A while back I rented a nice hammer drill for $30 instead of buying a shit one from the same store for $50. For a more niche tool like that, it works out great not to have a bunch of money invested in nicer tools or a bunch of crap lying around.
A few years ago, on the bus home from work, I had a conversation with a mechanic who owned a shop in an economically disadvantaged area. He said that everyone on the block borrows tools from him, and he did it as a way of building a good rapport with his customers.
Do these things exist in urban areas? Seems useful for apartment dwellers who don't have the space for anything more than a tiny toolkit anyhow