[Offwego]

Bought myself a mantis which I love and the results are great , trouble is every Tom dick and Harry are hinting to lend it.
It was quite an outlay -  would you loan it out?

[mumofstig]

Only to close friends and family - certainly not to Tom, Dick or Harry 

[m1ckz]

NEVER AGAIN  did that once an allotment juat down from me  after 15 min of hearing the tiller working i popped down to look   omg it was bouncing up an down like mad his plot was like rock  /it did no harm but i stopped him an took it back....i luv my little mantis lol an i look after it...dig fist tiller after  gl with yours

[snowdrops]

No I'm afraid I wouldn't, a chap came up to me a couple of years ago & asked if he could borrow our rotovator when hubby was up there using it,offered to pay but we said no,it was a family heirloom with a new £200 engine on it. He's never spoken to us since. If we had of had more time hubby would have done it for him but we were late that year ( and every year since😊)

[ghost61]

In a word, no.  Heard too many war stories down the allotment about people who have either damaged stuff or never given it back! 

[Fairy Plotmother]

No, I'm afraid I wouldn't lend any expensive item like that. Not worth the risk of damaging item or neighbourhood entente cordial.

[oakridge]

Never lent out my Honda F600 rotovator, but we did lend out our indestructable John Deere 755 and Land Rovers - every street should have a Land Rover for tip trips and collecting hoss muck etc.  One chap did tip the tractor over lifting the front loader too high on a slope.  Very embarrassed he was but it was easy to put back with the roll bar acting as a nice lever.  It did get me a nice Gas Board mobile hut for free.

[Eblana]

NO!!  Lent ours a few years back, it took three trips to the repair shop to get it working again as he very kindly refilled it with the wrong fuel.  We now have a bigger rotovator as well and my OH will only use it when we are on our own up at the plot as there are a number of plots around us who seem to have perfect plots but have spent nothing on them because they beg, borrow or s.... (Sorry permanently borrow) everything on the plot.

[jaydig]

I would never loan out my Mantis, although, when I first had it I had lots of hints from people wanting to borrow it.  I had to save up for mine, and couldn't really afford to replace it if it got damaged, so if anyone asks about it I tell them what it is, how much they are and where they can get one from.  I never offer to loan it to anyone, but I will show them how it works and what it can do on my own plot.  It seems mean, but I couldn't manage without it now.

[Growster...]

We had the same query a few years ago.

The easy way is to explain that you only buy such expensive kit for your own use, and wouldn't really want them to be responsible for breaking it, or similar.

They'll back off, especially when they know you're not interested in sharing your treasure!

[RichardA]

NO. I would agree a rate or accept that you are doing a favour and then drive the tiller yourself and bale out if ground not suitable. Perhaps they can do you a favour in return.
R

[Offwego]

I would never loan out my Mantis, although, when I first had it I had lots of hints from people wanting to borrow it.  I had to save up for mine, and couldn't really afford to replace it if it got damaged, so if anyone asks about it I tell them what it is, how much they are and where they can get one from.  I never offer to loan it to anyone, but I will show them how it works and what it can do on my own plot.  It seems mean, but I couldn't manage without it now.

like your style. I think a polite NO is called for !!

dont mind lending hand tools occasionally for example a young chap 2 plots away is always lending my wolf garten furrow tool , every time he does he cleans it spotlessly before returning it and always without doubt says thank you ! Its his first year on site so i dont mind helping out

[Trikidiki]

I lent my chainsaw to a friend. He used it all day then ran out of two-stroke oil so put chain oil in the tank instead. Completely knackered it. He did by me a new one though.

[Dopey113]

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be"
soliloquy by Polonius in Act I, Scene 3 of William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
And its still true today...

[wapello]

 My answer would be no, its to save my back no one else's, but now ive got this, i have a fork you can borrow,,