Insurance Work

[crashtech]

This guy on Instagram cracks me up. His attitude is epic! No paint for you!

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I would love to be a fly on the wall and see how they do things. I spend more on materials than they charge for the whole job...

 

[RosharonRooster]

the money is in building and selling. you'll find most of your customers are flipping cars and making 20% off you. i come out far better building and selling. no time table, bitching, whining about cost or being picky as hell.
the busiest shop in town is the cheapest (not the best) and also the first to fail. I'll sweep floors before I'll whore myself out.

#1 reason for failure is treating the money like it's yours.

The only down side to this is, u you have to front the money to make money. The last 2 cars I've sold I did turn a decent profit

 

[RosharonRooster]

I could never make money building and selling because I do things that I consider right but bring zero added value to most buyers. Stainless fabricated baffled fuel tank with PWM fuel pump controller and Delco fuel pump versus used stock tank with a Chinesium fuel pump on a stick and a $30 Corvette fuel pressure regulator for example. I would end up almost giving away my labor. I build my personal builds for me alone and not to make money.

Don

You don't like my corvette fuel regulator Don

 

[dhutton01]

You don't like my corvette fuel regulator Don

Thousands of guys run them without issue. I used them in several of my early LS builds. The engineer in me now demands more. It’s not you, it’s me…

You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about EFI fuel systems here:

VaporWorx - We Give You Gas

Reliable Fuel Delivery Systems for Fuel Injected Cars: standalone, simple to use, OE-reliable, and easy to repair - for a variety of EFI platforms.

www.vaporworx.com

Don

 

[crashtech]

Thousands of guys run them without issue. I used them in several of my early LS builds. The engineer in me now demands more. It’s not you, it’s me…

You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about EFI fuel systems here:

VaporWorx - We Give You Gas

Reliable Fuel Delivery Systems for Fuel Injected Cars: standalone, simple to use, OE-reliable, and easy to repair - for a variety of EFI platforms.

www.vaporworx.com

Don

Don, would those guys help me design an EFI fuel system for an old dual-tank squarebody? I haven't seen a turn-key kit for what I want.

 

[elwood]

Don, would those guys help me design an EFI fuel system for an old dual-tank squarebody? I haven't seen a turn-key kit for what I want.

I know several people that might be interested in that.

 

[dhutton01]

Don, would those guys help me design an EFI fuel system for an old dual-tank squarebody? I haven't seen a turn-key kit for what I want.

Give Carl a call. He is very helpful and he knows his stuff. He’s a great resource.

Don

Not knowing anything about these dual tank systems I came across this with a little googlin if anyone else is curious.

1973-1991 Dual fuel tank systems theory of operation - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

1973-1991 Dual fuel tank systems theory of operation The 1973 - 1987 Chevrolet & GMC Squarebody Pickups Message Board

67-72chevytrucks.com

 

[texasking]

My son is thinking of opening a body shop and doing work for insurance companies.
I told him that they may require certain equipment and safety standards but that I wasn't sure and would ask.

So am I all wet or do they have certain requirements before giving you repair work?

Dealing with "paperwork" insurance companies, has become half the amount of time, as actually producing the product. Insurance companies have passed much of their overhead to body shops. Large shops keep as many employees in the office, as "techs" in the shop. Small or one man shops have gotten to be very difficult, by design.

 

[El Toro]

I am a one man shop doing collision and restoration but older now and pick what work I want to do. Out in the country with a large building and most of my equiment is paid for but still hard to make it with insurance,taxes on and on .So to start up in theses times you better be a manager first.

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

In the classic by Earl Nightingale titled The Strangest Secret, he makes the statement " people who think they can get something for nothing are only deluding themselves" . This couldn't be more appropriate in the business of paint work. Everything we do there has been a cost of our time to learn what needs to be done as well as the cost in time to do it. If we don't get paid for our time , we are the losers. As in the old parable about the three talents, the one who buried his talent not only had his talent taken away that he had been given, but what he already had was also taken away. When we don't get paid for our knowledge and time we are borrowing from the next paying job what we should have been making on the current job. And it is a difficult place to get out of. I hope that it's been a different way of looking at the reality of the business that we are in. And there will always be the freeloaders wanting something done.

I have more than once had to turn work away. Not because the repair was too difficult but due to the customer's attitude and behavior.
A guy brought me his car, showed me the area he had repaired and said, "How much just to spray this small area?" His repair work was pathetic looking and the surrounding paint was very old and in bad shape. When I tried to reason with him about the issues I was seeing, he said, "Look, I just want a price to paint what I asked for." So I said, "What you don't understand is, that when this repair and surrounding paint look like garbage in 6 months, and people ask who painted it? You are going to give them my name and they will think that I do substandard work. So I suggest you take it somewhere else.

Had another guy who had replaced a door on his '70s Ford and just wanted the door painted. The car had the original factory paint still on it and was faded really bad. Turned him down as well.

 

[shine]

i made a good living supplying myself with work. i buy projects that are mechanically done but need finishing. guys do all the mechanic work but cant afford paint. i've never lost money on one.