What are the shop rates?? $$$$

[HAFROD]

Guys, I'm about 90% sure I'm opening a classic car repair shop here in Claremore OKLA. I used to have my own shop in the late 90s in a very tiny town and it made it about 3 years. I have a full restoration lined up with one of my old customers on a 48 Chevy truck. He also wants me to finish a stalled restoration on a 40 Chevy. He said his best friend has always followed my build threads on a few forums and wants me to build his 59 Chevy. They are both ready to go immediately. I'm in the dark on what the going current shop $ rates should be for classic car mechanical by the hour and restoration by the hour. What is it in your area? I'll most likely start a Facebook page. Never had Facebook before though. The wife can show me how to figure that out. lol. I'll give discounts for gbodyforum members. I'm not going to try to make myself rich. Just want to provide for my family and enjoy what I absolutely love.

 

[85442/86buick]

great idea , i always follow your threads . i have no idea on your question.
but can I book for next winter ? and all the best in your new business idea.

Dave

 

[Injectedcutty]

I think normal everyday auto repair shops here in KY are charging around $80/hr for labor. I might have a way of finding out as my brother n law is in good with a guy who runs a shop that does classic/custom stuff besides their everyday insurance jobs.

Hell, they worked over my glass hood because we just couldn't get it right, told us to come pick it up a week later....we got there and the owner said "here's the hood, hope you like it, now get the hell outta here" lol! He wouldn't take a dime for the work, and it looked killer after they preoped it!

 

[axisg]

North of the border here so the exchange may come into play. Shop I use by work does a bunch of Hot Rod stuff. He always seems to have 3-4 ongoing projects.
He charges $95 \ hr on the newer stuff at the "book" rate ( apprentice work he calls it ). Then its $110 on the older stuffs \ hot rods. Or alternatively $125\hr plus you buy lunch for the shop if you want to help 🙂
Its just so much more time consuming trying to undo some of the sh*t cobbled together on the older cars that you cant charge book rate, and you spend more time calling around looking for out of production parts or making newer stuff work on older cars.


BTW good luck on your new adventure !!!

 

[O. D. Showtime]

Good luck on the new venture Robert...I wish it much success! You certainly have a ton of talent and a great eye for detail.

I have a cousin working/managing a restoration shop and last talking with him they're right about $100 dollars an hour on labor. Of course that is CDN dollar.

 

[ed1948]

Best of Luck!!!

 

[mclellan83]

We do a shop rate of $75/hr to be more affordable for people

 

[DRIVEN]

Independent shop I just left was just under $100/hr. There was a bit lower rate for brake work. $86? We worked on everything there from lawn tractors to classics. Shop I worked at before that was $120/hr in the same area.
None of the numbers we give you are likely to matter much as pricing is fairly regional. Be careful not to undersell yourself. Low rates tend to bring out the cheapskate whiners in my experience.

 

[ed1948]

What will be your fixed operating costs? Insurance for Business and Liability, Business License, Cost of Utilities, Tools and Equipment, Taxes...Once you have calculated out what it costs to turn on the lights in the morning then you can decide how much you want to pay yourself.

 

[gbodytoys]

This may be a stupid question, but do shops also charge customers for "wrong" labor?

Meaning, the technician/mechanic is doing a job for $80 p/h. He installs a part, but after 2 hours, realizes that he put the part on backwards. Do they subtract the $160? lol