Should I be disappointed with this roll cage install?

[defender_verde]

Had my 3-door 110 fitted with a SD Roll Cage in January... The plan with the truck was to drive it as is (with some minor upgrades like the cage, seats, etc.) until I do a full tear-down rebuild in a couple years.

I had one of the "well known shops" outside of Chicago that does "high end" builds perform the work as they do them all the time and offer them on their 100k+ trucks. Well, I've been looking around the truck for a while and noticed a lot of things "wrong" with the install. I've been trying to get ahold of the owner of the shop because I wanted more work done, but after 10 calls in the last 4 months I don't get calls back. It's pretty far away, so I can't just drop in.

Is this a $1,500 install job? Seems sturdy and correct but sloppy as hell.

They also charged me a few bills to "fix my electronics" and for the past couple months I've had no hazard lights and no license plate light... Got that taken care of by another mechanic who doesn't do body work.

Should I be upset? They also left metal from drilling all over the truck...

 

[jymmiejamz]

What's the problem? The excess sealant? A lot of mechanics probably wouldn't even bother with the sealant. Metal shavings is annoying, but nothing a couple minutes of vacuuming won't fix. What's the problem on the outside of the cage?

 

[defender_verde]

What's the problem? The excess sealant? A lot of mechanics probably wouldn't even bother with the sealant. Metal shavings is annoying, but nothing a couple minutes of vacuuming won't fix. What's the problem on the outside of the cage?

Sloppy sealant. Maybe my expectations are off - but i expected clean work. There's residue from sealant on a lot of the outside components. Not a huge deal, but was wondering if this was 1.5k worth of work. Again - this is my first Defender and my others cars have been new german cars so not sure what to expect all the time.

 

[The_Vermonster]

I won't comment on the price, but that certainly isn't the result of someone that should be proud of their work. If it would only take an extra few minutes to clean up the sealant and suck up the metal, then it should be done. It's part of the "job." There should never be residue, because the area should be taped off and excess cleaned up.

But it probably only cost the shop 200 in labor. 10 extra minutes could be a 20% increase in labor.

 

[jymmiejamz]

I won't comment on the price, but that certainly isn't the result of someone that should be proud of their work. If it would only take an extra few minutes to clean up the sealant and suck up the metal, then it should be done. It's part of the "job." There should never be residue, because the area should be taped off and excess cleaned up. /QUOTE]

It would seem that you aren't taking into consideration that mechanics are paid on a flat-rate scale which means taking shortcuts makes them more money. Time is money.

 

[rovercolorado]

It's a pride in workmanship thing IMHO. Today it is getting harder to get people to do the little extra things when finishing on a project. Dealerships, independent shops, restoration shops they all have a dollar rate they are working with and that is why we often see small details missed or just not done to complete work. The job on your cage looks pretty well done except the small cleanup work to make it 100%. The customer is always right doesn't always apply today in many fields.

 

[DiscoDavis]

This confirms my belief that if I DIY, as long as I am careful, I can't do much worse than shop idiots (aside from expert indy shops).

Honestly looks ok. Agree with Jimmy, could be no sealant instead... $1500 learning experience!

 

[rocky]

I'd rather see too much sealant used than none at all. Its also useful to select a shop thats done a NAS disassembly/Reassembly before. Which isn't easy in the US.

 

[Bozman]

The lower left bolt in the 5th pic looks a little off. It doesn't cover the hole, according to the pic. [sarcasm] Maybe just throw some sealant in there [sarcasm].

I would expect more from a professional. My general rule is I should not be able to do something better than the professional I am paying to do it.

That said, I suspect some people provide the quality of work that is comparable to the existing condition of the truck. Perhaps they saw the dents and dings and thought it didn't need to be perfect. Not saying your truck is a basket case, but it's not perfect (and that's the way I like them, FWIW).

 

[rovercolorado]

The lower left bolt in the 5th pic looks a little off. It doesn't cover the hole, according to the pic. [sarcasm] Maybe just throw some sealant in there [sarcasm].

I would expect more from a professional. My general rule is I should not be able to do something better than the professional I am paying to do it.

