Is it wrong to make profit from a friend??

That would probably clear my mind of any doubts I had.
Larry T

 

I'd say your good to go. Profit yours. Maybe if we combine this "profit guilt" thread with the "should I lie" thread everything will balance out in this world.:]

 

Are we really this politically correct? When the hell did profit and capitalism (OOoohhh!) become dirty words in America? Do the deal make your money and look back on this thread and realize how silly it is to wring your hands over making a little money. I have a feeling you're not going to make as much as you thought anyway.

 

I was going tosay depends on what you got your friend doing for you. I mean if you turn your friend out for cash that's just wrong.

Did your friend sell you the car with the stipulation of you never getting rid of the car? If you buy it fix it and sell it I don't see that as making money from a friend. I could be wrong I guess.

 

all this thread is for somebody to chime in that it's ok to buy it at a $700 loss to your FRIEND? i smell greed here on your part and why do i think so because you should be replacing the bad starter on the basis you will get paid upon sale of the car unless you buy it at no loss to your FRIEND. help the guy sell the car and show him what a true GEARHEAD would do unless your not one?

 

After you fixed it, worked on it, improved it, drove it for a season, then showed up at my door offering to split the "profit," I would begin to wonder about your mental stability.

 

I had a guy offer me a running mostley complete Model A chassis for a striping job. As a friend I told him it was worth a lot more than I would charge him for the paint work. He said "Dude you would be doing me a favor getting it out of my garage. I pieced it out for over $1400, he knows and we are still friends. His wife was on his ass to move it, he didn't want it. I do no feel guilty in the slightest.

It is a free enterprise system. Sorry if that makes me less of a "gearhead" or "bro" but if the sale is up front and I make a profit, good for me.

On the other hand I have GIVEN parts away that a fellow rodder needed without wanting or expecting anything in return.

 

No I don't think it's wrong if he did not give it to you with the understanding that you were going to fix it up and keep it!!!!!!!!!!!

None of us are mind readers and we do know what deal you both made but if you feel comfortable that he won't be ticked off at you then go a head and sell it.

I had a friend on mine that used to always say "What good are friends if you can't use them every now and then"

Needless to say he never had many friends for long.

Just remember in Life People get the Right Answers to the Wrong Questions anyway.

 

If it's your car now, what you do with it is your business.

I just sold a 68 Newport for a friend (non car guy). He wanted it gone big time and I'd tell him that I would lower it and do all the shit to make it more appealing to a potential buyer. He would never let me do it, and went back and forth whether he was going to sell it or not.

One day he called me up and said "Come get the Newport, I want X amount of money, anything above that, you can keep."

I sold it two days later and made $500 off the deal. There's nothing wrong with that, I got him his full asking price, and quick-something he wasn't able to do. It was a win-win.

We're good friends and do business together on the side occasionally. He has a screen printing business, and I have a business too. Sometimes he makes profit off of me when I need screen printing done, sometimes he'll come to my business and spend money, sometimes we go in on something and both make money, etc. It's all good.

If you intentionally were buying it below market value for the sole purpose of flipping it and making tons of money, without him realizing it, that would be totally different.

 

If you got it for a "friend" price then it's wrong to buy it to resell.If he was going to sell it to anybody for that price then I don't think it's wrong.I would rather see my friend make money off a car I was selling than a stranger.I know a lot of people that have sold stuff cheaper to strangers than they would sell them to there friends for.This never made any sense too me.When I sell something to a friend or a stranger it's there's to do what they want with.

 

Most people question that right after meeting me! ...but I was quoting where that was all taken into account.

 

its not a crime to be good to yourself he offered the car to you , you paid what he offered its your car and you want to sell it do you know anyone who buys something then trys to sell it cheaper then what they bought it for? ......NO .... especailly after putting work,time,labor into it

heck if i bought a car from a friend and a half hour later someone offered me a fair amount over what i just bought it for .....and i didnt like the car that much damn right id sell it and not have any problems sleeping that night

and i would expect my friends to do the same with me

 

To any of the pious posters...


If after gambling another $1000 (out of pocket) on lowering it, installing the supremes and flaking the roof, POWMIA ends up taking a loss should he hit the friend up for half the loss?

