Need your thoughts.....

Here's a scenario that took place this last week while bear hunting (never saw a one) and want to get some unbiased opinions.

There are 4 people riding in the truck so therefore gas is split 4 ways. Person A owns the truck and fills the truck up to the rim before departure paying for it 100% himself.

The ride up required filling the gas tank twice. While riding around going to bait stands we had to fill the tank 3 more times while in Ontario. We then had to fill the tank up twice on the way back home. The last time we filled up was when we arrived home as we wanted Person A to be left with a full tank since Person A started with a full tank.

So, if Person A paid for the first tank by himself, should person A have to split the last tank of gas since that gas was imply to get person A back to full?

Where the argument arrives is that person A feels that since he paid for the first tank of gas himself then he should not have to split the last tank of gas since he would then be double paying. What are your thoughts?

Griz

At first I tried figuring out just how many times people filled the tanks ect but then I thought better of that and that the person using the truck should have had help filling up when the trip was over. There should be no argument because person A was nice enough to use his vehicle and miles plus wear and tear on the vehicle.
If you wanted to go with the equation then if I included the very first fill up there were eight fill ups all together and if you all took turns and owner gave the first tank then B does the second C does the third D does the fourth owner does the fifth B does the six C does the seventh and D does the eighth then all did their part, technically. Although no one is obligated to help with gas at the end it is the nice thing to do.
The biggest bummer in this to me is that you didn't even get to see a bear.

Originally Posted by Stardust

At first I tried figuring out just how many times people filled the tanks ect but then I thought better of that and that the person using the truck should have had help filling up when the trip was over. There should be no argument because person A was nice enough to use his vehicle and miles plus wear and tear on the vehicle.
If you wanted to go with the equation then if I included the very first fill up there were eight fill ups all together and if you all took turns and owner gave the first tank then B does the second C does the third D does the fourth owner does the fifth B does the six C does the seventh and D does the eighth then all did their part, technically. Although no one is obligated to help with gas at the end it is the nice thing to do.
The biggest bummer in this to me is that you didn't even get to see a bear.

Because gas prices vary, we figured that one person would pay for all of the gas used and then divide by 4 when we returned (it's over $4/gallon in Canada).

What Person A is trying to state, is that if he paid for the first tank of gas 100%, then why should he pay for the final tank of gas (despite the fact that the final tank of gas would be use solely by him). His point, I am assuming, is that he paid for the first tank which was used by the group, so his last tank should belong solely to him and therefore he should not have to pay for it since he already did in the beginning. Make sense?

Griz

If he paid in full for the first tank and no one reimbursed him for it, then I don't think he should have to pay any toward the last tank.

However, if the first tank was reimbursed by the rest of the people, then he does in fact owe toward the last tank.

Nothing was reimbursed towards the first tank. He picked up that tab himself.

Griz

Then he shouldn't have to pay at all into the last tank. In fact, with all that driving, he might should get a couple bucks for oil/wear and tear.

I would say that is a good deal for everyone. As has been stated, he used his vehicle with wear and tear for the trip.

Well, let me express that I am Person A in this situation. I purchased the original tank of gas entirely by myself. I then paid 25% of all tanks of gas, including the final tank of gas when arriving back home.

Their comments were this......if you rent a car and receive it with a full tank of gas then when you return it any person that rode in the car should pay 25% of the gas. I agree with that in theory other then the fact that I paid for the gas to begin with before they rented the car!!!!

I ended up paying for the first tank and the final tank and no matter what I said I could not convince them of the error of their thoughts.

I also got into it with them over firing a gun in a vacuum. They stated that if you fire a gun in a vacuum and at the same time dropped a bullet from the same height that they would both hit the ground at the same time. I agree with this in theory however the vacuum is not the only factor here. They were referring to shotguns in their example. Anyone who has held a shotgun knows that they typically have 2 foot barrels. Therefore, the barrel counteracts gravity since the bullet will be traveling 2 foot in a gravity neutral barrel before gravity can actually take a hold of it. Even though we are talking about split seconds, the bullet that you simply drop WILL hit the ground first, albeit milliseconds before the gun fired one. It was an interesting debate.

Griz

Apparently your friends are weak in reasoning abilities. I hope they're alot of fun on road trips to make up for it!

Depending on the size of the tank and what the average dollar per gallon worked out to be from the total trip we would probably be talking about 12-15 dollars for person A on the last tank. Just guessing but not a big deal if it is a little higher. Assuming we have four friends taking the trip together, I would think it might be a minimal concession to agree with person A even if one disagreed. My personal opinion would be that person A is correct. If I had come to a different conclusion I would still concede the point to person A. It would be such a minor disagreement to me that I would try to look at it from the perspective of person A. The trip was probably somewhat disappointing to all that the goal wasn’t achieved. Person A did take on the burden to supply the transportation. He will more than likely need a check-up sooner and an oil change. For peace of mind, I believe I would concede the point if I came to a different conclusion. It would be a fair decision.