Body Shop Estimates

[bluec10]

I'm frustrated with the early phase of getting the truck painted. I've had a few estimates for body and paint, but no one will give me a firmish number. The first guy is the local fellow from town and I'd like to support him since he's willing to invest in my small community. But...when he looked at my truck the most he would do would give me a ball park number that was plus or minus about $4000. He does good work and has done other classics, but has a bit of a reputation for giving one number at the beginning and incrementally increasing that number as the job progresses. The next guy I talked to gave me a big number as in "it shouldn't be more than..." I trust this guy completely and he has an outstanding reputation, but I just can't see it. Both, however, didn't really get in close and closely examine the various panels etc. to see what needed to be done. Is this the best I can expect, or do I need to keep looking? Is paint and body work really that hard to estimate? Do I really need to take out a loan for twice the estimate just to be sure? Your thoughts...