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Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

25K views 35 replies 22 participants last post by  Mark / Ohio 
#1 ·
Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

Just something for discussion, since another member brought up the idea of restoration of a Lawn Boy for hire. How much do you think Rick would change to do something like Bald-Guy, cityboy, or Lawnboy77 has done? (just for examples of what I consider excellent restorations, not to ignore others)

I've watched the show since it started, and some of the prices he gets seem INSANE, in my opinion.

If one went to him with a specific model, and took him pictures of what it SHOULD look like when finished, say a 6253.

Do we have any members in the Las Vegas area even? Would be sweet if someone just took one to him for fun. Lawn mowers in general in that part of the country would be few and far between, being in the desert there's not much mowing going on!
 
#2 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

Don't know about an LB, but if I remember right, didn't he charge one guy something like $6,500 to do one of those little three wheeled Bantam tractors, and it was even disassembled when the guy brought it in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YrxpdKvgvE
 
#3 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

Don't know about an LB, but if I remember right, didn't he charge one guy something like $6,500 to do one of those little three wheeled Bantam tractors, and it was even disassembled when the guy brought it in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YrxpdKvgvE
Yeah, I remember that one. I think he said he had to "add on a little extra" to the cost because it was totally disassembled too.

I've watched other shows where people tell what it costs to get something restored, like a pedal car for example, and I hear numbers like $300 to $600. Then Rick gets one to restore and he throws out $3,000! I wonder what he charged BEFORE he became "famous".
 
#4 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

I often wonder about his prices myself. While I know he is in business to make money some of his prices seem very high. One thing I wonder is if they just through out those prices for the show, but actually have a real price they charge the customer. That would be a neat job to have just to see all the different things brought in.
 
#6 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

If you took a LB to Rick's it would come back with a crome handle and wheels, blade, etc. Just that puts the cost over the normal in the crazy zone.
True! But you can request it be restored to "original" just like it rolled out of the factory. I see them do more of that than anything.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

You have to remember though that it is a business so he has to pay his employees for their time, materials that are bought for the project, sometimes outsourcing specialists, paying for their time etc which all eventually adds up in the end.

I do sometimes wonder if he'll ever get an old lawnmower in to restore and what he would charge to do it.
 
#14 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

You have to remember though that it is a business so he has to pay his employees for their time, materials that are bought for the project, sometimes outsourcing specialists, paying for their time etc which all eventually adds up in the end.

I do sometimes wonder if he'll ever get an old lawnmower in to restore and what he would charge to do it.

Another thing is he acts like he knows everything about an item . But in reality there is probably countless hours of just research to make an item original or close to.
 
#8 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

also keep in mind that his high prices come in when he has to make a new part to OEM spec because the original is NLA and there are no used ones to be found. anyone that spends the cash to have a LB professionally restored would almost be a fool to actually USE it, cause it's just going to get messed up again!
 
#9 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

Also a good point!

It cracks me up the number of "toys" people have restored for THOUSANDS of dollars that they claim they are going to give to their 4 year old kid to play with! I bet they re-think that before they even get home with it!

As for restored mowers, I think many that guys have done on here are "too nice to ever use" as well. I like to do a restoration, but I'm not going to make one PERFECT to the point that even running it is going to mar it. I'd rather have one that's "pretty" but I still feel comfortable using. I don't have room to build a display rack, behind glass, for some of the museum pieces that I've seen turned out on here! Though I'm not saying I wouldn't mind having that! Some day, some day...
 
#11 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

What network is this show on? Sounds like another good show that I have been missing. I agree with you guys, restoring machinery is very expensive, take for instance the classic car restorations, I watch cars on the Barrett-Jackson auctions go for money that barely covers the expense to paint the machine, much less all the rest of the overhead that goes into restoring a classic automobile.
 
#13 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

What network is this show on? Sounds like another good show that I have been missing. I agree with you guys, restoring machinery is very expensive, take for instance the classic car restorations, I watch cars on the Barrett-Jackson auctions go for money that barely covers the expense to paint the machine, much less all the rest of the overhead that goes into restoring a classic automobile.
I see it on History channel! ~~ grnspot
 
#16 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

I like Ricks work (for the most part) and I like the show, but I have seen many members on here who do better work.
 
