Here in sunny Cleveland Ohio, our basic labor rate is $60 for fab or mechanical, which by the way is the same rate its been since opening my shop in '93, and $40 for body and paint. Some of the smaller jobs are quoted by the job since the normal Joe wants to know exactly what his bill will be when he comes pick up his car. I still find myself under billing the customer, I always feel guilty for charging for the little things that take time, the phone calls to part suppliers, chasing down elusive parts, running to powdercoaters, etc or just doing a little extra to make the finished product more trick. Its getting harder and harder to stay in business these days, I found myself writing checks for some sort of taxation weekly, or at least it seems this way. I have the best crew we've had since opening up 14 years ago and most weeks my guys make more then me. I still find for where I'm at, if I charge any more then where the rate is now I might not have any more work. You should see the looks people give me when I quote them 10-12k to disassemble the trim and sheetmetal, strip, do minor bodywork and paint a midsize car. Everyone wants quality but 90% don't want to pay for it. The days of a nice $2500 paint job are over, actually I don't think those days were in my lifetime anyways. My $.02.
Boris
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