Protecting yerself when doin customer work, what can ya do?

I will add from the other side (as I am the one paying people to do stuff on my car)...
make sure you charge enough so that you feel like working on the car. nothing worse then getting a quote on having work done...getting a timeline for the work to be done then finding out that your car is not getting worked on because the person has other stuff to do that pays more.

make sure and do the work you say you are supposed to do as close to the timeline as possible.

keep a written log of what you do and how much time it took. The mechanic that has my car right now is GREAT! He keeps a log of what he buys material wise and how long he spent time wise and a total and I pay him weekly. It works out quite nicely for both of us. I go over each friday and pay him. He is an older guy and I think he writes everything down half for proof he did it and half so he remembers he did it

Good luck!

 

There was this 1950 Ford convertable that I was tryin to buy for a while, and they never would sell it... Been in the fam since 1951... Anyways, they knew I was really into the car thing, and one day asked me if I was intrested in getting it on the road... I have the guy give me money in advance for parts, and he orders some of the more expensive stuff... I clock in and out each day on a notebook that contains everything for the car(parts reciepts, ect...)... This is the first real "customer" of mine as well, and was shure to make shure he understood how much $$$ it takes to go in and build a car... I put together all the expenses I could think of, and then doubled that, and now that Im well into the project boy am I glad I did... And unless your quoting one small job, NEVER give someone a set price... Lets see, what else... Also, watch your ass when giving work to other shops(ieaint), cause Ive been fucked twice on that with this project, luckly the guy Im doin it for is understanding... One thing that is worring me, is he wants me to install seat belts, cause he has 3 kids.... WHOA... Now this is where I really get worried... I guess Im still young enought where I dont have a house, much assets or money saved, but in the back of my mind.... I know I can build this thing to be safe then they were back in 1950. Even how they were build in 1950 is more than safe enough for me... But for someone whos always drives the latest, safest, most high tech whatever... And then add 3 kids... Now that Im typing this out, Im gettin a little more worried about it... If I had kids, I would feel safe puttin them in it, but then again, some bitch won that lawsuit a while back cause the McD's coffee didnt say "hot" on it and she got burned then wrecked her car... I think Ill be writing up a several page document and getting it notorized upon signing before I release the car....

 

Wow, you guys are giving some great ideas. I've been thinking about doing some stuff on the side as well, but it almost sounds like a pain in the ass. I guess that's just the nature of dealing with people and their money. This has been one hell of a good thread.

 

I have been doing this for years and have a small business that's legal and all ...When doing this kind of project work I highly recommend getting some money up front.. work till it's gone then get more up front...if the customer is straight up they will have no problem ..otherwise pass on the job...Most people start out with good intentions but as the work and cost goes up people change, do not quote any price except your hourly labour rate..split the project into stages and do a stage at a time instead or getting the project into a puzzel ..the customer will see something solid and hopfully keep motivated..and Remember if the deal goes south and you have to end up in court...you will be the loser.....Cause when you get to court sometimes you get law and sometimes you get justice THEY ARE NOT THE SAME....in most case's the court will side with the customer ...Especially if your a back yarder...fatchuk