WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : Adrian Lee, 18-Mar-2005, 00:09am
Difficult?........hourly rate perusing your car?...................if your not happy with thier time they still have to be paid for it.
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WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : Nigel Gibbins, 18-Mar-2005, 08:37am
There is a garage near me (my local) that have quoted me &163;800 for a respray for a spitfire if I do the prep work myself and deliver a bare metal car to them. About &163;400 on top of that if they need to strip the paint themselves.
Of course, they are not a classic specialist but they are a body shop. They couldn't quote for any work that would need to be done to the metalwork undernearth the paint if any nastiness was found though.
Just food for thought...
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WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : Tim Willis, 18-Mar-2005, 11:18am
Any garage worth its' salt would be able to tell what is required to make the car safe without taking for an mot. Besides an mot is not a certificate of condition, just minimum requirement for roadworthiness at that particular time.
Charging for a quote is a bit mean especially as their prices seem on the high side (but then the work may be superb?). A business like that should be able to cover the cost of the time spent viewing the car in the profits made from the rebuild. I am sure all traders can spot when someone is wasting time enquiring about a rebuild, but that is not the point. You clearly weren't, and you can never assume this anyway. I do all my viewings at the owners home after work, then take away the details, prepare an estimate and send it to them within a week usually. This way they can read through all parts prices and hours and decide if they can afford it, and what they would like doing.
You have only made the very first step towards having your car rebuilt and already you are unhappy, not a good sign, go somewhere else, there are plenty and it doesn't matter if you go further afield, email means there is no excuse not to be able to see any progress in detail as and when it happens.
Good Luck
Tim
Willow Triumph-
WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : Colin Lindsay, 18-Mar-2005, 10:57pm
&163;900 for a chassis? What carat gold are they plating it with? Look for a good s/h chassis in the small ads or on eBay.. nowhere near that expensive!!
However, I can't really fault the garage for charging for the vehicle inspection - after all, they have put the time and the effort in and I would hope that this cost would be deducted from the final restoration bill. One point to be aware of - get a definite and binding final estimate from any restoration company. I've twice been quoted figures which mysteriously doubled when it came to payment...-
WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : Raymond Johncock, 19-Mar-2005, 09:08pm
Im not in the motor trade . But i would guess running a business in west london must come with largish overheads .So prices would possibly be higher. To give a accurate quote on a rebuild surly some sections of a car would need to be dismantled to ascertain the extent of wear and corrosion . So if a quote is given on a visual look over only you can be sure once work gets underway your final bill will get bigger. As more problems come to lite.
As an example of overheads the garage that services my van pays &163;38,000 in council tax he gets absolutely nothing in return no even the bin emptied.
RAY-
WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : Andy Cook, 21-Mar-2005, 11:26am
My view is that producing a quote iswhat is known in business as "cost of sale", ie at the garages own expense, any sensible person wishing to get a car restored would get at least a couple of quotes to benchmark and ensure value for money, unless you are in ap osition to know how much a service should cost I'd say it's the same with any services in any industry.
As an example, we are trying to find a reasonably priced builder to carry out a small extension on our house at the moment, the cost variation is unbeliveble, ranging from 5 grand to 18 grand, needless to say the company who supplied the 18 grand quote won't be getting our business! The builders we have obtained quotes from are also ones that were recommended to us, so we should already have ruled out the cowboys.
Unless West London Classics made it clear that they would be charging for the quote and you agreed to the charges up front then I would refuse to pay them and just offer to pay for the MOT. Even this is dubious, I'd agree with other comments in this thread that any competent car restorer should have been capable of assessing the car themselves. Due to this and the exhorbetent costs you have been quoted I wouldn't touch West London Classics, I'd suggest that you go with restorer recommended on the TSSC top traders website.
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WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : Gina Wharton, 29-Mar-2005, 07:58pm
Thankyou for all your replies -
I think the real point here is that they told us on the phone it would be &163;42 for the MOT - then added the labour charge to the bill with no mention of it at any point during any of our conversations.
Our whole experience left us with alarm bells ringing DANGER get the car away from these people. I got the impression there would be a whole heap of hidden charges appearing if we took it to them for the work and to be honest we were glad to get away from them and will put it down to experience.
We have considered Quiller Triumph - and it seems clear with little experience of Triumphs that they are bodgers and we should steer clear.
We do want a restorer to do the work - otherwise we will be paying someone else in a couple of years time to mend all the rust bubbles and so on.
Horace is at MW Restorations and we have a quote.
We are still looking at over &163;6000 for the chassis and body repairs, as well as the respray - which includes taking the engine out and doing the engine bay and under-sealing the car and so on.
What scares us now, is if we spend all this money - what will it be worth?
Will the TSSC valuation take the entire cost of the work into account for our insurance?
Assuming it is well restored and we look after it - how long will it last?
Having done all of the above - there is still the diff, steering, suspension, carpets, seats and so on that need doing - which we look forward to doing ourselves.
