Anyone do basic upholstery repairs?

[C. Charles Hahn]

I've got a guy comming tomorrow with a Mazda MX-6 (he's going out of town and I'll have the car sitting around for a week or so) he just bought and wants it reconditioned. He said the drivers' seat side bolster is starting to come apart at the stitching (apparently right on the seam) and wants to see what I can do about it.

Anybody out there do this kind of stuff? I'm not opposed to taking a needle and thread to it, but I was interested to see if anyone had other ideas of how this can be done, and/or how much (ballpark) I should charge for the service...?

Thanks!

 

[AutoBuff]

I would call an upholstest and ask what they would charge. So you know what you should be charging if you decide to do it youself. Or you may also just get them to come fix the seat and the seat will be done proper and the customer will be happy, and it may lead you to more business. I do that when I get customers who want me to take care of the dents in the car. In the end the job is done correctly, the customer is happy and I make a few dollars off it.



Chris

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

I would call an upholstest and ask what they would charge. So you know what you should be charging if you decide to do it youself. Or you may also just get them to come fix the seat and the seat will be done proper and the customer will be happy, and it may lead you to more business. I do that when I get customers who want me to take care of the dents in the car. In the end the job is done correctly, the customer is happy and I make a few dollars off it.



Chris

Honestly, I've dealt with this customer before... and for him, all he wants is a half-ass job anyway. Normally I do have a guy who I send upholstery work to, and a mobile PDR guy I have come by for dent work, but this guy isn't going to want to pay what they charge. I usually just DIY it and charge him a bit less (mainly because I know my repairs don't always look quite as good as far as that stuff goes). I've done dent repairs before, but never upholstery that involved stitching.