Quickdraw said:
Why does every new trailer I look at look like it has just enough paint to cover the steel? Many are already rusting on the lot. Is this common everywhere else? I am looking at trailers that cost in the $6000 to $7000 range here in KY.
It very frustrating.
I spent my life in the auto body business and I can tell you why, the answer is very simple, doing it right, is
very expensive. The one guy who does it right, will always be much more expensive than everyone else, and he won't sell much as a result.
Last year I gave my simple 4x8 flatbed trailer an overhaul. The material bill when I finished, not including the deck because thats wood, was
over $600
, and was not for the top of the line paint. But, it was one notch down from the top.
4x8's usually sell for $800-$1200 dollars, see where there is no room to price that in.
Even on a $7000 trailer, the margin is the same.
We used to buy our boat trailers in the raw, and paint them our self's and even using Rustoleum as the top coat, it still was hundreds for all the stuff underneath.
They use the cheapest stuff they can get, usually a direct to metal, (thats right no etch, and no primer), so the prep, and the layer of protection is inadequate, and it corrodes very soon after completion.
