Is this the norm?

MANCAVER · info@mancavestuff.ca

Is this the norm?

427CARL · CLINTON, ONT

MANCAVER wrote:
A while back I took a BMW to a well known body shop in Collingwood. It needed a rust repair over the back wheel, below the fuel filler door. The estimator came out and looked at it. Then he looked at me like I had 2 heads. He said, we don't do rust work here. Our guys won't do that kind of work. We are professionals here. I said oh, OK and left shaking my head. Has rust repair work become an insult to body shops? Is it a low class type of work or something. I was actually very surprised by this. I had no idea.

Is this the norm?

Interesting...

over here on the Lake Huron coast the local body shops will do rust repair IF they have nothing to do disbelief

I have passed up on several projects becasue of the 2-3 year wait

A friend on Cdn Poncho, just sold a restored 66 396 Beaumont.... was 6 years waiting for body work to be finished

and think about it WHO trains a young fellow(s) to do rust repair ??

hemikev · HAMILTON, ONT

They want collision work ,,fender benders ..cars are disposible throw away cars,,,most dont rust away these days....i would have shaken my head as well .. money is money ,, that body shop hhas to much i guess

BARRIE, ONTARIO

contact L and M auto body , on tifiin st barrie ask for Darren , the owner , tell him doug from ssm , decent guy , decent prices ..77.

sasquatch · NORTH BAY, ONT

Body shops must be booked full, with all the dipsticks crashing their cars in these multi vehicle pile ups this winter. Insurance work on basicly no rust vehicles.
as i have posted here before,,, no one is "Hungry,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Yet".

Lightspeed Mike · BELLEVILLE, ONT

No money in rust repair. Impossible to estimate properly with out tearing the car apart.
Most large shops won't touch it.
Try going to smaller shops and ask. Body and paint isn't cheap anymore.

poncho62 · ADMINISTRATOR

Guess there is nobody there building a rat rod back in the corner.........

Fordy Acres Car Farm · DORCHESTER, ONT

I can't say I really blame them. Don't we all try to get the most rust free tin we can lay our mitts on? Well, except for Grumps that is.

240 gordy · ROSENEATH, ONT

Becoming like dealer mechanics, they don't fix cars,they just replace parts. Stuff they train monkeys to do.

Cat in the Hat · BRANTFORD, ONT

Hey. I resemble that remark!

I ONLY work in RUST

BUT dont do outside work

I build em then sell them

What they see is what they get

Rust work is very hard to quote. No garanties

And paint!!!!! Wow is it expensive these days

Dont know where to send you

Dieing art. Any knob can change a panel

Playin Hookie · HUNTSVILLE, ONT

I worked in the collision industry for about 10yrs...yep that was the policy at everyone of them. They are all geared towards insurance $$$ and referrals.
Notice they are all called "collision centres" or a variant of the same?

30sx · QUESNEL, BC

sounds like a good business oportunity for the right person

MANCAVER · info@mancavestuff.ca

30sx wrote:
sounds like a good business oportunity for the right person

Good thought!

The Rust Ranger

Rust R us

Rust Busters

Last Resort Autobody

hemi43 · ONTARIO

30sx wrote:
sounds like a good business oportunity for the right person

There's no money in rust repairs, and even the backyard bodyguys don't want to do rust major repairs. There's so much time involved, that the job would cost more that what the car is worth. If you plan on fixing a rotted car, you'll have to do the work yourself, or do what you should have done in the beginning and start with a rust free car. There's tons out there.

will · WALKERTON, ONT

30sx wrote:
sounds like a good business oportunity for the right person

There is no room for the little guy in collision repair business. The insurance companies have created the "mega repair shops" and as has been said, they do not do rust repair. They do not need that business.

The little guy can do rust repair or restorations if he decides that is what his business will be. He will not get the insurance collision business. He will not be cheap as he is forced to set up his shop to deal with all the environmental issues and government regulations. Next he has to deal with the guys who want a champagne job but want to pay with draft beer. All rust repairs need to be done on a time and material structure with a cash advance to start and payments as the job goes along. The finished job will be at least twice what most guys think it should have been.

There are guys around that have a regular job in a body shop (collision repair shop) but also work in their home shop on weekends and evenings. These are the guys that can work for less, but they will take much longer to complete the repair.

sasquatch · NORTH BAY, ONT

So true Will.

atomsplitter · NEWCASTLE, ONT

sasquatch wrote:
Body shops must be booked full, with all the dipsticks crashing their cars in these multi vehicle pile ups this winter.

So does this mean my wife's aunt is a dip stick, she had her VW totalled when she was hit from behind?

sasquatch · NORTH BAY, ONT

Didn't mean that, what i'm talking about is the morons who will not slow down and run in bunches ,tight together, then the first or second car gets into trouble, the others following too fast and too close have no were to go.

slab · BRANT COUNTY, ONT

BARRIE, ONTARIO

this post shoulda been finished at the 4 th reply ..77.

