually in decent shape. I didn't say anything to Dana about it, but I started paying more attention to the pattern of her car troubles. She'd mentioned that the problems always seemed to happen either early in the morning when she was trying to get to work, or late in the evening when she was trying to get home. Never during the middle of the day when she was parked at work or when we were together on weekends. The next incident happened about a week after that. Dana's car died in the parking lot at her gym, which is only about 10 minutes from Thomas's shop.

She called him, and he showed up within 15 minutes with his tow truck. I happened to be driving by on my way back from a friend's house. He needed my truck for something so I took his car and saw them loading her car onto the truck. I decided to follow them back to Thomas's shop, staying far enough behind that they wouldn't notice me. I parked across the street and watched through the windows of the garage. Thomas had Dana's car up on the lift, and from what I could see, he was doing something around the wheel area. Then he lowered the car and they both went into his office for about 20 minutes. When they came out, Thomas walked Dana to his truck and drove her home.

But here's the thing, he came back to the shop. about 30 minutes later, alone. I watched him raise Dana's car back up on the lift and spend another 30 minutes working underneath it. Then he lowered it again, started it up, and it ran perfectly fine. That's when I realized what was probably happening. Thomas was fixing whatever he'd broken, then breaking something else minor that would fail in a day or two. It was actually pretty clever, he could create problems that would strand Dana somewhere, swoop in to rescue her, and then fix the car in a way that would guarantee she'd need his help again soon. I know how this sounds, and I know I don't have definitive proof, but everything started

making sense. The timing of the breakdowns, the fact that the problems were always something that would leave her stranded but never anything that would actually damage the engine, and the way Thomas always seemed to be available immediately when she called. I decided I needed to confront Dana with my suspicions, but I wanted to be smart about it. Instead of accusing Thomas directly, I suggested that we take her car to a different mechanic for a second opinion, just to make sure everything was actually fixed properly. I offered to pay for it myself so money wouldn't be an issue. Dana's reaction was not what I expected. She got really defensive and asked why I didn't trust Thomas's work. When I explained that I just wanted to make sure her car

was safe and reliable, she accused me of being jealous and trying to create drama where none existed. She said Thomas had been nothing but helpful and that it was insulting to him and to her friendship to suggest that something shady was going on. The conversation turned into our first real fight. Dana said I was being paranoid and controlling, and that if I couldn't handle her having male friends, then maybe we weren't compatible. I tried to explain that it wasn't about him being male, it was about the pattern of behavior I'd noticed, but she wasn't having it. That fight was about a week ago, and things have been tense between us ever since. Dana's car has broken down once more since then, once the alternator went out. She called Thomas, but I offered to help instead,

but she said Thomas was already on his way and it would be rude to cancel on him. But here's the new development that's really bothering me, I found out that Thomas has been coming by Dana's apartment when I'm not there. Her neighbor Tracy is this sweet old lady who always waves when she sees me. A few days ago she mentioned how nice it was that Dana had such a helpful friend who was always fixing things around her place. When I asked Dana about it, she admitted that Thomas had been helping her with some maintenance stuff, replacing a leaky faucet, fixing a loose cabinet door, things like that. She said she'd been meaning to call a handyman but Thomas offered to do it for free, so she figured why not save the money.

That bothered me because Dana had never mentioned any of these maintenance issues to me. I've been to her apartment hundreds of times, and I would have been happy to help with any repairs she needed. Hell, I'm actually pretty handy with that kind of stuff. I helped my uncle renovate his whole kitchen a few years ago. When I pointed this out, Dana said she didn't want to burden me with her problems and that Thomas had offered first. But that doesn't make sense because I've specifically.

told her multiple times that I enjoy working on projects like that and to let me know if she ever needs help with anything around her place. I'm starting to feel like Thomas is systematically inserting himself into every aspect of Dana's life where I used to be helpful. Car problems, apartment maintenance, rides to places when she needs them, he's basically positioning himself as her primary support system while making me look like an afterthought. The most frustrating part is that Dana doesn't seem to see the pattern, or maybe she doesn't want to see it. Every time I try to bring up my concerns, she accuses me of being jealous or insecure. She keeps saying that Thomas is just a good friend who likes to help people,

and that I should be grateful she is someone reliable she can count on. Update 2, a few days later, OK Reddit, remember how I mentioned in my last update that Thomas had been coming by Dana's apartment to fix things. Well, it turns out that was just the tip of the iceberg. I found out he's been doing way more than just basic handyman work. It started when I went to pick up Dana for dinner the other night. I got to her apartment a little early and was waiting in the lobby when her neighbor Tracy came down to check her mail. She saw me and started chatting about how impressed she was with all the improvements Dana's been making to her place.

I had no idea what she was talking about, so I asked her to explain. Apparently Thomas has been there almost every day for the past two weeks, bringing tools and supplies and working on various projects. Tracy said he'd installed new light fixtures in Dana's bedroom and bathroom, replaced all the old electrical outlets, and even painted her living room. Dana loves decorating and home improvement projects. It's one of the things we used to do together. Just a few months ago, we spent a whole weekend shopping for new curtains and throw pillows for her place. She was so excited about eventually repainting the walls, and we'd even picked out colors together.

