When you are out and need to borrow tools to do a quick fix on your bike or car, you can walk up to most automobile repair shops (also known as garages or workshops) and ask a worker to borrow tools. Most of the time, they will say yes and let you borrow tools for free.

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hotrodstew t1_j6a949a wrote on January 28, 2023 at 9:50 PM

On behalf of all mechanics, please return the tools promptly and make sure they are clean. Most people refrain from loaning tools out because they never return them.

Nani-is-here OP t1_j6a9dpm wrote on January 28, 2023 at 9:52 PM

Yeah I forgot to mention that you should return them, where I live in England (Devon) I have had a lot of mechanics allow me to borrow tools.

hotrodstew t1_j6aa98z wrote on January 28, 2023 at 9:58 PM

I like to help people learn how to wrench on their vehicles. I’d rather do that then get paid for it. People are surprised how easy it is to do brakes and other general maintenance that costs a lot at a shop or dealer.

Bongos-Not-Bombs t1_j6acr31 wrote on January 28, 2023 at 10:16 PM

Just FWIW, I would ask this over in r/justrolledintotheshop and see what you get. My instinct would be, no, they're not going to say yes. Way too much liability, and they're not going to risk losing a $175 ratchet to someone who just walked in off the street. But this may be a cultural thing, in the US, a mechanic's tools (outside of dealer-specific or diagnostic stuff like scan tools) are not the property of the shop, but are their own personal ones. The idea being, if they get another job, they simply roll their toolbox out and bring everything to the next job.

Mechanics are infamous for not letting co-workers borrow tools, you think some rando asking to do a serpentine belt change in the parking lot is going to be any better?

The better option is parts stores - at least in the US, most auto parts places have loaner tool programs, where you pay a deposit to get the tool for 30 days or so. And most parts places, unlike auto shops, don't mind as much if you have to replace an alternator in the parking lot. This is also great as a DIYer who doesn't need certain tools (like O2 sensor sockets) all of the time, but maybe once every few years.

Ifyouhavethemeans t1_j6acpmf wrote on January 28, 2023 at 10:16 PM

When I was a kid and my bike broke, I will just stop in front of the service station and start fiddling with it until someone came out with some tools.

keepthetips t1_j6a6ykw wrote on January 28, 2023 at 9:35 PM

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mr_hankey41 t1_j6abf9h wrote on January 28, 2023 at 10:07 PM

Wow, mechanics sure are generous.

My woodworking tools are too precious to me to lend them out!

Elmore420 t1_j6acj0d wrote on January 28, 2023 at 10:15 PM

If you got the vehicle to the garage door where I can monitor where my tools are, yeah, I’ll help you out. If you only need a simple tool(s) that I have plenty of cheap duplicates of, I’ll give you those to carry down the road. Beyond that, no. It’s not my fault you didn’t buy a tool kit for your car.