MANCAVER · info@mancavestuff.ca

77 wrote:
this post shoulda been finished at the 4 th reply ..77.

yet you added the nineteenth post biggrin

Fordy Acres Car Farm · DORCHESTER, ONT

77 wrote:
this post shoulda been finished at the 4 th reply ..77.

I think it should have ended at the 8th post. That way, MY post could be last and therefore be the most important and the only one that should be considered valid. biggrin

48chev · ANGUS, ONT

some body shops will still do rust work but they are getting harder to find The guys I know do not like to do rust work because it ties up the shop for to long and no money in it Money is in replacing fenders hoods bumper in and out money in the bank

slab · BRANT COUNTY, ONT

is there any money in body work any where??? What do they make an hour now??? The flat rate big shops guys will say one number I'm sure but the other guys I bet will have a much smaller number. What 's the door rate now compared to a mechanic shop?? Last I checked they were around $60-65 here where as mechanic shops are what ???? getting real close to $100. dealerships we all know are well over the $100 mark. Just curious and seeing how 4 replies just ain't enough for any Thread. lol When I left the smaller shop I worked for around 1992, the main body man made $36000/yr and said he was going down in pay rather than up. The door rate was around $45ish /hr . Preppers $12 /hr unless they found someone who would work cheaper(at the bigger shops on rymal rd. And overtime was just more time pay wise. like I said...just curious.

sasquatch · NORTH BAY, ONT

Interesting question slab, i'm not sure what the bodyshop hourly rate is around here it will vary of course by area i'd think.

Chris Stapley · CAMPBELLFORD, ONT

Just like the new order mechanics, none of the "bodymen" know how to make a patch panel, they are replacement technicians.. Pretty tough to find a mechanic who can actually fix anything that's broken anymore either... I did a five year stint as a heavy mechanic at a New Holland Ag and construction dealership and whenever an older tractor with a carb or distributor came in it was handed off from the licensed technicians to the non licensed guy who could fix it instead.. Same with any body shop I ever worked with! I never had a ticket but could work circles around the guys with the paper and the fancy spray guns...

Super Bee · TORONTO, ONT

I just had an estimate done for the replacement of the rear bumper cover on my 2006 Dodge Magnum. Real easy to remove and it is a black car so the new one needed to be painted. So the first shop was $1350.00 including tax and the second shop was $1157.00 including tax. Shop rate was $55.00/hr both places. One place was a big independent and the other was a dealer based shop where 4 different dealers supported the place. This is in Toronto and I have a general mechanic shop that I use here that has a $55.00 hr door rate as well.

I have a friend that used to have a body shop/restoration shop, he used the odd collision job to keep the cash flowing as most of what came and went out of the shop were long term projects. No idea what he paid the guys he had working there with him as they were all treated as subs so no taxes and all that.

Still a skill that is under valued to a degree.

slab · BRANT COUNTY, ONT

Super Bee wrote:
I just had an estimate done for the replacement of the rear bumper cover on my 2006 Dodge Magnum. Real easy to remove and it is a black car so the new one needed to be painted. So the first shop was $1350.00 including tax and the second shop was $1157.00 including tax. Shop rate was $55.00/hr both places. One place was a big independent and the other was a dealer based shop where 4 different dealers supported the place. This is in Toronto and I have a general mechanic shop that I use here that has a $55.00 hr door rate as well.

I have a friend that used to have a body shop/restoration shop, he used the odd collision job to keep the cash flowing as most of what came and went out of the shop were long term projects. No idea what he paid the guys he had working there with him as they were all treated as subs so no taxes and all that.

Still a skill that is under valued to a degree.

Thanks for post'n this info. I know we are drifting from the original post but it was really done after the 4 th post so I guess it's fair to take it over a bit with some interesting stuff right?? LOL

I can't believe there is a TO mechanic at $55 door rate. Even the county shop across the street(who is cheaper than in town) is around 80ish now I believe. The remarkable thing is that the door rate for the bodyshops is only around $10-15 more than what it was in the early 90's in Hamilton!! So how's the tradesman supposed to make a living or even keep up with the cost of living? Flat rate guys were paid a percentage of the door rate but the door rate has not gone up much. The painter told me to get out as soon as I could and when the opertunity came he helped me load my tools and shook my hand and wished me the best.

sasquatch · NORTH BAY, ONT

Wow, $55.00 per hour in Toronto surprises me also!!
Independant mechanic shops here are running $75-94.00 per hour.
Gotta ask about the independant body shop rates.

Bob T · BRANTFORD, ONT

Most shops that do rust work do it on 'time and material'.Thus they get you in the door with a low hourly rate and are very creative when it comes to adding up the hours.To make money they do it fast and fuge the hours and quality often suffers.The best way is talk to as many previous customers of a particular shop in advance.

Dave Scott · ANCASTER, ONT

wow, I'm shocked by this whole thread!

In the UK you can get rust work done ANYWHERE!

You get the "it will probably return in a few months" speach, but people still get it done.

I gues we are "hungry" in the UK then

sasquatch · NORTH BAY, ONT

BobT is correct on that, i've seen that a couple of times, unscrupulous way of doing business!
That also happens in other trades especially construction etc.