Is it wrong to make profit from a friend??

You already know that it's WRONG, otherwise you wouldn't ask here. What ya going to do, wait a few days, then add up the replies "fore and against" and make a decision on that??
"LIFE" aint about money mate.
Rod

 

FRIENDS ARE FRIENDS.....CASH IS CASH . You figure it out.
"AND THE BOWTIE ROLLS ON"

 

If you pay asking price you can do whatever you want. If you beat the guy down on price, then sell i think that is a no no.

 

A non-running $800 old car that had been sitting. No matter how nice it may look, you are sticking your neck out and taking a calculated risk that there will be no other serious undisclosed issues other than the bad starter.
( I presume from what you have posted thus far, that you have as yet not returned this vehicle to road-worthy condition? Post # 60 implies that you have not as yet actually even completed this transaction?)

Older vehicles that have sat unused for any length of time can develop a lot of problems, hypothetically, perhaps you can just pop a starter in and be on your way to a fun summer of cruising.
Or the thing could turn into a total money pit. Start it up (if it will start) and the entire exhaust system is totally rotted and falls off on the ground within the first mile (happened to me)
Use the brakes (if they still work at all) and hear the grinding, only to find out that the owner had driven it until the rotors or drums and shoes were totally toast.
Or perhaps in addition you will find out that the gas tank is full of pinholes, the radiator is rotted and leaking, the water-pump is shot, the block is full of rust and the freeze plugs are all rusted out and all need replacing (because the owner had been topping it up with his garden hose water once the radiator started leaking- again happened to me on a nice Chrysler Cordoba I bought) the tranny is going or gone, and the rear axle bearings are shot.

Old cars can be real money pits even if you do all of your own work, and your time and labor are worth something.
So if you haven't yet returned it to a dependable and safe everyday driver, don't bother with trying to calculate what kind of profit you may end up with.
It might be a great deal, and again it might not. You take the risks you deserve any profits.
If it turns out as easy and sweet as you hope, then take the guy out to dinner.

 

Why not sell it first and then come and ask what you should do?
It might only be worth $800.

 

I remember Hugh Hefner once breaking a guy off for being a cheater. It seemed somewhat ironic at the time - but I waited for the explanation... I've never forgotten it.

It went something to the effect of this..

The difference between us, with women, is that there's no deceit in what I do. An accurate expectation is always set, discussed, fully understood, and happily agreed upon in the beginning. When you sleep with a different women, it's cowardly, it's disrespectful, and an affront to your wife's trust - because it's dishonest. Your character and conduct dishonors the both of you. Proper behavior is always consensual, and has everything to do with the perception of those involved. Consent, in this case, is synonymous with permission or authorization; by definition, one cannot obtain proper permission for actions after the fact. You lie, I don't. People spend their time with me out of mutual respect and gain. People spend time with you out of misperception, as you gain while they lose.. These are fundamentally two entirely different states of being.

Take that wisdom how you feel it applies man. Only you know what kind of expectation was set in this case. Based upon that, none of us can properly advise. But, if you think you're making decisions based upon assumptions and undefined intentions, you can bet on miscommunication - and thus who's in the wrong. You know how to make that right.
​

Good luck man. Hope this helps out.

 

When you bought it did you tell him that it was a much more valuable car than $800?

 

Bingo! Perfect answer. You're going to invest/spend on the car to improve it, no reason you shouldn't reap the benefits from your work and initiative. As mentioned earlier, if you were to immediately flip without putting anything into it that would be different.

Steve

 

You are doing nothing wrong. Your friend is no dummy and wanted it gone, you are puting time and money into the car and taking a chance of being able to sell it. I agree, I'd take him to dinner and drinks after the car is gone and the rest of the money is yours!

 

You paid him his asking price of $800. You are taking it to the next level by doing work on it. You'll be putting money into it to get it to the $3-5K asking price.

Seems to me your friend isn't owed a red cent. If he wanted more money out of it he would have fixed it up himself and sold it for more. Infact, a friend would be happy that you made a profit.

 

Wrong or right? It is a matter of how you perceive your own level of integrity. A friend sold me his Dad's 46 Chevy pickup which he replaced with a restored one that he suprised his Dad with on his birthday. a total suprise and I must say a very gallant thing to do. He sold it to me for a great price and I intended to bring it up a few levels. Well i ended up selling it. Knowing my friend was taking his family on vacation I split the profit and took it to him. Although grateful they did not want it but I insisted and it felt good to do the right thing. sometimes money and greed can destroy relationships. I have seen car guys get bent over cars they felt they should have bought before the next guy. I do not ask what people paid and do not want to know what they sell it for. Not my business or judgement call . If someone is happy for their new toy so am I and build it your way too! My 2 cents.

 

Never profit from friend or family, you will lose them both.

 

^^^This^^^

 

THIS

If you are a good friends, you'd want to split it.

 

I agree with Mazooma's general drift. But after you REALLY sell it, factor in all your costs, too! Then tell your bud you made dough and offer him $500, not a grand. You made an astute buy, and you deserve to make a better profit than you might normally make. Hell, there are lots of project cars out there people want TOO much for. Right now, you found an exceptional bargain; I'd share a bit of the profit with you buddy, but 50 percent? No way. YOU will do the work and all that it takes to find a buyer.

 

Go talk to the seller and tell him that what you plan to do.
He may very well tell you to "go for it". Chances are that's exactly what he'll say. Once he says it, no matter how much you make, he doesn't dare say a word, or he'll look like a real puss.
Trust me....he'd rather cringe inside than risk being labeled a puss.
Don't ask us total strangers.
Ask him.
Done.

