Dr_Shakalu

Hi everyone. I have a 96 coupe. All of my weather stripping is shot. There is someone I kind of know that owns a body shop that works on high-end cars. I brought my car in to get an estimate to change all of my weather stripping. He coated me a price of $1405 which includes OEM weather stripping plus the labor. Is this a fair price or should I try another place? Any help is appreciated, Ed.

PLRX

Your profile says you are a doctor, and normally doctor got the big bucks.

How much for parts, and much for labor?

We have few vendors in here who sell WS for all Vettes. It is not a complicated project. If you have basic tools it can be done in a day.

Is it fair?

Can you do it? Does it need to be done? Can you shop around? Is that one the only shop within your area?

speedycat3

That's pretty high IMHO, but if you are not inclined to do it yourself and it is a guaranteed job with true, fresh OEM weather strip in the wrappers, it might be an OK option for you. I would expect a brand new looking job for that price and factory tight with no leak warranty.

Dr_Shakalu

I am probably go shop around for other estimates but I've known him for about 25 years and they handle high end cars (ferraries, lambos, porches etc. and he gets good reviews on Yelp. I was thinking about doing it myself to save money. I looked at a couple of weather stripping on some of the corvette catalogs and the cheapest one that's not OEM is alot cheaper but I want it to last. I also saw a weather stripping kit to help installation but I'm a little scared in trying it myself. How hard of a job is it, and will the installation kit all I need. Thanks again.

Dr_Shakalu

I'm not a doctor, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn last night It needs to be done because all of the weather stripping is cracked and brittle. Actually, Dr. Shakalu is a character from Africa who smokes "tabacco" in the movie "Grandma's Boy"

PLRX

I know a hippie who smokes weed in Rancho Cucamonga.

Well Shaka-Zulu it's all within your hands to make this happen. Good luck. Remember this if you buy cheap WS it will not do the job, and will not last.

DinoBob

Skull Boy there prefers Tom and Jerry cartoons.

Dr_Shakalu

My 7 year old son loves Tom and Jerry too

XR_Strider_GuY

I just did the header seal (windscreen to door that goes through from one side to the other). The job itself is not complicated but you need patients and its very very messy.

Bowling Green Kentucky glued these weather strips in strategic spots and after 20_ years they do not come out nicely. I used a mix of a hair dryer, vacuum cleaner (bits of weather strip, silicon, glue everywhere).

Once the weather strip is removed, you need to clean the rails (I used wax and grease remover) so the new weather strip can sit and slide nicely. I was lucky one side was clean but the other was no luck. So off came the rails for cleaning.
While you are there you want to attend some of the surface rust that has built up. I am impressed at the metal (merit to galvanized frame used on C4s) and it remains corrosion free.

Joe C

(my 2 cents) $1400 is way too much for weather stripping. granted it's "supposed" to be installed OEM, but IMO, OEM is not much better than QUALITY reproduction. i'm not even sure if all pieces are still available in OEM, and i'm guessing it's about twice the price of repro. it's not a complicated job, and a good driver set of rubber will set you back about $450 and a weekend. forum vendor willcox can supply you with "the best bang for the buck" rubber at a fair and reasonalbe price. installation, a week end (part time) - take your time, do one piece at a time - fit it perfectly, and only then move on. besides, there is a certain amount of pride in doing a "well done" job yourself. finally, half the fun on owning a corvette is wrenching on a corvette!

Larry/car

Wrenching on anything isn't fun for me. My idea of ownership is; hit the switch and the vehicle springs to life. No fuss, no muss, just pure performance. I got over the repair phase years ago.