Now she was doing all of that with Thomas instead. When Dana came down to meet me, I asked her about the renovations Tracy had mentioned. She got this weird look on her face and said Thomas had offered to help spruce up the place since he had some free time between jobs at a shop. She claimed she was going to tell me about it, but wanted to wait until everything was finished so it could be a surprise. That explanation might have made sense if we were talking about one small project. But Tracy had described weeks' worth of work.

New lighting, fresh paint, electrical updates, that's not a surprise, that's a complete apartment makeover that Dana had planned and executed with another man. I tried to stay calm and asked if I could see what they'd done. Dana hesitated for a moment, then said the place was still a mess from all the work and she'd rather show me when everything was completely finished. She suggested we just go to dinner as planned and talk about something else. But I couldn't let it go. I told Dana that it hurt my feelings that she'd done all these home improvement projects

without even mentioning them to me, especially since she knew how much I enjoyed that kind of work. I asked why she hadn't given me the opportunity to help, or at least asked if I wanted to be involved. Dana's answer really threw me off. She said she didn't think I'd be interested because I'd never offered to help with stuff around her apartment before. When I pointed out that she'd never ask me and had never mentioned needing any work done, she said she shouldn't have to ask, that if I really cared about her living situation, I would have noticed the things that needed fixing and offered to help. That felt completely unfair.

I'm at Dana's place all the time, and I've never seen any major problems that needed addressing. Sure, the paint was a little outdated and some of the light fixtures were old-fashioned, but nothing seemed broken or urgent. If she wanted to redecorate, I would have been thrilled to help, but I can't read her mind. The conversation got more heated when I asked how long this had been going on. Dana admitted that Thomas had first suggested the renovations about a month ago when he was over fixing her kitchen sink. I know I mentioned being at her place all the time, but I have been busy with work and Dana visited my home instead. He'd apparently pointed out several things that could be improved and

offered to do the work at cost, just materials, no labor charges. A month ago. That means this whole apartment renovation project started right around the time I first posted on Reddit about feeling like Thomas was inserting himself into our relationship. While I was trying to figure out if I was being paranoid, Dana and Thomas were planning a complete home makeover together. I asked Dana why she hadn't mentioned any of this when I brought up my concerns about Thomas before. She said she didn't think the renovation work was related to my jealousy issues and that she hadn't wanted to give me more reasons to be suspicious of her friendship with Thomas. That really stunned.

I wasn't having jealousy issues, I was noticing a pattern of behavior that was affecting our relationship. And now I was finding out that the pattern was even more extensive than I'd realized. dinner was pretty much ruined after that. We barely talked, and Dana seemed irritated that I wasn't just happy for her about the apartment improvements. When I dropped her off afterward, she said she needed some space to think about whether we were compatible if I couldn't handle her having close friendships. But that's not even the worst part of this update. Two days after that awkward dinner, Dana's car broke down again.

This time it was the starter, and she was stranded. I found out about it when she texted me to say she'd be late for our movie plans because Thomas was coming to tow her car. I offered to cancel the movie and come help, but she said Thomas was already on his way and there was no point in both of us dealing with car trouble. She said she'd probably be at Thomas's shop for a while and suggested we reschedule for another day. I was frustrated, but I decided to give her the space she'd asked for. I went to the movie by myself and figured we'd sort everything out. out when she was ready to talk. But when I got home, I found a text from Dana saying that Thomas's girlfriend Brenda, I think I forgot to mention her, but yes, he does have a girlfriend,

had stopped by the shop while they were working on the car. Apparently Brenda had some concerns about how much time Thomas was spending with Dana. According to Dana's text, Brenda had made some accusations about Thomas having feelings for Dana and suggested that all the car repairs and apartment work was Thomas's way of pursuing her. Dana said she and Thomas had both assured Brenda that they were just friends and that Brenda was reading too much into the situation. But Brenda wasn't buying it, and she'd apparently given Thomas an ultimatum, either he needed to set some boundaries with Dana, or Brenda was going to end their relationship. Dana seemed really upset about this. She said she felt terrible that her friendship with Thomas was causing problems in his

relationship, but she also felt like Brenda was being unreasonable and jealous. She asked me what I thought she should do. But then Dana said something that really bothered me. She mentioned that Thomas had suggested they should probably cool it on the apartment renovations for a while, just until Brenda calmed down. Dana seemed disappointed about this and said it was unfair that Brenda's insecurity was going to prevent her from finishing the improvements to her place. The fact that Dana was more upset about pausing the renovation work than she was about the possibility

that Thomas might have romantic feelings for her seemed like a red flag to me. I would have expected her to be concerned about maintaining appropriate boundaries, not frustrated about the inconvenience to her decorating plans. I'm starting to wonder if Dana has been enjoying the attention and help from Thomas more than she's willing to admit. Even if she doesn't have romantic feelings for him, she's clearly grown dependent on having him solve her problems and take care of things for her. And now that Brenda has forced the issue, I feel like I'm in this weird position where Dana might expect me to step up

and fill the gap that Thomas is leaving. But I don't want to be her backup plan or her second choice for help and support. Update 3, about a week later, this is probably going to be my last update for a while, because I honestly don't think there's much left to say. After Brenda confronted Thomas about his relationship with Dana, I thought things might finally calm down and we could get back to some kind of normalcy.

