COMMANDER2OOO

hey guys had a lil work done on my car front splitter, side skirts, rear spoiler, window rails, all mounted an painted had the front clip removed to remove the headlights to get sent off to be custom an a few other miscellaneous things done to get the vette back to like new an I was outraged when I got my bill $6,689 of which over $5000 was labor does that sound right an what should I do about it ? the owner gave me my bill an left for vacation for 10 days I haven't paid yet an have plenty time to think about it

burneyr

You didn't agree on a price for the work beforehand?

johnodrake

I think you should take a peek at your estimate.

COMMANDER2OOO

I agreed on an hourly rate but had no idea of how many hours he charged me for redoing work that wasn't done right the first time

choprfgr

Scrape on fender and rear fascia repaired = $1995

Man Up!

wayback

Rework should be on his dime.

Steve_R

What should you do about it? Did you authorize the work? If so, you should pay it. Did you not get an estimate or have any idea what it would cost?

Typical shop labor charges are pushing $100/hr, so that's 50 hours or so of labor. From your description of the work there would be a lot of labor involved. Paint work is never cheap either.

Mikado463

my thoughts exactly, Op, I trust you've learned your lesson here !

COMMANDER2OOO

ok so your sayin this sounds about right ? if so I will just pay it

BWF07

I cannot say how long that should have taken, but again, if you did not get a written estimate, or get the labor rate and how long they estimated the work would take, sounds like you just need to pay the bill.
As for the front splitter you are looking at an hour to install it. Rear spoiler maybe 1-2 hours and the side skirts a gain 1-2 hours. That does not include painting of course. Not sure what the man hours are to remove the front clip. But again I would never drop my car off and have nothing in writing as to what the cost will be.

Steve_R

Without knowing exactly what was done I can't say it sounds "about right," but it doesn't sound outrageous. I used to work at a body shop so I have a good idea how much good paint work costs. I had mine repainted last year because a truck in front of my dropped a bunch of gravel. The final bill was close to $9,000.

Eric_G

What struck me as interesting is that you saw his labor charge and that is what seems to have your panties in a wad. You also stated you agreed to an hourly rate for the work to be conducted under and YOU set NO CEILING LIMIT...this is called a time and materials contract and you accepted by agreeing to his labor rate.

You should have negotiated a fixed-price contract. That is where the amount of payment does not depend on the amount of resources or time expended. In short you agreed this work and you own it.

Gotta suck it up buttercup. Next time don't let excitement of a project cloud your judgement and rush into a project without some planning.

BROCKYJACK

I would always advise someone to have an estimate on custom work with the stipulation that if it appears it is going to exceed the estimate then further work would require my approval. If you give someone carte blanche then you have no one but yourself to blame if you do not like the outcome. just my opinion

mrhandy

Glad that's not me.But thanks for putting something on my mind when I get ready or if I ever decide to have work done.Hate it for you my man but have to agree with the others.Should have gotten an estimate or quote.Question is,are you satisfied with what was done?

Knob Jockey

50 hours at $100 per doesn't seem too outrageous given your list of mods/paint/etc.

Good shops usually provide a fairly detailed breakdown of labor costs and materials. Did you get any paperwork spelling things out for you?

If not, that's the first thing I'd ask for and then challenge them if any of the labor appears excessive.

Good shops/mechanics are also forthcoming in explaining any extenuating circumstances or challenges they may have encountered.

Don-Vette

Generally when you have work done on a vehicle the business tells you what the cost will be beforehand and you agree to that price and sign the estimate. While doing that work, they find the cost will be more money they should contact you.

Sounds like you just told them to do all that stuff without a price estimate beforehand. Therefore pay the piper and learn a lesson.

NY3quartrs5-oh

Something doesn't seem right here. While I agree with everyone else that you should have known before hand so this wouldn't happen, THE SHOP WOULD ALSO LIKE TO GIVE YOU THE ESTIMATE IN $$ SO THEY KNOW IF THEY WILL GET PAID. WITH THAT BEING SAID, HE GAVE YOU THE CAR BACK THEN WENT AWAY NOT KNOWING IF HE'S GETTING PAID?? What are you not telling us?

J Vette

When I was in business it was not uncommon for some customers to keep adding work but not realize they were adding cost. All those miscellaneous things done to get the vette back to like new
take time and add cost.

HMMM. Redoing work on your dime??? How do you know that? Sounds to me like you are looking for an excuse to beat him out of $$$. Please pardon me if I am wrong. I'm just jaded by customers who act as if a bill is negotiable.

There's more going on than meets the eye here

COMMANDER2OOO

ok I appreciate all of your input but I think I will go talk to a lawyer an see what he says if he says what most of u are sayin that I should have gotten an estimate up front an its on me then I will just pay it we shall see

J Vette

Do you really need a lawyer to tell you that you should have gotten an estimate?? Really??