Can I borrow your........

[bcp]

There have been many scattered comments on TBN about problems caused when someone borrows something and breaks it, or returns it better than when it left.

I was reminded of this by a local news story. Here's part of it.
========================
Two luxury cars, a Maserati and Jaguar, crashed into each other, and then one of the vehicles knocked over a light pole, Kapp said. The drivers of both vehicles fled the scene, but a witness told police the cars appeared to be racing, she said.

The owners of both of the vehicles reported that they allowed people unknown to them to borrow their cars, according to the police department.
======================

Here's one of my own good borrower stories. I'm lucky that I don't have any bad stories.

My neighbor borrowed a hand tool and broke it. He returned it, and a new replacement.
He mentioned that he could probably fix the broken one, so I gave it to him.

Everyone should have neighbors like that.

But I won't loan my tractor to anyone without me going with it.

Let's hear your story.

Bruce

 

[grsthegreat]

im done loaning...i always end up going to get it back myself. the last time was my 28' extension ladder. he promised me hed have it back the next day. 2 weeks later i had to go get it. next time he wanted to borrow it i asked for a $100 deposit. told hiom if he returns it the next day i give him his money back. if i have to go get it, i keep the money. he left without ladder, and has never asked to borrow it again. these things are my tools of my business. not to be loaned out the cheepos.

i loaned out a 7 pin trailer plug analizer to a neighbor about a year ago. i forgot i loaned it out until i needed it. i looked all over for it. i finally remembered after about an hour of searching and cussing. i again had to go get it back. it was sitting in his tool box. no more.

 

[Citydude]

My neighbor borrows my trailer often. He put new tires on it last fall. That's a good neighbor.

 

[Jstpssng]

I don't borrow and I don't lend. Every time I used something belonging to somebody else it broke and I had to buy or fix it anyways. The third time that I found myself loading my logging winch into the back of my pickup alone- by armstrong- was the last time that I ever lent anything.

 

[JethroB]

When I borrow something, which is very very rare, I go in with the mindset that I’ll replace it with new and better if I break or lose it. And why do some folks get ticked off when you ask them to return something? Especially money.

 

[Hay Dude]

My neighbor borrows my trailer often. He put new tires on it last fall. That's a good neighbor.

My neighbor borrowed my little trailer and forgot to hook up the 4pin electrical connector.
He dragged the connector down the road for 20 miles and brought it back to me with a slightly shorter ground-down version of my plug.
I dont loan tools or equipment anymore. I will offer to loan them the equipment with me operating it.

 

[Diggin It]

I was reminded of this by a local news story. Here's part of it.
========================
The owners of both of the vehicles reported that they allowed people unknown to them to borrow their cars, according to the police department.
======================

Ya' know what that's called?


A LIE!!! Two of 'em in fact.

 

[Citydude]

My neighbor borrowed my little trailer and forgot to hook up the 4pin electrical connector.
He dragged the connector down the road for 20 miles and brought it back to me with a slightly shorter ground-down version of my plug.
I dont loan tools or equipment anymore. I will offer to loan them the equipment with me operating it.

Yep, things happen. Now, I wouldn't let him use my tractor but he has never asked. He rents if he needs machinery.

Funny you mentioned the the trailer plug. He replaced mine a year ago. Thought it was the plug. Turned out that his wiring on his new GMC was screwed up.

 

[MoKelly]

Our neighbors are all really good about stuff. One neighbor is a very skilled welder and has helped me out quite a bit. We rarely “borrow” anything - we tend to come over and help complete the task. This let’s us learn from each other.

The only thing we really “borrow” is to allow each other to come on our land to fish. I’ve got a really nice gravel bar to fish from and I’ll gladly let neighbors fish. Everyone still asks in advance which is nice.

MoKelly

 

[YanmarFever]

Most of the MAJOR tractor repairs that we did years ago were because the owner lent his machine to a friend, or brother in-law
or his neighbor..
Im talking broken ring & pinion gears, and burnt clutches.
One guy had 12 hours on his mahindra 2615 with a burnt out clutch, it was totally shredded to pieces.

 

[4570Man]

There have been many scattered comments on TBN about problems caused when someone borrows something and breaks it, or returns it better than when it left.

I was reminded of this by a local news story. Here's part of it.
========================
Two luxury cars, a Maserati and Jaguar, crashed into each other, and then one of the vehicles knocked over a light pole, Kapp said. The drivers of both vehicles fled the scene, but a witness told police the cars appeared to be racing, she said.

