If you do, you've already experienced this sizing-up. A contractor comes to the house and sees you can afford 2x what they'd normally charge. A mechanic for your Lexus charges N times as much as the same mechanic would for your Toyota, even though they're the same parts and manufacturer.
Had an Audi, did the work myself. Audi parts are not VW parts just like Porsche parts are not Audi parts! I think a relay or a few hoses were shared across the car companies but nothing to write home about.. Second Audi’s are heavier than their VW counterpart so they needed stronger equipment. Made and shipped from Europe. Third, Audi had a tighter build process so a lot more work had to be done before a similar task on a VW (timing belt comes to mind). The same exists for Lexus/Toyota, Ford/Lincoln, Nissan/Infiniti.
What I’m saying is your nice house may cost 2x because your nice house has nice things that increase labor costs. Just like that upsized vehicle manufacturer..
When I was planning my San Francisco wedding, I told any supplier where it was feasible that I was having a family gathering, not a wedding.
(But the most important part of economically hosting a wedding is to not hire a wedding planner, it’s like their whole job is to separate you from your money. It’s a surprising amount of work to do everything yourself, but it’s the difference between a $5000 wedding and a $20,000 wedding)
Seriously, auto dealers STILL try to do this and it pissed me off to no end the last time I had to buy a car.
Except one company. I sent in what I wanted on email. They sent back the quotes on 3 cars in stock. The quotes were all reasonable and slightly below the average. I went in and bought the car.
Since then, seven other people in my social circle bought from the same auto dealer the same way. Sure, individual salesmen aren't making commissions, but that dealer is up probably up $25K in profit for roughly 15 hours mostly spent signing paperwork (it takes 2 hours just signing and signing for all the paperwork even if you walk in with financing).
Attempting to "size me up" is almost always a good way to "piss me off".
Auto dealers are selling a product that can easily be found exactly the same and compared elsewhere. For custom work such as construction, you’re not going to be able to do that.
Also, hourly quotes for even the most basic things around the house are a poor idea. Someone recently told me she had to move to fixed bids for everything with her handyman because he would just move really slow when it was hourly.
> Someone recently told me she had to move to fixed bids for everything with her handyman because he would just move really slow when it was hourly.
Erm, isn't the proper solution find another handyman?
If I think someone is ripping me off, "extra supervision" isn't the correct long term solution. I already distrust them, so I'm not likely to give them the benefit of the doubt. Complicated things have to run on at least some trust between parties--you can't write everything into a contract. If that trust is dead, you really can't continue the relationship.
If you do, you've already experienced this sizing-up. A contractor comes to the house and sees you can afford 2x what they'd normally charge. A mechanic for your Lexus charges N times as much as the same mechanic would for your Toyota, even though they're the same parts and manufacturer.