Overview
Classic car restoration quotes are written by the hour, paid over years, and bought on trust
Classic car restoration is the slowest trade in the automotive shop. A full nut-and-bolt restoration runs eighteen months to three years, costs more than the finished car will sell for, and the customer is buying provenance, not transport. The quote up front is an estimate; what the customer is really paying for is honest hourly work and a contractor who doesn't disappear when the gearbox turns out to need a specialist rebuild in Belgium. A flat 'restoration quote, $48,000' is a number nobody believes. The structure that earns trust is the hours estimate, the parts sourcing plan, and the agreement to invoice monthly against actual time so the customer sees the work happening.
QuoteGenio gives classic restorers a quoting shape that suits long-form work. Initial condition report and project plan as the first record, parts sourcing budget as a separate forecast, hourly labour billed monthly against time recorded on the same record, photographic progress logs attached to each invoice, and a clear contingency for the discoveries every classic has under the bodywork. Send via WhatsApp or email to the owner with photos every fortnight, take a deposit at project start, raise monthly progress invoices through the build, and the final invoice closes with the road-test report and the photo journal of the build.
Who it is for
Who uses QuoteGenio
Built for every kind of classic car restoration business, from solo mechanical restorers to small workshops doing full frame-up concours work.
The problem
The quoting headaches every classic car restorer knows
Restoration is multi-month with sourcing, fabrication, and concours-grade complexity. Without a structured proposal listing each phase, customers underestimate the project and milestone payments break down.
Sourcing time absorbed
Hunting NOS parts and trim panels takes hours of catalogue work and supplier email. Without a sourcing line, the back-office time eats your day.
Concours-grade not stated
Driver-quality and concours-grade have very different paint, panel, and detail standards. Without stating the grade, customers compare on price and miss the spec gap.
Milestone schedule unclear
Restorations run 6 to 24 months. Without milestone payments, the cash flow breaks and customers lose patience with progress.
The fix
QuoteGenio makes it simple
A clean workflow for classic restoration. Quote sourcing, mechanical, panel, paint, trim, and milestone labour as separate lines. Send via WhatsApp and convert accepted quotes to milestone invoices.
The payoff
What you get with QuoteGenio
The everyday wins that add up across a year of quoting and invoicing.
Built for restoration work
Line items for assessment, parts sourcing, mechanical rebuild, body panel work, paint, trim and interior, electrical, concours detailing, photo documentation, and storage as separate lines.
Works from the workshop
Build the proposal at the bench after the assessment. Branded PDF on every send, public link for owner or insurance acceptance.
Quote in under 30 minutes
Templates for mechanical-only restoration, full frame-up driver-quality, concours-grade rebuild. Each new project is a few tweaks from sent.
Track milestones and parts
See which deposits have landed, which NOS parts are on order, and which builds are at strip vs panel vs paint vs assembly.
Built for your trade
Quoting calibrated to how classic car restorers actually work
Pick your trade in Settings and the entire quote flow switches to fit. Line item presets, compliance fields, on-the-quote calculators, and per-m² / after-hours pricing all change to match your industry.
Trade-specific line items
Quick add picker pre-fills the common items your trade quotes. Skip the blank rows.
Brand-specific catalogues
Pylontech, Hikvision, Canadian Solar, Sunsynk and others pre-named. Pick the brand, the description writes itself.
Compliance fields built in
IOPSA, ECASA, PIRB, PSIRA, NHBRC, SAQCC. Set once. Every quote prints them under FROM.
Registration expiry alerts
Dashboard notification 60 days before your PSIRA, CoC or any dated registration lapses.
Per-m² / hour / day billing
Unit selector on every line item: m², hr, linear m, days. Stop doing the maths externally.
After-hours and emergency
1.5× and 2× multipliers as a one-tap toggle. Customer sees the breakdown on the quote.
Quote-flow calculators
Solar size, battery backup, cable run cost. Compute on the spot, drop straight onto the quote.
Staged payments
Deposit on acceptance + balance on completion as two separate amounts on the quote PDF.
Scope-of-work checklist
Structured Included / Not included lists. Client acceptance = signing the scope.
Site-survey mode
Log a location per line item: camera positions, fixtures by room, sensors by zone.
Regional rate hints
Pricing ranges per item per currency shown as you quote.
Free on every plan
All of the above included on the free plan. Premium is for capacity, not the trade tooling.
