Quote: Truth is - It is almost impossible to quote a price up front on a restoration. No one is 100% sure what lies ahead until they find all the trouble spots. I have seen many people (and friends) lose their ass sticking to quotes.
I borrowed this years ago from Roger Gibson's web site and it's written on my "policy" too..
• It is impossible to estimate the exact cost of a restoration at the beginning of a job. A general figure, a high and low, can be given based on previous similar jobs. If a written estimate is required, expect them to be high enough to cover any possibilities. Restorations are performed as economically as possible without compromising the finished quality.
Having done a couple restos, I'll readily acknowledge the surprises that can and often do surface, and the corresponding impact on work/cost elements. Having said that, I believe there is some plowable ground between an impossible and exact cost estimate, estimate being the operative word. Such an estimate would be based on a specified amount of work, with sufficient contingency detail to satisfy both restorer and customer.
Case in point: USCarTool advertises a body-in-white restoration for a set price. (Disclaimer: I don't work for them nor am I endorsing their service.) They specify the following (borrowed from their website):
Quote: For $17,500 - We will completely refurbish your Mopar Unibody and return it to you in bare steel. All rust will be removed, all damaged panels replaced or repaired as needed. Send us your ugly, rusty damaged Mopar Unibody and you will receive back a bare steel, straight, refurbished Unibody. Your Mopar Unibody will be ready for final body and paint. All Mopar Unibody's are stripped to bare metal - all paint, rust, seam sealer etc. is 100% removed. Any panels that are rusted or dented beyond repair are replaced, unavailable panels are fabricated and repaired to better than OEM, all patches utilize fully butt welded seams. Rusted or pitted floors are replaced, rusted or damaged quarter panels are replaced, rusted trunk floors and extensions are replaced. Rusted frames are repaired (damaged or complete frame replacement, roof replacement or A-pillar replacement are extra cost items)
With the following disclaimer for deviations:
Quote: Convertibles, roof replacement, frame damage or special circumstances (wing cars, fire damage etc.) will of course cost extra.
Admittedly "special circumstances" could cover a substantial area of deviations beyond typical panel repair/replacement. Assuming your mopar didn't contain special circumstances, their cost would represent an exact estimate. It would be interesting to know how many of their jobs come in at the specified cost.
ACMR is of course the other example, tailoring their exact labor estimate to mutually understood conditions of the car and final product requirements. In my case the contract specified what essentially was a body-in-white product with paint and minor reassembly.
From a customer perspective (mine only), the "high enough" element of the high-low estimate model in the Gibson quote often constituted a financial show stopper. A middle ground model could pose an estimate based on a mutually agreed specification of work, with cost contingencies based on (a) suspected deviations, (b) commonly encountered deviations, and/or (c) unanticipated deviations, all documented in a written estimate. Unanticipated deviations would of course remain indeterminate (until discovered) though could be addressed within the contract as a work-cost adjustment trigger. The Gibson quote alludes to (b) with the "previous similar jobs" language.
