Is there a better way to execute car projects

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Originally Posted by ironworks

So my question is who pays for the Written Detailed Estimate? Our main customers would tell me just to get to work and communicate with them as the process unfolds what is happening. I talk with customers as much as they want and open the door for the dumbest questions, Because if its a question for them its not dumb. They need to understand the process and they have to see they are being treated fairly.

How can you expect a guy to give a spot on Estimate on a project of this precision when the can't build air craft carriers or bridges on time and exactly on budget?

We are working on 55 Chevrolet and we put a new quarter panel on one side and not the other. I now know it would have been much less work to have put a quarter panel on both sides due to the stamping differences from the original quarter panels and the repo unit. It was a major visual difference. MAJOR. How do you budget for that? Whose fault is that? We are hired to build perfect cars with very imperfect parts that are marketed to Just bolt right on cars that were not perfect when new and perform perfectly. And just because a parts fits perfectly on one car does not mean it will fit perfectly on the next car.

The biggest thing I have learned is you have to be able to charge a customer a fair amount of money to be able to keep the ball rolling. You also have to take your licks when you screw something up. No one builds everything perfect every time. The way to win a customer is with integrity and knocking money off the bill with out them asking because you screwed something up does that.

The only way to fix a lack of communication is with the communication the customer wants and needs to hear to understand. But you can explain it to them all day long and it does not mean they understand you, even if they say they do.

An experienced estimator will know what to look for and also read the customer.

As of now, in CA, vehicle reconstruction falls into a grey area as far as the BAR is concerned. There are no set times for most of the work that we we do. That is why I try to stay within an industry standard. If Blake over at Speedtech, Steve over at EBMC charges 40 hours to do a mini tub, that's what I charge.
Early on we did a time study and most seems standard.

Right now the thing that kills a business is the for mentioned creep. The customer wants to add or increase modifications. That little added step may push 3 of the next customers in line back a month and increase my profit/loss into the red for that period of time.

OP...make a good accurate project plan, stay the course and keep the jobs coming in no matter how small the job.