Re: Average hourly rate for car restoration?

Posted by Fish'n Jim On 2018/5/27 10:58:41

Labor rates always very by location. So you may pay more or less than the average. I'd say that your average figure(US) is not out of line for most mechanical and body shops. Also shop efficiency comes into play. ie, how much work they get complete per billed hour. Hard to judge that unless you have experience with shop. There's no "restoration police" that monitors these factors in shops as their is in construction, etc.
Then there's specialties like do they upcharge and how much the parcelled out work like chrome, blasting, paint, upholstery, glass, radiator, etc. they can't do in house. Chrome is a large expense. Paint is too if done right.
Depending on what you have, they could expend a large amount of hours finding parts. So that needs to be considered, hoe they manage.
So I'd negotiate with the shop, not just accept what they tell you. Also, some sense of timeline, as some are notoriously slow/overbooked.
I'd be more worried about expertise and equipment than the hourly charge. i.e. can they do all that you want done. Inspect any shop before you hire. Cleanliness, quality of work, pedigree of the craftsmen, etc.
One might "try" them on a small job first and see how it goes, like fixing the brakes, starter, or wiring. I did that and helped decide if they were reputable/reasonable or not. Promises come cheap. There's several thousand hours in making a new car, and more if you take an old one and try to make new, so the cost is not the issue, what counts is if the vehicle's value can support the investment and it's what you want to do with that money.
Always less to buy one already done.