PDR Technician: How To Get Restoration Work Part I

If you have spent any time at car shows, then you know that you will see some cars that are done very well and some that you have to wonder who they went to to get their body work done and how much could they have spent? How do they choose? Were their choices led by price, quality, or time? Did they do their due diligence in finding their body shop? Or did they just choose the quickest, cheapest road?

The first thing that your potential customers must decide is how much money they want to spend and then doing their homework on who they will choose and which is the one that will actually get their business. Your job is to make sure that first, you are in the running, and second that you can convince them that you are the perfect fit for their needs. These poor people have most likely been burned in the past and are at the very least a little gun shy.

Restoring classics is a profitable business and once you are in with at least one, you will start getting more business than you can handle. I know a story, from a friend of mine, got a great deal on a 56′ Chevy and of course, it needed some work. First, he wanted to get the engine rebuilt so that it was back to its original form but with of course more power. Of course, he had to get a new engine if he wanted power. so he flipped the bill and got it. Next, he wanted the body work to be done. There wasn’t a whole lot of damage done to it, just a few small dents and rust. He asked his collector buddies on who to go to and finally picked one. The body shop owner was a smooth talker and assured him that he could have it done within three months. 13 months later, he got his classic back and the work was horrible. So bad that he had to file an insurance claim and get an attorney to get his money back. He lost thousands and had a car that needed to still be restored.

Follow me to Part II where we will cover more important information and how you can get your foot in the door.