Do You Get Multiple Quotes…
…when you have a home improvement project?
The reason I wonder is because every time I get quotes for a project, I am astounded at the huge discrepancy in prices I get for the exact same project. If more people checked on the pricing variances, I can only assume the outlandish quoters would dissipate because they couldn’t make a living, but obviously they are, and they aren’t shy about asking for double the price because they know they can get away with it.
Read moreWe have a bathroom remodel project. The first quote we got was $2,600–just to lay the tile. Can you believe it?
We have a 120 square feet for the floor, and we have a 40 x 40 shower. We are doing a little design on the floor and in the shower, but nothing by any means extravagant. We want 7 clipped corners on the tile floor to have inserts put in, and we want a chair rail installed as a frame around the shower fixtures, and we have a niche. That’s all.
We were astounded that laying tile was so expensive so we told this first guy we wanted more quotes. He told us he was only charging $5.00/square foot to lay the tile, but when I put my calculator to the numbers, it came up well over $11.00 square foot. When he saw me run the numbers, he immediately balked that he made an error and dropped his price down to $9.00 a square foot ($500 off). That made me mad, so I called the next guy. Furthermore, this guy only had a PO Box for address, and a cell phone which didn’t sit well with me. I later looked to see if he was licensed, and found he is not. Obviously he is hiding from something. He isn’t publicly advertising anywhere.
The next quote came in at $2600. We couldn’t believe it!! This is just to install the tile. It does not include the price of the tile itself which is also ungodly.
All the contractors tell us the job will require one week’s worth of work. I am not sure college pays off anymore!
The next guy? It only gets worse. He wanted three thousand. I feel taken just thinking about it. But knowing the first guy wasn’t likely honest, and the second guy had no personality, but rather hinted at a being an egotist, I decided to see if I could negotiate this guy down because he seemed reasonable and down-to-earth. So I told him our two previous quotes and asked if he could come down because we flat couldn’t afford to pay his price. The reality is I flat wouldn’t pay his price.
Guess what? Amazingly, he did. He came down on the spot to $2600. I told him I would get back to him, and then I called the next guy– a fourth guy and guess what? He beat them all.
He wanted five thousand for the same job!! Yes, you read that right. It’s not a typo. This guy made me think I was in the wrong profession–that’s for sure.
Can you believe all these quotes I got for the same 176 square feet? What am I missing?? All of these contractors showed us reputable photos of their work, and came from recommendations (via friends or local tile shops). And mind you all of these guys told me they could start my project within 5 days–which means they did have much work.
Why was there such a huge variation in pricing?
I can only surmise three things that could explain this:
- Either I act or look exceptionally gullible and naive, and so they think I will just pay whatever they quote; or
- None of these guys can read people — which I don’t think is true, or;
- No one else gets multiple quotes, and these guys know most of the time people pay whatever they ask for!
What do you think?
I suspect it is a combination of me appearing gullible. Ha! Thank you very much. What can I do about it? You have to admit that it is funny, but potentially true because I have always been told I have an honest and trusting face. Add to that not enough people are likely getting multiple quotes, and hence are way too trusting of any stranger that looks clean cut that comes to quote them.