people need to get with the times around here.rant

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had a guy call asking how much to recore a 55 buick radiator.he wants the best,highest efficiency core available. a 55 buick is not something me or my suppliers will have on the shelf so it will have to be custom made.

then we tear it apart,sandblast,bang the dents out of the tanks etc.

prices are going up on everything. a roll of solder used to cost me $25 now its $225. permits for everything in the shop all cost money.

his cost to recore that radiator with a great hd core would be $632+tax. guy threw a fit! then he said his last recore was less than $200.

i asked him when and what that was. it was a 65 impala sometime in the 70's!

what clown! i cant work for no profit as it is the core cost me $450. im not getting rich off him. just barely covering bills,in reality i should be doubling the price of the core. that would make it a $1100 radiator.

rant off
 
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I hear ya!

People scream when I give them a bill of materials for a brew and after they see the prices of components.

"Why, back in 1998 when you developed us a blend of 'such-and-such' the price was 20% of what you quoted today.

Well, yes, cost of petrochemicals and their derivatives have gone up because of such factors as government mandates and increased government restrictions and regulations on handling, processing, etc., etc.
 
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I don't know how this can be fixed. I find it more troublesome with the retired generation, especially those living on a tight fixed income. It's like inflation was supposed to come to a halt the day they retired. Then factor in politicians that appoint people that seem to want to regulate and tax business out of existence, especially in this state.

Roughly $480 in parts/materials on a recore for $632+tax out the door? That is running pretty lean. Sounds like a deal to me....
 
Unfortunately some people believe others should not profit. Yet the same people believe they should benefit themselves with the most amount of money available.
 
Sure regulations are a necessary evil, but there is a fine line between regulation to keep certain ill's from society but we have soooo far surpassed reasonable and sound regulation it's truly disgusting.

Once explained, your price is not very high at all. I'm sure someone else will beat him hard with a much higher price than you gave him. Besides, did he think keeping a 1955 model year car around was going to be on the cheap?
 
Same thing with me in the computer industry, specifically home users.

People come to me wanting a good desktop that'll last as long as their Pentium 3/4 Dell/HP/whateverbrand PC did.

I give them a solid custom built machine that I feel will go for the long haul (because they don't want a 1 and done POS). They choke when I give them a price around 600 with legit Windows, good hardware, good cooling, neatly ran cables. I'm LUCKY to pocket $75. I always get the "well I can get a $400 HP from BestBuy".

Go get that AMD Single Core POS laptop, tell me about how much it stinks. But hey, what do I know.

Same thing, everyone wants quality but no one wants to pay. Sounds like you're giving a good deal and a honest fella in your line of work.
 
Many people do not see how simple inflation is so destructive to their purchasing power. Using the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI calculator, I entered $200 for 1974. The 2014 equivalent: $965. Chris, you were offering this customer a great deal!
 
Sounds like a typical GM guy.When he can buy 350 chrome valve covers for $20 and a new HEI distributor for $60 they expect everything else will be as cheap.
 
Unless someone has worked in a small business or owned their own business, they often don't have any idea of the costs involved, especially for one of a kind custom work such as your radiator example. Many of them don't see beyond the cost of the raw materials, especially when they look up radiators online and see mass produced aftermarket radiators that sell for $200.

If radiators were still mass produced for that 55 Buick he might have a point. But since what you're doing is labor intensive, one-off work it's clear that he has no idea of the true cost. And your estimate could well go up if the radiator he brings in is far worse than described over the phone.

But yet he has enough money to have a 55 Buick as a play toy.
 
I am now truly dreading the day I need to replace my Caddy's custom (Modine) radiator. It was about $600...ten years ago.
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Westinghouse fan, circa 1955, price, $89. Adjusted for inflation, $ 2376.00. Of course, they were regularly on sale for $59, back then, or $1575 today.

Today, we've done well at reducing production costs. New products often cost far less than the labor to repair them! Radiators included!!!!!

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I started buying my own food etc in the late 90s when I got a real job.

I still expect to get boneless chix thighs for $2/lb. I still do! Coke is still $1/2 liters on sale. I make it my goal to keep this charade alive as long as possible. Has me going to three or four different stores, not all on the same day, but when it makes sense gas-wise.

Bread's double, heating oil and gas are 3x to 4x. Firewood only 2x.
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...and, I'll bet he'll call around and find some hungry incompetent who will offer to do the same job for half the money.
This guy will cobble something together that will be leaking like a sieve in a year or so.
Meanwhile, the old Buhog owner will be telling all of his old car buddies about how you tried to screw him.
What about when the cheapo radiator dies a quick death?
He'll just blame the guy who he had install it.
No wonder quality work is so hard to come by.
Everybody says that they want good work, but many people won't pay for it.
Too many folks are all mouth and no wallet when it comes to having work done.
 
And it seems that the professional people are the worst at questioning the cost to fix something. The same one who gets $120 an hour for telling you you are not going insane or to [censored].
 
I think the pros, rich guys, and businesspeople are the worst at actually paying bills. They're in no hurry once they got what they want out of you.
 
Chris,

You could inform the customer the suggested retail price of a 91/2 oz bag of Frito Lay's potato chips is $4.29.

I do not recommend doing this. Facts will only confuse the customer and cause him to go ballistic.
 
I recently needed to repair the brass radiator in my 71 Cutlass. It was replaced once before, 30 years ago for $75. I shopped around and found an aluminum aftermarket replacement for $200. Keeping it brass or original was expensive.

I ended up resoldering the leaky end myself. The brass was healthy. It was the solder that rotted away at the full line. What I found meshes somewhat with the fact that the old-fashioned silicated coolant is needed for these classic vehicles with soldered brass cooling systems.
 
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