The owners of both of the vehicles reported that they allowed people unknown to them to borrow their cars, according to the police department.
======================

Here's one of my own good borrower stories. I'm lucky that I don't have any bad stories.

My neighbor borrowed a hand tool and broke it. He returned it, and a new replacement.
He mentioned that he could probably fix the broken one, so I gave it to him.

Everyone should have neighbors like that.

But I won't loan my tractor to anyone without me going with it.

Let's hear your story.

Bruce

I had a shovel on a job I was doing and I cracked the handle. I left it there intending to throw it away when I hauled off the garbage. The homeowner let someone else use it and they broke it all the way. I showed up the next day and he had me a new one. I told him the truth about it but he insisted I keep it anyway.

 

[CobyRupert]

When I borrow something, which is very very rare, I go in with the mindset that I’ll replace it with new and better if I break or lose it. And why do some folks get ticked off when you ask them to return something? Especially money.

This is why it doesn’t make sense to borrow or lend. If you or a borrower can’t afford to replace it when they break it, then they shouldn’t borrow it.
If borrower can afford to replace it, they should just buy their own. If they break your old one and buy a new one to replace it, they still need one, they’ve bought one, but still don’t have one. Seems damm foolish.

 

[sea2summit]

Two moving pieces is all I’ll loan. Pliers? Good to go. Crescent wrench? Nope. And generally only one at a time.

I have one exception but he’s an exception.

 

[ProfJeff]

My contractor working on my house wanted to borrow my 3 day old tractor the next day to take 150 pounds of concrete down the hill to the pond where he was working on a light. He had been telling me he used to have a tractor like it (and his was less expensive but had more features and was a better deal.....so he was already on the S list about the tractor.) Let me paint a picture: the hill is minimum 10 degrees, parts of it 15-25 degrees, and at the very top there is a 15 foot section that is over 45 degrees. I use a path through the woods which isn't as bad but the total elevation drop is the obviously the same, about 20 feet in 150 feet so it's all a hill down. I just looked at him....and said, "No, I'll be here." He ended using his two wheeler and remember the part about the hill? Loaded all 3 bags, 150 pounds, onto the two wheeler, and went forward down the 45 degree hill. He told me it pulled him down the hill and he just barely got it all stopped before he would have ended up in the lake. I said, "You went forward down the hill with all that weight?" And he wanted to borrow my tractor? By the way, I fired him 3 days ago after 4 mistakes that I had to pay someone else to fix, and not to the tune of a few hundred dollars, well into four figures.

 

[Wakey]

i loaned out a 7 pin trailer plug analizer to a neighbor about a year ago. i forgot i loaned it out until i needed it. i looked all over for it. i finally remembered after about an hour of searching and cussing. i again had to go get it back. it was sitting in his tool box. no more.

Attempted theft.. Was this the same guy borrowing the ladder?

I’ve got a neighbor just like that. Same story, the whole thing. Too bad, he’s a nice guy but he doesn’t get it.

 

[grsthegreat]

Different people....
both on my s list

 

[Wagtail]

This is why it doesn’t make sense to borrow or lend. If you or a borrower can’t afford to replace it when they break it, then they shouldn’t borrow it.
If borrower can afford to replace it, they should just buy their own. If they break your old one and buy a new one to replace it, they still need one, they’ve bought one, but still don’t have one. Seems damm foolish.

That's pretty much my philosophy.

If I need to borrow something from a neighbour it's because I need to use 'it' right away. It's returned promptly, cleaned and with the 'libation' of their preference.

If I need to borrow that something again it means that I need one of my own and I go and purchase one for myself... even though that neighbour will say that I could've borrowed it again.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

The last time I remember borrowing anything, was in 1970, in Free Port Texas after a fishing expedition. I borrowed a guy's knife to clean some fish and promptly dropped it in the ocean. I figure if I need something bad enough, I will either buy it myself, rent it or pay someone to do the work for me.

 

[k0ua]

One guy had 12 hours on his mahindra 2615 with a burnt out clutch, it was totally shredded to pieces.

Some folks could tear up an anvil in a sandbox.

 

[Industrial Toys]

So you lend something used, that costs a thousand new, but is only worth four hundred bucks used, if you can find one. Guy breaks it. So what does he owe you? Four hundred bucks isn't going to do you any good and good luck even getting that.

Neighbor that was on the board of a Golf Course and was supposed to get me a chipper, he would pay for it, I would store and service it. Would have been a good deal! Years passed, NOTHING! I finally got a 15" PTO unit, which he saw in my shed last year. Asked if he could RENT it. I just Laughed at him!