Its a gamble/hassle the friend was not willing to take.

If powmia makes a decent profit (after time/hassle), its always a nice gesture to send some back his friends way.

 

Well, I am not sure if it is right or wrong. My experience when I sold a 65 GTO to a friend for a little profit...he was no longer my "friend" and expected to buy the car for what I paid for it. Did not care about any time or money I put into the car. That was over 10 years ago. He never spoke to me again. Money brings out the WORST in people.

 

Whatever you do, just remember: Karma is a bitch!

 

Let's look at it another way. Suppose you spend a lot of time and effort on it and drive it and one day the engine blows or you are in a collision and the car is destroyed. you might actually lose money. I doubt he would share the loss with you. So, you do have the element of risk here and that is worth something along with your time and effort.

 

If you feel bad about it, maybe you could ask him what he thinks of the idea of you selling it? If he's interested, maybe let him have first dibs on it if he wants to buy it, give him a little discount or something?

I wouldn't feel bad about selling something like that. It doesn't sound like a hugely sentimental piece. More like your friend jumped the gun and bought something he couldn't handle all the way and you helped him out by taking it off his hands.

It's yours to do what you'd like.

 

NO, he didnt want it, i sold a boat cheap, my brother inlaw got pissed, hell he didnt have the money to buy it,

 

It's your car now, do what you want. If you put your time and money into it, then sell it for what it's worth. I wouldn't feel bad he could have done the same thing.

 

I hear a lot of people acting like they are appalled that you would make a profit.
My question is this....Do you get to tell your friend what to spend the $800 on?

 

If I bought a car from a friend and resold it at a net profit in a short period of time, I would probably kick back a few dollars to the friend as a goodwill gesture. However, my selling price (and profit) would be between me and my buyer ... nobody else's business.

As somebody's grandpa once said "don't put your business out on the street!"

 

My 2 cents

If it was a matter of only making a few hundred bucks fine
making thousands off your friend ...well differant story

cash comes and goes
still have friends going on the 40 year mark of friendship

maybe thats because i put my friends before wallet

if it was me spilt the money or at least let him know what you think you can get out of it ...maybe make it a project with the two of you
who knows maybe you can turn one of your non car friends into a car friend also

friendship is worth more than money

I know when the chips were down for me it was my friends that were there for me ...have made it a point in life to make sure i am that kind of friend also...nuff said

 

Money - it's like truth serum to a person's real character.

 

Your good then, he was burned out, he is a big boy. Enjoy your car, enjoy your summer!!!!!

 

I see no problem, you are paying asking price. I guess the next time I trade in a car at the dealership and the dealership sells it for double what they paid me for it I will expect them to send me half the profits. but then I have no friends

 

I have been down this road myself....I came across a smokin deal on a 55 buick that had just been painted before it was tucked away for two years when the owner pasted away. I took a long time friend(15 years) with me to check it out. The price was only $600. Before I even got it home my friend expressed how much him and his family would enjoy cruisin it and going to shows...I knew I could make an easy couple grand on this car but he really wanted it so...I said to him he could have it for what I paid only if he promised to not sell it...He shook my hand 3 different times and said "I would never do something like that to you". Well you know what happened...He sold it the next day....Needless to say we dont talk anymore...
Here are pictures of how it was when I went to look at it and a picture of him with the car...

 

if you wanna do the right thing . tell him what its worth before you buy it from him . and see where it goes from there and tell him your plan is to sell it a few months later

 

Profit is not a four letter word. You are doing some work to the car and not flipping it tomorrow. Enjoy it, work on it, take your freind cruising in it. Sell it when you are ready and don't worry about it. If he is a true freind he won't feel jaded because he will know you worked on the car and have additonal money/sweat equity into it.

 

If I was the friend in this situation I'd be happy for you if you could put some work into it and then make some bucks but you better have at least 12 cold ones with you when you came to tell me.

On the other hand I had a "friend" I sold something to dirt cheap to help him out, part wasn't really for sale but he insisted he needed it for his car. A couple weeks later he's back bragging about how much he just sold it for!

Last part he ever got from me at any price.

 

Buy it, fix it up, drive it if you like, sell it, then keep your mouth shut.