I wonder if I'm getting ripped off or if this is normal practice. I took my F100 to a small body shop for final body work and paint. They charge $60/hr and their work looks great. However, I'm noticing on the invoices that they're putting down as many as 16 hours a day sometimes, which makes me think they're charging me $60/hr per employee for a typical 8 hour day. Is that normal?
Yes, it's done that way. If they had 4 guys working on your car at the same time and were only charging you $60 an hour, they would be losing money.
Yes, $60/man. Nice to hear that they are working that much on it. Most times we hear that things never get worked on.
You'd expect the shop to put 4-5 guys on the car and still only charge $60 per hour ?? C'mon man !! dave BTW , $60 /hr. is dirt cheap for body shop !!
billable hours, and honestly if 2 guys are working on it at the same time your getting 2.5 hours worth every hour because they will tend to be a bit more focused and working as a team. seems very fair.
Ok yea, not sure what I was expecting. This shop is cranking away on my truck. Gotta pay to play huh!
$60/hr is very good price. Consider all the overhead, equipment, permits etc it takes to run a body shop. You can work it yourself for less, but how long will it take, do you have a downdraft booth at the house, and a huge rack of paint to work from. I can't afford it, so I'm doing my own, and it's taking forever.
In Georgia insurance Body Shop rate is $42/hour, but that's a billable hour. If the tech gets a 4 hour job done in 1 hour, he still gets to flag 4 hours. However there is no estimating system for panel replacement for a 1936 Oldsmobile left floor pan. A body man that is real good makes 50% of his flagged hours, the shop gets the rest to pay for everything else. So a body man makes $21 hour, but most body men and painters make 40-70 per hour based on their experience and speed. So $60 per hour flat rate isn't bad and that's per employee. The problem you get into is when you pay $20 hour and it never gets finished. Sent from my SM-N920V using H.A.M.B. mobile app
Like 'slamit" said, 2 people working together can get more than double what 1 guy can ( especially if they work together all the time). And for a legit shop, $60. an hour is pretty reasonable. Those places have a ton of overhead these days. Stay the course, and good luck.
When I finally do get to paint or close, the guy I'm planning on using does it as a side line. He was dealership painter for 15 years and went into another line of work. I've been watching what he puts out for a few years, and how long he takes. 1 car at a time and he knocks it out, doesn't let anything sit. I'll shoot single stage non metallic myself, this car is getting a lot more and I want it done in a booth.
Good Gravy, $60 per hour in Mass. Has to be the deal to beat all deals! The fact that for that rate they are really hitting the ball on your truck, is even better! I'm sure it will look great when it's done, be sure to post photos. KK
FLAT RATE LABOR HOURS is what some posters are speaking of here, but I'm not convinced your job is a flat rate job. F.R.H. jobs are designed for you, as the customer, to pay a specific dollar amount, are designed for those jobs that can be easily "priced". Example .... the body man can be paid on a flat rate basis, or an hourly basis or a percent of total labor on the repair order. If the body man is being paid on a flat rate basis, the shop owner gives you a price of $300. labor, that's 5 hours labor. If the body man gets the job finished in 2 hours, you still pay the 5 hour price. Much like "piece work". BUT, If the F.R. body man takes 10 hours to get the same job finished, you still pay the $300. "Time and material", another source for calculating labor, sounds like what's happening on your truck. You're paying $60 bucks/ hour for the labor. Add a second guy to work on the truck, now you're paying $120 bucks per hour, but the job should get finished, twice as fast. As long as the shop owner keeps ACCURATE RECORDS of the time being spent on your vehicle, by each body man, you are not getting short changed by this shop.
Thanks for the feedback guys. You're right Bob, it is "time and material" at this shop. That was established up front. No estimate could or would be provided. These guys are honestly doing great work and doing it fast. The truck's been at the body shop for less than three months now and is nearing completion. It's just that I'm up to $40k already... with probably another $10k to go... way above and beyond what I thought it would cost. But I had no baseline or anything to compare with going in. It just feels like an open wound when you're writing checks for $3-5k every week!
will have to be well worth it now - live and learn about taking nothing for granted - had a OT 60's ride at local MAACO last year - ended up having to strip off all paint, swapped door-fender and tailgate because cheaper than the body work, then mud work, lots of sanding, base sealer, single stage enamel and in shop for about 5 months - worked on it in between their regular pay the bills work - cost $5K - another body shop owner I know said that the paint alone for him would have been close to $5K
Like you, it appears that "final body work and paint" is either expensive at that shop OR more additional work was performed.
I'm gonna have $50,000 into just the body and paint of a 1964 F100 pickup truck... fifty. thousand. dollars. Hence my original inquiry. Might be going numb from the shock. EDIT: I have done or am doing everything else myself, from chassis to drivetrain to interior to wiring, etc. etc. I just wasn't confident enough to do the body & paint work on this truck. I've done it in the past on a couple cars and they just came out okay, nothing spectacular. Thought I'd take it to a pro this time around, but obviously didn't fully realize what I was getting into. Honestly, I thought $25k would get it done. I even sourced a nice Oklahoma donor truck for its body too. I can't imagine what this would've cost if the shop had to start with my original New England rotted body! Just not sure if I'm getting taken for a ride or if this really is what high end body work costs nowadays. Here's a pic of the chassis and y-block I built for it:
50k to paint a pick up truck... Am I reading that correctly ? No wonder your in shock. Good luck with the project, im sure it'll turnout real nice.
Spending 50K on just bodywork and paint on any vehicle is absurd. Unfortunately this type of rip off unfortunately seems to be the norm rather then the exception. No truer statement then buyer beware. Gary
I am doing a 64 ss chevelle body right now. It is off the frame , I have had it blasted, repaired rust on the front lower fenders, New outer wheelhouses, inner wheelhouses repaired, new trunk floor and body mounts, trunk dropoff panels, left side floor pan, under floor body braces and mounts, new quarter panels, repaired windshield channel rust on both sides and fabricated various other pieces. Plus cutout and repaired previous so called bodymen's handiwork. The guy is at a little over 10 grand right now WITH materials. I still have some repair to do around the rear lower window channel. Where the hell is possum crotch? lol
I use 2 body shops one for metal work and one for finish work. The metal work shop charges 60.00 an hr and has been doing the same work for so long he can hit a very accurate estimate on all the jobs I've had him do, which makes me more comfortable than an open end deal. The finish shop has done 8 cars for me with excellent results. He charges 40.00 an hr with no estimate. He is an excellent fabricator and we are on the same page most of the time. When his apprentice is blocking etc he only charges me 20.00. Sometimes I feel his progress is slow but over the long run results have been favorable to me.
Time and material add up real quick when building a high end vehicle. We have a much higher labor rate in the LA area than $60/hr. I have friends who have paid over $40-50K for a paint jobs and then have it bubble after a short period of time. I would have thought you could have found someone else who would do the job based on an estimate for the complete job, but I know that isn't always possible. As long as you are satisfied with the work being done, and can afford the build, then you are in line with what is cost for paint and body work in today's world. As mentioned above, the complaint I have is "Paint Jail" is more of a common problem than cost. Projects seem to sit for months without any work being done. Should be a nice truck when finished.
Cost it relative to the buyer. Try doing a high end body and paint job and see how much your time is worth