One of my good friends owns a few Insurance body shops down in SD. I have always taken my work down to him since he gives me basically the cost of material and his lower then min. wage labor rates. So I have no grasp on the reality of the cost of body work. I do not have the time right now to take my car down to SD (100mi) leave it take the metro train back to OC and then a week later do it agiain in the reverse.

So my question I took my car to get an estimate to a guy near my office recommended by the detailer in my building. (I know the guy and he has always been cool to deal with) Any rate I need the front bumper repainted the 1st owner selected the wrong shop to the work. The finish looks poor IMHO and it took a rock beating being a poor quality job. At the same time I am getting the skirts painted. Not as bad of a finish but they need some touch up might as well get them done. Last my new 04 GT3 Wing that took Porsche 2 months to track down a set of caps that I misplaced. Soooo I got the regular sales song and dance... "you want it done right" "you came here to get it done right" "it is not cheap" But, I am going to take care of you because you know Mark" blah blah blah I am in sales so I can see right through it...

He said $1100 total with labor uninstall reinstall.

$350 for the wing
$550 for the bumper
$200 for the skirts

I gave him the song and dance back... patted him on the shoulder and said let me sleep on it. I can go back tomorrow with a counter offer, and/or I can get the rear GT fins thrown into the cost which we forgot to talk about. I am not usually cheap but I don't want to be hosed. Plus I like the art of a negotiation.

What do you guys think poor deal,, Fair deal, or Are you crazy TAKE IT!

BTW this is a pretty large shop reputable looking not a one stall garage in the Barrio.

 

As a point of reference, I paid about $1,350 to have the GT3 seats (including little rings) and the lower portion of my rear bumper painted. I did not shop around, I took it to a local shop that I know does great work.

 

Sounds like a good deal.

 

why is there such a big price difference between the bumper and skirts? the shop that painted my skirts can paint the bumper for the same price. $200

 

Sandoval, I had my front bumper re-sanded and re-painted 2 years ago on my 99 996, and it cost $600. So, the bumper cost is reasonable. I hope that helps.

 

The number sounds low. One thing to wonder - if they give it away because you know someone, does your job get the same priority in the shop? I'd want the best guys on it, with the most amount of experience. Some shops discount like this and then toss the job to the flunky who started last month, especially when they are parts that are painted off the car.

Sounds cheap. If you're confident in the work being done to your expectations, you should do it.

 

Sounds low to me.

I'd go back and tell the guy that you're **** about your cars, and that nothing short of perfection will be acceptable, so you want him to put his best people on the job, and to personally inspect the finished product before calling you to pick it up. Also ask to tour the shop, ask what brand of paint they use (Glasurit is used by the factory and the best shops use it) and check out what kind of cars they're working on.

Since he said things like "you came here to get it done right" then hopefully your comments about only perfection being acceptable will register.

 

I agree with Poursha, sounds low. I paid $800 for my GT3 wing to be painted and installed. For reference, the wing takes all of twenty minutes to install.

I know the labor will be more on the side skirts as I have heard these are a bear to uninstall/install.

Now, I paid a real high amount, probably a good 200-300 more then I "could" have, but most of that was convenience as the shop was right next door to work and I had no down time. Plus, the did an amazing job on it.

Robyn

 

btw by the referal that I gave you, he let me supply all the parts whcih i got at cost from sunset porche as well as reduced his labor rate considerable to help out my situation, I was paying out of pocket because I am still in a lawsuit over the accident-

 

sounds like a pretty good deal. here is the number for By Designs and Meridians paint and body guy Venice. 310-202-1555. i don't know how many porsches your guy has fitted or preped, but this Venice shop has many porsches from real gt-2 to turbo cabs being worked on at all times. he specializes in porsches. i'm sure if you told him you found this through 6-speed he would match your price, but with guaranteed quality.

 

sounds like a normal deal .. not too good but not bad too.. thats about average what anyoen would pay to get some body work done

 

Thanks guys. Well I dropped the car off. Now that it is a sunny day and during business hours they had all of the customer cars out 90% of the shop were highline cars. They had 3 996's with accident repair being worked on. I toured the shop a dozen or so bays 3 deep and very busy. He is also painting the GT skirts at the agreed $1100 cash price.

I got a ride from the flunky that was a really nice guy and was definatley the grunt. I questioned him during the ride. He said the owner is a perfectionist and tends only to take Porsche, Merc, and BMW work amongst other highline cars. He also said they get regular Insurance work and he is just as **** about the american cars. The kid was young and did not know any better. So I trust what he was telling me. He also said the owner is a ball buster and expects everything to be perfect all the time.

I did get to see some of the work. Everything was done really well. I feel so much better. I will let you guys know the final outcome.

 

Looking forward to pictures! How long did they say the work would take?

 

1100 with the gt fins now that is a good deal

now u need to post pics as soon as they are done

 

Sandoval,

Can you forward me the name of this place? The lower lip on my BMW was damaged (by me) and I like to take it to a reputable shop. Thanks...

safetywork@aol.com