Borrowing something, and it breaks, who is responsible to fix it?

The borrower

The borrower is responsible for any damages, including a tire replacement. your husband should have noticed the bad tire and brought it to his brothers attention. or, was this an already known fact and his brother thought or “knew” the tire was about to go flat and “knew” this would happen? in any event, its over and his brother now has a new tire on has backhoe. expensive lesson.

Yes, the borrower. If you borrow something you have to return it in at least as good a condition as it was when you borrowed it. But if it’s an expensive piece of equipment, like a back hoe, you might want to give it a good looking over before taking possession of it.

“Word To The Wise”
The next time that you borrow someone’s Ho ,,,,,make sure that you inspect her it thoroughly !
*Regardless,whether she it is a front or back Ho !

Depends on who’s at fault for the damages. If I lend someone something of mine that’s already broken (or evidently breaking), out of dignity I’d get it replaced myself. If I lend someone, lets say, my car and they wrap it around a tree – their responsibility.

I think in your husband’s case, the tire was already old and worn down and his brother should have at least took that into consideration and offered to pay some.

If it was my family member (or someone else I was equally close to) I’d explain what happened and perhaps the cost could be split. Or maybe the borrower would admit that the tire was going to go at anytime and, therefore, he (the borrower) should pay for it. Otherwise, if I borrowed it then I’m responsible.

It was your husband’s responsibility to fix the tire situation.

The borrower, of course. Why one earth would the lender have to fix something you did just because the lender was generous enough to lend it out?

You don’t make any mention of cost here.

That is, how much would a rental backhoe have cost? How much did the tire cost? How much was your husband going to pay his brother for the “borrowed” backhoe?

Everything has a cost. It would be somewhat unreasonable for your husband to think that just because the backhoe is sitting unused on his brother’s lot that it should be “free” to borrow, either.

That’s why I don’t have an answer.

We agree, the borrower. We didn’t even consult his brother about the tire. We just fixed it, the right thing to do. Backhoe people run the rubber off the rim until they buy another tire. They are very expensive. We have a backhoe ourselves, but it was too many miles away to make it worth hauling it. However, we have had things returned broken, without a word. We suck it up and remember that person the next time he wants to borrow. Generally, we don’t borrow or lend anymore.

I love it that you just quietly got it fixed as a matter of decency. That brother will be SOOOOO HAPPY. (And having a brother with a backhoe near at hand is always a good thing. Gosh, I’ll have to talk to my brother about this.)

I once borrowed a book and got pizza sauce on a page. I bought a new copy and returned that. At the same clinic, I loaned a book in the same series to a shipmate who was going on FEX. He returned it with the pages all folded up and boot black on them.
I cannot understand the mentality behind a person who returns something that they borrowed in less than the condition it was in when they borrowed it. This tire seems a different thing, and it was generous of you to replace it.
I rarely loan things out anymore. Was it Ben Franklin who said “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.”?

@CyanoticWasp We don’t come from that kind of family. We don’t pay each other for things like that. If someone in the family needs something you happen to have and are going to get rid of , you don’t sell it to them, you give it.

In this case, I would have brought to brothers attn and if were going to cause a problem, would have replaced the tire….noting to never borrow from him again

@Trillian I don’t understand it either, but it apparently happens all the time. Right is Right. I would never return anything is less shape that I got it. Even a rental. It is like moving out of an apartment. I wouldn’t think of leaving it with anything of mine still in it. And I would make sure it was cleaner than when I moved in.

If I lent out a used machine and it broke while being used properly, the repairs would be my responsibility. If the machine was being used improperly, then it would be the borrowers responsibility. Otherwise, you might as well lend out all of your soon-to-break equipment so that others would have to do the repairs. It’s ultimately like playing hot-potato.

If the lender doesn’t see this, however, then you should fix it, but only for the purpose of kissing ass and/or avoiding conflict.

Your husband did the right thing :)

@zophu I think when you borrow something, that is the risk you are taking. So, you should take into account the cost of the item just in case, and make your decision as to whether or not to borrow. For us, there is not other choice. No Kiss A—about it. There are consequences for every choice we make. It is our job to decide if it worth it.

@Trillian Shakespeare wrote, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,” in the first act of Hamlet. source

@Pretty_Lilly , Of course he did check it out, as you always do before you operate heavy equipment. Backhoes go into rocky and sometimes sharp rocky places, the chance for putting a hole in one in that shape is good. That is why you have to weigh the priorities. Again it is a choice you make.

@bobbinhood thank you.

This probably comes under the heading of “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” If he had rented the backhoe and it had a flat, the rental company would have assumed the responsibility for fixing a worn-out tire.

I assume it was probably still cheaper to replace the tire than to rent the backhoe?

@PandoraBoxx That’s right, but some people don’t see it that way. Nobody held a gun to my husbands head and made him borrow the thing. He knew what might happen, even beyond the tires. The hydraulic system is under a lot of pressure when pulling out 4’ diameter stumps. And the laws of nature are, if is will fail, it will happen while in your possession.

After having waded through most of the preceding, now I’m just wondering at the point of the Q. You already knew the answer; were you just trying to show us what a stand-up guy your husband is?

