Welding and Paint Costs

[T25Convert]

Morning all,

The van is falling apart around my ears, now needs the 'normal' repairs of:

1) Front Steps
2) Windscreen surround
3) Fridge side sill
4) Both rear side quarter panels. Jacking points seem fine (had a good prod with a screwdriver)
5) Roof corners around guttering where the high top meets the roof.
6) General seam rash, plus a few bubble round the windows.

However, interior and mechanicals are all in very good condition, so I think its worth fixing.

My family are trying to get me flog it and go down the T4/T5 or a Vito instead, as they think it will be cheaper overall.

So how much does a load of welding and a respray come in at? Ball park ideas welcome so I can make an informed choice and hopefully keep the T25!

Cheers,

Alex

[Dazco]

Giving a figure for that kind of work is a very tricky thing to do , so many variables.
Havd uou thought about going down the DIY route ?

[tforturton]

If you have rusty roof corners, you can bet it's even worse underneath. Windscreen surrounds are also much worse once you get the glass and seal out.

[a1winchester]

ball park you said! So here goes!

4 weeks labour (a guess), welding & spraying = 160 hours x £(?) per hour labour If (?) = 15, that's £2400. If (?) = 20, then £3200
Add on materials and consumables - say £750 to £1000. Plus some sort of profit margin.

So you could be looking at between £3500 and £5k

If you can do some elements yourself, then you will reduce this considerably.

[George22]

You did say ball park...I've similar probe with mine - seam rash, strange bulge (!) and rust around fridge panel, rust around windscreen and annoying patch of rust around gutter where awning mount has caused some damage - took it to see a couple of VW specialists and both were looking at £4 - £5k...that was also based on me stripping out interior (which hopefully wouldn't take more than a few days) and basically presenting them with an empty, rolling shell. As soon as I have time I'm going to look at local 'general' garages who have good reps but may not charge through the nose for being specialists. The trouble is, though, they won't necessarily know the 'ins and outs' of Transporters I suppose.

I like the idea of having a go myself but the reality of work, children and an equally needy old house means that it'll probably dissolve into a pile of rust or an interesting garden shed before I get round to it

I have also thought about selling as well but I've spent several years getting it running the way I want it and could imagine given my likely budget (or rather that set for me by my other half) and the ridiculous prices that some people seem to want these days I will probably just my fingers crossed that the bodywork lasts out until I can find the right garage

The couple of things I have done this year is find a barn locally which has really helped with keeping it dry - that's only cost £200 - and I've started buying some parts to squirrel away for the future when they've seemed like bargains (doors, wheels) - that might help make the cost easier to stomach in the future

[ChrisTriple]

I had quotes as much as 10k on my van, and I'm told she's in pretty good shape. I guess it depends on who you get to do it and how far your willing to travel to get it done, for me the local restorer guy wanted close to 10K he's very good but he doesn't know T25's. And I had a quote from a place in Bristol from just pictures.
In the end I've plumped for someone who knows what he's doing.

[fazzer]

if your going to spend a lot of money on welding and a paint job,get some good feedback from other people who have gone to a good bodyshop.theres plenty of horror stories out there.when I purchased my van it had some pigeon "pooh" welding done by a vw restorer which they welded plates over the rot then undersealed it.Fortunately I'm a welder so have gone all over camper and redone it inc steps and sill.

[T25Convert]

Thanks for the replies - I had no idea as to what body works costs, so interesting to see that I'd probably be able to get the work done for less than a new (well new to me anyway!) van.

Havd uou thought about going down the DIY route ?

I try and do everything myself (including a full engine rebuild). I did a quick sand and patch with filler job on it about 5 years ago before rollering it, but that was always just going to delay the day I needed to get some welding done! Only issue is I've never welded....

I like the idea of having a go myself but the reality of work, children and an equally needy old house means that it'll probably dissolve into a pile of rust or an interesting garden shed before I get round to it

Likewise - plus not having a drive/garage etc is a stumbling block. The neighbours have been very patient when they find me littering road and pavement with parts, but I suspect welding might be a step too far!

