AITA for refusing to pay for damages to rental vehicle?

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The original was posted on /r/AmItheAsshole by /u/Human-Advertising-64 on 2023-06-27 16:21:41+00:00.

My gf and I took a vacation with our mutual friend and her boyfriend. We rented a car for the 4 of us and her boyfriend insisted on driving since he's driven in Europe before. We of course agreed to split expenses such as the cost of the rental, gas, mileage, etc.

A few days in, he was backing out of a parking spot and forgot that he was parked next to a concrete pillar and started turning the wheel. He hit the pillar and side of the car took some pretty severe damage.

We dropped off the car (it was one of those contactless services) and about a week later he got an invoice for 2000 euros for the damages. He wants us to split the cost with him and I've been refusing.

And just some context on the way he drives: Everytime he backs out, he puts it in reverse and slams on the gas and does a mini burnout...so we hit the pillar with some serious speed. If he was reversing normally, he would've had time to react or at least minimize how much damage was done. It was completely his fault, caused by his negligence.

I told him if a rock hit the windshield or he hit a random pothole and blew a tire...I'd split the damages with him because those are freak accidents.

He's obviously not happy about this and has since tried to pressure my GF to pay instead. AITA here for refusing to pay for damages?

Edit: forgot the insurance info. We got insurance and the damage was enough to max out the deductible.