Did I over quote?

[shake this 10+ year member]

Some of you know that I’ve been working on a couple of party buses for a guy. Well he just bought his 3rd bus and we were looking at it last night. It looks nice but, other then the upholstery work on the seats, it’s nothing more then panels wrapped in vinyl, lights and tinted plexglas. Time consuming…yes but not difficult. The hardest part when working on buses like this is being able to make it look nice but engineering it to stand up to abuse and maintain a safe environment. The owner of the company asked me last night how much it would cost to reproduce the bus you see in the pictures and I told him 10k in labor or about 7k not counting the seats (I can’t sew). Do you think 7k in labor is to high? I know it’s hard to see everything in the picture but remember, this would be a complete ground up conversion from what a normal bus looks like including deconstruction.

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[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

If you are not doing the seats then you have minimal work there. It could be done in just a few days. I would say yes, you over quoted for that build. However, if the customer is willing to pay, then roll with it I guess.

I need to get into doing those if clients are spending that much on them.

 

[Mitch86 5,000+ posts]

If you're not doing the seats what exactly are you doing? The panels on the walls and under the seat? Sure doesnt look like 7k worth of work to me. Maybe if you were doing the seats and all, 7k would be a reasonable price. But just looks like a bunch of wooden panels with a few holes cut in them and then wrapped in vinyl... shouldnt be too hard to do and materials wont cost much.

 

[shake this 10+ year member]

The build would consist of removing all the original seats. Building a foundation for the seats and coolers. Building and wrapping all the panels. Installing the plexiglas, running all the LED's, flush mounting the flat screen TV(s) that you can't see in the picture. Running all the wires and installing all the AV equipment. Leveling the floor if needed and installing the wood flooring. Everything would be done by me including building the seats, I just wouldn’t actually cover them.

 

[AStovall 10+ year member]

Seems legit. I figure about 80 bucks an hr is the going rate for custom labor(on the low side) Stranded mechanic work is about 65 an hr. I could see a project like that taking 96 or so hours from tare down to completion. its not about how hard something but how much of your time it takes up.

 

[Mitch86 5,000+ posts]

The build would consist of removing all the original seats. Building a foundation for the seats and coolers. Building and wrapping all the panels. Installing the plexiglas, running all the LED's, flush mounting the flat screen TV(s) that you can't see in the picture. Running all the wires and installing all the AV equipment. Leveling the floor if needed and installing the wood flooring. Everything would be done by me including building the seats, I just wouldn’t actually cover them.

Well considering all of that, your 7k quote might be more reasonable. Hard to tell whats what in the pictures. To me its worth what they are willing to pay for something like this.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

The build would consist of removing all the original seats. Building a foundation for the seats and coolers. Building and wrapping all the panels. Installing the plexiglas, running all the LED's, flush mounting the flat screen TV(s) that you can't see in the picture. Running all the wires and installing all the AV equipment. Leveling the floor if needed and installing the wood flooring. Everything would be done by me including building the seats, I just wouldn’t actually cover them.

What wood are you using for the stucture? I'm assuming light yet able to support the weight and daily abuse.

I guess with some of the work I can see the price. I just never realized companies will spend this much on a "party bus" of sorts. Time to look into a new business venture.(seriously will be looking into this)

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

Well considering all of that, your 7k quote might be more reasonable. Hard to tell whats what in the pictures. To me its worth what they are willing to pay for something like this.

This...

Look at how we (audio community as a whole) deal with higher end clients.

 

[J31Rob 5,000+ posts]

Seems about right, to be honest.

 

---------- Post added at 12:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 PM ----------

 

Which is why I do all my own work. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[shake this 10+ year member]

The guy thought 7k was a little on the high side. What most people dont understand is, just because all you see is a bunch of panels wrapped in vinyl, you miss the important structural aspect. Builds like this require a lot of forethought in the design process. You've got to make it easy to replace yet strong enough to hold up to abuse. This isn't like covering a couple of panels in a car and putting them back in the factory location with factory clips. In a build like this, you've got to build the structural support as well. If I get the green light, I bet I’ll have 5 hours easy in just the design process. I even told him I’d be surprised if this bus holds up well and that I’ll be replacing/repairing panels on it in the next few months (I didn’t build this one).

 

[Scratchy 10+ year member]

All I can picture is Flava Flav sitting in that middle seat while a pro skank shoots ping pong balls out of her pillbox

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

The guy thought 7k was a little on the high side. What most people dont understand is, just because all you see is a bunch of panels wrapped in vinyl, you miss the important structural aspect. Builds like this require a lot of forethought in the design process. You've got to make it easy to replace yet strong enough to hold up to abuse. This isn't like covering a couple of panels in a car and putting them back in the factory location with factory clips. In a build like this, you've got to build the structural support as well. If I get the green light, I bet I’ll have 5 hours easy in just the design process. I even told him I’d be surprised if this bus holds up well and that I’ll be replacing/repairing panels on it in the next few months (I didn’t build this one).

I have built several buses over the years. I'm well aware what it takes to build them. I still think it is a bit on the high side.

 

[shake this 10+ year member]

I guess with some of the work I can see the price. I just never realized companies will spend this much on a "party bus" of sorts. Time to look into a new business venture.(seriously will be looking into this)

It's amazing what people will consider spending when it has the potential to bring a return in revenue.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

It's amazing what people will consider spending when it has the potential to bring a return in revenue.

I agree. Most of the ones I built were for strip clubs. Average was around 10k with fiberglass work and all audio product included. They complained a little about those prices, but then when they got the bus up and running they came back and got another one built with no complaints what so ever.

 

[shake this 10+ year member]

I have built several buses over the years. I'm well aware what it takes to build them. I still think it is a bit on the high side.

I hope you didn't think that post was directed at you. What would you consider to be more in line price wise?