Quarter window repair

[Littleredwaggon]

Hey check this out I figured out a solid repair for my quarter window guide plates
if anyone is interested check out my Ebay add. http://www.ebay.com/itm/160991843820?ss ... 1555.l2649

[Littleredwaggon]

I need your guys help. I'm trying to dial in a fair price that will allow me to make a little extra money and also offer what I feel is a needed service. This is my current listing which cover both right and left windows.http://www.ebay.com/itm/160996393702?it ... m=&vxp=mtr

[Hijacker]

I always thought the price was high. You should give a breakdown of the cost in your descriptions since you're including shipping. Even if you include $40 to cover shipping in your price you're still charging $130 for a service that someone could easily do themselves for under $10. Your price appears very high because the perceived cost to you is low. You made brand new nylon blocks to fit, and nylon isn't super expensive. Also demand for the service is going to stay low. You have a limited number of verts in existence, and a lot of owners are DIY types as well. Low demand will require you to lower your price to sell. I would say to find a good price point, drop to around $75-80. That covers shipping and you don't look like you're gouging. If that doesn't give you a profit, perhaps you shouldn't sell the service? Just put the service out there by word of mouth and let people who need it and are willing to pay come to you. On NICO, you'd need approval from AZHitman before trying that.

[Littleredwaggon]

Your point is well taken and your right the cost of materials is roughly $30.00 but by the time I remove what's left of the old guides and blocks, straighten the plates, re weld pins if needed, prime and paint the plates plus hand make all of the guides, blocks, check fit, make sure they operate smoothly then install new rubber bumpers 5 or 6 hours has gone by. So if I were to sell the service for both windows at lets say $200.00 then deduct $30.00 in materials ,$30.00 in return shipping leaving $140.00 profit for 6 hours of work which is equal to $23.00 per hour. Now if I use your math of $80.00 for the pair knocking $60.00 off the top leaving me a profit of $20.00 which averages less than $3.50 per hour. I sold my last set for $150.00 for the pair again subtract $60.00 off the top leaving me $90.00 profit which is $15.00 per hour and that my friend is a fair price.
Now my question for you is why is the world would I waste my Saturday for even $23.00 when I can work as much overtime I wish as a plane captain for $40.00 per hour. The answer is I know this is an issue with these cars and I offered my services but I'm not going to do it for nothing. There are more of these cars on the road than you think but if they don't sell it's no skin off my back cause I know how to fix them.

[Littleredwaggon]

THIS IS A REBUILD SERVICE ONLY

Through trial and error I have developed the perfect repair solution for those damaged quarter windows due to the complexity of the repair I have decided to offer a rebuild service in lieu of just selling the parts

If you feel that the price is too high please consider this each piece is hand made and properly fitted so that they align properly which takes time. I must strip the plate of everything plastic or rubber it is then inspected. straightened,
welded, bead blasted, primed and painted again this takes time. There are many steps that are involved in rebuilding these that requires several hours of work so when you take all that into consideration plus the fact that return shipping is included the price is very reasonable. The link below is to the most recent Ebay listing

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161025036938?it ... m=&vxp=mtr

[blkvrtswp]

I think this is reasonably priced as a service, many owners do not want to tackle this difficult job. I know I am not looking forward to it....

Offering a warranty / guarantee and some testimonials from those who have installed your parts or had this done by you would go along way too. Offer up a free install to a post-whore here on NICO if they will review it with pics.

Good luck and thank you for your contribution to our cars!

[wmdavis007]

I too think that $165 is a fair price for the complete service. But, for me I couldn't spend that much. A suggestion, you could come up with a DIY kit with some instructions...maybe for $70-$75 shipped. I am a "do it yourself-er", it's hard for me to pay someone to do work...any work, that I can do as good or better...I know that a lot, if not most, on this forum are DIY'ers and feel this same way I do. This DIY kit would give you an entrance into both the DIY'ers and those that would rather pay to have it done. I have not even driven my car for 14 months mainly because of the rear quarter window not working properly. I fear the window could drop and shatter while putting my top down...so this is a fix I am going to do very soon...for the second time . Good luck and let us know what you come up with.

[Littleredwaggon]

I can certainly offer a repair kit for this repair that will include everything you need to complete the repair for both sides for $65.00 shipped. The reason I have not offered it before is because the proper alignment of the plate to the track is so frustrating please allow me to explain. I start by making the individual pieces which by themselves fit perfectly but once installed on the plate the fun really begins as you need to dial in your alignment by running the guide plate through the track several times until your able to see on the guides where they are meeting resistance you then remove the plate then carefully remove the suspected guide, sand the shiny parts reinstall and run it back thought the guides you keep doing this until the plate slides smoothly once your at this point you can apply a very small amount of high quality grease to the tracks I use Mystic JT6. Now your ready to reinstall your windows provided that your plate is straight and none of the pins need re welded or peened which most I have seen need on or the other or both. The kit would include
4 guides
4 set screws
4 nylon split spacers
2 Rubbing blocks
2 O-rings
2 Nylon bushings
2 Metal retainers
2 Wave washers
2 Clips
2 Rubber spacers
Instructions

[wmdavis007]

I am very interested. My wife keeps harping on me to fix the 240...and I really want to, but since I have a Jeep Wrangler now I've put it on the back burner. But we may be selling our house and I would like to fix it before all the moving crap starts and it really gets pushed further aside. Keep me informed about a repair kit

[br007]

Looks like i'm going to have to do this....damn! 21 year old convertibles sure will nickle and 100$ bill ya...Or i can gets some balls, and try to have this website ponoko.com make the parts for me. Apparently you can submit 3D or 2D designs and choose your material and have them make stuff for you. Might be worthwhile for some other parts that are no longer made.

[Littleredwaggon]

Sorry for not responding to any personal messages I'm not sure how to use the message response. The answer is yes I'm still doing these in fact here is a new listing for Ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/161084082532?ss ... 1555.l2649

[Littleredwaggon]

If you have any questions please message me through Ebay I check in there far more often than here.

[Skateman]

I DESPERATELY NEED ONE OF THESE KITS ASAP !!! I AM BEGGING AT THIS POINT AS WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE O RECONSTRUCT PERFECTLY. I HAVE THE BLOCK DIMENSIONS BUT NOT THE SLIDER DIMENSIONS. I GOT ONE KIT FROM YOU OFF EBAY 3 YEARS AGO & OF COURSE ALL OF YOUR INFO. HAS BEEN REMOVED. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE IF YOU HAVE JUST ONE MORE KIT. THINK WE PAID $40 LAST TIME. SLAPPING MYSELF FOR NOT GRABBING TWO WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE.MY CELL is 970-388-4082

[Littleredwaggon]

You are in luck I still have the stuff to make these you can contact me directly at mfa189@aol.com I can send you a paypal invoice and get them out to you on Monday. I still make them from time to time but no longer list them on Ebay