Fair body work price

[bcj67chevy]

I have a 1970 gmc jimmy 4x4. needs rockers, one bedside, one kick panel, both lower fender mounts, the upper part of the windshield replaced, some dents in the tailgate fixed, and a little bit of door rust work. Plus painted.

With me supplying all of the body parts does $6500 sound like a good price? This is from a custom shop, and i told him quality wise i wanted better than a driver, but doesn't have to be the best show quality.. He said primmer, sealer, base coat, with about 5-6 coats of clear.

Jimmy is already disasembled and he would only have to reassemble the body panels onto the frame.

Body part wise I would have about $600 in parts of my money before hand.

Keep in mind too I only have $3500 so far into this project.

[POS1]

$6500 for paint and all that welding sounds okay to me as long as the guy has the experience to do the job well. He checks out?
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[bcj67chevy]

Yeah his work is good, i saw several of his projects and they are all show quality cars and trucks. This will be his first Jimmy/blazer, but he has done several of the 67-72 chevy trucks.
I don't know if the price would be lower if it wasn't at a custom shop or not??

[Jdubs71]

Im currently having my blazer painted by an auto body shop. The guy is going to do the body work including filling all the random holes that the po put in. Replace the rockers and fill in all the dents and dings. He's going to pull the fenders and clear out the engine compartment to paint everything. He wanted to charge me $5500 but I offered to pay $5k. $6500 seems like a very fair price for a good paint job and body work. You could always go with the $500 ambassador special at maaco but you get what you pay for.
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[POS1]

Originally Posted by bcj67chevy

Yeah his work is good, i saw several of his projects and they are all show quality cars and trucks. This will be his first Jimmy/blazer, but he has done several of the 67-72 chevy trucks.
I don't know if the price would be lower if it wasn't at a custom shop or not??

You get what you pay for. If you haggle him down, he'll prob start cutting corners. If he does great work, and your okay with the cost, then do the deal and let him do the job. Only way to lower the price is to ask him to do a cash deal. Most mechanics and shops LOVE cash deals and will reduce price 10-20%.
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[4oldcars]

You could bring it here, to Maryland, and pay probably three, four times that amount.

[bcj67chevy]

Originally Posted by 4oldcars

You could bring it here, to Maryland, and pay probably three, four times that amount.

Does the cost really vary that much???

[bcj67chevy]

I'll try for a cash deal and see if that helps.

The only other thing that i don't like is that for warranty he said ther is no warranty for rust repair, but a 1 year warrant for paint, but he assures me I will be happy with the end result. He said that no one warranties rust repair. I would have thout that the paint would ahve more than 1 year warranty??

Shouldn't something that cost that much have a lifetime warranty???

The guys have had a shop for 13 years, but that kind of scares me..

What do you guys hear for warranty??

[Jdubs71]

Originally Posted by bcj67chevy

I'll try for a cash deal and see if that helps.

The only other thing that i don't like is that for warranty he said ther is no warranty for rust repair, but a 1 year warrant for paint, but he assures me I will be happy with the end result. He said that no one warranties rust repair. I would have thout that the paint would ahve more than 1 year warranty??

Shouldn't something that cost that much have a lifetime warranty???

The guys have had a shop for 13 years, but that kind of scares me..

What do you guys hear for warranty??

As far as warranty what do you mean? Defects as a result of the paint job? If the body shop is reputable they should fix their mistakes without charging. I have never had a warranty on a paint job. They would be out of business if they gave warranties especially lifetime warranties. I don't expect a warranty from my body man, but I expect him to fix the flaws and mistakes on his end.

1 year is better than the 5 miles or 5 minute warranty, what ever comes first.

[bcj67chevy]

He would fix any issues for the finished product, but after one year you are on your own.

I have heard of body shops having a lifetime warranty on their work, but wasn't sure if any of you guys have had that personally.

The part that scares me is that even Maco has a 1 year warranty on paint.

[bcj67chevy]

If a rust repair is done correctly and taken down to bear metal and then painted correctly there is no reason for it to start bubbling though the paint even after 20 years right??? This is ofcourse without any rockchips or anything to start it.

[turp mcspray]

Nobody is going to warranty against rust. Your truck was rust free when new. At some point, given the right conditions, rust WILL start again. Body shops offer a "lifetime" warranty to draw in business. They are counting on the fact that 9 out of 10 cars will probably be sold off in a couple of years, and the warranty will never be an issue. The 1 guy that keeps his car long enough, and wants to use the warranty, will still have amounted to increased income to the shop, due the extra business that the "lifetime warranty" has drawn in. It's just a marketing game.
Restoration work is not cheap. If you don't trust the guy, find one you can. As someone else said "you get what you pay for". Remember..."good work ain't cheap and cheap work ain't good!"

[bcj67chevy]

Originally Posted by turp mcspray

Nobody is going to warranty against rust. Your truck was rust free when new. At some point, given the right conditions, rust WILL start again. Body shops offer a "lifetime" warranty to draw in business. They are counting on the fact that 9 out of 10 cars will probably be sold off in a couple of years, and the warranty will never be an issue. The 1 guy that keeps his car long enough, and wants to use the warranty, will still have amounted to increased income to the shop, due the extra business that the "lifetime warranty" has drawn in. It's just a marketing game.
Restoration work is not cheap. If you don't trust the guy, find one you can. As someone else said "you get what you pay for". Remember..."good work ain't cheap and cheap work ain't good!"

