HVAC contractor pricing - no thanks

[reader2580]

There's a thread going on million dollar car restos and a labor rate has been mentioned, and no one is shitting about $$$ rates in that thread. Interesting, eh?

HVAC is something that nearly everyone needs. Very few are going to have a million dollar car restoration done.

I was surprised to read in the past few weeks that some of better car restoration shops only charge $85 an hour. That seems really cheap to me.

 

[teknikfrog]

I was surprised to read in the past few weeks that some of better car restoration shops only charge $85 an hour. That seems really cheap to me.

That's insanely cheap. I can't get my BMW into the shop for anywhere near that.

I usually do all my own work but I'll occasionally take it to a specialist for stuff I don't feel like doing. Last thing I had done was a single wheel bearing for $1400.

 

[4x4Pete]

I was surprised to read in the past few weeks that some of better car restoration shops only charge $85 an hour. That seems really cheap to me.

Not really with a minimum of 1000 hours for a super basic "restoration". Which gets you a "running" vehicle with polished and waxed original paint and a nicely vacuumed interior.

 

[BlackJack10]

Shopping for 2 new heat pumps for home. Got a few quotes in $18,000-25,000 range.

But

You can buy the equipment for 5-10k. Like name brand high seer inverter. 200%+ equipment markup and $1000/hr labor. I can't allow myself to get raped that bad. Super easy install, no ladder/roof/attic. Everything at floor level, out of season when the system isn't even needed. I did spent some time shopping and going over data sheets to choose the right models for my application. Sadly the HVAC industry is mostly locked down in terms of tech info, pricing and purchasing. Can't have Mr. Garage journal touching anything, haha.

Man, I see that it didn't really work for you, but I can say from my own experience that companies like HVAC work very well because they changed my heating system and worked quickly and without many questions. The people at King HVAC are very experienced in what they do, I think you had to deal with some beginners if you have such opinions about them.