Well It has been a few weeks since I sat down and searched for quotes to have a new driveway put in for my home and I ended up with eight quotes in total ranging from $5800 to $2000. I was left wondering why such a big gap. Now three of the quotes were for going a different direction of putting in sod & stone and only half as ashphalt, but even then pricing went from one extreme to the next.
I found the following discussion on Contractor Talk which helped me to review the quotes I had and recognize which ones were worth pursuing. This discussion may also help you when providing estimates to make sure yours is the winning bid.
David C wrote on Contractor Talk:
We are quoting an addition and freestanding garage. Ours was the 6th and last quote, and the highest. Our estimate is 120k, the lowest is 50k. When asked what the difference is, our salesman asked to sit down and see if it's apples to apples.
Of the 4 lowest proposals there was one on a letterhead with the rest scratched on notepaper. None of those seemed to consider the requested specifications or didn't bother offering any details. Those were quickly wadded and tossed by the HO. He felt they either weren't interested or didn't care enough to get the job.
The next estimate is from a reputable builder in our area and seems to have his ducks in a row for 109k. His was a verbal delivered over the phone and the next step is for the HO to call back with a decision.
Ours was delivered verbally in person. We were the only ones to have already checked with code enforcement on a couple of key issues and had answers for those points. (the other guy had the same answers but didn't check with CE) Our next step is a non refundable fee to take some site measurements so we can make our quote as accurate as we can. The fee will be appied as a payment to the contract if we are hired. After that we will supply a detailed written proposal to be delivered with the contract.
HO has already seen a sample propsal and has a blank contract from us, none from the others. His next step is to check the references on both of us and would like to see some of our past work. Other guy provided a few addresses, our sales guy offered a guided tour. (HO is from out of state, this is his camp)
To date I am pleased with our guys efforts and strategy. But this may be our first real competition in awhile, normally it's more like the first 4 that got trashed.
So the question is this, 2 reputable companies about 10% apart and you the higher one. What would your strategy be? Reverse auction is not acceptable. Thanks in advance.
I found the following discussion on Contractor Talk which helped me to review the quotes I had and recognize which ones were worth pursuing. This discussion may also help you when providing estimates to make sure yours is the winning bid.
David C wrote on Contractor Talk:
We are quoting an addition and freestanding garage. Ours was the 6th and last quote, and the highest. Our estimate is 120k, the lowest is 50k. When asked what the difference is, our salesman asked to sit down and see if it's apples to apples.
Of the 4 lowest proposals there was one on a letterhead with the rest scratched on notepaper. None of those seemed to consider the requested specifications or didn't bother offering any details. Those were quickly wadded and tossed by the HO. He felt they either weren't interested or didn't care enough to get the job.
The next estimate is from a reputable builder in our area and seems to have his ducks in a row for 109k. His was a verbal delivered over the phone and the next step is for the HO to call back with a decision.
Ours was delivered verbally in person. We were the only ones to have already checked with code enforcement on a couple of key issues and had answers for those points. (the other guy had the same answers but didn't check with CE) Our next step is a non refundable fee to take some site measurements so we can make our quote as accurate as we can. The fee will be appied as a payment to the contract if we are hired. After that we will supply a detailed written proposal to be delivered with the contract.
HO has already seen a sample propsal and has a blank contract from us, none from the others. His next step is to check the references on both of us and would like to see some of our past work. Other guy provided a few addresses, our sales guy offered a guided tour. (HO is from out of state, this is his camp)
To date I am pleased with our guys efforts and strategy. But this may be our first real competition in awhile, normally it's more like the first 4 that got trashed.
So the question is this, 2 reputable companies about 10% apart and you the higher one. What would your strategy be? Reverse auction is not acceptable. Thanks in advance.
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