Auto parts loan a tool

Needed to add some R134 to my truck.
Go the parts store to get a can and ask.....

Do you have adapters that convert R12 hose to fit the R134 fittings as I have a set of R12 gauges.
NO

Do you have a set of R134 hose since the fitting that hooks to the gauge set is the same for R12 and R134?
NO..... But we do have a set of R134 gauges and hose to loan out. $100 deposit and you get all of it back when you bring the gauge set back.

OK sounds good. Give me 2 cans R134 and the loaner gauge set.

Salesman gets a gauge set and small can adapter off the for sale display shelf.
I say uh excuse me I wanted the loaner set. Then I notice these pieces look like they have been open before.
He proceeds to ring up the gauge set and adapter like I was buying them. Opens the package and gives me the tools to use.

I install the R134 in the truck right in the parking lot and take the gauge set back inside when finished.
He puts it back in package; puts a little tape on it and puts it right back on the for sale shelf; then rings up the gauge set as a return and refunds my money.

Now I have never used loan a tool before because I usually just buy the tools I need. Just could not see spending $100 on a gauge set to install 1 can of R134 especially when I have a gauge set that will work if I buy the proper hose set.

Just seemed odd the way they handle loan a tool. I for sure will not be buying any tools from this place because I expect NEW UNUSED tools when I pay full purchase price.

In my experience, the "free loaner" tools tend to be of the cheap, "one time use" variety. You stand a fair chance of breaking the free tool and buying it, or of getting a previously damaged tool. I'd rather pay a few bucks to rent a professional-quality tool with which I'll be able to actually complete the job. Any more, though, if I need a specialized tool I'll just go ahead and buy it outright. Maybe I'll never use it again, but if I do I have it on hand..

O'reilly's have tool sets that they loan out in the same manner. I have used a couple of the their sets to do jobs here at home. One was a ridge reamer and ring compressor set for when I rebuilt the 400. I have checked the codes for the check engine light here at home also. It would be very convenient to have purchased them myself, but why buy something that will set on a shelf and not be used but once every couple of years, and the cost to use it , is ZERO.
SDE

I sure wouldn't be buying anything from that store.

The way most stores do their loaner tool program is that you actually pay full price for the tool, and then get the money refunded when you bring it back. I've never heard of one pulling 'new' tools off the shelf, loaning them out, and then putting them back on the shelf as new. If I were you I'd contact their corprate office and let them know what was going on.

The fittings on all guage sets, and hose ends, are the same, regardless of what refrigerant your testing. The only thing you need to get for your set are the adapters that fit hoses and the R134A fittings on your vehicle, and they aren't usually that expensive. That said if you were just putting a little bit in, why not just use the el-cheapo low side hose that you can buy for a few bucks, or comes with the cans of DIY refrigerant. Personally I've got all the 'right stuff' to do the job also, but I keep it all in a Jobox that I set on the truck when I know I've got an A/C job to do. That hasn't kept me from being asked to put a little in a system, by a customer who knows I do that type of thing, when I don't have all my tools with me. In that case I keep one of the el-cheapo's on the truck just for those times. As long as you know about what low side pressure you should be running they do the job just as good as a full set of guages will.

My local independently owned auto parts store has a rack of loaner tools. I borrowed their ridge reamer a year and a half ago. I know that I didn't put a deposit on it, and I must have signed something though I don't recall, but they know where I live anyway, LOL.

I was in a salvage yard in Ontario, CA a few years ago.

They had a sign behind the counter that said in large letters, "Tools Loaned Free". In finer print on the bottom it said, "However, one of our techs goes along at the usual hourly rate".

I thought it was kinda amusing.

When I needed to replace shocks & struts on the truck, I checked the loaner tools strut spring compressors at the parts store. They had 3 sets and all of them were worn & stretched. I bought my own set, used them once and then resold them on Craig's list for $5 less than I paid for them.

The guy that bought them said that he didn't trust the loaner spring compressors either and wanted a set that was safer to use. He said that he did buy a set at Harbor Freight that were just junk. The set that I had was a better design than the loaner sets.

the other side of the coin is any retail store that sells tools - half their tools sold are "loaner tools".

MANY people buy a tool - use it once - then return it.

Gets pretty hard to make a profit when you've got to ship half your inventory back for refurbishing every time somebody buys it for one job.

We all end up paying the extra cost.

I agree, it shouldn't be put back on the shelf like that - and sold as new ... but - on the other hand - I can cut somebody a little slack for thinking it was ok to do.

Should have gone on the loaner rack as somebody else said.

Maybe it's not as sketchy as it sounds?

I was looking for a tach/dwell meter and ended up in a (forget, orange roof -- Carquest? Auto Zone? Not NAPA) who said they had one. The counter guy pulled the only one they had off of the display for me to check out. When I decided I wanted it, he said he would order it and it would be in next week--the one I was looking at was for display/loan. I'm not sure he would have sold me that one anyway, but I definitely didn't want a used electronic tool. Also, I could order it online for cheaper (and get it just as quickly).

So, maybe they had that one marked and would have been honest with a buyer? (or, maybe not...)