Labor Rate depends on Experience the shop has, Location, and Machinery used to perform given task.
Most West Coast shops are 65.00 - 105.00 per hour.
I had a customer come get a quote from us on chopping the top on his pick up. He asked what our labor rate was, I said 65.00. He said well These guys are 45 per hour. Well when the Job was done I saw the car in bare metal and done, I asked what his total bill was and inquired about the quality, not quite up to what would have left my shop. He said man those guys charged me 5000 bucks, They has like 125 hours in the top. I said funny we did a truck like that last week in 80 hours. He did the math and asked why so different, well we have tools to shape our sheetmetal they use a tree stump. ( Really they have a tree stump and a small bench mount shrinker / strecher). The prices were the same but it took them longer to do the same task, but there quality was a little less due to lack of skill & proper equipment.
Talent will get you along ways, But Talent no tools will only get you so far. Talent with proper tools will you a proper job, Talent with a top notch tooling will get you a top notch product in less time.
Could a talented guy build a really nice home with a hand saw and claw hammer, sure. It might take longer, Could he build a better house with power tools, in some instances yes, but I guarantee it would be quicker.
Oh and my Workers Comp insurance just jumped 40 Percent this year.... YIPPIEE. I have never had one claim in 9 years.
Rodger
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