My work is primarily 20-70’s custom And have only installed a couple of seat bottoms. I have a customer wanting katzkin covers installed in a 2014 tundra front and back. I have no idea on hours that may take someone who has done several of them. Can anyone help with estimated hours? Thanks for any advise!
Kurt - I'm guessing somewhere around 8 hours for experienced seat cover installer. I usually charge in the $ 800 to $ 1,000 price range for a crew cab truck. Sometimes I spend too much time on the center consoles.
you need to start selling yourself. Differentiate from “cheaper” guy. Sell that your quality over price. Sometimes you can’t win them all, and that’s ok.
I also told them that it's not as easy as they think. I'm also offering a limited warranty. But I understand they think it's easy work Which it is not easy at all.I just can't believe how cheap people are even in richer areas.
The best way to answer this question is... charge what the market will bear in your area. I'm in Kentucky and if i price a leather kit install at $1200 i would never install any. I'm a Katzkin dealer and installer and i install 3-5 kits a week. (Working on the 4th one as we speak for this week). I can have a 2 row leather kit installed within an 8 hour day and a 3 row leather kit in 10-12 hours, depending on the vehicle. So whatever your labor rate is for a days work is what you charge. If Katzkin sells a kit direct to consumer, they sell it with installation included and they set them up with whoever Katzkins nearest preferred installer is (like me) and they pay me, the installer, $600 for a 2 row kit and $750 for a 3 row. So you have to understand what works for someone in LA may not work for someone in knoxville TN. Cost of living plays a big part in pricing
Yea, I guess but sometimes you have to sell yourself and also I know that sometimes you undercharge and then there is you charged my friend this and me more. I try to be reasonable but area also matters. I guess it's all what you think you should charge.
Around our area some stereo shops and other places are really cheap selling and installing afermarket leather kits, and as has been mentioned, they often do not fit as well as factory covers. Almost every kit that we have done recently we had to modify some parts to make them fit.
We don't do many for that reason, we have plenty of other work that we can make good money doing.
You nailed it. I'm close to Nashville and there are quite a few other shops around that install katzkin (I used to work at one). Going rate is about 1295 for 2 row, 1595 for 3 row with a single color. 2Tone, perf, piping are extra. Some shops charge more for door panel inserts and center consoles, some don't.
I did 2 F150's in a day a few different times. You can get pretty efficient after a while.
As well as not always fitting great, your hands can really take a beating. I like having a full custom car or boat going and a katzkin every now and then. And I also agree that it seems like all the stereo shops have a "leather" guy, and do them for cheap.. and from what I've seen, it's definitely a get what you pay for situation