I recently sold my 2003 Isuzu Axiom to my younger brother; big mistake. I’m writing this as a warning to anyone who is considering selling their vehicle to a family member. Now, this isn’t to say that selling your vehicle to a family member is always a bad idea, but in my case, it caused more trouble than it was worth. I love my brother, and we still get along great, but during the process of selling my SUV to him, I have to admit, our relationship was a bit strained.

It all started when I decided that I wanted to invest in a new vehicle. I had purchased my 2003 Isuzu Axoim SUV from a used car lot back in 2006, and with just barely over 100,000 miles on it, I wanted to go ahead and find something a little newer. Also, as gas prices have continued to rise, I was having a hard time affording a full tank of gas each week to get back and forth to and from work.

I tried taking my Isuzu to a few dealerships, and most were able to offer me close to market value, but none were able to completely match it. I also tried selling my SUV online, but most private buyers came by and wanted to argue over the price. One day, just as I was about to give up, my brother called me up and said he’d be interested in buying it at full-market value. I thought, “Wow, this is a great idea. He’s my brother…what can go wrong?”

Unfortunately within a few days of him purchasing the vehicle, the problems started. He first called me up about the brake pads. He claimed that they were worn and that I should pay to have them replaced. Now, in any other circumstance, I would have never done this, but because he’s my brother, I agreed to pay for it, even though the pads were less than six months old. Then he called about the lug nuts, the fogged up headlights and even the windshield wiper fluid. It seemed like it would never end! Every few days, he seemed to be calling about some minor problem that he expected me to pay for.

Eventually, I sat him down and explained that, when he bought the vehicle, he assumed ownership. After that, the calls and requests seemed to stop, and again, we have a great relationship today, but for a while there, things were difficult. If you ever consider selling a vehicle to a family member, please take the time to ensure that they understand that, once the vehicle is sold, the maintenance is up to them.