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J

JD Seller

Well-known Member
I bought a 1996 Chevy K1500 Extended cab pickup truck. The truck is in great shape other than the cab corners are just starting to rust through. I want them to be fixed correctly as I will more than likely keep the truck a long time.

I took the truck to get an estimate on the repairs at a local fellow that does good work but I only have had him do insurance stuff before.

His estimate was SKY high I think. I am just wanting to see if he is in line or not. The body panels and parts total was only $750. Total estimate was for $3500.

I was expecting $2000 or so. Am I way off??? Is his estimate close???
 
Sounds a tad high, but you have to realize that to do it right, you need to unbolt the box and move it out of the way. And doing it right involves cutting spot welds and removing all of the old panel, then welding in a new panel. Also, undercoating and sealer need to be sprayed in from the inside through the arm rests next to the rear jump seat.

I sometimes unbolted the box and very carefully tilted it up, first on one side, then on the other. Ideally, you would remove the box completely, (not as hard as it sounds, with the proper equipment), then replace the fuel pump as a bonus while it's out in the open.

The wrong way is to simply slop the rusted areas full of Bondo.

As I said, your estimate sounds a bit high, but not everyone likes to do rust repair, and the guy may be hoping you'll go elsewhere.
 
Are they pricing NEW GM parts? Or a/m repair
panels. I know there are some available for
the cab corners of your trucks. Some are good
quality & some not. I worked in a B/S for 10
years, & the best way is to cut out & remove
all parts of the rusted panel. Some need welded
but now they have some super duty Expoxie glue that works GREAT
 
I have been away from the body shop now for 14 years....but I do visit back there when I have time. Seen them replacing many rear cab panels and rocker panels on Chevy trucks.
So are you sure the rockers aren't about ready to rust thru also?? Pretty sure the rocker and rear corner are the same "piece" from the factory....
 
Be glad you found someone to do it. Rust repair is not something that is profitable to them. It seems like the deeper you go the more you find and then you have wasted two weeks of shop time.

I do my own rust repair. It takes seemingly forever but I want it done right. The estimate sounds fairly reasonable to me. You've got a couple of options other than him. Folks near me take them to two places when they have the time. 1) the prison. They do good work and you get it for about cost of supplies. 2) the trade school. If you don't mind waiting thryan are great. Jay Leno brings his vehicles to the one in McPherson but they have a waiting list.

Write the man a check.
 
So if he's charging 750 for parts that leaves 2750 for labor. Just a shot in the dark but if he charges 70 an hour that means darn near a whole week. I worked in a gm bodyshop for years. If I worked that slow I would have been on the unemployment line for sure. My advise, check around, he must not want the job or is too busy.
 
It won"t be just the cab corners... the rust will extend forward at least up to the back of the driver passenger door.

I"m NOT sure how the salt and dirt gets in that area, but it always seems to!

If it isn"t showing through yet, it soon will.
 
I would have guessed at least 3,000 dollars. The guy up the road from years ago that did it pointed out the insurance he was required to carry relative to it plus the ventilation equipment he was required to have by law. As others pointed out your man may be planning a fairly extensive effort that will pay off over the long term. My understanding is that 2,000 dollars does not buy much in that type of repair unless you are just going to Bondo it.
 
JD, is the truck worth putting that much time and money in? If it is going to be just a farm beater, spray foam and a little paint is a cheap fix. Unless it's a 96 show truck, i would go the cheap route, but thats me, cheap,lol
 
i ran a quick estimate for you, without parts, you have about 40.6 sheet metal hours, and 6.2 paint hours. that is to r+i the bed, section both cab corners, and section both rocker panels inner and outer. total labor with paint about 2500.00. this is without seeing the truck. seats, carpet and rear cab trim all has to come out.
 
BOY ! At that rate my 1981 F350 that has NEVER been in the salt and rust free just got more valuable.
 
Glennster you are real close on the labor he quoted. He was at 44.7 hours. Now this was just painting it from the two tone down.

The truck is sharp looking in a red and white two tone. The interior is in great shape.

I was just wanting a truck to drive around locally that was not one of my diesels. I wanted to save them for the hard pulling. Let the "new" truck run up the short hopping gophering.
 
Sounds like a lot. Funny thing will all mine, from '95 and up: the cab corners never come out. Just the bottom of the door rots away from about '98 and back. Paid to have both doors redone last year on two 96's, $800 each truck. Whole door didn't need painted though, just up to my decal line (commercial trucks).
 
You want a shop that does restoration work, not insurance work.
If you want to see what's involved in doing the job correctly go to metalmeet.com and check out some of those guy's work.
$3500 may be a little high but it's probably in the ball park.
 
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