But based on what I have seen - what is a 1967 Vitesse 6 really worth?
Imagining we have to pay another &163;2000 for bits and pieces - will it ever be worth &194;&163;8000?
Mark & Gina (And Horace)
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WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : Nigel Gibbins, 29-Mar-2005, 10:00pm
http://www.tssc.org.uk/insurance.asp?article=price...
this page will let you know how much your car could be worth.... but genreally speaking it will never be worth the amount of money you will spend on it - even if you did the work yourself. -
WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : Raymond Johncock, 29-Mar-2005, 11:33pm
Gina
Look at what you pay for a new car eg ford galaxy tdi gia &163;26,000 after 3/4 years probably &194;&163;6/7000 . But your vitesse if its worth say &163;5000 now 3/4 years later it will probably still be worth &194;&163;5000. all cars are a money drain But if you have serious money to spend on a restoration have you considered buying a AI car and sell your restoration project.
RAY-
WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : Colin Lindsay, 30-Mar-2005, 08:32am
Very true, Ray - I agree you never recoup the cost of a professional restoration unless you intend to keep the car. If the money is put into the right places in the first instance and the work is done properly then there's no reason why a good restoration shouldn't last years. It won't depreciate and with the rising prices of our Classics there's no reason why A1 Vitesses won't be reaching &163;8000 in a few years from now.
Gina - ask yourself if you want to keep the car. If you intend to keep it then with a bit of expenditure now you'll have a good solid car to cherish, and with lots of polish and waxoyl there's no reason why it should cost more than service items from here on for a good few years to come.-
WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : David Rumens, 30-Mar-2005, 01:52pm
I agree with Colin. If you want a high quality restoration the finished car in the short term will never be worth the total costs of the restoration. However, if you intended to keep the car for many years then it could and as Ray has stated it will not de-value like a modern car.
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WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : Graham Nobbs, 02-Apr-2005, 09:35pm
Gina
You may be aware of my buisness advertised in the courier magazine, nobbsy.com. I have read this thread with interest, and would like to make the following points:-
Firstly, the practice of charging for estimates seems to be more common these days, and I put this down to the practice of getting several quotes for insurance claims. From a body shop's point of view they have to quote on a car which would have had a couple of quotes already, and never get the work, as these days the insurance companies have approved repairers anyway, and hence the charge is for their administration. Most will not charge for a verbal quote only a written one. HOWEVER in the case of a restoration, I think that a charge should not have been made, I certainly would not charge any of my potential customers for a quote.
Secondly, the charges suggested are to me very excessive, and you should seriously shop around as even taking the overheads of West London in to consideration, you will be sure to get better value elsewhere.
Check out Restorers and services on the club website, Customers vote for their traders if they are happy, and that is what this is all about. As a restorer myself, I would like to think I give value for money and a good service which will keep the Triumph in question on the road for many years to come, and making rediculous charges is a sure way of demoralising an enthusiast, and reducing the possibility of giving the car a second life.
If you are in my area anytime or you would like me to look over your car when I am in your Area, I shall be happy to do so, and I will not charge you a penny.
I do hope you will stand your ground, and stick with the idea of getting your car up to scratch and enjoying i for many years.
Regards
Graham
WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
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WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : David Aspinall, 18-Mar-2005, 08:10am
Hi,
Just a few points on this:
Why would they need to do an MOT?? I f they are doing a chassis up rebuild then all work for the MOT should be carried out in the process. If not, what is the standard of their work?
David at Anglian Triumph Services would never charge for a quote and he would most likely travel to you to look at the car.
Yes, the prices do seem high and shopping around is your best bet, but be careful on the standard of work..................can you see another vehicle they have restored??
Come and visit us on the TSSC stand at the Alexandra Palace on Sunday, David will be there and he could give you some advice and pointers as to what you would actually get for your money, so that you should have a better idea when shopping around.
Julie
p.s. I like the name of your Vitesse lol
Just a few points on this:
Why would they need to do an MOT?? I f they are doing a chassis up rebuild then all work for the MOT should be carried out in the process. If not, what is the standard of their work?
David at Anglian Triumph Services would never charge for a quote and he would most likely travel to you to look at the car.
Yes, the prices do seem high and shopping around is your best bet, but be careful on the standard of work..................can you see another vehicle they have restored??
Come and visit us on the TSSC stand at the Alexandra Palace on Sunday, David will be there and he could give you some advice and pointers as to what you would actually get for your money, so that you should have a better idea when shopping around.
Julie
p.s. I like the name of your Vitesse lol
WEST LONDON CLASSICS? Is it usual for a garage to charge to quote you for a rebuild?
Posted By : David Rumens, 21-Mar-2005, 05:12pm
I have never come across a garage charging for giving a quotation. Its part of winning the business not to charge. That goes for any quotation and any
business.
As for the quoted figures, I would shop around.
As for the quoted figures, I would shop around.