I was wrong. Instead of backing off like he'd apparently promised Brenda, Thomas actually doubled down on his involvement in Dana's life. The day after I posted my last update, Dana's car broke down again, this time the transmission started slipping while she was driving to work. She called Thomas, and he immediately came to get her and tow the car to his shop. Instead of taking the car to his usual garage, Thomas told Dana that this repair was too complicated for his equipment and he'd need to take it to a specialist transmission shop across town. He said it would probably take a few days to get the parts and complete the work.

Dana called me that evening to let me know what was happening and something about the story didn't add up. I'd seen Thomas's shop and it was pretty well equipped. Plus, transmission work is bread and butter for most mechanics. it's not like Dana needed some exotic sports car repair. I decided to do a little investigating. I called around to a few shops in the area and asked about wait times for a Toyota with a slipping transmission. Every place I called said they could look at it within a day and have it fixed within two days max, assuming they had the parts in stock.

None of them mentioned anything about specialized equipment being necessary. That made me suspicious, so I drove by Thomas's shop to see if, Dana's car was actually there. It wasn't on the lot or in any of the service bays. When I asked the guy working the front desk where Thomas was, he said Thomas had taken a few days off to deal with some personal stuff. I started putting pieces together, and I didn't like what I was seeing. It seemed like Thomas had used Dana's transmission problem as an excuse to essentially kidnap her car and create a situation where she'd be completely dependent on him for transportation. I called Dana to share.

my concerns, but she said Thomas had explained everything to her. According to him, the transmission shop he'd taken her car to was run by a buddy of his who owed him a favor. The friend was going to do the work at cost, but he was backed up with other jobs so it might take longer than usual. When I asked Dana how she was getting to work and running errands while her car was in the shop, she said Thomas had been giving her rides. Not just to work, he was apparently driving her everywhere she needed to go, picking her up for lunch, taking her grocery shopping, basically serving as her personal chauffeur. I pointed out that this seemed like a lot of inconvenience for Thomas, especially since Brenda had already expressed concerns about how much time he was

spending with Dana. Wasn't he worried about making things worse with his girlfriend? Dana got quiet for a moment, then told me something that made my stomach drop. Apparently Thomas and Brenda had broken up. Brenda had found out that Thomas was still helping Dana despite promising to back off, and she'd ended their relationship. But instead of seeming upset about causing problems between Thomas and Brenda, Dana actually seemed relieved. She said Brenda had been creating unnecessary drama and that Thomas deserved to be with someone who trusted him and appreciated how helpful he was. That's when I realized that Dana had been planning this all along, or at least hoping for it. She'd been enjoying having Thomas's complete

attention and assistance, and Brenda's jealousy had been the only thing standing in the way of that relationship developing further. I asked Dana directly if she had feelings for Thomas. She denied it, but said she'd been thinking a lot about compatibility and what she needed in a relationship. She said Thomas understood her in ways that other people didn't, and that he'd shown her what it felt like to be with someone who anticipated her needs and took care of problems before she even had to ask. The implication was pretty clear. I wasn't anticipating her needs or solving her problems the way Thomas was. But here's the thing, I couldn't be that kind of partner even if I wanted to, because Thomas had been creating problems that only he could solve. He'd been breaking

her car so he could fix it, pointing out home repairs so he could do them, and manufacturing situations where Dana needed his help. I tried to explain this to Dana, but she said I was being paranoid in trying to make Thomas look bad because I was insecure about their friendship. She said the fact that I couldn't be happy for her having someone reliable in her life showed that I was too selfish to be in a serious relationship. I told Dana that I thought Thomas had been manipulating both of us from the beginning, and that she was choosing to ignore obvious red flags because she enjoyed the attention. Dana said if that's how I really felt about her judgment and her friendships,

then we probably shouldn't be together. She said she needed to be with someone who trusted her and supported her relationships with other people, not someone who saw threats everywhere. I agreed. I told Dana that I did need to be with someone I could trust, and that her behavior over the past few months had shown me that she wasn't that person. I said I thought she'd already made her choice about who she wanted to be with, and it wasn't me. Dana seemed shocked that I was actually ending things. I think she expected me to fight for her or try to convince her to choose me over Thomas. But I was done competing with a guy who'd been cheating by creating fake emergencies and manufactured crises.

That conversation happened three days ago, and it was pretty much the end for us. I'm not going to try fix things that don't need fixing anymore. She made her choice, and she'll have to live with the consequences. Maybe she'll figure out what Thomas is really like when he starts creating. problems in her life that only he can solve. Or maybe she'll be happy being with someone who manages every aspect of her existence. Either way, it's not my problem anymore.