Quoting Fiberglass
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Fiberglass, Fabrication, and Interiors
Forum Discription: Fiberglass Kick Panels, Subwoofer Enclosures, Plexiglas, Fabrics, Materials, Finishes, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=77805
Printed Date: May 05, 2024 at 3:53 AM
Topic: Quoting Fiberglass
Posted By: redlinecustoms
Subject: Quoting Fiberglass
Date Posted: May 15, 2006 at 9:53 AM
I have a hard time quoting fiberglass jobs, how do you guys quote, hourly, by volume, or just wing it? thanks Jack Flanagan
Replies:
Posted By: bcordell
Date Posted: May 15, 2006 at 1:05 PM
For me it depends on the job. Sometimes I quote hourly, other times I quote the whole job. Just use your best judgement for each project.
Posted By: xtremej
Date Posted: May 15, 2006 at 1:19 PM
I try to quote by the job, in writing and as much detail about what they want and whats being done. I will say I don't do nearly as much glass work as some of these guys on here but I have had some instances where the customer will change thier mind midstream, then I highly suggest ammending the previuos quote in writing and add accordingly. I charge for quotes if its the same customer on the same car and essentially the same job, I love unique whips, pimp my ride and all these other shows I get customers that think you can do these jobs in a couple of hours ha ha! Hope this helped ya.
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Posted By: slimmatic
Date Posted: May 15, 2006 at 6:28 PM
So when you quote hourely, how much do you charge per hour?
Posted By: xclusivecustoms
Date Posted: May 15, 2006 at 9:41 PM
$60 an hour + materials. Any less and it very hard to turn a profit.
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xclusivecustomsinc.com
Posted By: slimmatic
Date Posted: May 16, 2006 at 6:04 AM
xclusivecustoms wrote:
$60 an hour + materials. Any less and it very hard to turn a profit.
Yea, I have done fiberglass jobs and know all the work involved, but anything that I thought of charging(like $50/hour) seemed pretty expensive. I'm not even sure how much time I have into my door panels, but it is a ton. But I guess for someone who wants custom work and can't do it themselves better be ready to pay.
Posted By: Velocity Motors
Date Posted: May 16, 2006 at 8:56 AM
I depends on the area that your in and what the customers are willing to pay. If your prices for custom work is too expensive you will never do custom work cause no one will want to pay for the services. At first I suggest doing qoutes by the job and as you get a better name for yourself you can charge by the hour if you wish. Sometimes charging less per job and doing more jobs will be more profittable than doing only one job paid by the hour. ------------- Jeff
Velocity Custom Home Theater
Mobile Audio/Video Specialist
Morden, Manitoba CANADA
Posted By: xclusivecustoms
Date Posted: May 16, 2006 at 1:23 PM
Velocity Motors wrote:
I depends on the area that your in and what the customers are willing to pay. If your prices for custom work is too expensive you will never do custom work cause no one will want to pay for the services. At first I suggest doing qoutes by the job and as you get a better name for yourself you can charge by the hour if you wish. Sometimes charging less per job and doing more jobs will be more profittable than doing only one job paid by the hour.
Maybe so, but if people aren't willing to pay what's required to make a profit then they don't deserve your work. ------------- xclusivecustomsinc.com
Posted By: xtremej
Date Posted: May 16, 2006 at 2:50 PM
I agree to an extent, but would you rather sit and stare at the wall with nothing to do or match the going rate in your area and make a couple of bucks? Its hard to pay the phone bill with hopes and dreams. From my point of view it is also good advertising, how many eople with custom installs show them off? many if not all thats why they get them. I think Jeff is on point with that but as I pointed out make sure you do a detailed work order of what your doing for the customer. I think we've all underquoted some jobs but I put these in the learning lessons category. And by the way I did some calling in my area and a competitor of mine quoted me $90 an hour for fiberglass work on any job !!!
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Posted By: bcordell
Date Posted: May 16, 2006 at 3:16 PM
I've seen as high as $120/hour for door panels. I thought it was pretty extreme for pricing. For door panels or a project that large I usually do a solid 50/hour. If I can foresee added difficulty before I start the procedure I make it 60/hour. I also make sure I never change that rate during the project for the customer it's bad business. If I can't foresee any difficulties than it's my own fault as an experienced installer.
Posted By: xclusivecustoms
Date Posted: May 16, 2006 at 6:33 PM
Before you can compare the going rate in the area you also have to compare quality. Don't underbid yourself to compete with the flea market.
