AIBU to defend my son against complaints from neighbours

[Debdiamond]

My son and his friends often mend their cars and motorbikes outside our house. Most of these vehicles are a bit noisy but all are legal. After neighbours complained about the noise late at night, I have asked him to stop at 9pm and he has. However, he does still come and go a couple of times during the evening and usually comes home at 11.30pm. He then leaves the house for work 4 days a week at 5.45am.

This evening, one of the neighbours came around in a drunken rage, shouting, swearing and bawling at them about the noise 'at this time of night'. It was 6.30pm.

I'm the first to moan at him if he's being a pain but as I pointed out to her, it was hardly late. A friend of hers then joined the argument and accused me of 'sticking up for my son', which I was, as I don't think he's doing anything wrong! They then said that most of the immediate neighbours are complaining although only one other person has said anything to me, and that was about a noisy motorbike, which my son had sold a couple of weeks before. Turns out he was being blamed for another noisy motorbike in the area (nothing to do with him).

I pointed out to them that lots of people around here annoy me, kids screaming and crying, gangs of young children playing in the street, dogs barking, people mowing their lawn at 8am on Sunday mornings, (not to mention neighbours who spend half their lives getting drunk) but I don't go kicking off about it. It's an estate where lots of people live so there will be noise so I just accept it. And if the noise was going to bother anyone, surely being right outside mine and my daughters bedrooms, it would get on our nerves before theirs.

As far as I'm concerned they are group of teenage boys doing what teenagers do. They are not particularly rowdy, they don't do drugs or terrorise old ladies and they don't go around stealing anything. They could be a lot worse.

Any thoughts on this?

[ImperfectTents]

I am glad I don't live near you

[FenceSitter01]

My son and his friends often mend their cars and motorbikes outside our house.

I would check whether that's legal. Might be a local bylaw but a bloke down our road got fined for doing repairs on a public highway.

[SillyMoomin]

Just because they don’t steal from old ladies or do drugs makes them normal teenagers?

Errr no. Stop your teenager making rowdy car noises at 11.30pm

[flumpybear]

If you’re absolutely sure they’re not making too much noise then perhaps you can just suggest the friends tinker with their bikes etc at other houses so it’s not just your home?

[Debdiamond]

It's in our garden or the dedicated parking area for the row of houses, not on the road. They are fixing their own cars, not as a business.

[Scrumptiousbears]

Neighbour should have come round drunk however it cant be nice for the neighbours having a make shift garage outside your house. I suggest your son does his thing and his mates take their projects back home.

[peanut2017]

I'm sorry op but this would drive me bananas especially as it sounds like they are out there tinkering away every day?

[tehmina23]

Maybe they are more noisy than you realise?

My 60 something neighbour has a Harley without silencers & I jump out of my skin every time she revs it, even in my house I can feel the vibrations going through me.
However she's a very nice neighbour so I shouldn't moan.

I think re: your son, that lads who like cars & bikes do tend to be pretty harmless- I used to have male friends who went to burn ups & they spent all their spare cash on their cars, never took drugs or got especially drunk that often.

They can be annoying because they are outside making a noise but there are much worse things they could be doing!

[maddening]

Can he not take turns with friends to do it alternating weeks at their houses, it sounds like a nightmare to live near.

[TwatteryFlowers]

One of the most annoying noises is the sound of an engine idling for ages right outside my window, especially when I'm trying to sleep. It makes me want to go and take their keys off them. In short, op, I'm with your neighbours. Coming and going at 11.30 in a noisy car/on a loud bike is too late imo. Sorry.

[Debdiamond]

Other people drive to and from their homes at 11.30pm. Just the same as dogs bark at 7.30am every morning. I think it's part of life that there will be some noise in a built up area. And when I said fix their cars, I meant mostly, they come to help him with his.

[Allthewaves]

We have neighbours who's son's tinker - fair enough. It's the bloody extra loud exhaust that wakes us up inc the kids just before 6am every morning and 11 ish every night. It's draining and exhausting

[titchy]

Tell him to take his car to a bloody garage and get it fixed once and for all. People driving home at midnight is fine - it's a minute or less of engine noise. Tinkering with a bloody engine all evening would do my head in.

[Welshmaenad]

So they're constantly out there with engines running and revving them?

I think your neighbour was restrained, I'd have lost my shit with you ages ago. It is SO antisocial. Get them rent a bloody garage and stop making people's lives miserable for fucks sake.

[FenceSitter01]

I think you must be hell to live near. Sorry. As the co-owner of teenagers/youths, no way would I allow unnecessary noise to annoy the neighbours. Get a garage where they can shut the doors.

Oh and the reason all his mates a are round your house? Their parents wont stand for the noise and pissing off the neighbours.

[Pickleypickles]

Revving engines for an hour/hours every night is very different from someone leaving the drive to go to work.

[Debdiamond]

I accept that it could be a bit annoying if it was all the time, and as I said I live here but it doesn't annoy me, but for example, he has just done 5 x 12 hours shifts and no friends have been here for 4 nights until last night. Also, when he works nights, none of the neighbours tip toe around in silence so he can sleep! I just feel he is bearing the brunt of a lot of this particular neighbour's other problems as she seems to like a good row with somebody when she has a drink (which is quite often).

[Glumglowworm]

You had to be told to stop him doing it late at night? How late was he doing it?

Why do they all come to yours? It seems only fair that they rotate round each other's houses. Or perhaps their parents are more considerate to neighbours.

HWBU to shout at you in a drunken rage but he probably heard the noise, predicted that it would continue for hours, and lost it. No he shouldn't have done that but noisy neighbours drive even the most calm and rational people to rage.

[Liadain]

JFC. Your poor neighbours.

The motorbikes are likely louder than a car, you can't really compare that. Just have some consideration for your neighbours ffs.

[whirlyswirly]

I have a new neighbour who seems to leave for somewhere every night at about 145am. He put the bins out at that time the other night.

I like sleeping with the windows open but he wakes me every night and I'm knackered.

Nobody wants to listen to persistent neighbour noise. It's very wearing. If it's bad enough for them to complain, try and make an effort to quieten everyone down.

[Pickleypickles]

Extra loud exhausts are pretty unneighbourly too.

[bottlesandcans]

Utterly vile attitude from you about antisocial behaviour from your grease monkey and his friends.

[JonSnowsWife]

Most of these vehicles are a bit noisy but all are legal

They are not a 'bit noisy' though are they?

When you said he came around at 6:30pm has he been working on them all day?

Also how do you know he was drunk? I'd be going apeshit at my neighbours.

[Debdiamond]

No he's not out there revving the engine for hours. Usually it's something like fitting a new stereo or like tonight, changing a wheel. Most of the noise is from coming and going, like for example the neighbour who wakes me up every morning at 6.30am when he slams the car door twice!

[PolkaDottyRose]

We had a neighbour who used to do this with his friends. It was really quite intimidating, with endless unkown males coming and going, hanging around with vehicles. I know you mean zero harm OP, and I mean you no harm, but I can understand your neighbours point of view.