Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I loaned my 5 year old Husqvarna 136 chainsaw to one of my area managers at work as he had just moved into town from Michigan, and need to cut down a few trees.  He had the saw for a while and admitted to abusing it a bit, but stated he would pay for the damage he did to it.  I took it to a local dealer in Chardon, Ohio and their quote to fix the saw was $10 less than what it costs new.  My wife feels that this guy owes me the entire amount necessary to fix or replace the saw;  I said that since it's a mechanical object with a certain lifespan, that I would be kind and take the depreciation on it and only ask for around $100 to put towards a new saw.

Am I being too easy on this guy, or should I make him pay for 100% of the repair/replacement cost?  I can see my wife's point, why should I have to pay any money when I started the entire interaction with a completely good chainsaw.

Thanks

  PaulR,

                   I would have him pay 100% of the repair cost, or buy you a new one!!

                                                                                              Fred  

Well, if this guy is over you or a coworker you have to co-exist with, you don't want to loose your job over it or have a terrible working relationship either. Yes, he should pay for it to be fixed to the condition it was in prior to his borrowing it. However, you assume a certain amount of responsibility whenever you loan anything to someone because you understand that it will be used and it's possible it could be damaged. To that extent, if you have a better chance of saving a working relationship with this guy, go ahead and take 100 bucks, get your new saw and be done. Just don't loan anything to that guy again. If he has no problem paying the estimated cost, take it.

i would ask him if he would like to take your saw for repair or pick you up a used one from the want ads. or just tell him he can keep it and go purchase a new one and never loan it out again.

The saw new now is $180. Split it with him, get the dealer to cover the sales tax and throw in some goggles or gloves for a trade in, and walk away with a brand new saw and a lesson for $90.

HI...

Yeah... these can be difficult situations...

Show him what the repair bill is... the cost of a new one...
Then... ask what he thinks is fair...

At the minimum... I'd put a value on the used saw to me... and ask for this amount... and give him the used one...


Who knows if the saw was about to $hit-the-bed anyway...


Dave...

I NEVER loan equipment, NEVER!!!  I learned that lesson years ago. It created more problems.  My family and friends no better than to ask me. If they have a problem I would do it for them before lending to them.   If it were me I would buy you a new one if I borrowed it but I would say to you get what you can to still keep your friendship. I have alot of people who try to barter with me but they usually have nothing to barter with has been my experience. - Good luck - Kris

I agree with Krislu and it always seems to be the chainsaw. I loaned a Poulan to my neighbor and got it back seized.It made for a very uncomfotable situation and from then on I don't loan anything out. I'll do the job when asked but no using my equiptment!!!

Marc

As of recent, i have made a policy that if one of my tools goes, i go with it.  I will never loan to friends, or neighbors(my ryobi charger came back with a cooked resistor and a blown fuse, fortunately i know how to read a circuit board).  I will always loan to family- cuz family is family.

terrapin24h wrote:
I do the same thing, except I now include family.  Found out my chain saw had been used for some subaquatic tree removal.  It was used to remove some downed trees that were somewhat submerged in the creek.   They complained that the saw lost power when you put the bar under water!!

Now I go where EVER my tools go!

I usually have spare LOANER equipment, But if my Front line equipment goes out, i go with it.

"Never a borrower nor lender be."

                           


Dave...

Hi Marc,

Yeah, the person most likely ran out of fuel and added straight fuel to it rather than mixed.  It really is the chain saw that friends want to borrow. I lent mine out twice and would never do it again.  Although I was lucky, I only got mine back both times with a totally dull blade.  They'd always allow it to hit the ground when cutting logs.  Never do I lend anything out now. 

Kick his ass, and when you ar done "admit" to abusing him a bit!

 Then go buy a new one and NEVER lend it out. Like the others say, go with it. I will cut trees down for people, power wash stuff for them, snow blow for them, but I won't lend the stuff out.

             I never loan or borrow anything that I can't afford to replace. My boss wanted to borrow my 1132TA. I asked to hold the title to his truck till he brought it back.  He hasn't asked since..

