Gotta agree with Clive here. Maybe there's a reason they can afford a nice truck, like maybe they work hard, do a good job and reward themselves? What if we change this quote around a little:

 

I deal with contractors and trades people all day long. They all drive nice trucks.

 

I do judge on vehicle.
My plow guy at the cottage from a few years ago.
I knew I had hired the wrong guy.
He showed up in a v6 chevy pick up,, with four bald tires, and a couple of empty beer cases in the back.
More than once, he fell off the driveway, got stuck, or his truck broke down.
Or too drunk to plow, when the full case was in the front seat.
So you can, and I did pass judgment on my contractors vehicle that was providing a service to me.

 

finally. a few people get it.. yes any business... believe it or not people can be financially successful and not be crooks. even contractors.

 

I just don't like dealing with contractors in this type of market. They know many folk are house rich and out of touch to trade labour. $45k for a 1.5 car garage? Get bent. Some sucker will remortgage for it though. So they cast until they catch.

 

One other thing is some contractors are so busy they give a ridiculous quote because they don't have the time to do the job.
BTW when I brought my old Porsche SC to work someone would always say "oh must be nice to own a Porsche".

 

Yeah, round my neck of the woods (Oakville) I had one contractor say 'how did you find me? Was it a referral? (No, I saw your ad) Well typically I get jobs through referrals and I'm not cheap, you're looking at $80 - 100K (I hadn't even described the job in more than 1 sentence....)

 

Most of the comments on here are comical.

People will judge you based on your vehicle - that is given.

It goes both ways. I want my contractor to show up presentable, but not flashy.

I work in commercial construction, and there is no way I would show up to a meeting in my 911 Turbo. A nice truck - yes.

When hiring a contractor it is important to have quality and reputable work, but also to not get absolutely hosed.....Balance is key.

 

agree 100 percent.

 

Judging a book by it's cover.
Just because someone has a "premium" brand doesn't mean they're wealthy or paid full price.

 

I have experienced that; I have had to negotiate hard the quotes received from the removal companies for my upcoming move to another house in order to bring them in line with what colleagues of mine have paid. It’s difficult to hide three Porsches in the garage, and all of the guys that came over to quote had something to say about them —although I had a nice discussion with the owner of one of the companies, who told me he has a 993 and a 924 if I recall correctly.

 

Just happened to me earlier this week. I was on a ride and decided to stop at the pool store to buy a new pool heater cause my current one decided to die.

Not familiar with that specific store, I parked on the side in front of big black windows. Little did I know that these windows were the sales office windows.

Not surprised that the price is the best price of the year.... walked out the store, and half the sales staff were walking around the car, hands and face in the windows etc meanwhile, the store was full of wandering unhelped customers.... And the owner of the place drives an R8 Spyder!!!! Sheeesh.

 

Get this if you think $45K for a 1.5 car garage is bad. I was cleaning up the Porsche on the driveway and got a quote of nearly $110K for a single car detached garage.

That was the only time that the contractor saw my car but I did get another couple of quotes ranging from $30K-$80K prior to that one.

 

I live down the street from an electrical contractor - he has a 997 and a fully restored air cooled :-)
Nice guy and I appreciate he's worked hard to get them...

He still fixes his F150 himself - put the money where you enjoy it the most!

 

Henley1,

My son gets good grades, and just graduated Grade 8. (He got the math award)... He's thinking about being a carpenter....

How long have you been at it? I take it you're not swinging a hammer anymore on a daily basis.