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in article , Mungo Bulge at
wrote on 7/18/05 8:25 PM:

What's the right thing to do here? I'd take it to the factory and have
the hole fixed. Two hundred bucks is a small price to pay for the
knowledge of what your "friend" is like. Then go find a better class
of friend. I can understand your friend wanting the canoe back in the
same condition as it left, but factory refinish is going to restore
the canoe to like new on the colour side.
I would also suspect that it is covered under your friend household
effects insurance, or yours.

I doubt if it would be worth going through insurance for such a small
amount. I'd pay the $220, and going by the story as you tell it, I think
this would be one friend where I'd put an end to borrowing.

Keenan

"Noone" wrote in message
...
|
| Jim Flom wrote:
|
| I borrowed a friend's canoe for an eight day canoe trip (Bowron
Lakes, BC --
| it was great). Upon returning we discovered a nickel-sized
crack/hole on
| one end (above water line). I told the guy beforehand and I mean
it that I
| would accept responsibility for any damage.
|
| We both know a guy who does fiberglass work who says he can fix it
up just
| fine.
| However, the owner of the canoe wants to return it to the
manufacturer (less
| than an hour away) and get it professionally done, sanded,
painted,
| rebuffed, etc., to the tune of $220 or so. The canoe is at least
ten years
| old, and is in good shape but hardly pristine. He got it for
free.
|
| I'm having a hard time reconciling to covering such an expensive
repair on
| an older canoe in this situation. What's the right thing to do
here?
|
| He did offer to sell it before we even left for $800 Canadian.
It's a 16'
| fiberglass Clipper Ranger. I haven't done the work yet to see if
that's a
| good price, but it seems on the high side. New ones can be had
for $1180
| (CAD).
|
| What do people think?
|
| JF
|
| This is what makes borrowing from friends so difficult. Money often
changes the
| dynamic between people. So does busted property.
|
| One approach is to ask what is the value of the friendship. But
that ignores
| that fact that structure of the friendship got modified. You will
feel you are
| being taken advantage of if you go for the factory repair. He will
feel he is
| being asked to make an unwarranted sacrifice if he has to settle for
anything
| less. After all, the canoe was whole before you borrowed it.
|
| If you pay the $ 220 and call it an expensive lesson, you will not
feel the same
| about the relationship. Unless you are very forgiving, you will
feel some
| resentment. In addition to being out $ 220, you will in effect
distance
| yourself from this person and lose the friendship.
|
| If you decide to pay nothing, you will immediately lose the
friendship. You
| save $ 220 bucks, but now will have earned a less than noble
reputation for not
| honoring your commitments, something that an extra $ 220 could never
buy back.
|
| The issue is the amount of the money. If you both focus on the
money, then it
| will be hard to reach an equitable solution. He really does need to
feel good
| about the quality of repair on his canoe. You think that is too
expensive a
| solution.
|
| Solutions:
|
| 1) You might be able to negogiate a better price with the
manufacturer for the
| repair. Do all of the transportation yourself, etc. Maybe barter a
skill (Set
| up PC's, unload trucks for a day, etc).
|
| 2) Explain to him the quandry you find yourself in. Tell him you
value the
| friendship. Propose the non factory repair and then ask if there is
anything you
| could do for him to help make up the difference. (Help him
re-shingle his roof,
| etc)
|
| 3) Offer to buy the canoe for $ 800 less the $ 220 price of the
repair (then
| have the fiberglass guy do the repair). Even though the economic
logic here is
| flawed, it is workable because it addresses more than monetary
issues. The
| canoe has less perceived value. And you eliminate the aggravation
factor: You
| save him from being reminded of his mistake in judgement every time
he looks at
| the canoe. You just have to want a canoe, have an extra $580 , which
if you
| follow the logic, is not the case, because you borrowed a canoe in
the first
| place.
|
| I would go for #1. If that is not possible, then pay the $ 220 and
do the
| factor repair (you still do the legwork), and accept that fact that
you made a
| costly decision which lost you a friend.
|
| Blakely
|
| ---
| Blakely LaCroix
| Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| r.b.p clique # 86.
|
| "The best adventure is yet to come"
|