Price?

[coffeebean]

I heard a story today from a reliable source (the home owner)he paid $2300 to have 25' of 150a mud cable,1 weather head and maybe 12 straps replaced when his service was ripped down by a tree during a recent storm we had here in NJ. The work was done during normal business hours there was no rush because PSEG didnt have anyone to reconnect until a couple days later.The house is 2 stories so maybe the high price was to buy a new extension ladder my point is that is a little pricey for NJ and I dont care if the insurance company is paying for it.

 

[480sparky]

I guess it depends on how much mud cable costs, and what the heck mud cable is to begin with.

 

[satcom]

I guess it depends on how much mud cable costs, and what the heck mud cable is to begin with.

Mud cable ? must be something new, sure is expensive.

 

[480sparky]

Mud cable ? must be something new, sure is expensive.

'Specially 150 a's of it.

 

[chris1971]

Maybe that's what the SER cable looked like after being dragged from the truck to the site?

 

[infinity]

Have a EC friend who just did a tree damage repair on a 200 amp service. New meter pan and 25' of SE cable. $1500, other guy's estimate $6000.
Other guy told the HO that he needed a completely new 200 amp service. $6000 borders on price gouging.

 

[coffeebean]

mud cable aka se cable in central nj

 

[bgeorge]

Rob,

There is a certain contractor around here who is now part of a "franchise" that charges minimum 5000.00 for a service upgrade. Emergency work is prob much more than that. AND they offer a finance plan to HELP pay for it....at 25% int. America, what a country!

 

[satcom]

Rob,

There is a certain contractor around here who is now part of a "franchise" that charges minimum 5000.00 for a service upgrade. Emergency work is prob much more than that. AND they offer a finance plan to HELP pay for it....at 25% int. America, what a country!

There are plenty of them in my area, just last week I noticed one of their trucks a few doors down the street, they were doing a new 200A service, so later that week the lady was walking her dog and I asked how she liked the work, she said they were great, and were so neat, and got in and out, so fast, I just had to ask, were their prices decent, she said my bow thought they were ok $4700 and they replaced the back door light.

 

[bpk]

I have an aunt in San Antonio that said they had some lights dimming when the fridge started. She called a contractor that said she needed a new service upgrade with a price quote of 5k, the new service was to small when the house was built. I told her to get a few other opinions, I hope she did.

 

[growler]

I heard a story today from a reliable source (the home owner)he paid $2300 to have 25' of 150a mud cable,1 weather head and maybe 12 straps . my point is that is a little pricey for NJ and I dont care if the insurance company is paying for it.

OK, in your opinion the price is too high and that may be correct but did you see the invoice to see how it was priced out? How many trips were made to the job and for what purpose? Did they work by the hour, flat rate or bid? They may have made an emergency call at night to make sure everything was safe and then did the work the next day and then there is the permit and inspection, how much time was spent there. How much travel, where did they come from?

My point is that once you see how they get to that $2300.00 job cost it may seem reasonable enough.

Some contractors only charge $10 an Amp for mud cable but others have a different pricing method. Something like actual time spend on the job and actual cost.

 

[satcom]

OK, in your opinion the price is too high and that may be correct but did you see the invoice to see how it was priced out? How many trips were made to the job and for what purpose? Did they work by the hour, flat rate or bid? They may have made an emergency call at night to make sure everything was safe and then did the work the next day and then there is the permit and inspection, how much time was spent there. How much travel, where did they come from?

My point is that once you see how they get to that $2300.00 job cost it may seem reasonable enough.

Some contractors only charge $10 an Amp for mud cable but others have a different pricing method. Something like actual time spend on the job and actual cost.

Prices can differ all over the place, everything from the area they are in to the cost of doing business, will reflect the prices.

 

[Sparky555]

I heard a story today from a reliable source (the home owner)he paid $2300 to have 25' of 150a mud cable,1 weather head and maybe 12 straps replaced when his service was ripped down by a tree during a recent storm we had here in NJ. The work was done during normal business hours there was no rush because PSEG didnt have anyone to reconnect until a couple days later.The house is 2 stories so maybe the high price was to buy a new extension ladder my point is that is a little pricey for NJ and I dont care if the insurance company is paying for it.

In my experience it would be unusual for insurance work to be more profitable.

To state the obvious, there are 3 categories of competitors from my point of view:

1) Those that charge more than I do. Either because of more profit or more overhead, typically benefits.

2) Those that charge the same as I do.

3) Those that charge less than I do. Either because of less profit or less overhead, typically at a loss and out of business in less than 3 years.

I'll never complain about the #1s or #2s. It's the #3s that I wish would go away. In my opinion the #1s rarely gouge, they have profit over 5%, health benefits and retirement benefits.