Always get an estimate!

[bobv7]

Back in May I couldn't find any headlamp brackets to replace my quite badly damaged ones and so I took them to a restorer. What I didn't do was to get him to give me an estimate before he started work on them. Six months later and I'm getting them back and he's done an excellent job of fixing them. At a cost of just short of £1,500.00. Now they may be worth that to someone but not me. No one to blame but myself so I'll put them in a glass case as a warning not to do anything like that without weeks of research first!

[JamesH]

This must be a joke right?

[SteveD CB500K0]

If not, name names.


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[Trigger]

Ears for what bike ?

Did the restorer have a sign above the shop that said " I SAW YOU COMING " >>> https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=i+see+you+coming+harry+endfild&view=detail&mid=197AE00F7DD8D81BE96E197AE00F7DD8D81BE96E&FORM=VIRE

[paul G]

Tell him to keep them and find some more robbing B

[Rozabikes Tim]

Think he needs some "restorative justice"

[Nurse Julie]

Goodness gracious me......

[bobv7]

Not a joke, wish it was. The brackets were badly damaged off an imported 1972 CB500 Four and if I could have found some good ones or repro I would have bought them instead. I've never been a rivet counter and every bike I've owned has proved this but in this instance I decided to get the bike back to something like original. My mistake.

[Nurse Julie]

I suppose in some ways, although £1500 is a ridiculous amount of money, if you think of the work involved in restoring them as an individual part, it does stack up, almost. Although they are just a set of ears, when they are mass produced using the correct presses etc , 1000's being made and chromed at the same time, they are obviously a lot cheaper. But, they are multi part items, metal stitched and welded in places, awkward shapes, with the tin work and chroming. If this chaps labour rate was, for example £50 an hour, which is not excessive at all for a specialist, he may have spent 20 hours on them,reverse chroming, taking them apart, making new parts, repairing parts that could be saved, re assembling, tin work, polishing, chroming etc, that can add up to £1000 no problem at all. I'm not saying its worth it but specialist one off work doesn't come cheap but on a part like that, its just not worth it, if you had maybe waited, or asked on the forum, a good set could have come up.

[AshimotoK0]

My mate Dodgy Roger has the best way of dealing with people like that ... send the boys round to strip half of the tiles off is roof when he's out  Don't ask me if this is  true story or not 

[JamesH]

Not a joke, wish it was. The brackets were badly damaged off an imported 1972 CB500 Four and if I could have found some good ones or repro I would have bought them instead. I've never been a rivet counter and every bike I've owned has proved this but in this instance I decided to get the bike back to something like original. My mistake.

Please tell me you didn’t pay him £1500 for the work?

[bobv7]

I've already said that not getting an estimate for the work was my fault so in my book if you get someone to do a job then you pay them. That's it. Julie has correctly explained the economics of mass production and how they differ from working on an hourly rate. I very much doubt many of us could afford any hand built product and it's good there are still folks around who do have those skills. It's easy to underestimate the cost of everyday items until you look closely at what actually goes into them. Try building your own flat screen tv!

[paul G]

Any reputable person would have given you an estimate or at the very least said to you in the first place when you took them in do you have any idea what that is going to cost

[Moorey]

Unfortunately one of life's hard lessons. Nobody was hurt only your pocket.
But you should name them.

[royhall]

The so-called expert should have told you the job is not economic to do before setting out on a no holds barred repair. That's absolutely outrageous. Personally I would let him keep them and teach him a lesson. He will probably get £100 on eBay, and you never know it could be you buying them. A reputable trader would have contacted you as soon as it was apparent it was going to take a fortune to do.