*Public Service Announcement*

[theoriginator]

I know how my fellow painters and bodymen, and all the skilled people that work hard for a living feel when somebody asks you " how much to paint my car?". Then they often respond with a "ohhh man that's too much, ___________ said they could do it for _____________." I don't know about other parts of the country but here in Dallas, TX theres a body/ mechanical shop on every corner. To everybody out there looking for work to be done on your car, STOP BEING CHEAP! This is America, and in most cases you get what you pay for. Guys that do side jobs won't charge you the same as a normal shop would most of the time but they should charge you a fair amount. If you want to save money ask what you can take off or take apart, STOP trying to screw people out of their skill and talent. If you want real "Kandy" paint, it's going to cost you. If somebody that knows what they're doing is going to do it they know that not everybody can do that and you should too. They should charge you accordingly. If you want the "Superwet" look, it's going to take a few days to sand and buff, as it is A LOT of work and TIME. If you want to set yourself apart from a "Maaco" type paint job (no offense to those that work there or any Maaco) it's most likely going to cost you. In order to roll with the "Ballers" you have to pay to play. If you can't, don't want to, or think you shouldn't have to, then you can't go. I want a BMW 760, but until I can afford to BUY one, AND MAINTAIN it I won't try to buy one. All my fellow skilled workers stand up, and stop letting these cheap *******s kill our sport and our profession. Thank you.

[shizzy]

thats actually the main reason I didnt go to work in a body shop after two years of learning it at tech school. I realized right away I was either going to make money or do the kind of work I was comfortable sending out the door and not both. I have also only done some side work for very close friends. Any time someone would ask me how much, I would tell them the price and I would get the same response you stated. 99.99% of the time I would just tell them to go have whats his nuts paint it for that price then. I know what kind of work I do and I know how much I want to charge. Im not painting anyones Hyundi for $200. all my bills are paid and Im not going hungry. I paild LOTS of money for my education and Im not giving myself away

since getting out of tech School 12 years ago I have pretty much only done my own stuff and rarely mention that I went to school for it since that conversation always happens.

[Restomod]

I may not nor do I claim to be a pro but I do it all myself........I am cheap!

[matty b]

I feel you, although Im not in the paint and body buisness I do custom electrical and you would not believe how many guys whine about spending 5 grand for a front to back wiring job that easily takes a month to do. They never figure in all the time it takes to install all those electrical parts or building harnesses that are hidden. Not to mention diagnosing all the problems that pop up do to bad parts, old components ect. I cant count how many times guys have been refered to us only to say oh I can get that done by this mobile guy or some dude that works out of the back of someone elses shop for $700 only to come back later and paying even more for us to tear it all out and fix everything that got hacked up. Being in the loop, I do discounted work for the guys that can help me out in return otherwise I would never be able to build a car the way I want it. However as a regular joe you should be willing to pay for the service of having a job done correctly that also stands behind their work afterwards. SO yes all you guys undercutting shops cause you are doing side jobs remember that you are only hurting yourself in the long run cause your regular shop job will sooner or later be gone because you took the money out of your employers pocket. Its the same mentality as buying chinese parts for the price, you end up with a half assed part that not only works crappy but hurts the national economy as well. Same goes for shops, after a while all the good shops will be out of buisness cause the fly by night setups pop up and take all the buisness based on price, down the road the shops you should have gone to no longer are in buisness and your out of luck if you need something done right. read this its about my shop but it goes to show what a good shop can do for you http://www.hopupmag.com/index.php?/weblog/article/69/ . These guys were going to Speedweek at Bonneville and their panel truck towing their roadster melted all the wiring in the car and we were the only ones that knew what to do... long live the journeyman, long live the independant shop!!

[bigvegan]

I think it would be a lot easier for all concerned if there were a better way of estimating a job at the outset, so that a consumer could really make an "apples to apples" comparison.

It would be awesome if it really were true that "you get what you pay for", but for every craftsman that takes his time to ensure a top-notch job, (like those of you that have posted so far), there's another guy (or several), that has spent his money on marketing materials and self-promotion and is charging just as much money for a third-rate job.

I had a similar argument on another thread where the local Toyota dealership wanted $82 to change the oil, rotate the tires, and look at the brakes on my Corolla.

If I hadn't been cheap, I would have gone to the dealer. Instead I found the local AAA-recommended independent mechanic who did the exact same service for $39, for a savings of over 50%, by people who actually care about doing the job right. (The company that owns the dealership has an F rating with the BBB.)

Instead of being bitter about the cheap-asses, you might work on explaining to your customers WHY your work costs more, and WHY it's WORTH it.

Sometimes a high price means a high-quality product, but unfortunately, sometimes a high price just means you're getting ripped off.

It's up to you to market your services so your customer can understand the difference. If you haven't done that, you can't get mad at them for wanting a better price.

It's not like people are going to be LESS price-sensitive over the next 18-24 months, as home foreclosures, shrinking home prices, reduced home equity lines of credit, job losses, etc. work their way through our economy, so explaining the value of your services is going to be hugely important if you're going to compete successfully with the bargain shops.

Good Luck!

[The Rook]

I never understood how painting a car could cost so much, until I saw my car and painter after he scraped 17 layers of paint off of my car.

[matty b]

at our shop we actually do most of our work just from referal. Say a guy who has ben putting his car together and is to the point of wiring it and getting the car finished and assembled asks the shop where he buys parts or who built his engine and they say go to my shop because we do a good job. Then they show up and gasp at the price but they have been informed by someone the trust that they wont be ripped off. I do explain that labor is the reason the price is higher and we always have multiple cars in the shop at different stages of completion to show what goes into it so they are well informed. We have enough work to keep us working everyday but we would have at least 25-30% more work if they didnt choke on the estimate. These are the guys that normally have sub-par cars anyways so I dont care anyways, but the thought that everything should just be given away is the reason that their paint is so thin it will crack if you blow on it with an air gun or their engine has the grimy original motor adorned in the full line of Spectre chrome engine accesories. Its just sad though that there are enough of those guys to actually affect professional shops to the point that guys lose jobs. Oh well thats why Walmart has taken over and the chinese produce more of our consumable goods then we do, free trade gone wrong :shakesheadindisgust: . I did watch a segment on Horsepower Tv today though about Vic Edelbrock and how he talked very adamently that he loves our country and insists on all his parts being made right here in the USA, too bad CEOs of other buisnesses dont have that same set of buisness values.