AITA for sending my brother a $12K bill after he “borrowed” my car and wrecked it on a joyride?

I (28F) have been saving for years to buy my dream car, a fully restored 1967 Mustang. I finally bought it 8 months ago, and it’s basically my baby. I barely even drive it because I want to keep it pristine.

Last weekend, my younger brother (24M) came to visit. He’s always been the “fun” sibling, life of the party, always pulling stunts. I love him, but he’s impulsive and doesn’t think things through.

I went to bed early Friday night because I had work the next morning. When I woke up, my car was gone. I called him and he laughed and said, “Relax, I just took it for a spin.”

Well… turns out that “spin” involved racing some of his friends down a back road. He lost control, went into a ditch, and smashed the entire front end. The repair estimate came back at just over $12,000. Insurance won’t cover it because he wasn’t an authorized driver.

I told him he had to pay for the repairs. He said he “doesn’t have that kind of money” and that it was just “a stupid mistake.” My parents are begging me not to make him pay because he’s “struggling financially” and “family comes first.”

I didn’t listen. I had a lawyer draft a formal repayment agreement, and now my brother is furious. He says I’m “ruining his life over a car” and my family is calling me heartless. I told them that if he’d owned up immediately and offered anything toward fixing it, I might have let it slide. But the fact he stole it, wrecked it, and laughed about it? No.

So now there’s a huge rift in the family. My parents say I’m overreacting, my brother says he’s “cutting contact,” and I’m sitting here wondering if maybe I really am being petty.

AITA?