Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Broke father-in-law's camcorder.

Prince · 11-18-2004, 12:12 PM

What a nice addition this thread will be to the "don't like people borrowing my shit" thread.

So I borrowed my father-in-law's analog camcorder. It's a Hitachi VM-E545LA, with an LCD display, and takes 8mm tapes. Not Hi8, just good ol' 8mm. 16Bit DSP. Somesuch.

I don't know how old it is exactly, although it ain't brand-spanking-new. Either way, it's broken now. Won't power on. All of a sudden, too. I haven't been using it for football practice, it stood there in the closet in this little leather bag waiting for me to take it out, and once I did -- nada. Zip. Zilch. Dead.

I can't say it was DOA because I've used it once or twice since I borrowed it from my wife's dad.

So I now need some advice on proper American protocol. Obviously I'll have to tell her old man that his camcorder's busted. But how can I put it so that he will understand and more importantly believe that it wasn't due to my improper handling of the device that it is broken. I didn't just take his shit and break it due to negligence, and this is what I'd like to get across.

Furthermore, what kind of monetary damage am I looking at? Am I supposed to be replacing the camcorder with a brand new camcorder, or a new camcorder of the same model (may only be available as used, due to the model's age), or a cash amount covering the approximate monetary value of the device?

This is an awkward position for me. For anyone, I guess.

Worst case scenario in my mind is that he will tell me to not worry about it. This would remove from me the ability to compensate for the broken item, and leave me with a guilty conscience and a sense of debt.

I suppose there is the option of taking the camera to a shop and see if they can fix it...but how much will that cost? I've no clue how much, but I figure it could possibly get a tad too close to being more than this thing's value.

I just want to handle this the right way. My relationship with my father-in-law has a tricky background, we didn't start in the best of terms but have worked our way into politely getting along.

I'd appreciate any advice.

11-18-2004, 12:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
Prince /nɑndəsˈkrɪpt/ Location: LV-426	Broke father-in-law's camcorder. What a nice addition this thread will be to the "don't like people borrowing my shit" thread. So I borrowed my father-in-law's analog camcorder. It's a Hitachi VM-E545LA, with an LCD display, and takes 8mm tapes. Not Hi8, just good ol' 8mm. 16Bit DSP. Somesuch. I don't know how old it is exactly, although it ain't brand-spanking-new. Either way, it's broken now. Won't power on. All of a sudden, too. I haven't been using it for football practice, it stood there in the closet in this little leather bag waiting for me to take it out, and once I did -- nada. Zip. Zilch. Dead. I can't say it was DOA because I've used it once or twice since I borrowed it from my wife's dad. So I now need some advice on proper American protocol. Obviously I'll have to tell her old man that his camcorder's busted. But how can I put it so that he will understand and more importantly believe that it wasn't due to my improper handling of the device that it is broken. I didn't just take his shit and break it due to negligence, and this is what I'd like to get across. Furthermore, what kind of monetary damage am I looking at? Am I supposed to be replacing the camcorder with a brand new camcorder, or a new camcorder of the same model (may only be available as used, due to the model's age), or a cash amount covering the approximate monetary value of the device? This is an awkward position for me. For anyone, I guess. Worst case scenario in my mind is that he will tell me to not worry about it. This would remove from me the ability to compensate for the broken item, and leave me with a guilty conscience and a sense of debt. I suppose there is the option of taking the camera to a shop and see if they can fix it...but how much will that cost? I've no clue how much, but I figure it could possibly get a tad too close to being more than this thing's value. I just want to handle this the right way. My relationship with my father-in-law has a tricky background, we didn't start in the best of terms but have worked our way into politely getting along. I'd appreciate any advice. __________________ Who is John Galt?