The Original Post
Hi there! This happened more than 10 years ago, but I’ve always wondered who was right. I (female) bought a used motorcycle with my own money and my boyfriend at the time went with me to check it out. As we were talking to the seller, she mentioned that she had recently upgraded the pipes. My boyfriend asked if she still had the old pipes. She did. So he asked her if she would include the pipes in the purchase. She agreed! So when I paid several thousand dollars in cash for the motorcycle, it also came with a spare set of pipes worth a few hundred dollars.
My boyfriend took the pipes home and started taking pictures of them to put them for sale on Craigslist. I said that was good thinking on his part to ask for the pipes and that I would be happy to give him a cut of the sale. He said absolutely not, the pipes were HIS because we wouldn’t have them if he hadn’t asked for them. I said the pipes were actually MINE because we wouldn’t have them without my paying for the bike. I did, however, believe that he should be compensated for coming up with the idea, so I offered a 50/50 split. It turned into a huge argument and I finally relented and let him have the pipes and 100% of the proceeds from the sale (a few hundred dollars).
Although I could kind of see his side, I always felt like he bullied me into giving him those pipes. We aren’t together anymore, but curious as to which of us was the AH.
EDIT:
1. It’s not that I didn’t care about the pipes, it just didn’t occur to me that she might still have them after putting on the new ones.
2. When he initially asked for them, I thought he was looking out for me and getting them for us to keep as spares.
3. It wasn’t until we got home and he started taking pictures of them that I found out he planned to sell them.
4. I’m not still upset about this, nor do I think of it very often…as many of you pointed out it’s ancient history regarding an ex-boyfriend. Just one of those “grey areas” where I’ve always wondered who was right. Thanks so much for your feedback and interesting (sometimes hilarious) responses! It’s been fun!
What Reddit Said
Reddit was absolutely furious on OP’s behalf. The consensus was immediate and overwhelming: she paid for everything, therefore she owned everything. Moreover, commenters praised her 50/50 split offer as extremely generous.
Many users pointed out this was essentially theft. In fact, several comments celebrated that she eventually dumped him. The boyfriend’s entitlement shocked readers, with many calling it a major red flag.
The Verdict
The overwhelming consensus: OP is Not the Asshole (NTA). This boyfriend stole motorcycle parts money that rightfully belonged to her since she funded the entire purchase. Reddit viewed this as classic relationship drama involving financial manipulation and toxic partner behavior. Her ex-boyfriend was completely in the wrong.
Original post from r/AmItheAsshole (2,792 upvotes, 476 comments)