Going cost for redoing a bench seat?

Prices vary Don't they? Damn, from $2000 to $250. I think two grand to redo a seat is crazy, it better perform sexual favors for me while I drive!

 

Foam to re-do a mid fifties bench seat... 2 peices... $70
4 yards of 1/2" sew foam for fancy pleats... $20
6 yards of contract vinyl..... $48
One can of spray paint to paint a rusted nasty frame.... $0.99 (I like black)

Alll of the above are my cost... no mark up. (you can count on a 100% or more mark up from most shops).... Total $138.99

Now, lets talk shop rate. I pay rent, lights, phone, heat, water... so $45 per hour covers things.. with enough left over to buy diapers, formula and groceries (and the occasional dinner out).

Next, lets strip the nasty seat, repair or replace the broken springs (oops, didn't charge for new springs... but I'll suck that up) and paint the sucker... about 4 hours. Now let's foam it, carve it, grind it and scribble a design for pleats with a sharpie... maybe 3 hours. Sometimes you have to wait for glue to dry... (SHIT, I forgot to charge for glue!) Okay, day one.. cause I took an hour for lunch to read the HAMB $315

Finally, the customer digs the design. Pattern make, glue the material to the foam (there's the pesky glue again... good thing it only costs $50 for 5 gallons!).... um sew it together (damn... It must be my first day I forgot to charge for thread). Stretch and cover each piece. Get fussy with the fit and re-stitch for no wrinkles. I hate wrinkles!!! And the day is over... 8 hours labor (the HAMB was slow so lunch was a 5 minute affair) ... Total $360.

Grand total with no materials mark up $813.99

Now lets figure a new total with typical materials mark up (except for glue ) $952.98

Oh and if you live in Ohio don't forget their share of 5.75%... $54.80

New total $1007.78... and, nope, it doesn't give you a sexual favor But it does look good, pays my insurance, retirement and feeds my kid. Leather will cost more

 

The guy that is getting a seat cover for $250 is getting exacty that...a $250 seat cover..hes not getting anything fixed, rebuilt or designed. The new cover will quickly take the shape of the old broken down seat and youll have a crapy seat all over again. He probably thinks hes getting tuck and roll but hes getting topstitched pleats (which probably arent going to be nice and straight and line up from seat back to bottom, or even the same width). Its not going to be a good quality job with quality materials that will last, done by a craftsman that cares about the job. Its just gonna be done to cover the seat and make a buck.

Appleman is tearing your seat down to the frame, fixing broken springs, painting the frame, cutting new foam (high quality) contouring the foam to give it shape to make the seat look nicer and make you more comfortable, taking time to layout a nice design that will compliment the car and seat design, that the customer is happy with, then stitching up a nice cover (where the pleats will actually line up and be proportional) with quality materials (that will last) and taking the time to install it correctly so that your new seat cover does not have wrinkles in it.

Seriously, you can get your car painted at Earl Schieb and thats what you get..your car painted, along with your tires and windows and all your paint is gonna fade and fall off cause they didnt prep the car right and they used crappy products.

Or you can get a really nice paint job thats gonna look nice for years. Done by someone that cares about the final product. But you gotta pay for it.

 

Hey skipstitch, thanks for breaking that down for us. It really helps put things in perspective.

 

The guy who quoted me $240 before was a flake. Ended up going with someone else. It cost me about $500. when all was said and done, thats including tax.

Its real tuck and roll, lots of new padding, good qaulity vinyl and was done in a week and a half.