[jeff chmura]

Hi guys,
I dropped my '65 interior off a local interior shop.
I supplied all the seat foams, seat covers,burlap for the rear and both front buckets.
I also supplied broken springs,bumpers,etc.
Basically, I am only paying for labor to remove old covers and recovering with new.
What would you think would be a fair price?
I'm asking because my guy is charging me $2100.
Haven't seen them yet, but I know he does excellent work.

To me ,that sounds high, but he has about 30 hours into the job.
Does that sound like a fair price for labor?

Thanks, Jeff

[4dblnkldude]

I just paid $400 to do the front buckets and rear seat for my 81 TA.

[imposter]

im looking for a local guy were you happy with the job who did it

4dblnkldude

[Redpiston]

Seems high. I paid 600 for my 66 2+2 convertible. That was 5 years ago. That included the armrests and side panels for the backseat. He stripped everything, gave me the frames so I could get them powder coated, and then he fixed the springs and finished them.

[jeff chmura]

That price is for labor covering the seats ONLY.... Plus I Supplied the materials......

[tempest1964]

I supplied all the material including the old seat covers for a pattern and had my bench seats redone about 2 years ago. $660.

[69hardtop]

Seems very high; I paid around $600 for labor front & back, I supplied all new parts.
Work done in 2016

[TAKerry]

30 hrs to do three seats seems outrageous for a pro. That is about 10hrs per seat. Like others, after a couple of utube vids I did the back seat, 2 bottoms and the back and I am sure I didn't have 10 hrs. Put into real time, that is all day of work plus 2 hrs the next day to put a cover on 1 seat. I dont know about y'all, but I can get a lot of work done in a 10 hr stretch doing a job I specialize in. I know I got a bargain with mine, but the guy that did my fronts was retired from Chrysler where he worked in the upholstery shop. I have known him since I was a kid and didn't even know he was still doing this stuff. I dropped them off on a Friday afternoon and Monday afternoon they were finished. I would imagine it took him less than a couple of hours for each seat. At $600 - $800 someone would make decent money doing this job, it sounds to me like the charge was according to how much the shop needed to make that week. I wish I could charge my customers the amount I need vs. the amount to do the job but I wouldn't get paid and probably wouldn't get anymore business.

[jeff chmura]

hi guys,
Picked up the seats today...… They are excellent!
Had him explain why so much labor costs.
The bucket seat covers I got (PUI) didn't fit right. He had to modify the cloth strips that secure the covers to the springs. They are one size fits all.
He also had to replace 6 broken springs and resecure a couple.
He also polished all the chrome trim.
He also had trouble with the seat foam backs. They didn't fit right and it made the seats look like ****. Also, they were too big. He couldn't close the gaps tight enough for the side trim to sit right. I had to buy new foams also.
Bottom line is, I tried to save a few bucks using PUI stuff from OPGI.
He highly recommends using the legendary stuff. He says it fits like a glove.
Also, he suggested using the American cushion stuff.
Legendary stocks this brand of foams
He said normally, doing a job like this would be in the $700-$1200 range
Lesson learned

[bdk1976]

Originally Posted by jeff chmura

hi guys,
Picked up the seats today...… They are excellent!
Had him explain why so much labor costs.
The bucket seat covers I got (PUI) didn't fit right. He had to modify the cloth strips that secure the covers to the springs. They are one size fits all.
He also had to replace 6 broken springs and resecure a couple.
He also polished all the chrome trim.
He also had trouble with the seat foam backs. They didn't fit right and it made the seats look like ****. Also, they were too big. He couldn't close the gaps tight enough for the side trim to sit right. I had to buy new foams also.
Bottom line is, I tried to save a few bucks using PUI stuff from OPGI.
He highly recommends using the legendary stuff. He says it fits like a glove.
Also, he suggested using the American cushion stuff.
Legendary stocks this brand of foams
He said normally, doing a job like this would be in the $700-$1200 range
Lesson learned

Sure would have been nice of him to tell you this up front (hell a simple search on this site would have warned you away from PUI) - would have saved you $, but not really in his best interest profit-wise. Sounds like some BS excuses otherwise, but to be expected when trying to justify this insane time/cost.

Hopefully these are “premium” pui seats and not the cheap flat embossed versions, or you will likely want to recover them with legendary anyway.

[TAKerry]

Sounds outrageous to me for recovering with supplied upholstery. I would expect the covers to be custom made for that price. When I did my 77 t/a I did the backseat myself and it came out perfect. I got into a hurry and was very busy at work so I had a guy do the front buckets for me. He was retired and happy to do the job, charged me $100. Not sure about your model, but for my car, I bought premium upholstery and the covers fit great, and for a do it yourselfer was about 7/10 on the level of difficulty. For a pro, he should be able to knock something like that out in his sleep.

[Stuart]

$2100 divided by 30 hours is $70/hour. These days that's not a very high labor rate.

[Chris65LeMans]

Glad to hear that you’re happy with the seats. Yea - sometimes, nothing is more expensive than going the cheaper route.

[John Milner]

I would think $500-$600 would be way plenty for this. It sounds like he is charging you to stitch up the seat covers for them and re-cover even though you are bringing the covers. I'd shop around for a cheaper price.

[Region Warrior]

$70 an hour. His it Sue from ass monkey garage?
Around here its $25-$30 and hour.
And that's with their raw material. Not pre-made covers.

[Chris65LeMans]

I'm not surprised that the labor rates some are throwing out are half what you were quoted in New Jersey. Remember that they've gotta pay the employee, rent, insurance, taxes, payroll expenses, all sorts of (I'm sure) New Jersey bogus fees, etc. out of that hourly rate.

I am surprised that it took him 30 hours. I was going to suggest that you shop around, but re-read your post and saw that he already did the work. Did he give you a quote beforehand? Your only hope may be to approach him with "geez - that cost much more than I expected: can you help me out a little bit?"

[JLMounce]

Seams high. I was quoted $900 locally to recover front buckets and rear seat. Same deal, I'm supplying the covers, foams, padding etc.

Was there anything else other than just the rear seat and front buckets? The issue I see is not necessarily the hourly rate, but the fact that he's got 30 hours into those three pieces. If thre's more that's a different story.

You can get on youtube and find tutorials on recovering seats. 2 buckets and a rear bench is not 30 hours of work based on what I've seen for a simple recover.

[jeff chmura]

Thanks guys.. it seems high to me too.....I was expecting $500-$750. I would understand "running into problems" and having to pay close to $1500.
I think $2100 is too much. I'm picking them up Friday so I'll get to talk to him in person about why so much labor
Thanks again,. Jeff

[bdk1976]

If he's that good I would question why it takes him 30 hours in install a set of covers.

I am wondering if there is more to it than 'recovering seats' - why else would you send/mention broken springs? Depending on how bad the frames/springs are, this could be a potentially significant added cost.

I hate recovering seats, but it's not exactly rocket science - just a PITA. For $2k+ for labor only I would DIY for sure - or be looking around for an already completed interior ready to bolt in.

[bluejudge]

That sounds like a lot of money just for Labor. That is why I want to try my interior myself. I have to do my buckets on my 69. Not sure where you were taking them but I believe there is a place in Asbury Park. I keep watching the videos on you tube mostly from Legendary. One day I will try it out. The only good thing I think about bringing them somewhere is they would do them a lot quicker than me.