Why QuoteGenio
Why Classic Car Restorers choose QuoteGenio
The tools that matter most when you are quoting on-site, under pressure, and between jobs.
Quote from your phone
Most Classic Car Restorers build and send quotes directly from the job site. No laptop, no office, no delays.
Win more jobs, faster
The first professional quote a client receives usually wins. Respond in minutes, not hours.
Quote to invoice in one click
When the job is accepted, convert to an invoice instantly. No retyping, no double entry.
Pricing guide
Typical Classic Car Restorers job pricing
A rough guide to what classic car restorers charge for common work. Pricing varies by project type (mechanical only vs frame-up vs concours), make and rarity, parts availability, and finish grade. Concours-grade rare-classic restorations sit at the top of these ranges.
| Job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Initial assessment + report | $ 480 - $ 1,800 |
| Mechanical-only restoration (engine + drivetrain) | $ 12,000 - $ 48,000 |
| Full frame-up driver-quality restoration | $ 38,000 - $ 145,000 |
| Concours-grade restoration (frame-up + detail) | $ 85,000 - $ 350,000 |
| Body panel work (per panel, by complexity) | $ 580 - $ 4,800 / panel |
| Paint (full body, single-stage to multi-coat) | $ 4,800 - $ 28,000 |
| Storage and care (per month) | $ 280 - $ 850 / month |
Pricing shown in USD as a rough benchmark. Rates vary significantly by country, region, currency, and market.
Call-out fees
Storage and ongoing care contracts are the recurring revenue base for restoration shops. Quote a monthly storage contract on every customer awaiting parts or between phases so the shop has predictable revenue through the project.
Hourly vs fixed pricing
Use fixed-fee per phase where the scope is locked. Use per-hour pricing for sourcing and unpredictable repair work. Always quote phases and milestones explicitly because restoration is too long to invoice on completion.
See it in action
Example quote breakdown
Here is what a clean frame-up restoration proposal looks like. Assessment, six phases, and photo documentation each visible on the proposal. Owners and insurance assessors comparing restorers respect this kind of phase-by-phase proposal.
Try it yourself
Job size
Region
Sample quote
Frame-up driver-quality restoration, milestone schedule
Initial assessment + condition report
Strip-down and component sorting (Phase 1)
Mechanical rebuild (engine + drivetrain, Phase 2)
Body panel work + rust repair (Phase 3)
Paint (single-stage, full body, Phase 4)
Trim and interior refurbishment (Phase 5)
Final assembly + detailing (Phase 6)
Photo documentation (each phase)
| Description | Qty | Rate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial assessment + condition report | 1 | $ 1,200 | $ 1,200 |
| Strip-down and component sorting (Phase 1) | 1 | $ 8,500 | $ 8,500 |
| Mechanical rebuild (engine + drivetrain, Phase 2) | 1 | $ 22,000 | $ 22,000 |
| Body panel work + rust repair (Phase 3) | 1 | $ 18,500 | $ 18,500 |
| Paint (single-stage, full body, Phase 4) | 1 | $ 12,500 | $ 12,500 |
| Trim and interior refurbishment (Phase 5) | 1 | $ 8,500 | $ 8,500 |
| Final assembly + detailing (Phase 6) | 1 | $ 6,500 | $ 6,500 |
| Photo documentation (each phase) | 6 | $ 145 / phase | $ 870 |
| Subtotal | $ 78,570 | ||
| Tax (10%) | $ 7,857 | ||
| Total incl. tax | $ 86,427 | ||
Totals recalculate as you change the controls above. Tax rate inferred from the sample quote.
Items often forgotten
Initial assessment, photo documentation per phase (used for insurance and resale provenance), parts sourcing time as a separate line where rare parts are needed, monthly storage between phases, and final detailing. Add these as standard lines so the specialist work does not silently absorb the build.
Peer snapshot
How Classic Car Restorers actually use QuoteGenio
Indicative activity for Classic Car Restorers on the platform. Use it as a benchmark for how often to quote and how fast to respond.
33
Quotes sent per month
55%
Average quote acceptance
3 min
Median time to send quote
$ 86,427
Typical quote value
Figures are indicative platform averages for this trade segment.
Start quoting Classic Car Restorer jobs like this, free
Build your first quote in under 2 minutes. No credit card, no setup fee, no contract.
Avoid these
Common quoting mistakes
We talk to a lot of classic car restorers. The same phase, sourcing, and milestone mistakes come up restoration after restoration. Fix these and your owner-and-insurance referral base will compound through provenance documentation.