#17 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

I like watching the show and he does some cool stuff but he's not that good at what he does. He cuts A LOT of corners and outsources all kinds of things that most restoration shops can do in house. Dont get me wrong he and his crew have talent, it just seems that the price and execution of the task dont always match up. Anyway I love watching him give the price to customers because you can tell he's full of poop sometimes. It's like he has to convince himself and the customer that it's worth what he estimates to do the job.

I'd be tempted to take him a LB if I lived in Vegas though as I'd like to see the price and if it was reasonable I'd like to compare his work to mine and some of the other resto guys on this board. I'd bet some of us garage dwellers would give him a run for his money.
 
#18 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

Another thing is he acts like he knows everything about an item . But in reality there is probably countless hours of just research to make an item original or close to.
That too. It always kind of reminds me how Rick on Pawn Stars gives all the history about the items he gets in as well.

I'd be tempted to take him a LB if I lived in Vegas though as I'd like to see the price
Yeah, I've always thought along those same lines too and have wondered just out of plain old curiousity what he'd charge to redo the Speedway.
 
#20 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

Kinda make you want to open up a shop back east... Big bucks...
Don't go with a business or a shop first, find a camera crew to start. Like Jason stated, wonder what he charged 'before'. He wouldn't have a business if he started out charging what you guys are describing. Chalk another one up to 'more money than brains' department.
 
#21 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

He does great work but has to pay a full crew to keep the stuff flowing in and out of the shop. I think he pretty much takes the auction out of the value and charges close to its top collector value at the top auction houses. You would probably have to wait 30 more years to get a lot of profit from it, so your own pleasure is the primary motivator in paying Ricks prices.
 
#22 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

My father runs a shop just like Rick's where we specialize in restorations of old tractors. Some of his prices are crazy, but for the most part I think he is in line. For instance, here is a tractor I just restored. It is a 1946 Ford 2N. It took almost $9000 to get it to this point. But, the customer gets what he pays for, at least from us. This thing was a hot mess when it rolled into our shop.





Also, here is a Fordson Dexta= $12,000. Lots of handmade parts on this one. The hood and grill were smashed flat from a tree, and yes, that is the original sheet metal! It took me 3 months to do that!!!





Here at our shop we have a saying that you can either have your tractor painted by someone else, or you can have it done properly here. Cocky? Maybe, but I have confidence in my work speaking for itself. The difference between a good job and what we (and Rick) do is huge. You truly get what you pay for.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

I like to do my own stuff, not that I'm the greatest. My way of "convincing" myself is that I use all of my stuff, it's not museum quality. However, I would love to be able to do what restoration guys for a living. Yeah, Rick's prices seem a little out to lunch, but his customers don't seem to mind. I think most of those people do it for sentimental reasons, not to flip it. That's probably why they pay so much. I really like the show though. My biggest complaint about the show is....and I've seen them do it a couple of times...NO WAY would I want to pay for a restoration that included RATTLE CAN paint jobs. Now, I'm guilty of this in some of my own stuff that I use, but I saw one of his employees spray a stove with rattle can paint because the compressor was down. And the guy was paying a ton of money for a restoration. I don't think so...Other than that, I love the show. By the way, ShovelJockey, absolutely beautiful work! Wow...
 
#28 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

I like to do my own stuff, not that I'm the greatest. My way of "convincing" myself is that I use all of my stuff, it's not museum quality. However, I would love to be able to do what restoration guys for a living. Yeah, Rick's prices seem a little out to lunch, but his customers don't seem to mind. I think most of those people do it for sentimental reasons, not to flip it. That's probably why they pay so much. I really like the show though. My biggest complaint about the show is....and I've seen them do it a couple of times...NO WAY would I want to pay for a restoration that included RATTLE CAN paint jobs. Now, I'm guilty of this in some of my own stuff that I use, but I saw one of his employees spray a stove with rattle can paint because the compressor was down. And the guy was paying a ton of money for a restoration. I don't think so...Other than that, I love the show. By the way, ShovelJockey, absolutely beautiful work! Wow...
The thing that makes him so much money is that people paying for a restoration have no idea how its done or whats involved, that's why they go to him. He's apparently a pro and has a tv show so people trust him, if he says it costs $6500 and is done right, they just assume that's what it is. I think guys like us are skeptical because we have an eye for detail and we often can tell when corners are cut. People paying for a resto cant usually tell bad work from good, all they know is that it was rusty and broken and now it's shiney and it works.

