Old Geezer

iTrader: (3)

My atty bud said that, in this day and age, of everybody being sue happy, a million $ coverage is only a starting point.
Think of the old bitch that spilled coffee on her ****...Micky D's paid big. Imagine, if that hitch breaks loose, and wipes out a family. A mil becomes chump change.
A vehicle is in your shop, and the shop burns down. Then what? My street rod builder bud has garage owners, and also demands the customer have coverage, and is able to prove it.
By the job? Yes, if it's a cookie cutter repeat deal. Custom work? No way. Time and materials. Bring your own parts? The labor goes up 20%. AND, no warranty on your parts.
We constantly run into customer parts that don't fit, work, and then they want us to take them off, spend hrs t/s, for free.
Just my $.02, after 60+ yrs messin w/ cars....

smitty2919

I have never done any of this, but I have fabricated some stuff myself, or given someone a project to do for me.

Best you can do is make educated guesses/quotes. You can do your homework of BASIC and COMMON materials you work with. You can see how much a 10ft section of 1"x1" box tubing is...start a master list of common materials you could use. Flat stock, box tubing, metal sheets in varing sizes (6x6, 12x12 etc and varying thicknesses.

Then when a job comes in you will start thinking of materials you want to use and you figure out how long it will take you do it. Then you can get a decent quote done. Maybe quote ranges to start with..."Making these motor mounts would be $100-175 depending on material costs". Sometimes you will be in the $100 range, sometimes you will be in the $200 range. But over time you will get more accurate in quoting...need experience. Always better to quote high then come in under that. Customers will always love that feeling when they agree to paying $175 high side but you come in at $125 (all while still making a profit for yourself!).

Documentation....documentation. Create a master materials list with current prices, then document the job you did, material you used and time it took you. Over time you will be able to get more accurate with quotes. Create templates when you can to save time the next time you do it (time is money and money in your pocket). Quoting will be a balancing act between competitive prices to other local fabricators. If you quote a $200 job and others are in the $250+ range and you can get it done in 30min (due to your great documentation and time saving practices) where others are 1hr+ then you will get a good customer base.

At least that's how I would approach this.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

I do work for money regularly but not daily if that makes sense. I do not charge by hour. I give a set price for a set job. That way no surprises for the customer. In my head I have it factored up. I also dont use other shops price as a basis for my price. I price my time for a fair amount plus a little on top for my tools and specialized knowledge.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

Its a shame you quote that while being ignorant to the subject. It was not that cut and dry at all. Let me give you a couple pointers from the case though. 1. That Mcdonalds had numerous complaints/injuries from overheated coffee, if i recall correctly it was in excess of 220 degrees 2. Their coffee temp logs continuously showed the burner temps to be above the acceptable amount and no one fixed it. 3. She was parked, not driving, when she spilled it. 4. She initially only asked for only medical reimbursement with NO settlement and Mcdonalds told her to get fucked.

G Atsma

Uhh… 220 degrees? Water (and coffee) boils at 212. Liquid water can't exist at 220 UNLESS under pressure, and in a cup that is not the case. So lets not exaggerate....

truckdoug

iTrader: (25)

Huh I never looked into that before. Always assumed it was one of those frivolous lawsuits but as it turns out the case totally had merit! Crazy.

​​​​​​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebec...7s_Restaurants

Well I should be good I don't plan on pouring hot coffee on anyone's cooter

truckdoug

iTrader: (25)

Anyways I came in here to bitch about the price of steel, holy **** it's almost 40% more for a stick of 1020 DOM tube as it was last year.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

You're correct and i admit its been a long while since i read the facts of the case. Regardless, it was medically proven the temp the coffee was kept at would create burns almost instantly.

I hear ya on that, I just bought some extra chromoly to add to my cage and was like this crap is high.