That said, I suspect some people provide the quality of work that is comparable to the existing condition of the truck. Perhaps they saw the dents and dings and thought it didn't need to be perfect. Not saying your truck is a basket case, but it's not perfect (and that's the way I like them, FWIW).

That may be true but if you look very closely at the high dollar trucks you can find lots of small corners that have been taken. When I was searching I asked for many detailed pictures from shops that claimed to do work that demanded top money but they either didn't deliver the pictures or when they did I found faults.
Like DIY house projects the owners often take the time to complete the small details that contractors often overlook. Walk into any new house build and you can find hundreds of small details that are not finished cleanly.

 

[The_Vermonster]

Walk into any new house build and you can find hundreds of small details that are not finished cleanly.

Easiest detail to notice is the screws holding the switch and socket cover plates on. Someone that cares will make all the slots face the same way. Super simple, takes maybe an extra half second per screw, but is often overlooked.

And sorry for anyone that just ran around their house fixing all the screws. Once you see it, it will haunt you.

 

[nas90tdi]

I owned my own business for almost 20 years. I was often accused of being outrageously expensive. But, never by my customers, they knew what they were paying for. We didn't cut corners and didn't leave little unfinished details. My reason for saying that ,is this. If a shop put your roll cage in for 1500.00 you paid a bargain rate. Now, I also understand that maybe they quoted you that of their own free will. I also understand that they probably didn't tell you that this meant they weren't going to do a perfect job. However, there is a very good reason that the true high end shops charge a lot of money. Each and every detail of that install takes a lot of time to make perfect. Far less time to just install it without all the tweaking. This applies to any hobby car work.On arguably one of the least perfect vehicles on the road. So, they just took the shortest route to finished to maximize the profit available.

Don't take any of this to mean I wouldn't be irritated as hell by that shit sealant job, because I would. That is not work a "high end" shop should be proud of.That is off road shop work, not high end or restoration shop work.

Also the reason I turn every wrench on my own trucks.

 

[rovercolorado]

That is not work a "high end" shop should be proud of.That is off road shop work, not high end or restoration shop work.

Also the reason I turn every wrench on my own trucks.

Great points for sure. I have had several off road shops build things in the past for me and if you plan on just denting and tearing it up climbing on rocks later they aren't going to spend quality time making it look great.

It clearing depends on the type of shop that performed the work.

I love to work on my own trucks and always have but mostly because I wanted to save money in the past. As I get older I find that many jobs are just worth the extra money to have someone else perform the work. I like to talk with the owner and the tech and set expectations before anything is done. The guy I go to now is open to that and i haven't been let down wit his work yet.

 

[rovercolorado]

Easiest detail to notice is the screws holding the switch and socket cover plates on. Someone that cares will make all the slots face the same way. Super simple, takes maybe an extra half second per screw, but is often overlooked.

And sorry for anyone that just ran around their house fixing all the screws. Once you see it, it will haunt you.

One of the first things my wife and I look at in a home is the screws on the switch and light sockets. Mine all face the same direction currently.

 

[Kevin88RRC]

Easiest detail to notice is the screws holding the switch and socket cover plates on. Someone that cares will make all the slots face the same way. Super simple, takes maybe an extra half second per screw, but is often overlooked.

And sorry for anyone that just ran around their house fixing all the screws. Once you see it, it will haunt you.

I thought I was just OCD.

 

[craigd]

That is funny, I am selling my house and as part of the prep I went around and made sure all the screws faced the same way. Most were already even.

 

[jymmiejamz]

I had no idea the light switch screws facing the same way is even a thing that people cared about.

 

[nas90tdi]

Oh, it definitely is a thing. OCD is a curse. I have a laundry list of things I have to have a certain way or I can't quit thinking about them. My friends and family give me no end of grief about the lined up shoes, clothes having to face a direction in the closet, and all kind of other odd things people don't notice, or care about. Makes my tools very organized though.

 

[FlyersFan76]

The light switch and outlet cover screws should be straight up and down. The dust doesn't get trapped in the slots then. Hows that for OCD.

With that said I have screw less covers. At least most of my house is. Slow project changing them all over.