           Tom

Dave___in___CT wrote:
My feelings exactly.

You may not make friends that way but you won't create an enemy.

How could anyone lend a powertool (especially a chainsaw as told above) to someone who doesn't know how to use it?  Makes a no lending policy sound like a safe bet.  Imagine lending a tool and the lendee being seriously injured simply because they didn't know any better.

I'd expect back what you lent less some wear and tear, or a satisfactory to you replacement.  That's nothing less than what would happen if the person borrowing the tool broke their own and fixed or replaced it.

An added awareness to loaning out any machine / tool...

If the borrower (or someone else) gets hurt using it...
Guess what... ?
the lender can be sued !! 

The blame for the accident can be placed on a fault with the machine... and thus it's owner...
Especially if the machine is not in factory-new condition... and accompanied by the Owner's amnual and associated literature/warnings...

Too bad Mad Dog isn't here to expand on this...


Dave...

for the most part i dont loan tools out either, but there are 2 or 3 friends who i would never hesitate to loan anything to. They're attitude is the same as mine though, when you borrow something, return it in as good or better shape, than it was when you borrowed it.

a (sort of) humorous side note to this, years ago we had a family move in across the street from us, the gentleman (in the broadest sense of the term) came over one day and asked to borrow my chainsaw to cut some railroad ties he was doing some landscaping with. . it was the first time i'd met the guy & didnt know a thing about him. i politely informed him i didnt loan tools out. anyway, to make a long story short he made a total of probably 50 or 60 cuts with all the short pieces he was using and he ended up using a HACKSAW. it took him most of the summer.....but i'll give him credit......he got it done even if he was too cheap to go buy a more suitable tool.

PaulR,

Bring us up to date, what ended up happening, anything yet?

spottedpony wrote:

I don't think I would use my chain saw to cut railroad ties with my saw, let alone loan it to someone else. 

I look at it like this, I borrow something and it breaks then I will either pay to fix it or buy a new one that is as close to the original as possible.  Some folks don't look at it the same way. 

Best of luck and let us know how it works out.

Now this reminds me to get back a table saw from one neighbor and a miter saw from another.

Well, I think I settled on upgrading to a larger Husqvarna Saw and will buy the parts to fix the old one (my neighbor is pretty mechanical and will help fix saw).  Like I said, the guy I loaned the saw to is 2 grades higher than me at work, so I don't want to push him too hard for the money.  I think a "friendly" reminder is certainly in order though.  I may have to delay the new saw purchase as I found out I have about $450 repair bill on my 02 Ram that's 4,000 miles out of warranty....

PaulR wrote:
Two ways to look at the work thing. My dumb dog gone advise, don't seem to easy, but be fair. Don't know how political your work place is. But if this is a test. Be careful.

The truck. Ouch. Maybe the service advisor (if that's what they call themselves these days) will take some mercy and throw in some plugs and an oil change. Or maybe split the labor or parts. Doesn't hurt to ask.

robmints wrote: I've learned that in these deals where the vehicle is barely out of warranty, being nice and asking for break is sometimes worth doing and the other times turning into the exorcist is the best bet. Just have to know your folks there a little. LOL 

Hint, Service mangers want good CSI scores.

My take on it is "it depends".

You mention that the saw needed repair after your co-worker admitted abusing it but didn't say how much was due to the abuse and how much was there before he got his hands on it.

Personally I think the person is on the hook for any damage that was done while it was in his care. If that is 90% of the repair cost then so be it. If nothing else it will teach him that tools should be used properly. The fact that he admits to it and offered to pay seems like a point in his favour for taking resposibility. Sometime damage occurs despite a person's best efforts, their still responsible.

The concern about  the training aspect is also valid. I borrowed a chainsaw from a co-worker several years ago and he wouldn't let me have it until he had seen me start  it, turn it off and discussed how to use it with me. I was most impressed and not at all put out despite having used a chain saw for 20 years before. It meant he was doing his best to make sure I was safe. I do the same thing now.

Woudn't $1000.00 dollars get you a top knotch snowblower?