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xclusivecustomsinc.com
Posted By: Velocity Motors
Date Posted: May 16, 2006 at 11:13 PM
Let's get serious here guys. Unless your catering to movie stars, rock stars or the rich & famous most people in on this forum are not going to have customer's coming into their shops wanting to spend $ 10,000 on labor ( which equals 83 hours if you charge them $ 120 an hour or 166 hours if you charge them $ 60.00 per hour ). Not sure about you but what can you honestly finish in a month by yourself ? On the flip side of this if the going rate is $ 120 per hour and everyone is willing to pay for this then charge this as it's the going rate. Don't undercut yourself by doing jobs that are huge right off the hop, start by learning how to pace yourself with smaller jobs and learn to calculate times for sanding, construction & finish. All in all, if your marketable area is low installation prices ( like my area ), you can't expect customers to come into your shop and pay you " pimp my ride " prices and be happy with it, but at the same time know your boundaries and if you can't compete .....don't or you'll loose your shirt. xclusivecustoms, not sure what area of the US your in but in my neck of the woods going rate for custom installation is $ 45 per hour Cdn and our shop costs are low ( fiberglass, body filler, etc ) and the customer pays for all of this anyways. In my opinion, $ 45 per hour as a wage is more than enough. Anymore in my neck of the woods and I might as well be wearing a patch over my eye and a parrot on my shoulder. I'm not saying that this is for all custom shops, just my customer base here would not support anything more & if your getting $ 60 per hour US in your area that's great, but I'm making a boat load of money at the rate that I set for my customers. ------------- Jeff
Velocity Custom Home Theater
Mobile Audio/Video Specialist
Morden, Manitoba CANADA
Posted By: xclusivecustoms
Date Posted: May 17, 2006 at 7:46 AM
I'm in FtLauderdale and shop overhead here is very high. Materials pricing is low, but that isn't included in labor costs. Rent and insurance costs make up the bulk of overhead. What I am doing to make custom style work more affordable to the average customer is mass production of some of my fiberglass and acrylic products.
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xclusivecustomsinc.com
Posted By: redlinecustoms
Date Posted: May 19, 2006 at 9:42 AM
Thank you for the info, I have had people come in with wood boxes and wanted a full fiberglass job for 3 subs and two amps... out of all that I quoted him about 800, he laughed and left, is that too much or not enough, Im really not sure. Jack
Posted By: xtremej
Date Posted: May 19, 2006 at 10:11 AM
NOT enough. man that seems really cheap. Did he want it finish sanded and sprayed to body color? I love it when people laugh at my quotes 9 out of 10 times they come back with some half assed install that looks like a ten year old did it with play do. By calculations after materials you'd be figuring about 13 +/- hours. Maybe I am off a little (some say alot) but fiberglass takes time to do it right and look good. Just my opinion -------------
Posted By: redlinecustoms
Date Posted: May 19, 2006 at 2:01 PM
It was a cheap quote, the market here just wont spend big bucks on custom stuff. But oh well I suppose, thats why I am opening up my own shop out in glastonbury ct. It is just a shame because the more practice you get, the better you are and if I have nothing to practice on but my own vehicle, well i can only get so good. Thanks for the info guys, I will keep all of this in mind with my own shop.
Posted By: prophesybh
Date Posted: May 19, 2006 at 4:58 PM
When I first went to get my box built I thought I got quoted to high. But after learning how to fiberglass, and seeing the the amount of work that goes into it, it was worth it. I think when shops quote maybe you should tell the people what you actually have to do. Let em' know that you have 5 hours of sanding or whatever. These people, that have know clue about fiberglassing or car audio for that fact, don't know how hard and/or time it actually is to do some of this stuff. In there mind it's alot of money but in general there probly getting a good deal. Like said before don't under bid yourself and make no profit.
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Don't Ask Questions When You Already Know The Answer!!!
Posted By: torquehead
Date Posted: May 19, 2006 at 10:55 PM
I would make a note when finding out the cost of living ratio for your area. Feel out other competitors as well. Your competitors also will, in time, contribute to your sucess as well, so dont ever let them feel like your ignoring them. Reason: They will, one day, send you a job they cant do or dont want for some...whatever reason. Here in Arkansas, there is not an insane need for a mass of bling, however, there are PLENTY of sly rides. The autos in this area are everything from streetrods to mini-trucks to tuners. Being Arkansas is known for the Natural state, automotive builders around here build clean simple rides and have the patience and capacity to build some of the most twisted stuff you have ever seen. There is some serious money this area, but people are reserved. And all that reserve spurs alot of money on what they really, really, really want. So, sooner or later, thier pockets pop and.....you get the idea. You better know your area to stay busy and be consistently marketable. I stay very busy at $35-$60/hr for most fabrications that deal with fiberglassing, and thats for glassing only, which may be only for 2 hours, the rest is body work related (body filling to paint prep), so the price does NOT fully reflect the cost of fiberglassing. Steel fabrication is all another story which will not be discussed at this time. You need to stay real for what your doing, because fiberglassing does not use a $3500 MIG/TIG welders, or Plasma Cutters, or presses, or CNC machines, or ect.....just YOU and some inexpensive brushes. Do charge for your woodworking time, but for your woodworking price. Dont price gouge, let your price reflect your ingenuity / imagination / practicality and mostly integrity of your overall service and delivery of your end product. Um, sorry, my 2¢ turned 9¢...but I hope it helped in some way. JD
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