He’s a stand-up guy, all right. If he’d like to borrow my backhoe, let me know so I can put on some raggedy-ass tires first.

@CyanoticWasp, I interpreted the question as, her husband did the right thing, but is really pissed off with his brother.

One of my pet peeves is people who borrow things and break it, and dont even return it, or tell you. snare drums, guitars…..musicians a whole nother breed.

I’m so glad you have morals, and the backhoe owner should be grateful and chip in.

@PandoraBoxx I can’t understand why he’d be pissed off at the brother. All he did was lend a backhoe. How is he in the wrong here? If the tire was replaced and no one said a word about that then it was a gift to him. Maybe he hasn’t even noticed yet.

If the tire-replacing brother wants to be compensated for the cost of the tire, then he should start a conversation along the lines of, “Hey, bro, about that new tire I had to install…”

I’ve lent my car to my brother. Maybe he even replaced a tire; as far as I know I still have the spare—maybe I should check. It’s not like I have the damn things serial-numbered and inspect them daily.

@CyanoticWasp Whoa horsey, Is there a reason for your being a smart A—? If you will notice it a discussion and started off with: Best Policy, Don’t borrow. I like to hear what other people would do in a similar situation. I might add your earlier comment was no better than this one, with all your assumptions. I didn’t need to mention cost, that had nothing what so ever to do with, doing the right thing. Personally, I don’t base my moral decisions on cost.
What question did you read?
Everything has a cost. It would be somewhat unreasonable for your husband to think that just because the backhoe is sitting unused on his brother’s lot that it should be “free” to borrow, either. For the life of me, where did you get that information?

Which is why I don’t understand the point of the question.

I was taught that if I borrowed something “as is” it was my duty to return it in as good or better condition.

As it was a relative, I might have talked to him about splitting the cost of the replacement tire, but I would have felt it was my responsibility.

If I borrowed a car & had a flat while I was driving it, same thing.

He did the right thing. Surely the rental of a back hoe is more than a tire?

Absolutely the borrower should fix it. It was still cheaper for you than buying your own unit.

@CyanoticWasp In the first place, he didn’t just take the backhoe left sitting on his brother’s lot. We have our own backhoe, but it was 50 miles down in the valley. We were located in the High Sierras. The two brother’s went out to the backhoe and his brother was telling him some of the quirks it had with some of the controlls. While there my husband did notice the bald cracking tire. The discussed it an his brother made no offer as to if it went flat, that he would go in on getting a new one. My husband was well aware of the fact that if anything happened, it would be on his shoulders to repair. At that point he had to make a choice and take the chance or not. Unfortunately, it did go flat while in our hands. My husband was some what upset with his brother when he took it back and told him the tire went flat, so he got another one. His brother didn’t seem very pleased that my husband put a used tire instead of a new tire on it. He said “What, you couldn’t find a new one?” My husband said no, I didn’t think I need to go that far. To type all of this in the question would have been absurd, just as it is now.
Instead of reading between the lines, you might want to just read the lines as written, then ask instead of assume.

I’m still wondering at the point of the Q in the first place.

Apparently, it was “to vent”. I hope you feel better now.

@CyanoticWasp Mr. Wasp, I will say this one more time. I wanted to know what other people thought about borrowing things and what they felt was the person responsible for situations like this. Is that okay with you sir?

It is not clear to me that your husband is responsible for the cost of replacing the tire. If he had damaged the backhoe by running it into something then he would be responsible, but for something that got worn out through normal use I am not so sure. Instead of grumbling about having the tire replaced by a used one, I think your husband’s brother should have offered to pay half the cost of the replacement.

@LostInParadise I would think so too. Or at least, say gee thanks bro. That’s all. But we already knew he would not offer to go halves, as they discussed earlier. It wasn’t the cost really, it was his brothers attitude that was he kicker. This particular member of the family, would not have done the same, if he had borrowed our backhoe. That is a fact. GA

Depends. There could have been a pre-existing condition because of a negligent owner. For example a car not getting the regular service needed.

I think your husband was right to replace it. Your motto is right, don’t borrow. I think sometimes people lend things that are slightly worn in the hope it will break while in your possession, so you have to replace it.

@Sophief In the case of this particular family member, I would believe that to be true. However, my husband can’t quite see that, or doesn’t want to.

@Rangie I guess we don’t want to see what we people we are close to are possible of doing. I think if it was someone close to me, I would feel the same. I know I’ve said it once already, but your avatar is just too cute.

@Sophief We have no real problem with the other members of the family. Well, occasionally a little issue now and then about borrowing or not. But , he is not a very nice person. I will have to do a question one day on some to the things he has done. Thanks, those are my babies. They are sisters from the same litter. They are 8 yrs. old. I don’t know what I would do without them.

@Rangie 8 years old, they are looking very very good for that age. I would have taken 6 years off them at least.

@Sophief best friends anyone could want. And sorry you can’t borrow them. hehe. :o)

@Rangie Can I at least send a kiss over for the dogs, of course

@Sophief absolutely, and they will kiss you back

@Rangie I do love dogs, especially cute ones.

@Sophief check you PM