Dont get me wrong I love watching the show simply because of the neat things he gets to work with and he seems like a nice guy. I just often question not so much the prices because some of that stuff is priceless, but the methods. Why would a guy spend so much to have certain parts of something chromed, and then rattle can the other half of it? I guess my thing is that he always charges concourse quality prices, but sometimes he does amateurish work, mostly when it comes to paint.
 
#25 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

I don't watch to much TV, but i do enjoy his show and American Pickers, because of two things, very little to no bad language and not much drama, like most of the other shows have gone to..I use to Love the first few sessions of American chopper..they where just a business building bikes, driving regular cars, but then fame hit and all the drama!!!!!
 
#26 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

If I was younger I think I would start a restore shop.
Just a few of my restores... Before and after shots.
 

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#27 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

We recently took on our first "paid for" restoration, detailed here: http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=220029

I studied the thing pretty good before i gave a price range. The materials I hit spot on, the labor, I was short on, but it was a learning experience. Knowing what I know now about it, I would not touch it again for under $800, and that is a small, simple machine! You don't realize just how much time actually goes in to a restore, even when you do it for yourself. When doing it for a customer, it requires perfection. Next one in the door, a Ford 8N...wish me luck.
 
#29 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

Sounds to me like there's lots of "TV" shows to be had out there. The Pickers got their start when somebody submitted a tape of them doing their thing to the History Channel. Maybe some of the local stations or newspapers would like to know about the "American Restoration" pros right in their own back yards. Could be good exposure for you guys doing this stuff.
 
#30 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

Just need to add one more thing--Let's not forget this is a Tv show,he probley makes more $ for the show than the restorations.Seems like every thing we watch nowadays is some kind of reality thing--Maybe I need to air one--call it "How an old man pittles around in his shop":trink40: Nah,better not,I swear too much,the show would be one long bleep.:biglaugh:
 
#31 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

I think he is more of an actor then a restorator.He should do a restoration on his kids hair cut and two tone color scheme.Plus his staff looks like there out on the prison release program.If they can do it anyone can and for a lot less then what they supposibly charge.That IH pedal tractor a few weeks ago was when I said this show is FAKE.
 
#32 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

Might steer this in the wrong direction but it made me think of someone else who bugs me. For ya'll who watch Pawn Stars, what do you think of that hack "car expert" he has appraise everything? Rick is iffy but that guy is a total fool.
 
#33 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

You have to remember too they are in Vegas. Prices you can get as well as the cost of labor vary a good bit from one region to another right along with the standard of living. What their customer base out there thinks is a valuable antique of the past we might find local people still using in daily life. :fing32:
 
#34 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

You have to remember too they are in Vegas. Prices you can get as well as the cost of labor vary a good bit from one region to another right along with the standard of living. What their customer base out there thinks is a valuable antique of the past we might find local people still using in daily life. :fing32:
True, but what these guys are doing on these shows is being reflected in everyday life everywhere. Prices folks are asking at yard sales, estate sales and auctions have all gone up since these shows have become popular.

Did you guys catch the series of shows where the Pawn guy wanted an old car for his dad, had the Pickers find one, then had the Restoration guy restore it? All three shows having something to do with that one car.

Hey, let's as a group chip in to send an LB to these guys and see what they do with it. Whata' ya' think?
 
#35 ·
Re: Who watches "american restoration" (Rick's Restorations)? What would he charge?

For ya'll who watch Pawn Stars, what do you think of that hack "car expert" he has appraise everything? Rick is iffy but that guy is a total fool.
Count from Counts Kustoms? Never had a problem, he always seems like a straight up guy to me and points out the obvious when Rick has him go along do an appraisal.

Did you guys catch the series of shows where the Pawn guy wanted an old car for his dad, had the Pickers find one, then had the Restoration guy restore it? All three shows having something to do with that one car.
No, but would've liked to have seen it!
 
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