Garbage day find

[stevei48]

I am a auto mechanic, and spend quite a bit of time driving around. Trying to diagnose car problems. A few summers ago i spotted a pile of stuff by the curb, with what looked like a brand new Craftsman self propelled lawn mower. I couldn't stop in a customers car and get it. A few hours later after work i went back to look at it. I got out and just then the old lady who lived there came out with more garbage. I ask her about the mower she said. She had used it 3 times and couldn't get it to start. Took it back to Sears, and it was no better. Her nephew said for her to get rid of it and he would cut her grass. She ask me if i wanted it i said sure. Brought it home it was running in 2 pulls. I think she wasn't pressing the primer in far enough, its kind of hard to push in.

Steve

 

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[kcm]

I probably would have tried to start it there on the spot, if she was also there. And if it started, THEN I'd ask if she still wanted to get rid of it. ...Which then she might want to sell it, but a low price for something she was throwing out would be fine with me. Either that, or I would have driven back later (after discovering it worked fine) and given her some money for her-now-mine brand new lawn mower.

Have done both of these things in the past. I am especially careful not to take advantage of the elderly. They've had to put up with more years of crap that I have!!

 

[jerseyben]

I probably would have tried to start it there on the spot, if she was also there. And if it started, THEN I'd ask if she still wanted to get rid of it. ...Which then she might want to sell it, but a low price for something she was throwing out would be fine with me. Either that, or I would have driven back later (after discovering it worked fine) and given her some money for her-now-mine brand new lawn mower.

Have done both of these things in the past. I am especially careful not to take advantage of the elderly. They've had to put up with more years of crap that I have!!

Taking advantage of the elderly?

Dude, it was in the trash AND she offered it to him!

 

[Drmad7]

I would consider stopping by later to give her money and then be upset when/if she decided she wanted it back. Found garbage is found garbage. But it is nice to be nice too. (There's my political answer for the day).

 

[kcm]

Thank you Drmad7 for taking the words right out of my mouth. Well said.

Did the old woman know the mower wasn't broken? Was she in her right mind? What about finances - did she buy the mower herself (on a limited budget) and is now throwing it away because it's the only way she knows of to get her yard mowed??

If you'll notice in my post, I wrote what "I" would probably do in that situation. There's no mention whatsoever of me trying to force anyone else to be the same way. There's a lot of ways to "take advantage" of someone. Being an auto mechanic at the time and seeing an old woman throwing out a brand new lawn mower because she can't get it started - in ""my"" book, that's taking advantage. In other words, ""I"" would have trouble sleeping knowing I had simply taken the lawn mower. Do I think the mechanic was wrong in what he did? Nope. I was just sharing what "I" would have done. Nothing more.



Once upon a time, long, long ago, I was visiting an elderly couple that I knew from church. The husband was ALWAYS in good spirits and their income had never really been "put to the test", but he also had crippling arthritis....not that any of that matters. Anyway, they were going to throw out a Weed Eater string trimmer for the same reason as the woman in the OP. I asked if I could look at it - they said sure. I went over and in just a few minutes I had it purring like a kitten. So I went back and asked if they wanted to keep it or still get rid of it; but it was just too difficult for him to use. So I made a deal with them. I would mow and string-trim their small yard for the trimmer. I didn't have to make a special trip there, I had the time to do it, so why not? When I was done, I took the trimmer home and used it myself.

The trimmer was far less valuable than a self-propelled mower, and it also was not brand new - though was still in good condition and had been taken care of. That said, I don't think badly about what Stevei48 did. I was just mentioning what I probably would have done in that situation - not meaning or implying anything negative to Steve or anyone else.

...Maybe one day I'll learn to keep my mouth shut. ............NAH!!

 

[tamrock]

Oh well, The son did say he'd mow the yard. I found a chain saw once in the same way. They said it won't start so if you like it then get it out a here. It just needed a new plug.