Agree!! That's my problem, I plan on being that one guy who will keep the truck long enough that a warranty would help..
Thanks guys..

[Mint68]

Sounds like a good deal for all the work you described. If you get it done, keep us posted. I'm in Lincoln and will be looking for someone in a couple years to do my truck.

[RED 1970]

As others it sounds ok deal... Most important thing is not to pay the guy up front.
Give him what needs for materials and supplies but DO NOT give him the total payment up front. Best to do this on a payment plan too, pay for materials as he needs them.

I have heard horror stories from a few buddies who have paid up front then been given the run around for months!

They also pull cost increases as they go too, increasing the total bill from $6,500 up to $10,000 or more! If you get yourself in too deep you might think that you have to keep going. If you're only paid up to what has been done you have power to pull the plug at anytime.

[Jdubs71]

I forgot to add to make sure you get everything written in a contract. Make sure you get a completion date and see that the shop sticks to it. If he does insurance work prepare to have your blazer set a side while insurance work is being done. I have had my blazer at two separate body shops the first place it sat untouched for 4 months and the current guy has had it over a year and its still not done. Insurance work comes first with theses guys.
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[bcj67chevy]

Yeah, the idea of paint prison isn't a good one.. Making them stick to the time and budget is very important.

I'm getting another quote today from a shop that has a lifetime warranty, we'll see how much the difference is..

Thanks

[RED 1970]

Originally Posted by bcj67chevy

I'm getting another quote today from a shop that has a lifetime warranty

Tommy: Let's think about this for a sec, Ted. Why would somebody put a guarantee on a box? Hmmm, very interesting.
Ted Nelson, Customer: Go on, I'm listening.
Tommy: Here's the way I see it, Ted. Guy puts a fancy guarantee on a box 'cause he wants you to feel all warm and toasty inside.
Ted Nelson, Customer: Yeah, makes a man feel good.
Tommy: 'Course it does. Why shouldn't it? Ya figure you put that little box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter, am I right, Ted?
[chuckles until he sees that Ted is not laughing]
Ted Nelson, Customer: [impatiently] What's your point?
Tommy: The point is, how do you know the fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy; well, we're not buying it. He sneaks into your house once, that's all it takes. The next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser, and your daughter's knocked up. I seen it a hundred times.
Ted Nelson, Customer: But why do they put a guarantee on the box?
Tommy: Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of ****. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me.

[Effeckt]

Originally Posted by RED 1970

Tommy: Let's think about this for a sec, Ted. Why would somebody put a guarantee on a box? Hmmm, very interesting.
Ted Nelson, Customer: Go on, I'm listening.
Tommy: Here's the way I see it, Ted. Guy puts a fancy guarantee on a box 'cause he wants you to feel all warm and toasty inside.
Ted Nelson, Customer: Yeah, makes a man feel good.
Tommy: 'Course it does. Why shouldn't it? Ya figure you put that little box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter, am I right, Ted?
[chuckles until he sees that Ted is not laughing]
Ted Nelson, Customer: [impatiently] What's your point?
Tommy: The point is, how do you know the fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy; well, we're not buying it. He sneaks into your house once, that's all it takes. The next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser, and your daughter's knocked up. I seen it a hundred times.
Ted Nelson, Customer: But why do they put a guarantee on the box?
Tommy: Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of ****. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me.

Haha I love that line from Tommy Boy.

[Effeckt]

Originally Posted by bcj67chevy

Yeah, the idea of paint prison isn't a good one.. Making them stick to the time and budget is very important.

I'm getting another quote today from a shop that has a lifetime warranty, we'll see how much the difference is..

Thanks

Whatever shop you go with, I would definitely do your homework on whichever one you choose. If possible, I think it is always in the best interest to find a shop you can trust. Fortunately, I have been able to find a body shop/paint shop that I have been using for years and multiple vehicles. Reasonable prices but what is most important to me, is knowing that he won't rip me off and stands by his work. Just my .02.

[RED 1970]

Think about it every time I see a guarantee or unlimited warranty advertised...

[Jdubs71]

I think about it every time I'm eating government cheese down by the river... In my van!
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[bcj67chevy]

I Agree. The most important thing is trusting the shop and their quality of work.

For most shops, which are honest, you don't have to worry too much. But if you don't know the shop personally or have done work with them in the past, how do you know that they won't do a fast crappy, but yet nice looking on the exterior job. Yeah it would look good for a year, then the rust would start to come back through..

I may be looking at this the wrong way, but isn't it the warranty that shows their quality and confidence in their work, and also holds them to their quality so that they don't have to deal with it again..

I don't care about warranty so much on a $100 part, but I do care on a $6500 investment..

[lks dcvn]

I bought a welder and learned how to do it myself.

I can do a lot with $6500.

[bcj67chevy]

Originally Posted by lks dcvn

I bought a welder and learned how to do it myself.

I can do a lot with $6500.

Personally I have a welder and could do it myself also, but it is all about time. I don't want this project to take 4 years to do, i would rather enjoy it for those 4 years.

When you work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week it doesn't leave much time to work on the project in the evenings, especially with a family..

You either have time or money, it is hard to have both!!