Headlight Replacement vs. Restoration

Discuss all aspects of headlight restoration, including marketing, technical, and business advice.
photoadjuster
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Re: Headlight Replacement vs. Restoration

Post by photoadjuster »

Wow, I work out of a Mercedes sprinter van. They wanted $ 650.00 each for parts. Looks like you win for the most outlandish asking price.

Maybe we should raise our prices.

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Mike Stephenson
Lubbock, TX
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Mike Stephenson
photoadjuster
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Re: Headlight Replacement vs. Restoration

Post by photoadjuster »

Is there any way to edit one's previous posts.

Should be raise, not rise.
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Mike Stephenson
ray6
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Re: Headlight Replacement vs. Restoration

Post by ray6 »

Many of the low priced headlights you see advertised on the internet are from China. They have a history of poor fitting and leaking due to poor quality.
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Brent Deines
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Re: Headlight Replacement vs. Restoration

Post by Brent Deines »

photoadjuster wrote:Is there any way to edit one's previous posts.

Should be raise, not rise.
I made that edit for you and also corrected misspellings on "our" and "Mercedes". I can't do that for every single post as that would be a full time job, but you now have 60 minutes to edit your own posts. Also, if you see a red squiggly line under something you type that means you have a misspelling. Can't do much about grammar unless you type your replies in a word processor 1st and then cut and past into the forum after you are sure everything is perfect.
Brent Deines
Delta Kits, Inc.
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Rudy2813

Re: Headlight Replacement vs. Restoration

Post by Rudy2813 »

Do you have a list of vehicle replacement head lights that you use? Or do you look it up on the internet prior to each restoration?
mend master
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Re: Headlight Replacement vs. Restoration

Post by mend master »

Rudy2813 wrote:Do you have a list of vehicle replacement head lights that you use? Or do you look it up on the internet prior to each restoration?
You can make up your own list as a "sampling". The point of showing a customer a random sampling of replacement costs is simply to encourage them that they are making a wise, value based decision to have you recondition their lenses instead of replacing them.
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quietman
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Re: Headlight Replacement vs. Restoration

Post by quietman »

lol
johnymunch

Re: Headlight Replacement vs. Restoration

Post by johnymunch »

Dealership quote is much higher man, definitely the one who does not know would go and waste money.
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pommy
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Re: Headlight Replacement vs. Restoration

Post by pommy »

...you can't really compare an after-market light with a genuine, most people, especially dealers would know this.

As said previously in the thread - not only are they ill-fitting, they just "look" cheap by comparison.

I tend to discount the idea of using after-market ones to my customers (as if they would be silly to even consider it type of thing) - so comparing with the GENUINE works for me as that is what they will be left with after all.

On a personal note - I bought some after-market lights for my 3 series BMW - mainly due to the price at the time - but one actually snapped when it went it, and BOTH never sat correctly against the car and made it look like it had been in a crash.

My sales pitch is "Keep it genuine" - obviously the car's value plays a part in this - but still, half price is half price on a cheap car too!

My first post - !

Hello all ;)
If the job doesn't mean more than the pay, it will never pay more.
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pommy
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Re: Headlight Replacement vs. Restoration

Post by pommy »

Over here in Australia, on cheap cars like Hyundai's - you can buy a SET, yes, a PAIR of aftermarket headlights for around $100.

I charge $75 to my trade customers for HLR. They replace in this situation 90% of the time.

On the other hand, Toyota and Subaru are $400 per side. This is the easy business.

Have a great day!

P.S - I'm doing 4-5 sets per day at the moment, tiring, but $375 a day - with 2 WSR's at the same place - It's $500 a day almost.
If the job doesn't mean more than the pay, it will never pay more.
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