I'll start dragging it round the local restorers so they can have a poke around, whilst also looking for a garage to rent that I can fit it in (welding can't be that hard to learn )

Cheers

Alex

[anaconda]

Hi

I've had quite a bit of bodywork done on classic cars and vans and use a bloke/small company in Birkenhead. He's often working on classics, most recently a Bristol. His work and his prices are very good. I couldn't say whether or not he's familiar with the T25 but it could be worth the half hour drive up here to get get a quote, at least for some of the work you need. If youre interested I will PM his details. He's a bodywork specialist not a restorer.

[freckvan1]

Morning Alex ,

I sympathise with your dilemma . We too were in a similar position regarding bodywork .

We have through bitter experience with VW " professionals " at great financial cost to ourselves, realised the van is a vehicle and not all welding is exclusively the domain of these " professionals " .

Most good, qualified welders will be able comfortably to accommodate the majority of welding you speak
of and at far lower rates than the VW " scene " .

The same applies, as always to paint spraying, there are many very good paint sprayers around, why limit
your search to just the " VW experience " and severely depleted hard earned savings ?
A van is a van when it comes to spraying/ painting and in our experience a far superior service and finish
than the mess we paid an " expert " for .

After getting my head out of the " has to done by one who knows these vans T25 expert " , we looked locally and
sought recommendations , resulting in a very good job being done presently on our van . Also gives the opportunity
on being able to be involved in the process .

Yes I accept there are some areas on these vans which require some experience, not the entire vehicle !

Anyway take a step back and reconsider going down the VW route, there are many skilled and qualified
Welders and Paint Sprayers out there, have a go .

Think VW ? Then think £££££££££££££££s !

Atb,

Chris

[restoman]

Well. I think you are possibly using the wrong VW body restoration "specialists" Chris ,my friend
I don't know any of the good ones that charge anything near as much as non-VW experts
The "scene" tax usually applies to people selling over-priced examples of rubbish cars/campers
I've seen lots of ebay bargains bought for several thousand, which are just tarted up to sell
A T3/T25 with seam rash & the usual rust issues is actually more difficult to unpick & restore PROPERLY than
a bay or split in my humble opinion
Then there's DIY, after all - how hard can it be? LOL

[New Kentish Campers]

Very true. Lots of 'specialists' on the vw bandwagon, all smelling a fast buck, chiefly, IMHO, thanks to the stupid money spent on splits and bay owners in pursuit of their rose-tint hippy days, where, ironically, most were born in the 80s....

[freckvan1]

I understand your point Restoman and New Kent, yes I did choose a poor one and yes the place is awash with the
restoration "experts" .
I recognise skilled work when I see it and appreciate the skill base that goes into it .
Atb,
Chris

[dbz864]

Your biggest problem is the roof corners. The rest is just straight forward stuff (going by your list), wont help costs if you've rollered it, takes some buzzing off that does. Personally I wouldn't go down the route of taking it to "restorer" who will want a blank cheque, he hasn't got xray vision so he wont see the rot that WILL be hidden, there will be lots of it on a autosleeper. The difference between a goodish job and a full top bolok job will be huge£. A goodish job is what id go for. Or sell it and get a better one, which will end up the cheapest option. At a guess for a quick job (just bogging over rot) £1200. Cutting most of rot out with new panels and windows out paint job £2800. Top bolok job for a rot box like yours £10k min. Your van will proberly be worth £5250 tops when done . It may be worth £3k now. It may be a case of better the devil you know! Good luck. Ps, 99.9% of bodyshops are run by tossers so be prepared to get ripped off and lied to.

[New Kentish Campers]

Ps, 99.9% of bodyshops are run by tossers so be prepared to get ripped off and lied to.

Well, I had mine for nearly 25 years, so I must of ripped lots of folk off and have a nose that Pinocchio would be jealous of!

Most garages and bodyshops aren't that bad actually, more these quick earner 'specialists' out there, plundering the unwary.

And in response to the op question, I expect a good 10k figure to replace the usual-suspect panels and glass out, 2- pack respray, new rubbers, etc particularly in the S.East and London regions.