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How Much Do You Charge Per Hour?

February 29, 2012 By Naseem Muaddi

Hotrod & Restoration magazine recently published its annual automotive industry statistics. The nationwide survey, which gathers data from all sectors of the custom and restoration industry, highlights valuable information that our shops can use to better understand the market – such as average shop sales revenues and busiest months of the year.

What stands out the most, however, is the report’s findings on the average hourly labor rate that our auto upholstery shops charge in comparison to other sectors of the industry.

Hotrod & Restoration interviewed a sample of shops in each of the following sectors of the automotive industry, uncovering their average hourly labor rates:

  • Builders/Restorers/Fabricators: $61 per hour
  • Engine builders: $72 per hour
  • Machine Shops: $70 per hour
  • Paint/Body Shops: $64 per hour
  • Upholstery/Trim/Interior Shops: $55 per hour

Trim shops charging an average of $55 per hour is no surprise, but when compared to other sectors in our industry it raises an important question:

Why do we charge less per hour than other sectors when our skills are just as specialized as theirs? You can even make the case that we’re more highly specialized, as there are fewer trim shops than mechanic and body shops, and only a handful of auto upholstery trade schools in the entire country.

The answer is clear. Someone is undervaluing our services – and it’s either us or the market.

Tell us what you think: How does your shop’s hourly rate compare to the industry average? And who do you think is undervaluing the services that our auto trim shops provide?

Filed Under: Archive, Better Business, Industry Trends & Reports Tagged With: Auto Trim, Auto Upholstery, Car Interior, Hotrod & Restoration Magazine

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wolfmans Auto & Cycle says

    October 15, 2012 at 7:51 pm

    I have been in business for over 30 years my shop averages 100-300 hour depends on materials hey I did not suffer by low balling or low ballers i personally make sure the work is done right with no excuses

    • Naseem Muaddi says

      October 16, 2012 at 3:39 am

      You’re certainly on the higher end as far as labor rates go, but that’s great that you can get it.

    • William S. Hall says

      August 27, 2018 at 6:30 pm

      Great price and sounds good to me. just say a door panel is $850.00 and you can repair it in a hour or so. you saved the customer $700.00. I just looked here to see what the shop rate should be. I been in business for 39 years and have learned all you have is your labor and skill’s that are hard to find, a lot harder to find that a Dr. or lawyer. Your not going to find them charging a low rate. A week ago, we went up to $90.00 per hour,on labor that we can’t est. that will have some hidden problems. all you trimmers need to look around, I have been saying for years it a dying trade, 4 people were in this town,when I started, now me and one more. I feel $90 is very fair price..Should be higher than that in a bigger CITY.

  2. anton says

    February 12, 2013 at 9:01 pm

    Just for interest sake wat is the monthly salary for a master trimmer in USA just a average figure because a normal going salary in S.A. isn’t that bad depends who you work forehand in wat part of the country and to tell the truth S.A. is very limited with materials tools and accessories compared to wat I’ve seen and red about America and Germany

  3. Linbert Guerra says

    March 20, 2013 at 10:15 pm

    Just to put in my two cents in, I recently started up an Auto upholstery shop, the only of its kind in my country Belize, Central America and even though I am up to International standard because of my training in the US, people still expect to pay far below the industry rate..my edge is that I have no competition at this point but still not charging the full rate in the effort of building up a customer base.

  4. Resurrection says

    July 14, 2019 at 10:01 pm

    Ive been at 50 an hour for almost 10 years. The amount of hours I give away has gone down but recetly ive been trying to transition to 65$. It adds up fast and its still a little hard but I’m so much in demand and shops keep closing. Ive learned that the people that complain are gonna complain weather its 3$ or 10$ thats just their nature so you may as well get what you want.

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