Mistake: No phase structure
Better: Quote 5 to 7 phases on every restoration with milestone payments tied to each phase complete. Customers respect seeing the build broken into clear stages.
Mistake: Concours-grade not stated
Better: State the target grade (driver-quality, show-quality, concours) on every proposal. Different grades have very different paint, panel, and detail rates.
Mistake: Sourcing absorbed
Better: Quote rare parts sourcing as a separate per-hour line. State that sourcing time is non-refundable even if the part cannot be found.
Mistake: Photo documentation missed
Better: Quote photo documentation per phase as a separate line. Photos add provenance value at resale and customers respect seeing them itemised.
Mistake: No storage between phases
Better: Quote monthly storage as a line on every proposal. Restorations have natural pauses (parts wait, family decisions) and storage is real cost.
Mistake: No milestone payments
Better: Quote 15 to 20 percent deposit, then 6 milestone payments tied to each phase complete. Restorations run 6 to 24 months and cash flow needs the milestones.
Mistake: No expiry on the quote
Better: Set a 60 to 90 day validity. Restoration decisions take time. State a longer validity to bridge the family discussion period.
Mistake: No follow-up after sending the quote
Better: Most quotes that don't close, don't close because nobody followed up. Send a polite check-in 48 hours after the quote lands, and a second nudge at day 7. Two of every three accepted quotes get there because someone followed up.
Step by step
How to quote classic restoration
Always assess the car in person before quoting restoration. A 2 to 4 hour assessment tells you the chassis condition, the body rust extent, the mechanical state, the trim and interior condition, and the customer's target grade (driver-quality vs show-quality vs concours). Quote based on what you assessed because restoration scope changes hugely with rust extent and parts availability.
Itemise initial assessment, parts sourcing, each phase as a milestone (strip-down, mechanical, body, paint, trim, assembly), photo documentation per phase, electrical work, concours detailing, and storage as separate lines. Owners and insurance assessors compare on phase clarity. State the target grade on every proposal because grade drives the price more than any other factor.
Take a deposit and milestone payments. Restorations run 6 to 24 months and cash flow needs structured payments. Quote 15 to 20 percent deposit on signing, then 6 to 7 milestones tied to each phase complete. State the milestone schedule clearly so the customer agrees in writing.
Send via WhatsApp and follow up. Owners and insurance assessors compare 2 to 3 restorers. The first detailed proposal with phase structure, sourcing line, milestone schedule, and photo documentation usually wins because restoration is a long commitment and trust matters. Share the public link via WhatsApp after the assessment, follow up after a week, and once accepted invoice the deposit. Set a 60 to 90 day validity.
FAQ
Common questions from classic car restorers
Everything you need to know before getting started.
Yes with phase structure. Quote 5 to 7 phases as separate lines with milestone payments tied to each phase complete. Customers respect seeing the build broken into clear stages.
Yes. Once your quote is ready, share the public link via WhatsApp. The owner or insurance assessor opens a branded PDF on their phone, accepts online, and you have a time-stamped acceptance on file.
Quote both as alternative grades on the same proposal where the customer is undecided. State the grade target on every line. Concours work is 2 to 4x driver-quality on paint, panel, and detail.
Yes. 15 to 20 percent deposit, then 6 to 7 milestones tied to each phase complete. Restorations run 6 to 24 months and cash flow needs the milestones. State the schedule clearly.
Quote sourcing as a separate per-hour line. State that sourcing time is non-refundable even if the part cannot be found, because the catalogue and supplier work is real back-office time.
Yes. The free plan gives you 5 quotes and 2 invoices per month with no credit card. Upgrade to Premium for unlimited quotes plus milestone invoicing for staged restoration payments.
Yes. Quote monthly storage as a line on every proposal. Restorations have natural pauses (parts wait, family decisions) and storage is real cost.
Yes, as a separate per-phase line. Photo documentation adds provenance value at resale and is required for insurance valuation.
If you are tax registered, yes. Show tax as its own line on the proposal so the customer sees the full price before they accept.
60 to 90 days. Restoration decisions take time. State a longer validity to bridge the family discussion period without re-quoting.
Still have questions? We would rather answer them now than after you have signed up.
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Builder · New York City
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Steel Fabricator · Hamburg
Guides
Guides for Classic Car Restorers
Practical advice to help you quote better, get paid faster, and grow your business.
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