[mafiacustomz]

i do my own body work i can weld and alot of mechanical work but im not good at pricing mybe you guys can give me some help. Heres what i got this guy has a 1969 lemans convertible it needs a full tune up oil changed flush radiator cut out some rust on the frame and weld in a new piece of steel the driver quarter panel needs a good amount of body work sand the whole car prime it and if i think i can do it paint it the factory metallic blue how much do you think i should charge this guy.

 

[oldskoolcaprice]

That's shyt load of work. charge him 5k, see what he says..

 

[Fishah]

i do my own body work i can weld and alot of mechanical work but im not good at pricing mybe you guys can give me some help. Heres what i got this guy has a 1969 lemans convertible it needs a full tune up oil changed flush radiator cut out some rust on the frame and weld in a new piece of steel the driver quarter panel needs a good amount of body work sand the whole car prime it and if i think i can do it paint it the factory metallic blue how much do you think i should charge this guy.

This is what I'd charge him:

Plugs - 1 hours
Wires - 1hours
Cap/Rotor - 1.5 hours
Oil Change - $20
Radiator Flush - $30 + coolant

I can't help you with the body work stuff.

 

[mafiacustomz]

5k would be like a body shop price i was thinking more like 1500

 

[Fishah]

I'd charge him more than that. Atleast $2k.

 

[Fred Kiehl]

I would charge him the most you can get. You have to figure on the amount of agrivation you will encounter. He will expect bodyshop speed, and will bug you to death if you do not have it done in a week. I would not do it for less than what a body shop would. How much do you think you are worth per hour? Selling your time for less than you are worth is a disservice to you and your family.

 

[daddyswgn]

If your trying to get into the business 15hun isnt to bad to get your name out there and get you noticed but make sure the guy buys all materials. figure out how long its going to take you and for every three weeks add a week for cushion.

 

[SSwervin]

even if you dont have a shop, if you kno what your doin dont screw yourself outa money, you gota think how many hours ur gona have into, at $1500 your prolly gona be workin for like $3/hr specially if that price includes materials.. id say atleast $2500 or say $3000 and hell prolly try n talk you down.. if it was at my shop id prolly charge wht the other guys said between $4000-5000.. but when i worked from home i charged alot less too..

think about all angles tho when u come up with a price.. how the guy is gona act towards the project( hounding you and stuff) if hes gona be really picky? let him know up front, dont be buggin you everyday all day or wanting to stop by.. because if hes always stoppin by its taking away from you working as well, also let him know up front that for $2500 or what ever price you choose that he cant expect perfect specially if your on a short timeline.. if he wants perfection let him know hes gota pay for it.. the cheap skates though are usually the ones that want perfection, just not wana pay for it...

 

[mafiacustomz]

i think their is about 8 to 12 hours on work to get the back perfect and about 6 hours in sanding the whole car down 5 hours in the tune up 2 hours in the frame fix lets say 28 hours for all the work im thinking 1500 1000 for the work and 500 for parts and other and thin like 500 to 700 more to paint it

 

[mafiacustomz]

whats funny is when this is done im going to take most of the money and put it in my 91 caprice classic

 

[Nick Danger]

I had an instructor who said that most new A/C guys bid too low, and in a year they're out of business and working for someone else. They don't think of overhead.

If a shop charges $5000 for the work, and that is a competitive rate with other shops, why do you think it would only cost you $1500? Is there something that they're seeing that you aren't?

My wife is an artist, and she keeps telling other artists that if they charge too little for a painting, no one is going to respect them or their art. If you charge $50 for a painting, they'll treat you like a $50 artist, and if you charge $500 for a painting, they'll treat you like a $500 artist.

I don't know anything about body work, but I do know that something is wrong if you're charging less than 1/3 the going rate.

 

[mafiacustomz]

well im thinking 2k now and the body shops markup everything 60 cent sandpaper is now 2.60 thats why body shops are so much markup

 

[MightyCaprice]

I don't know what you should charge, BUT, if you are trying to use this to get word of mouth out and increase your side work or whatever you consider this, make an arrangement with the guy. Do the best job you can do, but he's got to have the car available to show other prospective "clients", he should be willing to take phone calls for references and maybe contact info on the car if he goes to any local shows, even any parking lot shows. Maybe allow you to use pictures of his car for any kind of advertisements as well.

We had a guy stop by our house this summer offering to do a paintable vinyl on it. Apparently known in Canada but relatively new in the states. He wanted to introduce the product and get the word out. These were some of his criteria in return for a discount on the job. I think the discount was somewhere around 35-40%. Something to think about.

Sean