Marshall wrote:
Very True........

Especially if you have a good relationship with the service manager. If you vehicle has been maintained by the book (especially if they did ALL of the work), he/she should have some wiggle room to help you out.  Like Rob said parts, labor or a freebie on a future oil change/ tire roatation could soften the blow.  Their CSI will affect their paychecks at most dealerships, so most will not won't to alienate you.

Like Marshall said, approach this in a freindly easy manner, nice works more often than being a jerk. If that fails, the next best thing, is to get loud.  Not necessarily be a jerk, but if its a busy day at the service counter, the SM will want to resolve your complaint quickly and get you away from the rest of the customers ASAP.  If you're having a problem that could potentially be very common among their vehicles they may give into you so that they don't have to do it for everyone.

Good luck.

I agree with Dave_in CT, I would show him the estimate, or take him to the place where you got the estimate, or even have him go get an estimate of his own (which he probably should have offered to do in the first place).

On the other hand, I also agree with Jogo, and that is I would buy a new one, wait until the next time the 13th falls on a Friday and pull a Jason Vorhees on him.  He'll learn from something like that.

James

PaulR, if you don't mind me asking, what was the repair needed on your truck?  I know the transmission seems to be a hot repair item on those. 

I try not to borrow things if I can avoid it...which is why I have a basement and garage full of stuff I've used very little but when I do, I try to return it in as good or better (i.e. cleaner or with a full tank of gas) than when I borrowed it.  Why anyone would borrow something and abuse it (then admit to abusing it) is beyond me.  If it was working when he received it, it should be returned in the same shape.  If you need to get it fixed, he should be responsible for the cost of the repair (or equivalent contribution to a new saw).  Exceptions:  Broken belts, adjustments, unforseen accidents, etc.  IMHO

LL

Ajace,  The dealer installed a PDC(?) and front control module and did not charge me any labor.  I am a DaimlerChrysler Employee and received the parts at a discount (15% instead of 25% if I would have ordered the parts ahead of time...but who knew).  I also had some power steering lines replaced that I was charged labor for (same 15% parts discount).  All in all, I am happy with my dealer (Aurora Chrysler in NE Ohio) but not very happy with the quality of the vehicle my corporation put out.  It is a 2002 Dodge Ram (DR - new body style) and was built very early (Feb 02) after, or even during, the launch of this new platform.   The thing that torques me off is that I doubt Toyota/Honda has these early build quality problems.  I talked with the corporate customer service rep today about my $545.50 bill and they have advised me to send a letter to Auburn Hills with all the details (they were able to pull up all  of my service visits based on VIN#).  The CSR eluded to, but did not come out and say, that It would be a good idea to request that DaimlerChrysler reimburse me for some of/all of the expenses incurred.  If you have had problems with any brand of vehicle, shortly after the warranty runs out, I suggest that you check that brands website for customer service help.  I feel that these types of issues should not happen in a $31,000.00 vehicle, no matter how early in the new model build stage it was assembled.  I know a few people that have had some of their service bills reimbursed after taking this route, hopefully I will be able to experience the pen being mightier than the sword.  If anyone is in the market for a new Chrysler, Dodge, or Jeep (even after reading this far) please don't hesitate to contact me as I can offer a limited number of "friends and family" discounts which are 1% below dealer invoice and you get all available rebates too.  If it makes you feel any better, my wife's Dodge Grand Caravan has been trouble free.  38,000 miles and all I've had to do was put new front brakes on it and change the oil.

Chainsaw update....I spoke with "the boss" (he runs 2nd shift operations) and he is going to give me $100.00 after he gets paid at the end of the month.  It seemed to be a moderately fair deal, and I had that idea backed up by many of the postings on this great web site. 

I'm a GM/Dodge guy.  It's just great to hear that DaimlerChrysler is being soo good to you.  That sounds like a good company.  It'd be real nice if I can get that 1%, rebates, and 0% financing.  That would sell me.  I keep wondering if Ford's built for the road ahead theme is really making better quality vehicles.  Anybody know?  Keep on 'em, they'll cave in.