It's always curious to me why people ask total strangers for advice when the one that the discussion should be taking place with is probably just a few blocks away.

Hey....if he tells you "go for it"....you're good to go.

When in doubt, spit the profit with him.
Find out what his feelings are.

 

If he sold it to you for $800 because you are a good friend and you sell it for a large profit then, in my mind, you should share some of the profit. Its not something that can be written down. Its something that is part of friendship. There are a lot of people on here I wouldn't want for friends.

 

"If he sold it to you for $800 because you are a good friend and you sell it for a large profit then, in my mind, you should share some of the profit. Its not something that can be written down. Its something that is part of friendship. There are a lot of people on here I wouldn't want for friends."

X2

 

I AGREE WITH 28hiboy ABOVE ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

I am truly amazed at the anti-capitalist ideas here. Stunning!
If your friend sold the car to you for what he percieves to be a fair value, and you didn't threaten him or hold something over him (like a guilt trip) over the agreed price, you owe him zip, zero, zilch, nada. Not even one red cent for sentimental or old pal's sake. Any other thought is ridiculous. It's no wonder so many of you are broke half the time. Turning cars, turning houses, hell, turning anything, that's capitalism at its best! Little guys being middle men and making money.
Damn, where do you guys get these weird notions?
Example: (Ture story) I bought a hemi for $100 bucks. Super deal, one of those that comes along once in a blue moon. Are you saying I'm obigated to sell it to my Mopar buddy for $100. just so I don't make money off him? Bucause if you think that's the way things happen you are nucking futs! $1500. bucks, and he got a deal, and so did I. He's happy, I'm happy. And you know what? The guy who sold me the motor for $100 bucks is happy. Yeah, that's how it works!

 

I would say that you really should know the answer to this question without the need to ask total strangers for advice. Ask yourself this, because in the end it could be the choice you are making. Which do I value more, the friendship or the money?

 

x3

 

The fact that you are asking the question indicates you already know the answer.

 

That friend had better be there with the sand paper, and the elbow grease then!!!

 

I have no doubt he would!!

 

Example: (Ture story) I bought a hemi for $100 bucks. Super deal, one of those that comes along once in a blue moon. Are you saying I'm obigated to sell it to my Mopar buddy for $100. just so I don't make money off him? Bucause if you think that's the way things happen you are nucking futs! $1500. bucks, and he got a deal, and so did I. He's happy, I'm happy. And you know what? The guy who sold me the motor for $100 bucks is happy. Yeah, that's how it works![/QUOTE]

Glad you're not my mate!!!! Where I live you would be known as a prick)
Rod

 

Wow, what a wide variety of responses. First off I prefer not to do business with friends to avoid all these responses in the first place. But that being said I believe it depends on the circumstances.One rule I have is if I do buy something from a friend I never make an offer, I pay whatever his asking price is or I don't buy it. NO EXCEPTIONS. That way he can't come back later and say I screwed him some how.

If you bought the car for $800 and flipped it next week for $4k then I would be a little pissed off. Does he know the value of the car or is $800 the actual value?

Now if you buy, own it for awhile, spend money fixing it up and hours working on it then it is yours. You should not feel bad for selling at a higher price if you have time and money invested. I bought a truck once from a friend, I owned it for a few years then sold it for a couple hundred dollars more then I bought it for. I don't see why I owe him money now.

Some people are retarded when it comes money and friendship which is the biggest reason I don't do business with friends. If you look at your cars as an asset then why is it wrong for you to make money. Here is another example. I paid $95k for my first house. Over the years the value went up to $160k. My friends thought I should sell it to them for $100k because I only paid $95k. Wtf? he can screw me out of 60k but I am an ass because I want market value? Friend or no friend when it comes to business money rules. If you want to keep your friends don't do business with them. In your case, pay him what it is worth or it will cost you something in the long run.

 

The previous post has wise words in it.
True friends do not grow on trees....see your friends right......end of story.
I think the op knows that.

The day you put a $$ value on a good friendship is the day you find that you're an asshole.

 

Boy does it ever! Good for you, AND good for the guy who got it for "only" $1500. The guy you got it from, he must be happy too.

Well I gotta say I'm glad we're not mates too if that's what you really believe. So if I fell on to a Deuce 3W body for $500, complete, little to no rust, how much would I be "allowed" to make if we were mates and you wanted it? Would I still be a prick if I said i'm not selling it to you because I can flip it on the open market for $20K? Would our friendship be over due to my good fortune?

Let's get even more realistic. Maybe I stumble on to a 401 Nailhead and I got it for $50 to get it outta someone's way. How much would I be allowed to profit from that? Do I "owe it" to my friends or mates to give it up for cost or would I be allowed to sell it for good deal to the next guy? I know my friends would be happy to give me what it's worth regardless of what I paid. I had a friend say to me "...but what did you pay for it?" on some BBC stuff I had. I told him I go it for free, in fact the old guy paid me to clean up his garage. What do you think his response was?

 

Lot of people still suffering the effects of the brainwashing the educational system doles out, apparently. Profit is bad, spreading the wealth is good. Which is bullshit.

How about this? Once I own it, what I do with it is none of your damn business, if I can't use it and I sell it for good money, so what? If that makes me a prick, it makes you an even bigger prick. I mean do you also go to the grocery store, the discount store, the auto parts store and bitch at them because they didn't sell you something for the same price they paid the wholesaler for it? Try it and see how long before they throw you out on your ass. Without profit, they go out of business. Without profit, I don't progress on my car, hell maybe I don't eat this week. WTF -

Some of this stuff is right up there with the assholes who email me and bitch about the price on something and tell me I'm trying to rip someone off, even though I'm not forcing anyone to buy anything and every price is an asking price.