David, first of all I appreciate that you're are speaking to me rather than at me.
When I quoted $300 for a bumper, that was worse case scenario(within our realm of repair ability to make it look good and last)....which, worse case scenario I don't believe a quality body shop will charge only $500... Example: We fixed a 300m that had damage on both sides of the front bumper as well as a large area on the rear quarter bumper for $425. In this case it worked out to just over $200 per bumper(with 3 different areas).
In the case of the mirror, there was no chance of causing damage by bagging the car with new static plastic. I would say there is more scratching going on during a 2 bucket wash than how we bagged the car and taped it. My client wanted it done that day. He was not going to wait. He paid more to have it done that day. If he wanted to wait for a day to share my painters trip out than he would have saved money. Price and cost come down the value to the customer and not all situations can be painted with the same brush. In this case he was happy to get a quality job the same day.
Our labor rates are not fixed. Given that my painter will charge me more to do a single small fix by itself as opposed to fixing multiple smaller jobs on the same day for less per job.
We use PPG.
My body shop experience is not extensive. I lean upon the experience of my painter who has been at his trade for 9 years and is considered one of the 2 best mobile touch up guys in the state. The other guy is "on tap" for when I need him as well.
Another growing area is leather repair. As you know, there is no such thing as true liquid leather. So any leather repair is sub-quality to a new cover. A new leather cover will easily be $1k+ from a dealership. A luxury car seat cover will be much more. A leather fix for a small tear? $125 retail.
Do you think leather repair is a hack job because it is not the ideal circumstance or fix?
Mr Customer- "Hey I have a small tear but can't afford a new cover but I need it to look nice. Can you help me?"
You(or whoever)- "No way. Either replace the leather seat cover at dealer cost or don't bother."
Customer- "Ok, I guess I will never have a nice looking seat because I can't afford a new one."
You/whoever- "Why are you telling me?"
/customer walks off sad that there isn't a fix in his budget.(Well there is. But you're too good for that?)
I am not asking anyone to agree with me. But there is a market and clients LOVE that they can get a job that looks really good for a fraction of the cost or trouble. Ya don't have to like that. But my clients do and I am happy to offer the service. I am offering a one stop shop for car appearance(or as close as I can get). We tell them we are not the cheapest but we do the best job within our ability and have a phenomenal success and satisfaction rate.
David Fermani said:
Yes, real world body shops professionally paint bumper covers all day long for ~$500 day in and day out. That includes removing, repairing (1-2 hrs), priming and refinishing the entire bumper. Very rarely do I see a bumper cover replacement costing anywhere near $1200. Maybe on a high end car like an S Class, 6 or 7 Series, but that's very out of the ordinary.
This is where I think where your story doesn't add up. It doesn't cost anywhere close to $200 to paint a mirror? For example, a brand new S-Class mirror can be removed from the car, totally detrimed, repaired and refinished for well under $150. Where you get $200 to paint a mirror on the car, risk scratching the car by covering it unnecessarily, waste the materials to cover it, and also not be able to lay down proper coverage by painting it on the car is beyond me. You say your costs are 40% of what a body shop would charge, but in this case it's 40% more (for an inferior repair none the less). :think:
JC - What is your labor rates for body repair? What brand of paint are you using? What does your body shop experience consist of?
