Delusional Body Shop Customers

[ACUDANUT]

  I have a 72 Charger. No Rust. Just needs a couple very small dents and paint. (the door jams and engine compartment are done)  A local body shop Quoted me 12-15K.    
Are you freaking kidding me ?
The body shops name is Newman's in Olathe Ks.

[tracpack440]

Yes very delusional. I asked a couple of body shops in my area about 2006. They wanted me to give them 30k then they could start on the car.

[DC_1]

Ask them how they arrive at that number.

Let's says they use $1500 in materials and paint and the shop rate is $75/hr

15,000
-1500
=13,500
/75
=180

So are they going to spend 180 man ours prepping and painting the car? Are they also putting it back together? If they dedicate 1 man to the car he would be working on it 4 and a half weeks......Seems excessive if there is no rust or body panel replacement

[RECHRGD]

Ask them how they arrive at that number.

Let's says they use $1500 in materials and paint and the shop rate is $75/hr

15,000
-1500
=13,500
/75
=180

So awre they going to spend 180 man ours prepping and painting the car? Are they also putting it back together? If they dedicate 1 man to the car he would be working on it 4 and a half months......Seems excessive if there is no rust or body panel replacement

That would be 4.5 WEEKS at 40 hours per week........

[myk]

Post some pictures of the car.  Then maybe people like Hemi-Hampton or Charger-Bodie can give you a more realistic appraisal...

[ACUDANUT]

They must watch too much Gas Monkey Garage.  Richard (the owner) claims to have spent over 100K fixing a 82 short bed Chevy Truck.  

[Charger-Bodie]

Pics?

[ACUDANUT]

 I can send some to you. But I have never mastered the skill to post a picture on here, by myself. I am lucky to actually take pictures with a digital camera and send them successfully.

[Homerr]

What sort of finished product did the shop say you'd get?  Did you tell him what you wanted, what did you say?  Driver quality?  Show quality?

Are they pulling all the trim, etc?  Are you? 

Base/clear?  Cut & buffed?

Expect some CYA on their part when they uncover the unexpected, and you should expect 20% higher than quoted...as a minimum.

[maxwellwedge]

Good materials (primer, paint etc.) alone would be a few G's

[Aero426]

The shop may have shot you a high bid intentionally.  In other words, not a job they want to take on.  Or if they do, it has to be worth it.    They may be allowing for what might lie beneath your old paint.

   
Just curious, what kind of number were you expecting to pay for your paint job?

[green69rt]

I hate to be a killjoy but $12-$15 K may be an average cost for a complete paint job.   If all you want is a quick scratch, wipe and spray then not so much but I would think high quality paint and clear coat (if you would use BC/CC) would run $2500 for just the material.  Complete sand and resurface, minor dent fixup, trim remove/replace, masking.  Then cutting in the color and buffing out the clear; you're up to 100 hours easy.  If you can find a shop for $60/ hour that does a good job then you start at 2500 + 6000 = 8500.  That's probably the very, very low end.

More likey is $70 and 120 hours.  Now you're at 2500 + 9400 = 11900.  So 12-15 K is not that unreasonable.

[myk]

I'm getting light-headed already... 

[ACUDANUT]

The Charger has been in primer for 15 years. No trim, nor the vinyl top is still on.  I figured 2K in body/paint prep work and 2K for paint.  In Kansas, that is a lot of money.

[Aero426]

Someone I know had a decent driver grade paint job done in the last year by a guy (unlicensed shop and probably an illegal)  for 5k.    That is a rock bottom of the barrel price these days.    No one in a licensed shop would do it for that.  

For anyone to guarantee their work, your 15 year old primer probably will need to come off and start over.  

$2000 at $50/hr only buys you 40 hours labor time to prime, block, paint, color sand and buff the car.    

[6spd68]

$2000 at $50/hr only buys you 40 hours labor time to prime, block, paint, color sand and buff the car.     

To a competent body man, that's all the time they should really need.  Maybe 50 hours if they sand, and add a second coat of primer. 

Here's a link to another forum with decent discussion on this topic:
http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?t=50917

[Aero426]

$2000 at $50/hr only buys you 40 hours labor time to prime, block, paint, color sand and buff the car.    

To a competent body man, that's all the time they should really need.  Maybe 50 hours if they sand, and add a second coat of primer.  

Here's a link to another forum with decent discussion on this topic:
http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?t=50917

Yes, 40 hours labor is probably enough if shiny paint and a car that waves "hello" is considered satisfactory.    

[Charger-Bodie]

I think maybe this thread should be titled. " see delusional body shop customers. .....

[ACUDANUT]

I think maybe this thread should be titled. " see delusional body shop customers. .....

New topic. "Delusional Body Shop Customers"

Done. Let's talk about what Customers expect for 6K for a car that just needs paint.

I'm done here.

[Daytona R/T SE]

I think maybe this thread should be titled. " see delusional body shop customers. .....

Exactly.

[6spd68]

$2000 at $50/hr only buys you 40 hours labor time to prime, block, paint, color sand and buff the car.    

To a competent body man, that's all the time they should really need.  Maybe 50 hours if they sand, and add a second coat of primer.  

Here's a link to another forum with decent discussion on this topic:
http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?t=50917

Yes, 40 hours labor is probably enough if shiny paint and a car that waves "hello" is considered satisfactory.    

You're in the wrong business, if it takes you more than 6-8 hours a session to block/colour sand/buff a car...

I know going over body work, and filler can take a lot longer, but just going over the surface of the vehicle???  

I can see it taking longer if you've done it yourself, in your garage/driveway.   But that's just one man's opinion...

Bottom line, I'd expect to pay 6-8K(Just paint, no body) for a solid paintjob...  Obviously not some crazy show winner, but decent enough to have that new car look about it.

[Charger-Bodie]

I think maybe this thread should be titled. " see delusional body shop customers. .....

New topic. "Delusional Body Shop Customers"

Done. Let's talk about what Customers expect for 6K for a car that just needs paint.

I'm done here.

I honestly wasn't trying to attack you . I just find it funny that people think body work just magically happens . It's way more work than most think  it is. To the people who say you can do a complete paint on a large car in 40 hours . One man. Have at it.

[RallyeMike]

I don't think any of you can accurately judge what it should cost from your computer. Who knows what level of quality was being quoted or what lies under that 15 year old primer. And there is certainly the wild card of the shop - do they really want the job? Many shops  don't really want the problems that come with non-insurance work and old cars, so they price the work at a premium. That's why they are still in business!

[Mike DC]

  

The old car hobby's standards for paintwork have crept steadily upwards over the decades.  That's a big factor.


We would be complaining about the huge cost of "just a stock engine overhaul" if we expected every station wagon 318 to make at least 500 horsepower.  

[Kern Dog]

The Charger has been in primer for 15 years. No trim, nor the vinyl top is still on.  I figured 2K in body/paint prep work and 2K for paint.  In Kansas, that is a lot of money.

In primer for 15 years?
Primer is as porous as a sponge. It soaks up almost everything that gets close to it. The shop would probably have to strip it just to make sure whatever contaminants in there are gone.