£3,000 for body job

[docklad]

Just been quoted £3,000 for a repaint on outside. He'll strip it down. Weld any thing that needs it......not much apart from both back arches being replace and a bit of twanging in the footwells.... he'll do the best job a van can have he says. He's got a very good rep and is willing to take the van on pretty soon. No rubbers or seals included. Photo diary of work offered also. Very tempted, but £3,000 is a shed load of money. The vans not bad in general but as you'll know it gets worse all the time.I live close to the coast so it gets the salt in the air aswell. What do you think people?

[ghost123uk]

Ours is near completion and that is pretty much exactly the deal we have with our bodyshop.

Can't say much more than that really, but at least you know it is within the "norm" but of course so much depends on how much needs doing and how well it is done.

Also it is hard for a body resto place to price the job as, when they get started, lots of other nasties can appear.

When I posted about the amount of time our van had been away, some folks said I should have obtained a contract of some sort to indicate cost, time and standard or work. I had not done this. Perhaps if yours is going to a normal body shop (not a mate etc) you might consider this ?

[Ralf85]

I will be interested to shear what both your restos actually cost once they have found and dealt with all the hidden nasty bits that they find.

Patrick

[ghost123uk]

Mine was set at £3000 after they gave it a thorough inspection, and last week I had it confirmed that they were sticking to it. They also promised (via a written note on the receipt I got for the second £1000 instalment ) that it would be completed within 8 weeks (from 2 weeks ago).

[john1]

You can bet they will find something you always do with these old girls. Best to confirm his charge per hr before they do just in case.
I found after price agreed :
a rotten window full of filler,
Inner wheel arches holes,
Rear panel almost fell off,
Both rear 1/4's, again they had been filled.

I checked all these out before agreeing repair and cost.

Good luck

[Plasticman]

And then there is still stuff to find , hourly rate whats that
mm

[waltraud]

Hourly rate cant beat love and dedication to the cause! There will always be more than anyone imagined. Good luck.

[Plasticman]

Agreed, if it was hourly rates I would point bl;:::: refuse to do it, couldnt bill for the hours done maybe dont make commercial sense to everyone but it works for me, i have to enjoy the challenge else it becomes a treadmill.
mm

[LittleMissSunshine]

Glad to hear you enjoy a challenge Mm

[faggie]

better of just looking out for a totally rust free van in the long run it will work out loads cheaper , in a couple of years if your lucky or less after restoration, rust will start to re appear in the seams then the engine willl need rebuilding , then more mechanics will need replacing , when you work out the initial price of van plus the resto and the rest of the work and all your weekends given up repairing van when all your friends are away camping , the expensive low mileage van seems like a bargain , i have done it both ways i bought a low mileage original van then bought a rare unusual van what needed work even though the owner had spent a fortune on it , it still needed a small fortune spending on it ,