Question????

[terry shores]

My restorer just called today and said that my hardtop was finished.  They had it for 8 months.  They sanded it down to bare metal and repainted it and put the glass back in and new headliner and put the chrome back on and wood strip around rear window.  Total cost was $3287.00  Does anyone know if this is a fair price or did I get screwed??

Thanks,
Terry
71 signal red 280sl
NOW FINALLY FINISHED!!

[JamesL]

Bit late now, either way....

IU'd hazard a guess that the condition of the metal and chrome would be the main drivers in that price.

[rwmastel]

Yes, there are a lot of variables.  For parts costs, did they:
- buy new chrome
- buy new wood
- buy new glass
- buy new rubber seals
- buy new headliner

For labor costs, did they have a lot of rust to fix?  What was their labor rate per hour?

Has anyone else sent their hardtop out for a complete restoration by a professional?

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[ranchomerced]

We do hardtop restorations and the complete job including new headliner, wood refinished, all chrome redone or new and glass polished would be in this range or more. These are not the easiest things to restore.

[terry shores]

I guess what really ticked me off about this restorer is that it took so long.  (8 months) Simply needed sanding down to bare metal and repaint and then put back together.  No rust, no other issues.  
No chrome work, woodwork or glass work.  Just a new headliner.  Without exageration, every week for the last 20 weeks, I would call and ask when it would be completed.  The answer was always, I promise it will be done next week! Of course it wasn't!! They do excellent work, but I would never recommend them to a friend.  IF I RAN MY BUSINESS THE WAY THEY DO, I WOULD BE WITHOUT CUSTOMERS IN NO TIME.  After talking with several people who have had restorations done.  It appears that this is the norm instead of the exception!!  WHY IS THAT? Common sense would dictate that telling the customer what he wants to hear instead of the truth just causes resentment and a unhappy customer!! I now have an absolutely beautiful pagoda, but with a bad taste in my mouth!!  What a shame!!

[Bob G ✝︎]

Best source for price is Gernold at SL tech. I would first have a look at your hard top to see the results. Were the lock on the left and right worked on did they replace the  bushing  for these locks $600 parts alone for new locks and bushing assemblies. I take it they put new seals in for the windows rear and right & left side. Up front for the header panel and at the rear. there is also a small rubber plug that sits in the middle in the reear to add clearance  did they put it back on? check the locks up front to make sure they work.
Gernold says it takes about 80 hours to restore these tops. however That is a complete restoration chrome and all. I have seen hard tops on E-bay with sunroofs go for $8000 fully restored.
I recommend that you take a look at what your restorer did and test to make sure the hardtop fits ok.
Did you agree on a labor rate or a price?
These tops are getting hard to fine in nice condition if your top is well up to specifications except the price as an investment in your car.
Bob Geco

[Raymond]

The harsh reality for small paint shop owners is that they have to do all the insurance work first because those are the regular customers, with higher ticket margins on a new fender than a labor job.  And a classic car customer is going to be much harder to please than the housewife who wants her cavalier back so she can drive the kids to school.  

It's tough to rush a job you will examine every time you see the car.  Take Bob's advice and examine the top with the bill in hand.  

Then decide whether to be angry or just a sober investor.

Ray
'68 280SL 4-spd Coupe

[ranchomerced]

It would be interesting to find out what Paul Russell or Eric Hjeltness would charge for a project like this.

[Ed Cave]

Restoring a pagoda hardtop to "like new" condition is a very laborious task. As to why restoration shops don't turn such things out quicker probably has a lot to do with the uniqueness of this type of project. How many Pagoda tops would you say this shop restored last year? How about in the last 5 years or even 10 years?

Maybe a few?

The unfortunate part to your story is not the cost (which seems pretty fair considering the labor involved) but the fact that you had someone consistently misleading you about the completion date. Everyone would have felt better about it if they had just told you up front or even two months into it that it would probably take six months or more.

I always tell my employees to under promise and over deliver. That sure seems to make clients happier, at least in my world.

Ed Cave
Atlanta, GA


1971 280SL
1973 911S
2004 A4 3.0
2006 GS430